Read
The Punishment
The Prophet Speaks:
1The purest gold is ruined
and has lost its shine;
jewels from the temple
lie scattered in the streets.
2These are Zion's people,
worth more than purest gold;
yet they are counted worthless
like dishes of clay.
3Even jackals nurse their young,
but my people are like ostriches
that abandon their own.
4Babies are so thirsty
that their tongues are stuck
to the roof of the mouth.
Children go begging for food,
but no one gives them any.
5All who ate expensive foods
lie starving in the streets;
those who grew up in luxury
now sit on trash heaps.
6 My nation was punished worse
than the people of Sodom,
whose city was destroyed
in a flash without the help
of human hands.
7The leaders of Jerusalem
were purer than snow
and whiter than milk;
their bodies were healthy
and glowed like jewels.
8Now they are blacker than tar,
and no one recognizes them;
their skin clings to their bones
and is drier than firewood.
9Being killed with a sword
is better than slowly
starving to death.
10 Life in the city is so bad
that loving mothers have boiled
and eaten their own children.
11The Lord was so fiercely angry
that he burned the city of Zion
to the ground.
12Not a king on this earth
or the people of any nation
believed enemies could break
through her gates.
13Jerusalem was punished because
her prophets and her priests
had sinned and caused the death
of innocent victims.
14Yes, her prophets and priests
were covered with blood;
no one would come near them,
as they wandered
from street to street.
15Instead, everyone shouted,
“Go away! Don't touch us!
You're filthy and unfit
to belong to God's people!”
So they had to leave
and become refugees.
But foreign nations told them,
“You can't stay here!”
16The Lord is the one
who sent them scattering,
and he has forgotten them.
No respect or kindness
will be shown
to the priests or leaders.
17Our eyes became weary,
hopelessly looking
for help from a nation
that could not save us.
18Enemies hunted us down
on every public street.
Our time was up;
our doom was near.
19They swooped down faster
than eagles from the sky.
They hunted for us in the hills
and set traps to catch us
out in the desert.
20The Lord's chosen leader
was our hope for survival!
We thought he would keep us safe
somewhere among the nations,
but even he was caught
in one of their traps.
21You people of Edom
can celebrate now!
But your time will come
to suffer and stagger
around naked.
22The people of Zion
have paid for their sins,
and the Lord will soon
let them return home.
But, people of Edom,
you will be punished,
and your sins exposed.
Reflect
Judah’s end was drawn out. The first exiles went to Babylon in 605 bc; this chapter depicts the siege which culminated in the fall of the city and the capture of Zedekiah in 587 (v 20). The descriptions are by now familiar: the slow death by starvation (v 9), the inability of mothers to feed their young (v 4), the rich reduced to living skeletons (vv 7,8), the religious leaders ritually unclean (vv 13–15), the ancient equivalent of snipers making movement dangerous (v 18). The war in Syria brings images like these to our TV screens 2,600 years later.
Other nations are in view throughout Lamentations. Although God is acting in judgment, Babylon is responsible for bringing it about (the ‘pursuers’ of v 19 were the Babylonian soldiers). Others have failed to come to their aid (Lamentations 1:19). Edom, Israel’s neighbours to the east and long-term enemies, exulted over her downfall (vv 21,22) and will in turn be held accountable for their actions. They have blood on their hands. The vengeance which the writer longed for yesterday will be meted out, but not by Israel, for it is God’s prerogative.
Hebrew thought sees God as the ultimate author of all, but it also sees humans as responsible agents. There are questions around divine sovereignty and human responsibility which we long to resolve; Scripture seems content to live with the tension, assuring us that both are true.
In the end, God’s nature ensures that justice will prevail and love will win, and that is what verse 22 affirms. It is sometimes hard to believe that God rules over world events, but that does not mean it is untrue. One day it will be universally recognized (Philippians 2:10,11).
Respond
Lord God Almighty, you are king over everything. As we see pictures on TV of some of the horrific things that are going on in the world, we pray that your kingdom will come and your will be done, even though that is sometimes hard to believe. Through Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray exactly this. Amen.
First used in Encounter with God April-June 2015, written by John Grayston, copyright Scripture Union. Used with kind permission.
John Grayston
John is now retired after 37 years on the Scripture Union England and Wales staff, but still writes, teaches and preaches. He has two children and seven grandchildren and his hobbies are skiing, hill-walking, photography and gardening.