These are some materials I’m putting together for a study on Lamentations.
Introductory Questions:
What places, institutions, etc. might we think of as holding a symbolic place in our hearts and minds as did the city of Jerusalem to the Judahites?
Why do you think “the city” occupies such a central place in Lamentations? Can you think of other places in scripture where “city” is an important concept? Why do you think this might be so?
Have you ever felt “deserted,” “betrayed,” or “bitter”? Why? How did you express and deal with those feelings?
What do you think about the role of public lament in our culture? For example, what would a “service of lamentation” look like in one of our local churches? Why don’t we like to talk about or practice lament?
Some important background:
Lamentations is comprised of a group of poems concerning the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E. by the Babylonians. It is unclear who wrote these poems, although most scholars agree that the writer or writers probably had been left behind in the area of Jerusalem after its destruction. It has traditionally been held that the writer is the prophet Jeremiah.
Jerusalem had been seen as the spiritual, political and economic center of the kingdom of Judah. It was the location of a magnificent temple to God built by King Solomon. The destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians was the devastating culmination of a long war. Those of Judahs’ “brightest and best” who had not been killed in the war were deported to Bablyon (we get a glimpse of this practice in the book of Daniel). Those who remained in Judah after this “Babylonian exile” had been stripped of everything — their incomes, their dignity, their loved ones, and symbol of their national faith, the Temple.
These events were particularly devastating because of the history that preceded them. The nation of Israel had been united under Kings Saul, David and Solomon. After Solomon’s death, his sons divided the nation into two kingdoms, the Northern (Israel) and the Southern (Judah). An immediate reason for this division was that the tribes in the North rejected the heavy taxes levied by Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. Scripture also tells us that the division of the kingdom was God’s judgment for Solomon’s failure to rid the nation of idol worship. (See 1 Kings 12:30-43.) The Northern Kingdom, comprising ten of the original tribes of Israel, regularly engaged in alliances with other nations in contradiction to God’s commands. It was conquered by Assyria in 722 B.C.E.
The Southern Kingdom was comprised of the tribes of Benjamin and Judah. King David was a Judahite. God had promised that David’s kingdom would endure forever. In 2 Samuel 7:11-16, God spoke through the prophet Samuel, and gave this promise:
“Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.
The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’
Judah’s national identity, therefore, was as the chosen remnant of God through whom the Davidic kingdom, and with it the blessing of God, would endure forever. In this light, the destruction of Jerusalem by the pagan nation of Babylon was an inconceivable calamity. It seemed that God himself had forsaken his promises to his people.
Some Helpful Resources
F.W. Dobbs-Allsopp, Lamentations, “Interpretation” Commentary Series (John Knox Press 1989)
J. Andrew Dearman, Lamentations, NIV Application Commentary (Zondervan 2002)
The Baker Atlas of Christian History (Baker 2005)
One reply on “Lamentations: Introduction”
The first city that comes to mind is, Jerusalem. It seems significant that the Lord told the apostles not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Holy Spirit. Why? While I am not privy to the definitive answer, I do not think that the Holy Spirit would not “be able” to descend upon them separately, had they left.
In the Orthodox Church, the City of Jerusalem holds strong symbolic significance. For example, the following is read at Vespers of the fifth week of Great Lent:
I now lie wounded and lifeless,
As if I had left Jerusalem, the way of Thy Divine Commandments,
And had reached the Passions of Jericho,
Reveling in the impious glory of earthly pursuits.
As if my reasonings had become thieves
And robbed me of my garments of sonship by grace.
The priest came by, and seeing my corpse, passed me by;
The Levite too saw and departed.
But do Thou, O Lord, unspeakably Incarnate of the Virgin,
Bind up my wounds as if with healing ointment, O Christ God,
By the flood of blood and water which streamed Salvation from Thy side,
Join me to the heavenly choir,
Since Thou art compassionate.