SUMMARY OF LAMENTATIONS 1-2
Lamentations 1
The city is deserted after the people are taken into exile. Everyone mourns and weeps. All because of the people’s sins. Jeremiah weeps over this.
Lamentations 2
The Lord is angry with Jerusalem and His people. This is why they were punished. Jeremiah weeps and is in torment over this. God fulfilled His plan and did what He said He would do.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 27, Day 2: Lamentations 1-2
3a) According to Webster’s Dictionary, lament means, “to mourn aloud; wail; to express sorrow or mourning for often demonstratively; to regret strongly.” In these verses, we see those (including Jesus) crying out to the Lord in anguish for sins. They are in mourning.
b) It’s okay to lament and cry out to God in anguish, even if you don’t understand Him or things in your life. He is there to listen and to answer you in His way.
4)
Chapter 1: She and her. This refers to Jerusalem and the people of Jerusalem. I. Jeremiah. He is mourning what has happened to Jerusalem. The theme is mourning for the sins of Jerusalem that has caused their exile.
Chapter 2: He. This refers to God. I. Jeremiah. Jeremiah is once again lamenting the Lord’s wrath against His people and the consequences the Lord laid out on them for their sins.
5) Jeremiah 2:11: My eyes fail from weeping,I am in torment within; my heart is poured out on the ground. Jeremiah uses such strong words that is anguish is palpable. You can feel him crying and weeping, and it makes you want to cry and weep, too.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 27, Day 2: Lamentations 1-2
This is a very sad book, and these are very sad chapters. It’s hard to read, but good to read, so we can understand just a bit of how much God loves us.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 27, Day 2: Lamentations 1-2
Fun Fact: Lamentations 1:1 is an acrostic poem. The verses begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In fact, the first 4 poems are acrostics, with Chapters 1, 2 & 4 with 22 verses (the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet). Chapter 3 has 66 – 3 verses per letter. Chapter 5 has 22 verses but is not an acrostic. This was probably for memory purposes.
Bible scholars believe this structure aims to be comprehensive in Jeremiah’s expressions of grief.
The book of Lamentations is just that: a mourning written by Jeremiah for the people of Jerusalem as they were taken into exile by the Babylonians. This was God’s punishment for their years of disobedience.
This book was probably written during the Babylonian exile, sometime between the fall of Jerusalem (586 BC) and the fall of the Babylonians to Persia (538 BC).
Jeremiah expresses deep sorrow over the end of the theocracy and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. He urges confession and repentance.
Remember that Jerusalem is the heart of God’s people, where the temple stood. So, when it fell, the people were utterly devoid.
There is much Biblical precedence for laments. The book of Job and a good part of Psalms are laments. Even Jesus lamented.
It is healthy to express your pain and longings to God. God promises to help us every step of the way.
The book of Lamentations is 5 poems:
- Zion’s devastation (Lamentations 1)
- Anger of the Lord (Lamentations 2)
- Despair and consolation (Lamentations 3)
- Horrors of the destruction (Lamentations 4)
- Prayer for restoration (Lamentations 5)
This is the 3rd book among the five Megilloth (scrolls) in the Hebrew Bible.
Lamentations 1
Jerusalem is personified here as a widow who lost everything.
Jerusalem is empty. No one can comfort her (Jerusalem). It was because of the people’s transgressions that they were punished by God.
The people remember the good times, however, but that is no comfort.
Jeremiah weeps for her (hence, the nickname “the weeping prophet”). God is righteous for His actions.
Jeremiah prays for the Babylonians to face consequences, too.
Lamentations 2
The Lord is now Jerusalem’s enemy because of their sins.
God destroys His tabernacle and the city.
Jeremiah cries some more over this. Jerusalem cannot be comforted. They should cry out to God.
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