FEED 210/214 Mentoring Through The Old Testament/Major Prophets SESSION 8A: LAMENTATIONS

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1 FEED 210/214 Mentoring Through The Old Testament/Major Prophets SESSION 8A: LAMENTATIONS LEARNING OBJECTIVES: By the end of this session, participants should be able to 1. Explain where Lamentations sits in the history of the OT and the OT canon. 2. Elaborate the impact of the exile on the faith of Israel, and the theological crisis provoked by the exile. 3. Identify key themes in Lamentations and what these tell us about God and His purposes. 4. Develop applications from Lamentations on how to live as a child of God in a broken world. 1. INTRODUCTION & CONNECTIONS TO JEREMIAH a. The destruction of Jerusalem with its Temple was as significant for God s people in the OT as the Exodus: i. Their relationship to God ii. Their personal identities and relationship to one another iii. Their relationship to the nations iv. Their relationship to the earth (created order) b. The Temple built by Solomon was a sacrament of God s calling, presence, ownership and therefore his guarantee of protection of them as promised and verified in history. Its destruction was the loss of personal and collective soul. c. 586/587 was a catastrophe that almost destroyed God s people. It would transform them, but in Lamentations that working out is still future. Compare the disciples on Easter ( Black ) Friday (Ps 22:1) to the transformation we identify as the cross, resurrection and Pentecost (Ps 22:24-28). Lamentations is a record of the final generation of Israel, the Holocaust humanly speaking there is no hope. The hope in Lamentations is the hope of Jeremiah from exile in Babylon. We will draw many linkages to Jeremiah (the book) and Jeremiah the man. 2. NAME, AUTHOR & DATE a. The Hebrew title of the book is ekah ( How! ), the first word of Lam 1:1; 2:1; 4:1. The book is also referred to in Jewish tradition as qinot (Lamentations), as in ancient Greek and Latin translations. b. Lamentations is anonymous; we are not certain who wrote it. However Jewish and Christian traditions ascribe it to Jeremiah the prophet: i. such texts as Jer 7:29; 8:21; 9:1, 10, 20 ii. Similarities in vocabulary and style in the two books. Jeremiah the prophet is an author recognised for this lament style (2 Chr 35:25) iii. Jeremiah the prophet as eye-witness to these events c. Date: Soon after the historical events of 586BC. Lamentations poignantly shares the overwhelming sense of loss that accompanied the destruction of the city, temple and ritual as well as the exile of Judah s inhabitants (Ronald Youngblood). Page 1 of 5

2 3. STRUCTURE, OUTLINE & STYLE a. Lamentations has five chapters, each of which is a lament (similar to Pss 74 & 79). At the same time, Lamentations is a single lament uniting the five laments. Lamentations, apart from chapter 5, is in the form of an acrostic ie. each line or stanza commences with the next letter in the 22 letter Hebrew alphabet (chapters 1, 2 and 4 each have 22 verses). b. Chapter 3 stands out because it has three lines for each letter, producing 66 verses, and contains a remarkable statement concerning the mercy and love of God (vv 21-33). The placing of this statement in the centre (mid-ch.3) of the lament indicates that this is the most important thing to be said about God at this time of crisis. Lament Verses Lines per verse [lines] 1 22 Acrostic 3 (except 1:7) [65] 2 22 Acrostic 3 [66] 3 3 x 22 Acrostic 1 [66] 4 22 Acrostic 2 [44] [22] c. Outline: i. Lament 1: Jerusalem s misery and desolation ii. Lament 2: The Lord s anger against His people iii. Lament 3: Judah s complaint, and basis for consolation iv. Lament 4: The contrast between Zion s (Jerusalem s) past and present v. Lament 5: Judah s appeal for God s forgiveness d. Style & Use: i. As a series of laments over the destruction of Jerusalem in 586BC, Lamentations stands in a tradition with other ANE (Ancient Near Eastern) texts that have been discovered. ii. iii. Laments are common in the OT. Many of the psalms are laments. Every prophetic book except Haggai includes the lament genre. The purpose of the lament is to give outward physical and verbal expression to the inner emotions of grief at the loss of something or someone of inestimable value to the mourner in a personal and collective sense. Its meaning goes beyond the particular event to embrace longstanding and deep seated emotions. Psychologically it has the power to allow the person lamenting to cultivate and enter into events which may or may not include the person. In a healthy sense it gives a sense of identity and becomes an outlet for deep emotion. In a negative sense it can maintain harmful anger and the need to restore honour. With the loss of the Temple came the end of the sacrificial and festival system as God s people understood these. The Passover, for example, took on an entirely new form in the exile, and the concept of the synagogue was developed. For Jew, Hebrew Christian and Gentile Christian, Lamentations took on different meanings. Orthodox Jews read it in its entirety on the traditional dates of the destruction of Solomon s Temple (586BC) and Herod s Temple (AD70). Lamentations was written to express these tensions of faith and doubt through the catharsis of confession It was written also to encourage acceptance of God s judgment while affirming hope beyond that judgment. (WS LaSor) Page 2 of 5

3 4. WHY READ LAMENTATIONS? a. To appreciate and identify with the horrors experienced by God s people down through history b. God as Judge, even using pagan armies to discipline His people (1:12-15; 2:1-8, 17, 22; 4:11) c. Rebellion (= sin) against God has consequences d. Lamentations gives meaning and hope in a world falling apart. e. We serve a God of hope (3:21, 24, 25), of love (3:22), of faithfulness (3:23), of salvation (3:26). f. Weeping is normal response to grief (1:16; 2:11, 18; 3:48-51) and cries for redress are reasonable (1:22; 3:59-66), but the proper response to God s discipline is repentance (3:40-42). Lamentations begins in lament (1:1-2) and ends with repentance (5:21-22) g. As above: the climax of Lamentations is 3:22-23: His compassions never fail... great is your faithfulness. h. Having said this, the exact centre of Lamentations is 3:1-2. Note the I we speaking for the suffering community of which the author is a part. 5. THE REALITY OF EXILE: THE AUDIENCE OF LAMENTATIONS a. Lamentations was written for people going into exile, and people already in exile. b. John Bright: When one considers the magnitude of the calamity that overtook her, one marvels that Israel was not sucked down into the vortex of history along with other little nations of western Asia. c. DL Smith-Christopher asks: Do we hear the songs of Lamentations rising from the debris of Jerusalem? If we are honest we will have to say that it is hard to hear the pain of Lamentations. We might hear more clearly if we listen against the background of the humanitarian disasters of recent years. We have seen wars of ethnic cleansing, wars in which men, women and children were butchered and women subjected to deep humiliation. Flowing out of this we have seen & are seeing the suffering of millions of refugees. It was from within its suffering that Israel s faith had to find meaning for what had happened and find a way forward. 6. LAMENTATIONS GIVES MEANING & HOPE a. We know from the accounts of the deportations in 2 Kings 25 that the Babylonians took those people whom they regarded as potentially the most useful the leaders, royal family (eg. Daniel & his 3 friends), warriors, priests (eg Ezekiel) and artisans. Biblical evidence for the total is not clear but including all family members was perhaps of the order of 20,000-30,000. b. Life in exile apparently had some semblance of normality after a time. Ps 137 and Ezekiel 3:15 indicate they were settled as connected communities alongside the irrigation canals, somewhere near the city of Babylon in southern Mesopotamia. c. The exiles were not scattered throughout the Babylonian empire in the way that the Assyrians had scattered the people of the northern kingdom through their empire in 722 BC. This allowed them to retain a sense of religious identity and perhaps a limited sense of political identity. At the end of the 70 years it allowed a collective momentum to build to return home to geographical Judah. d. Jeremiah the prophet (Jer 29) could even write to the exiles with instructions on how to live in exile (remembering that he had been scathing in his attacks on them before the exile). They would be in Babylon for a long time so they should settle down, build houses and Page 3 of 5

4 establish gardens. They were to marry, have children and be sure their numbers increased (having in mind they were the basis (the remnant) for the new nation (cf. Jeremiah 24). e. Ezekiel 8:1; 14:1 and 33:30-33 record that the exiles were able to assemble, in this case to listen to what Ezekiel had to say. 7. SOME KEY THEMES FROM LAMENTATIONS: a. God has abandoned me. i. This and the belief that God was their enemy were probably the most agonizing aspects of their experience. Their theology told them that they were the chosen nation. A recurring cry is there is no one to comfort (vv 2, 9, 16, 17, 21, cf. v7). Those who had known the presence and comfort of God were now rejected. God s rejection is referred to in 1:15; 2:3, 4:16; 5:20-22 (the final verses of the book). ii. Consider the various phrases expressing these ideas. Then turn to Isa 40:1-2 and note God s response. b. God is my enemy. i. God, not the Babylonian soldiers, is the one who has attacked and torn the people. Note what is said in 1:12; 2:1; 21 and most graphically in 3:1-16. ii. The nations are gloating over us (described in 1:7, 21; 2:15, 16; 3:45-46) iii. We are mocked (1:8; 2:15-16) iv. Our enemies have destroyed everything" (2:1-9) v. We are unable to worship The destruction of the temple and the end of religious practices (1:4, 10; 2:6). vi. Should women eat their children? The horror of starvation and cannibalism is described in 2:20; 4:4, vii. Our women have been violated (5:11) c. We are in the wrong; God is in the right. i. This confession was essential for Israel s forgiveness and without it there was no foundation for her restoration and future. This is the confession and repentance for which Jeremiah had preached for 40 years without response. The complaints about God s power and justice fade from view as the people acknowledge that the catastrophe was not because of God s weakness in the face of the Babylonians and that the punishment was deserved. The destruction was the result of his anger at their sin - God is in the right (1:18). This contrasts with those in exile who were saying that God was not fair (Ezekiel 18:2-3, 25). Note the confession of sin in 1:18, 20, 22; 3:40-42; 5:16 d. Your mercy is ever new (3:22-39) i. In the centre of Lamentations we meet the unexpected affirmation of the unending love of God. This was the basis for any hope. Significantly, it is not based on such ancient traditions as God s promises to the patriarchs, the Exodus, Israel s election, God s presence in Zion (Jerusalem) or the Davidic covenant. Israel s sin is so great that they cannot appeal to God s covenant promises, they can only appeal to his endless mercy. He will not punish for ever because of his great compassion. Page 4 of 5

5 1. Firstly work through vv noting what is said about God and the proper response of sinful people. Spend time also thinking about what you find most significant in these verses. 2. Now work through vv to see what hope is expressed for an end to the punishment and acknowledgement that the punishment is deserved. 3. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD (3:22). Meditate on what this means. 8. CONCLUDING THOUGHT: a. Lam 5:21-22 ensures that the lament does not end on a complacent note. Nevertheless, the true nature of this poem, as of the whole collection, is one of petition. Hope can only be in a return to the Lord. The book of Lamentations shows this consistently in its exposure of the false trust of the people which had brought such dire judgment upon them. And it shows it, above all, in its moving celebration in 3:22-30 of God s love and compassion. These are the things that endure, and which remain the hope of Christians, who have seen them revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even in Christ, however, the church needs to know in its heart that its peace lies in trust and obedience. (G. McConville). Page 5 of 5