Lamentations

Jeremiah pleaded with the Kings and people to repent, return and obey the commands of the covenant given by God through Mosses. But they refused, threatened him with death, put him on dungeons and cisterns. He was found by the Babylon army chained in the courtyard in Jerusalem when they conquered and destroyed it.

Judgment has Come to Jerusalem and Judah

Chapter 1

• Look how deserted Jerusalem is! Once the city was crowded with people. Once it was important among the nations.
• Judah has been exiled after much suffering and harsh treatment.
• The roads to Zion are deserted. No one comes to the annual festivals. No one passes through any of its gates.
• Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. The Lord has brought her grief because of her many sins.
• All the splendor has departed.
• Jerusalem has sinned greatly and has become unclean. All who honored her now despise her,
• My sins have been bound into a yoke; by his hands, they were woven together. They have come upon my neck and the Lord has sapped my strength. He has handed me over to those I cannot withstand.
• The Lord is righteous, yet I rebelled against his command. Chapter 2
• How the Lord has covered the Daughter of Zion with the cloud of his anger!
• Without pity the Lord has swallowed up all the dwellings of Jacob; in his wrath, he has torn down the strongholds of the Daughter of Judah. He has brought her kingdom and its princes down to the ground in dishonor.
• The Lord is like an enemy; he has swallowed up Israel. He has swallowed up all her palaces and destroyed her strongholds. He has multiplied mourning and lamentation.
• The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity.
• The oracles they gave you were false and misleading.
• The Lord has done what he planned and fulfilled his word, which he decreed long ago. Chapter 3
• I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long.
• He has barred my way with blocks of stone; he has made my paths crooked.
• I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.
• Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
• The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

• Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.
• Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins?
• Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven, and say: "We have sinned and rebelled and you have not forgiven.
• I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: "Do not close your ears to my cry for relief." You came near when I called you, and you said, "Do not fear." Chapter 4
• The punishment of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment without a hand turned to help her.
• Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of famine; racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food from the field.
• With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed.
• The priests are shown no honor, the elders no favor.
• Our end was near, our days were numbered, for our end had come.
• Daughter of Zion, your punishment will end; he will not prolong your exile. Chapter 5
• Our fathers sinned and are no more, and we bear their punishment.
• Slaves rule over us, and there is none to free us from their hands.
• Woe to us, for we have sinned! Because of this our hearts are faint because of these things our eyes grow dim for Mount Zion, which lies desolate.
• Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old.

Key Point from Lamentations. ➢ The Lord is faithful, He prophesied destruction without pity unless they repent and return to Him. But the Lord is good and compassionate to those in the Old and New Covenants who trust and obey Him by doing His will. Their hope is in Him as He will not cast them off forever but will show compassion.