Lamentations

Lamentations is an elegy on Jerusalem, a tear-stained portrait of the once proud city that was reduced to rubble and ashes by the Babylonian armies. In a five-poem dirge, Jeremiah laid bare his emotions over the desolation of his homeland.

Written in acrostic fashion like Psalm 119, each chapter begins with the first Hebrew alphabet and progresses verse by verse to the last as the distraught prophet wept from aleph to tav. Yet amidst the destruction and death, seemingly hopeless with no relief in sight, Jeremiah's unwavering faith in God's mercy and faithfulness turned a tragic sob into a triumphal song!

For forty years, Jeremiah suffered abuse and rejection at the hands of his own countrymen, as he tirelessly warned them of the impending divine judgment for their sins of apostasy and rebellion. When his prophecies finally came true, he could have sneered at the stubborn people reaping their just dues and said, "I told you so!" Instead, we see a compassionate prophet crying his tender heart out over the fall and devastation of the once proud city.

Jeremiah's five-part requiem reflects a broken man who was divinely commissioned to deliver a harsh message to a sinful and stiff-necked nation. The injustices this prophet endured for four decades is but a fleeting moment compared to what God had to put up with His people during the past centuries since the time of the divided kingdoms.

It might be difficult for us to grasp—that the grief of the Holy One of Israel was grafted upon Jeremiah—as He allowed the weeping prophet a glimpse of the pain and heartache the Most High suffered at the hands of His ungrateful and unrepentant people. If this experience had torn Jeremiah apart, it might be worth the intimacy of knowing firsthand the wounded heart of God in sharing His divine sorrow.

OUTLINE OF LAMENTATIONS

1. Jerusalem's Destruction (1:1-22)
Grief—a city in mourning
a. The lament of Jeremiah (1:1-11)
b. The lament of Jerusalem (1:12-22)
2. God's Anger (2:1-22)
Cause—a people punished
a. The anger of God (2:1-9)
b. The agony of Jerusalem (2:10-17)
c. The appeal of Jerusalem (2:18-22)
3. Prayer for Mercy (3:1-66)
Hope—a prophet intercedes
a. Cry of despair (3:1-18)
b. Confession of faith (3:19-39)
c. Condition of need (3:40-54)
d. Confidence in God (3:55-66)
4. Jerusalem's Siege (4:1-22)
Repentance—a kingdom in ruin
a. Condition during the siege (4:1-19)
b. Cause of the siege (4:11-20)
c. Consequences of the siege (4:21-22)
5. Prayer for Restoration (5:1-22)
Prayer—a nation repents
a. Reviewing the need for restoration (5:1-15)
b. Repenting from sin (5:16-18)
c. Requesting for restoration (5:19-22)