Lamentations 3:1-40. Today we begin the third poem in which Jeremiah express the great sadness he feels because of the destruction of Jerusalem and the event that led up to it. In the first poem (Chapter 1) he described the destruction of the city that had once been so great among the nations. The greatness of Jerusalem would not have been because it was physically great but because it was the place where the word could see the reality of the one true God. Near the end of the first poem Jeremiah asks that God would bring about “the day he had promised” so that the nations who were glad for the destruction of Jerusalem (on a human or political level) would become “like [Jerusalem or the Jews]” and would have their sin (disobedience and rebellion toward Yahweh, the one true God) dealt with.

The second poem focused more on God’s involvement in the destruction of Jerusalem. It may have been human kings that did the destroying but God was behind it all. We saw that the destruction of Jerusalem was not without warning though. God had told the Israelites in the very beginning what would happen if they were disobedient and rebellious. We also saw that the real enemy in their lives and ours is sin. Sin has the ability to separate us from God forever. Jesus told his followers that they should not fear those who could destroy their physical lives but to fear Him who could destroy their physical lives and then send their soul to hell forever (Matthew 10:28).

In today’s reading we see Jeremiah get very personal with God about his feelings. In Jeremiah 3:1-18 Jeremiah compares his suffering over the years of his service and especially during the years of invasions by the Babylonians to living in total darkness (vv.2, 6), having a disease eat him away (v. 4), having his bones broken (v. 4), being sealed up in a room (v. 7), being chained up in a dungeon (v. 7) where no one could hear his cries for help (v. 8), being on an impassable path (v. 9) or in a maze (v. 9), being torn to pieces by a lion or bear (vv. 10-11), being left poor and empty (v. 12) and being shot full of arrows (v. 13).

He also tells us that all of this trouble in his life is because of God’s discipline (v. 1) and he credits God as the source of all of this trouble (notice how many times Jeremiah says “he has”).   Of course we need to remember that this is a poem, Jeremiah is using language that may be literally accurate sometimes and other times his language is more of a comparison; a metaphor. Jeremiah did go hungry during the siege of Jerusalem, he was left to die in a dark cistern (an underground room for storing water), and he was chained up on at least one occasion. On the other hand it is obvious he was never torn to pieces b a lion or bear since he is writing these words. And he was never shot full of arrows by God. These are just pictures to help us understand how he feels.

Some Bible experts think that Jeremiah is actually speaking for or about Jerusalem in these verses. In verse 14 we see that the “people” of the person talking are laughing at him and making fun of him. The people of either Jerusalem or Jeremiah’s people, the Jews, would never have made fun of the destruction of Jerusalem, but the y did make fun of Jeremiah. The person suffering in these verses cannot be an image of Jerusalem; Jeremiah is sharing his own personal feelings, he feels God ahs attacked him and destroyed his life.

In verse 15-18 we see more of the feelings Jeremiah has about his trouble. Jeremiah is bitter (If you have ever taken an aspirin or other pill you might have noticed a nasty taste, that is bitter) and his mouth is filled with “wormwood”. The word translated “wormwood” is related to the word for “curse”. It is usually translated “wormwood” but the idea seems to be bitter. In that case Jeremiah is using repetition to tell us how nasty his life “tastes” to him. In verse 16 he feels like God has nocked all of his teeth out and is rubbing his face in the dirt. In verse 17 he tells us he has no peace and he has forgotten what it was like to be happy. In verse 18 he tells us he has no strength left and no hope in Yahweh.

In verse 19 his prayer turns around. He had spent his whole life trying to get the Israelites to repent, turn around, and honor God with their actions. Now his words are turning around and he asks God to think about his troubles and feelings. Deep down he tells us that his soul (the part of us that feels and thinks and desires) remembers God and is bowing down to God (bowing was a sign of respect, honor and worship). IN verse 22 he tells us that he remembers and has hope again. In verse 22-25 we see what he remembers that has given him hope. In verse 22 he remember Yahweh’s “loving kindness”. Different translations use different words here (one says “great love” another says “steadfast love”) to translate a Hebrew word “hesed”. The main idea behind “hesed” is faithfulness to a promise. It also contains ideas like duty and honor. In verse 22 we are told that Yahweh’s ‘loving kindness” never fails or ends. God will fulfill all of his promises. The verse also tells us that “compassion” will not fail. The word used here is sometimes translated “mercy” or “pity”. It is even translated as “womb”. The idea here is the loving protecting feelings and actions of a mother for her little baby. In verse 23 we are told that God’s faithfulness and mercy are new every morning. God never stops caring, his faithfulness in enormous. In verse 25 Jeremiah tells us that the Yahweh is his portion. This means that God is his part. Some like to stress that God sort of belongs to him but I like to look at what it means to have God on your side. The rest of the verse tells us that Jeremiah’s hope is back and that it is because Yahweh is in his life providing for him. Verse 25 seems to continue this idea. If we wait on God (to take care of us) we will have good in our lives. But this only happens to those who are looking for and truing to follow God.

In verse 26 Jeremiah tells us that it is good to wait quietly for God to save us. He may have been thinking about being saved from his life on the run and going home to Jerusalem. In verse 27 he talks about a person “bearing the yoke” when he is young. The yoke could be the problems that come our way in life but in verse 28 he tells us that the trouble is specifically from God. Since Jeremiah has been depressed and complaining about the destruction of Jerusalem, an event we are specifically told was punishment from God on the people of Judah, we should understand that the “yoke” he is talking about here is the trouble that comes into our lives from following God. Remember that Jeremiah had been faithful to God, serving him as the kingdom of Judah fell apart around him. The place and people he cared about most and had served all of his life was destroyed. In verse 29 Jeremiah says something like, “maybe you should just put your face on the ground, maybe there is some hope”. We know he started out this section with hope because God is faithful and has made promises. I think verse 27-29 are a picture of a person trusting God from his younger days and throughout his life. When trouble finally comes the person needs to bow down and continue to honor and trust God; that is where hope will come from.

Some Bible experts think that the silence in verses 26 and 28 mean that we never complain and that we will only have hope if we don’t. Jeremiah has just done a lot of complaining in the beginning of this poem, and in fact we see a lot of complaining in the Psalms and Job too. In Job 42:7 Yahweh (LORD) scolds one of Job’s friends for the things he has been saying and tells the friend that he has painted an incorrect picture of God unlike Job who has spoken correctly about God. In Job 38:1 God does challenge Job about what he has been saying because Job didn’t have the whole picture (words without knowledge, in this case a full understanding). God then goes on to show Job that he alone has the whole picture; only Yahweh knows enough to make all the hard calls; all the big decisions about history. There are two points we should get from this, first Job needed to trust God and not worry about the details. Second, in relationship to Jeremiah’s suggestion to be quiet, Job is never told he should not have complained. In Psalm 4 David uses the same word used in Lamentations 3:28. In Psalm 4:1 David calls to God and encourage him to answer him. He tells us that God has “relieved him in his distress”, the words here mean something like “you have helped me out of a tight place”. David was chosen by God to be the second king of Israel but the first king was still in office. The first king chased David all over the territory trying to kill him. David was superior in every way but he would not kill the first king, who had also been put into power by God. He would wait for God to make room for him. In verse 4 David gives this advise, “Tremble but do not sin; Think about God when you are trying to sleep and be still.” In verse 5 he then tells us to give God a gift by doing what is right and trust Yahweh to take care of the rest. The word “still’ in verse 4 is the same word for “silent” in Lamentations 3:28 and the word “silent” in Lamentations 3:26 is a related word. David didn’t sit around “silently” waiting for God to act he let God know how he felt, so did Job, and so did Jeremiah. I think the point is found in Psalm 4:5 when David tells us to do what is right and trust in God. That is the point in Job too, trust that God know and cares. I think that is what Jeremiah is saying here in Lamentation 3. We need to share our thoughts, fears, cares, and feelings with God, even if they seem harsh toward Him. By talking to God in this way it shows that we know that he is there and that he cares. If we have a clear picture of who God is and what he can do (Like Job got in Job 38-41) sharing our feeling with him can lead to peace and stillness and hope.

In verses 30-37 Jeremiah lists some of the things in life that seem unfair; beatings, rejections, sadness; but he remembers the character of God; faithfulness, fairness, power; then in verse 37 he reminds us that Yahweh is in control, nothing happens without him letting it happen.

In verse 37 Jeremiah uses the word “command” and in verse 38 he tells us that “both good and ill come from God’s mouth”. Many people believe that this means that every action by every human being is directly controlled by God. James gives us another look at that idea though. In James 1:13-15 we are told that God never temps anyone to do evil (let alone force them to do it) but that we sin (act in ways that dishonor, disrespect, disobey, or displease God) when we are tempted by our own inner feeling and follow them.   God didn’t force Adam and Eve to disobey him he just told them the rule. The chose to disobey him completely on their own ( I know the devil challenged them but it was they who looked and thought and decided and acted). God is completely in control but that control involves allowing us to make choices and suffer consequences or enjoy the good.

Jeremiah even hints at this in verse 39-40 when he says, “Why should we complain we are the ones who sin (disobey)?” He then suggests that instead of complaining we should look at our sin, turn back to Yahweh. Remember after complaining in verse 1-18 he “remembered in verse 20” and what he remembered is that God is loving and kind and faithful (“hesed”).

We need remember or learn who God is, what he is like, what he is doing, and especially remember what he has done; really done, not what we thing he has done or not done. In the end we need to trust who he is, like Job did. God is a loving, kind, fair creator and ruler who has plans to give the Israelites a good and rich life. And he wants all people to share in that great kingdom of which he will be king for all eternity. God is actually working in and through history to bring as many people into that kingdom as possible. We need to trust him for that and for all the details of or live in between. We can and should share or complaints and concerns with God, look for his answers if they are there and trust him for the ones that are not. He became a man and died a cruel death for us so we could share in his goodness for all eternity, the least we can do is trust him and do what is right in his eyes each day until then.

God help me trust you and in you. Let me be still but thank you that I don’t have to be silent. You told us that we could boldly come to you through Jesus. Thank you for that privilege. Thank you that I can talk to you and share my concerns with you. Thank you for making the story so clear. You are faithful and in that I can have hope, even in the darkness when I am being torn apart. Give me peace and hope. And my my life always bring you honor.