College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Lamentations 1:1-7
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
A WIDOWED CITY
Chapter one of Lamentations has two major divisions. In Lamentations 1:1-11 the prophet laments the present condition of Zion. Twice in this unit the prophet alludes to his own personal agony over the destruction of Jerusalem (cf. Lamentations 1:9; Lamentations 1:11). In Lamentations 1:12-22 the city itself laments over its condition. Both units end in prayers which call upon God to take note of the plight of Zion and to execute vengeance upon the enemies of Zion. The entire chapter is written in acrostic style, every fourth line beginning with a new letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
I. A LAMENT OVER THE CITY Lamentations 1:1-11
The prophet's lament over the condition of Jerusalem moves through three stages. Lamentations 1:1-7 contain a lengthy description of the present condition of Jerusalem and of her former inhabitants. This description is followed by an explanation of the present condition in Lamentations 1:8-9 b. The lament closes with a prayer which calls upon God to take note of the plight of His people.
A. Description of the Present condition Lamentations 1:1-7
TRANSLATION
(1) How sad that the city, once filled with people, sits alone; that she who was great among the nations has become like a widow; that she who was a princess among the provinces has become a vassal. (2) She weeps bitterly by night, tears on her cheek; she has no one to comfort her among all her lovers; all her friends have dealt treacherously against her, becoming her enemies. (3) Judah has gone captive out of affliction and great servitude; she dwells among the nations but finds no resting place; all her pursuers have overtaken her in the straits. (4) The roads to Zion mourn because no one comes to the appointed feasts; all her gates are desolate, her priests sigh continually, her maidens are sorrowful and she herself is in bitterness. (5) Her foes have become her head, her enemies are happy because the LORD has made her suffer because of the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone into captivity before the foe. (6) From the daughter of Zion all beauty has departed. Her princes have become like harts that cannot find a pasture; they have fled without strength before the pursuer. (7) In the days of her affliction and wanderings Jerusalem remembers all the precious things which were hers from days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the foe and there was no one to help her; the foe watched, gloating over her demise.
COMMENTS
Jeremiah's lament over Jerusalem begins with the exclamation how or how sad, a word frequently used to begin a funeral dirge.[440] Jerusalem is personified as a widowed princess who sits alone in the night weeping over the death of her husband and children. The loneliness of widowhood is emphasized in this lament. The once populous city is now empty. That city which had once enjoyed no small degree of notoriety among the nations is now obscure. The proud princess of provinces has been reduced to the state of abject poverty and slavery (Lamentations 1:1). Every night the widowed city weeps over her plight but she has no one to wipe the tears from her cheek. Her lovers (political allies) and her friends (neighboring nations) have deserted her. Those who had once courted her assistance and who had so willingly offered themselves to her have now become her most bitter enemies (Lamentations 1:2). The children of Zion have been carried away captive by the Chaldeans and now dwell on foreign soil. Even though this deportation was in a sense a relief from afflictionthe miseries of war, famine and pestilenceand servitudethe bitter bondage to cruel oppressors like Necho (2 Kings 23:33) and Nebuchadnezzarstill the children of Zion found no real rest. Living among Gentiles they find themselves plagued by worry and doubt, depressed by homesickness, surrounded by idolatry, tormented by the realization that their God has inflicted this great punishment upon them because of their spiritual rebellion. From this captivity there is no escape. This is the point of the figurative expression all her pursuers have overtaken her in the straits. Narrow mountain passes make it almost impossible for a fugitive to escape from those who would pursue him. So also is escape only a remote possibility for those living in foreign exile (Lamentations 1:3).
[440] See Lamentations 2:1; Lamentations 4:1; Isaiah 1:21: Jeremiah 48:17.
In Lamentations 1:4-5 Jeremiah points to the fact that Zion exists in a widowed state spiritually. The roads leading to Zion are said to weep because pilgrims no longer travel them. The solemn festivals of the law of Moses were no longer observed for the city had been destroyed. The city gates, which formerly had bustled with business, now lie desolate. The priests mourn because they can no longer sing their beautiful hymns or play their instruments (Psalms 68:24-25) in the Temple (Lamentations 1:4). The enemies of Zion now have the upper hand. They mockingly rejoice over the misfortune which Jerusalem has experienced. Even little children have suffered at the hands of the cruel oppressor as they have been forced to walk that long, weary road to exile. Why does Zion suffer and her enemies prosper? Jerusalem's troubles are due to the multitude of her transgressions. Zion's God in righteous indignation has inflicted these penalties upon His people.
The widowed daughter of Zion is ugly, weak and helpless. All her beautythat which made her the envy of other nationsis gone. The princes of the nation are so destitute of strength that they are compared to wild harts which can find no pasture. Unable to withstand the pursuers the princes have fled (Lamentations 1:6). The weakened and widowed condition of Jerusalem is aggravated by the bitter recollections of past privileges. She remembers the precious things, the gracious gifts which the Lord had bestowed upon her when she dwelt within her own land. Since Jerusalem had despised both the gifts and the Giver she was forced to enter into a period of affliction and wanderings. But no one commiserates with her in her agony. Her former friends, having become her foes, gloat over the demise and downfall of Zion (Lamentations 1:7). One of the miseries of sin in this world and hell in the next will be the constant recollection of the days when one enjoyed the blessings and graces of God.