Lenten Study Lamentations Ch 3
I am late one day with this entry. That doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, but it means I didn’t do what I set out to do. For Jeremiah, he accomplished everything God set him to do, and he has learned valuable lessons from it. We would do well to learn these lessons ourselves.
"Michelangelo, Jeremiah lamenting the fall of Jerusalem, detail of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, 1508-12" by Prof. Mortel is marked with CC BY 2.0.
1 I am the man who has seen affliction Because of the rod of His wrath.
2 He has driven me and made me walk In darkness and not in light.
3 Surely against me, He has turned His hand Repeatedly all the day.
4 He has caused my flesh and my skin to waste away, He has broken my bones.
5 He has besieged and encompassed me with bitterness and hardship.
Lamentations 3:1-5 (NASB)
Here is a point of interest in the Book of Lamentations. Jeremiah was not spared the judgment of God. He was God’s prophet doing what he was supposed to be doing, where he was supposed to be doing, and he still took all the same punishments the wicked Israelis got. Though he survived to write for God, he suffered through the calamities too. While I ascribe to the notion that the words written in this book of scripture are the words of God, they move through the filter of Jeremiah’s experiences. The suffering Jeremiah experienced first-hand makes him the right “pen” for God to pick up to put down His words for us on this subject.
6 In dark places He has made me dwell, Like those who have long been dead.
Lamentations 3:6 (NASB)
Jeremiah has lived in caves like the tombs where they place the dead.
7 He has walled me in so that I cannot go out; He has made my chain heavy.
Lamentations 3:7 (NASB)
Jeremiah was inside Jerusalem during the siege. He was not able to leave. Thus, he was walled in. The reference to a chain seems like a chain attached to a salve used to keep him from running away. It is something you must carry around with you all the time. A lighter chain would be easier to carry than a heavy one.
8 Even when I cry out and call for help, He shuts out my prayer.
Lamentations 3:8 (NASB)
As with Job, we, on the other side of the events Jeremiah participated in, can see how that experience made him the perfect person for God to use to write His Word on this subject. God didn’t not hear Jeremiah, and He didn’t not want to answer his prayers. The word choice is perfect. God had to ignore the prayers of His child because He needed him to go through the experiences he was going through. Why would God do that? Because you and I need to read Jeremiah’s account so it will have the proper impact on us. Lamentations is the ultimate warning about what can happen to an entire city for their wickedness. Yes, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for the same thing, but they were not cities revered as the jewel of God’s crown. Plus, we do not have a revelation of what happened inside those places in such great detail. Jeremiah’s account is not just a revelation of what happened to the city but of the atrocities that occurred to cause it.
9 He has blocked my ways with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked.
10 He is to me like a bear lying in wait, Like a lion in secret places.
Lamentations 3:9-10 (NASB)
Jeremiah is trying everything he can to get out of his trouble, just like Job. Both men were righteous in doing what God wanted them to do. Both men tried everything they could think of, evaluated everything they had done, and prayed all their prayers, but nothing worked. I think Jeremiah had an idea why he was going through his troubles. I don’t think Job ever did.
11 He has turned aside my ways and torn me to pieces; He has made me desolate.
12 He bent His bow And set me as a target for the arrow.
13 He made the arrows of His quiver To enter into my inward parts.
Lamentations 3:11-13 (NASB)
Jeremiah is not God’s target necessarily. He is afflicted to give an accurate account but not because he was wicked like the city’s inhabitants.
14 I have become a laughingstock to all my people, Their mocking song all the day.
Lamentations 3:14 (NASB)
I think this is probably the part that hurt Jeremiah the most. He came into the city to warn them. “Change your ways, or God will punish you.” Then the enemy arrives, and all the horrors of war descend onto Jerusalem, and Jeremiah is caught in it. To make matters worse, he is praying to God and is not answered, just like the other inhabitants. I am certain some people saw this as a sign God wasn’t real. I am certain others saw this as a sign of how foolish they believed Jeremiah to be. Jeremiah stayed faithful, but he had to endure the ridicule.
15 He has filled me with bitterness, He has made me drunk with wormwood.
Lamentations 3:15 (NASB)
Wormwood is an herb that has been around for a very long time. In ancient days it was used as a medicinal for various afflictions like indigestion, as an anti-inflammatory. It is also a very bitter-tasting herb. Jeremiah likens having consumed as much of this bitter herb as if he were getting drunk on wine. This compares how much sorrow he has been forced to endure. If you’d like to read more about wormwood, you can find some information about it HERE.
16 He has broken my teeth with gravel; He has made me cower in the dust.
17 My soul has been rejected from peace; I have forgotten happiness.
18 So I say, “My strength has perished, And so has my hope from the LORD.”
Lamentations 3:16-18 (NASB)
Throwing dust on oneself and being dirty are universally noted as being in great sorrow. Primarily, it is because the person was so distraught as to let all personal hygiene go. Purposefully covering yourself became an expression of that sorrow. It strikes me as somewhat disingenuous, though. How truly sorrowful are you if you have the presence of mind to make yourself dirty versus being actually distraught to the point of just not caring? It seems somewhat prideful. It becomes more of an outward display the person uses to make sure others see that they are distraught rather than being distraught. Even if I were that sorrowful but because I am different, I was capable of tending to my personal hygiene; I wouldn’t care if someone seeing me thought I was appropriately upset. It just wouldn’t matter to me. It seems a vanity to me that I would run around purposefully tossing dirt on myself in public to ensure everyone around me knew I was upset.
Verse eighteen seems to be a dangerous statement for Jeremiah to make that he has no more hope from God. I can see God sad Himself as his child, doing what God wanted loses hope in Him. We know Jeremiah survived everything he went through because God protected him, but Jeremiah didn’t know God was enfolding him in His loving embrace while he was going through it. That must have been very upsetting for Jeremiah.
19 Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness.
20 Surely my soul remembers And is bowed down within me.
21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.
Lamentations 3:19-21 (NASB)
Verse eighteen moves right into this passage, declaring that Jeremiah realizes what God did for him while he was in his sorrow, which fills him with hope now. This is precisely the pattern of a lived life experience becoming knowledge, the information, both good and bad about a thing, and that knowledge turning into wisdom when a good choice is made. Jeremiah was given a message of repentance to take to Jerusalem prior to the enemies arriving. He knew what God thought about what the city’s people were doing. He also knew that God intended to judge them and punish them for those actions.
Further, Jeremiah knew what those people were doing to anger God. Then, Jeremiah experienced all that they experienced in the punishment of the Lord. However, unlike many of the wicked, Jeremiah survived in under the protection of God. On the survival side of the event, Jeremiah reflects on those horrible events, sees the wisdom of God’s ways, and realizes that he was always in God’s love the entire time. Knowing he did what he was supposed to do and was protected by God for walking His path now makes Jeremiah hopeful in his life going forward. He draws strength for the difficulties that are to come.
22 The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24 (NASB)
They are new every morning. How is God’s greatness and compassion new amidst all that Jeremiah went through? He woke up every morning. But he woke up to horrors. Yes, but he woke up. Many of the wicked did not. Many of the wicked perished, which means each day Jeremiah walked his path with God, and God gave him exactly what he needed to make it to the next day, whatever that need was. As long as Jeremiah remained focused on staying in God’s ways, he was provided for. He trusted God to be his “portion,” his food, and God repaid that trust with whatever he needed. It is an interesting activity to look back at the difficulties in life with an eye to try and see the hand of God moving in our lives. It is very satisfying to discover those moments where the fingers of God were actively moving in our lives. It makes it easier to see them sooner as well. The hope is to be aware enough to recognize them as they are moving because, at that moment, we are standing, living in the palm of God’s hand. That moment of realization is an amazing thrill like no other.
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him.
26 It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the LORD.
Lamentations 3:25-26 (NASB)
There is a movement in modern society for people, especially men, to wear their emotions on their sleeves. It is good; we are told, to cry openly. Perhaps that is true for some, and if you are one of those people who feel better doing so, I will not tell you not to do that. However, for those who believe this is how all people should act, I would caution them that people are different. Just because blue is my favorite color, I like pepperoni on my pizza, and I believe pineapple is an abomination on the same doesn’t mean everyone agrees with me. Showing our emotions openly is no different. I would contend there are times when everyone should keep what they are feeling inside, and yes, I realize that is somewhat hypocritical given what I just typed. However, consider all that in the context of two things. First, God tells us it is good to wait silently in verse twenty-six above. Silently refers to not proclaiming our personal troubles to the world for all to see.
16 “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
17 “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face
18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:16-18 (NASB)
Second, Jesus instructed us to quietly and privately go about our fasting or our difficulties without making a fuss. This runs contrary to throwing dust everywhere, so others notice or are meant to notice how “distraught” we are. While some people feel relief or gain strength from the attention of others when they are going through difficulties, there are times we are to go through them on our own. This is a time of refinement, learning to trust God, rely on Him, on His ways, and His good graces. If we openly proclaim our difficulties all the time and get surrounded by people who help carry our burdens for us, we do not grow strong. This may mean we are not prepared for the harder things to come, of which God is aware, but we are not.
27 It is good for a man that he should bear The yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone and be silent Since He has laid it on him.
29 Let him put his mouth in the dust, Perhaps there is hope.
Lamentations 3:27-29 (NASB)
People are strong in the youth, inexperienced but strong. This is why it is good that we fellowship in community with one another, not separated. The experiences and wisdom of the ages rest with those who have lived the experiences. That wisdom is designed to benefit the youth so they do not have to suffer when they are wise enough to listen to someone who has gone through similar life experiences. Jeremiah instructs us to keep our vanity to ourselves, to seek counsel privately from those who have wisdom. In this, we find hope as we execute the learned, wise steps of those who have gone before us.
30 Let him give his cheek to the smiter, Let him be filled with reproach.
31 For the Lord will not reject forever,
32 For if He causes grief, Then He will have compassion According to His abundant lovingkindness.
Lamentations 3:30-32 (NASB)
The young are rash and prone to act without thinking. Let older, wiser people decide when it is time to act, but we act with authority when they do. We let cooler heads prevail and talk us down from doing something stupid until that time. Patience is a virtue “for the Lord will not reject forever.” Jeremiah learned this. He has come out on the other side of the horror and learned lessons we would be wise to listen to ourselves.
33 For He does not afflict willingly Or grieve the sons of men.
Lamentations 3:33 (NASB)
God is not a God of anger. He is love. It is not His desire to punish people. God does not search for people who have broken His rules so He can chastise them. It would please God greatly if we would all choose to follow His ways, but He already knows that will not be the case.
34 To crush under His feet All the prisoners of the land,
35 To deprive a man of justice In the presence of the Most High,
36 To defraud a man in his lawsuit— Of these things the Lord does not approve.
Lamentations 3:34-36 (NASB)
There are things of which God does not approve. There are things God does not like. There are things God hates.
16 There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:
17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil,
19 A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.
20 My son, observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;
21 Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk about, they will guide you; When you sleep, they will watch over you; And when you awake, they will talk to you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life
24 To keep you from the evil woman, From the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her capture you with her eyelids.
26 For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, And an adulteress hunts for the precious life.
Proverbs 6:16-26 (NASB)
This is an exceptionally long passage in Proverbs that all relate to one topic. The things God hates that he calls an abomination. If you want a good piece of homework, go look that word up on your own. Yes, God hates some things. That means there are things out there that even as Christians are cleansed by the blood of Christ, if we do these things walking in Jesus’ salvation, God still hates those things. They are not alright for us to do even though we are cleansed of the sin of those actions if we are to do them, have done them, or will do them in the future. There are those Christians in the world who believe that because they have accepted the free gift of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, they can do anything they want, and it is okay. No, it is not okay. Yes, Jesus’ sacrifice does forgive those sins. However, if a person knows all this and says, “I’m going to go do them anyway, and I can because I’m forgiven,” God is not happy about that decision. That person is not immune to God’s chastisement for knowingly doing the things God hates. Yes, that person is forgiven, but also, yes, God plans to work to correct that behavior in the child He loves because He does not like that behavior.
Let me say it plainly: You cannot claim to be a child of God, have faith in Jesus Christ, and expect that everything you do is approved of by God simply because you accepted Jesus. It doesn’t work that way. The people of Jerusalem discovered that very fact. It is at the heart of what Lamentations is all about. If we claim to be the children of God, we have to do our best to live up to His expectations of what His children should look like to the World. We cannot be hypocrites, a Do As I Say and Not As I Do people. We must be good leaders and lead by example.
37 Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, Unless the Lord has commanded it?
Lamentations 3:37 (NASB)
This is one of those predestination scriptures meaning everything is according to the will of God. That isn’t necessarily what this passage means. No one prophesies accurately who does not listen to God. No one speaks about what is to come to happen other than the people who listen to what God is saying.
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That both good and ill go forth?
Lamentations 3:38 (NASB)
Yes, it absolutely is. God set up the rules and natural laws of the universe. Actions have reactions. Decisions have consequences. Those reactions and consequences can be known before the actions are taken, or the decisions are made. This is where the youth should listen to the aged and discover what happens in life before they do something. Ah, but the youth are ever young, and many of us, myself included, have to learn things the hard way, don’t we?
39 Why should any living mortal, or any man, Offer complaint in view of his sins?
Lamentations 3:39 (NASB)
This requires a level of introspection lacking in most people. We have to be humble enough to admit when we are wrong. We have to have enough self-awareness not just to say we aren’t perfect but internalize that statement as a fact. What does that mean? It means looking for and accepting help. It means starting from a position of, “I don’t know the right decision in everything,” even when we think we do. That is very, very hard for many people. Maybe not everyone, but many people.
40 Let us examine and probe our ways, And let us return to the LORD.
Lamentations 3:40 (NASB)
This one verse. This one passage. This is everything in life. I am typing this next line with force on my keyboard and would be saying the words with a deliberate purpose if I were speaking; Be Willing To Change. Period. None of us do it all right. Where God uses the Holy Spirit to identify where we don’t do it right, CHANGE. Correct the problem. Fix it. Grow closer to His way rather than insist our way is the right way. Jerusalem didn’t learn that lesson, and they paid for it. Reread Lamentations in light of that fact, and it will change the tenor of everything.
41 We lift up our heart and hands Toward God in heaven;
42 We have transgressed and rebelled, You have not pardoned.
43 You have covered Yourself with anger And pursued us; You have slain and have not spared.
44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud So that no prayer can pass through.
Lamentations 3:41-44 (NASB)
The people of Jerusalem failed to repent of their sinful activities. They believed they could do no wrong in God’s eyes because they were God’s chosen people. They were wrong. God sent a prophet to warn them in Jeremiah, and they ignored him. They were punished for their arrogance. If you’ve read this far, I think you, but I also warn you; examine your life and see where it deviates from God’s ways. Examine everything, not just your thoughts but who you associate with, the companies you promote, and the places you go. Your presence, actions, and words build things up. Be mindful of what you are building up. Are you building up something that pleases God or something that offends Him? There is no middle ground. There is no sitting on the fence. There is not “a little bit pregnant” on this. God either likes it, or He does not. Where you find things you determine God does not like, you can step away from them, change them, remove them yourself, or wait for God to do that. Jerusalem waited for God to do it, and we see how that turned out.
45 You have made us mere offscouring and refuse In the midst of the peoples.
Lamentations 3:45 (NASB)
When you are cleaning something, or you’ve stepped in something with your shoe, the stuff you have to scrape off the sole of the shoe is “offscouring.” In the case of my backyard, where I let my dog do his business, occasionally, I have to clean that business off the bottom of my shoes. That is what Jeremiah is saying God has turned the people of Jerusalem into those who would not repent of their sins.
46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.
47 Panic and pitfall have befallen us, Devastation and destruction;
Lamentations 3:46-47 (NASB)
The entire time we’ve been reading this material, we’ve listened to two godly men describe how at a loss they were to come up with a solution for their difficulties. For those arrogant people of Jerusalem who were not walking in God’s ways, when it came time to try and figure out what to do, they were so far removed from God’s ways and what He desired that they could not figure things out panicked. The more we know about His ways, the more we know about His solutions to problems.
48 My eyes run down with streams of water Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 My eyes pour down unceasingly, Without stopping,
50 Until the LORD looks down And sees from heaven.
51 My eyes bring pain to my soul Because of all the daughters of my city.
Lamentations 3:48-51 (NASB)
This is the grief of a man who knew what was going on what was about to happen and tried to warn people, but they wouldn’t listen. Jeremiah proclaimed that destruction was coming to the city and all its inhabitants. He was a prophet of God, which means he was right. It also means he watched that destruction and devastation and came out the other side. He was forever changed by it and saddened by it.
52 My enemies without cause Hunted me down like a bird;
53 They have silenced me in the pit And have placed a stone on me.
Lamentations 3:52-53 (NASB)
Jeremiah did what he was supposed to do. He was obedient to God’s instructions for his life, and he still had hardship, difficulties, and calamities. Following God’s ways does not mean we get out of pain. It means God walks with us through it providing His support. This is the case with Jeremiah and what he went through in the fall of Jerusalem.
54 Waters flowed over my head; I said, “I am cut off!”
55 I called on Your name, O LORD, Out of the lowest pit.
56 You have heard my voice, “Do not hide Your ear from my prayer for relief, From my cry for help.”
Lamentations 3:54-56 (NASB)
God always heard Jeremiah though He did not always do what Jeremiah wanted Him to do.
57 You drew near when I called on You; You said, “Do not fear!”
Lamentations 3:57 (NASB)
The answer “do not fear” should carry with it some understanding. It does not mean, “I will take this thing away from you.” It means “I am with you in the midst of the thing.” God can remove troubles, but He doesn’t always do that. God can provide us an answer or way out of troubles, but he doesn’t always do that either. God does always, 100% of the time, walk with his faithful through troubles, and that is what He did with Jeremiah here, “Do not fear!”
58 O Lord, You have pleaded my soul’s cause; You have redeemed my life.
Lamentations 3:58 (NASB)
This is a statement of realization on the other side of the difficulties. This is a statement of thanks. This is a creation of wisdom out of adversity for Jeremiah as he internalizes that God is with him.
59 O LORD, You have seen my oppression; Judge my case.
60 You have seen all their vengeance, All their schemes against me.
61 You have heard their reproach, O LORD, All their schemes against me.
62 The lips of my assailants and their whispering Are against me all day long.
63 Look on their sitting and their rising; I am their mocking song.
Lamentations 3:59-63 (NASB)
Jeremiah was ridiculed and mocked as he suffered alongside the city’s people. He suffered the same fate at the hands of the enemies who conquered the city. All the while, Jeremiah never left God, never left His ways, and never abandoned the task God gave him. He continued to proclaim the wickedness of their actions and the evil of their ways.
64 You will recompense them, O LORD, According to the work of their hands.
65 You will give them hardness of heart, Your curse will be on them.
66 You will pursue them in anger and destroy them From under the heavens of the LORD!
Lamentations 3:64-66 (NASB)
Jeremiah is not calling for revenge on those who mocked him. Jeremiah is making a statement of fact. We know this is a statement of fact because of what God is doing to Jerusalem now for their wicked and evil actions.