Lamentations 1

The plight of the city (vv. 1–11). The Jewish people were proud of the city of Jerusalem, for it was their capital city and the home of their holy temple (Ps. 48; 84; 87; 122; 125; 137). The Jebusites originally controlled Zion, but David and Joab wrested it from them (2 Sam. 5:6–10; 1 Chron. 11:4–9). Though it was called “the city of David” (1 Kings 8:1; 2 Chron. 5:2), it was the Lord who was enthroned on Zion (Ps. 9:11; Isa. 8:18). Zion was “the mountain of the Lord” (Isa. 2:3). For this reason, the Jews thought their city was impregnable, particularly because the Lord’s house was there. But God would rather His city and temple be destroyed by pagans than to have His name disgraced by the wicked lives of His people.

The image is that of a beautiful princess who has been violated and disgraced and left alone to lament her plight. The city is called “the daughter of Zion” (1:6; 2:1, 4, 8, 10, 13, 18), “the daughter of Judah” (1:15; 2:2), and “the daughter of Jerusalem” (2:13, 15). At one time, she cared for a large family, but now she was a lonely widow for whom nobody seemed to care (Ex. 22:22–24; Deut. 24:19–21; Isa. 1:17). Had God forgotten to protect the widows (Deut. 10:18)? She was desolate (vv. 4, 13), a word used to describe Tamar after she had been raped (2 Sam. 13:20). Once she was a princess who had collected tribute from other nations, but now she was a vassal nation herself and forced to give up her treasures (“pleasant things”; vv. 7, 10–11).

Instead of trusting the Lord, Judah had trusted many “lovers” and “friends”—the heathen nations allied with her—but they had failed her, and now she was forsaken. Judah not only turned to other nations for help, but she even worshipped their gods (Jer. 2:36–37; 27:1–11; 37:5–10). The nation had been “married” to Jehovah at Mount Sinai, so the Lord considered her actions the equivalent of adultery. She had rejected the Lord, her allies had abandoned her, and therefore she had no comfort (vv. 2, 9, 16–17, 21). The Lord had set aside the nation of Israel for Himself and she was not “reckoned among the nations” (Num. 23:9), but now she had been taken into captivity and had to dwell with the Babylonians. God had given Israel rest in her own land (Ex. 33:14; Deut. 3:20; Josh. 1:13–15; 21:44), but she would have no rest in Babylon (Deut. 28:65). Year after year, the pilgrims had made their way to the city to celebrate the great feasts (Lev. 23), but now the roads were empty and there was nothing to celebrate. The priests had no temple, the people had no joy, and the virgins wept because

there were no men available to marry them.

The people of Judah shouldn’t have been surprised at what happened to the nation and the city, because both Isaiah and Jeremiah had announced the coming invasion of the Babylonian army. In the terms of the covenant (Deut. 28—30), Moses had warned Israel that God would chasten them if they disobeyed. When she was faithful to God, Israel had been the “head,” the chief nation; but now Babylon would be the “head” and Israel the “tail” (v. 5; Deut. 28:44). Israel’s army would be defeated (Deut. 28:25) and the people would go into exile (Deut. 28:32). Why did God chasten Judah? Because of “the multitude of her transgressions” (v. 5; see 8–9, 18–20). Two facts stand out in this book: The nation had sinned and deserved chastening, and God was the one who chastened them (1:12–15,17; 2:1–8,17; 3:1,37–38,43–45; 4:11).

When the enemy broke through the walls, the leaders fled like frightened deer, but they were caught and condemned (Jer. 38:14–28; 39:1–7). Had King Zedekiah listened to Jeremiah, the people, the city, and the temple would have been saved, but the king trusted his allies instead of the Lord (2 Chron. 26:2). Jerusalem became unclean (v. 8) and like a harlot was shamefully exposed (v. 17; Jer. 13:20–27). The people kept on sinning and didn’t consider that their sins would lead to discipline and destruction (Deut. 32:28–29). “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). The enemy entered the temple precincts (Deut. 23:3) and took Israel’s sacred treasures, and the people had to use their wealth to buy the bare necessities of life.

The plea of the city for sympathy and help (vv. 12–19). Note the repetition of “the Lord” in this passage. The Lord afflicted Jerusalem (vv. 12–14a); the Lord delivered Jerusalem into enemy hands (v. 14b); the Lord trampled the people under the feet of the enemy (v. 15); the Lord commanded the enemy to attack (v. 17); and “the Lord is righteous” (v. 18). The prophet knew that God was in control of history and that the Babylonian army was serving Him. The enemy showed no mercy as the anger of the Lord was poured out during the invasion (1:12; 2:1, 3, 6, 21; 3:43; 4:11). God’s anger is a holy anger, directed against sin. According to the law of Moses, if a priest’s daughter was guilty of immorality, she was burned to death (Lev. 21:9). Israel was a kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:6), but she had betrayed the Lord and consorted with idols.

Along with the image of fire, Jeremiah used other pictures to describe the terrible plight of the people. They were caught in a net like animals (v. 13; Ezek. 12:13) and left desolate and faint. The people who had been freed from bondage by the Lord were now under the yoke of a pagan foreign nation (v. 14). Both Jeremiah (Jer. 27—28) and Moses (Deut. 28:48) had warned them about yokes. Sin always promises freedom but brings bondage. The people were trodden underfoot and crushed, like grapes in a winepress (v. 15; see Rev. 14:17–20). The nation was drinking the cup of judgment as Jeremiah had warned (Jer. 25:15ff.). Their joy was turned into tears (v. 16; 2:11; 3:48), but nobody offered them comfort or dried their tears. Jeremiah had wept copiously because of the sins