Structure of the Book
Before studying Lamentations, I’d like to talk a little about the
book itself. This is an often overlooked
book and that is a shame. This book has
an incredible amount of planning and symbolism behind it. It is not just a great literary work; it is a
great work of symbolism as well. I
should also say that I am going to write this blog as though tradition is
correct in attributing authorship to Jeremiah.
The book contains 5 chapters.
Chapter 1 deals with the destruction of Jerusalem (IE, the people and
their reaction). Chapter 2 deals with
God’s judgment (IE, God’s work). Chapter
3 deals with Jeremiah’s response to what he has seen. Chapter 4 deals with God’s anger. (IE, God’s
work). Chapter 5 deals with the response
of the remnant (IE, the people and their reaction). Do you notice the structure? The first and last chapters deal with the
people. Jeremiah’s reaction is in the
heart of the book at chapter 3. Between
Jeremiah (chapter 3) and the people (chapters 1 and 5) is the Lord (chapters 2
and 4).
However, they symbolism gets better. Each chapter has precisely 22 stanzas – which
is exactly the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet – except for chapter 3
which has 66 stanzas. Additionally,
chapters 1, 2, and 4 are written so that each consecutive stanza begins with
the next consecutive letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Chapter 3 is written in triads with the first
three stanzas beginning with the first letter of the alphabet, the next three
verses beginning with the second letter, etc.
Also, note that the middle chapter contains exactly 3 times the
number of verses of the other chapters.
I find it very interesting indeed that the chapter that is in the heart
of this book should contain 3 times the content of the rest of any other
chapter. It is as if Jeremiah is telling
us that the divine – even the Trinity – is at the heart of who we are as
people, no?
Needless to say, the composition of Lamentations shows quite an
incredible level of compositional mastery.
It is a work of art. And we haven’t
even begun to read it yet!
Lament
As we read through this opening passage, it is largely a
reflection of how the people of Jerusalem felt as they were dragged away into
captivity. I can only imagine their
humiliation. I can only imagine their shame. I can only imagine their loss.
Discipline is never easy to endure. Tough love is only appreciated after the
lesson is learned. Nobody enjoys paying
the consequences of their thoughtless behavior.
Nobody wakes up and says, “Gee, I hope the consequences of my actions
catch up with me today.”
Yet, there is a sense as we read through this first chapter that
the author knows full well that the people are being taken captive because
their sinfulness has indeed caught up with them. The author speaks of the transgressions of
the Hebrew people as being bound upon them as a yoke. Jerusalem’s uncleanness was within her, yet
she took no accounting of her future.
Judah has gone among the nations because it acted as though it belonged
among the nations.
It is sad to see people get hardship. It is sad to see people get
the consequences of their actions. None
of us like to watch someone else suffer.
But sometimes consequences are exactly what is called for. Anyone who has ever had to do some parenting
can attest to that.
Submission
What is there to do in a case such as the Hebrew people going into
captivity? When a people are undergoing
judgment and receiving just due for their action, what can be done? The answer is simple to say but hard to do: submit.
Again, anyone who has ever been a parent knows this. If a child screws up, accepts punishment, and
admits wrong then things will likely go well for the child. But if the child screws up, blames everyone
else, and refuses to acknowledge their role in the action then things will
likely go poorly for the child.
Submission is difficult in the time of judgment; yet submission is
precisely what is most appropriate.
Look at what Jeremiah says here in verse 18 on behalf of
Jerusalem. “The Lord is in the right,
for I have rebelled.” In verse 20
Jeremiah says, “My heart is wrung within me for I have been very
rebellious.” In verse 22 Jeremiah says,
“You have dealt with me because of all my transgressions.”
Jeremiah knows how rebellious the Hebrew people had been. He knows how much they followed what was
right in their own eyes. He knows how
much they ignored the people that God sent to them to try and call them into
repentance. Now he knows that what has
to happen is to get the people to see it and repent. Jeremiah knows that repentance has to happen
as the people are being dragged off into captivity. Genuine submission is the quickest way out of
captivity.
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