Section IV The Song of a Ruined Kingdom

Lamentations 4:1-22

This poem is a song of contrasts. It compares the former glory of the kingdom of Judah, as represented by Jerusalem, to its present wretched condition. Jeremiah was an eyewitness to the terrible disaster of 587-586B.C., when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians. One can feel the throb of sorrow that prevailed during the siege, and that followed the demolition of the city. The poem is an alphabetic acrostic like cc. 1 and 2 with the exception that the stanzas here have two lines instead of three. The sin of Judah is the most prominent theme in the chapter. This idea is not entirely lacking in the preceding chapters but it is now set forth as the primary reason for the collapse of the kingdom. The magnitude of Judah's sin is dealt with in 1-12, and the consequences of her sin is the theme of 13-22. Thus the moral reasons for Judah's fate are uppermost in the poet's mind.

A. THE DEGRADING POWER OF SIN, 4:1-12

The depths to which Judah and Jerusalem had fallen can be traced to rebellious hearts. The descriptions here reveal the degradation into which a nation can fall when its moral foundations are removed. The wail of the prophet as he laments over the glory of the Judah that once was, and the devastated condition in which he sees her now, is enough to break the heart. “How are the mighty fallen!”

The poet sings a dirge over the unbelievable change that has come to this once proud nation and its capital, How is the gold become dim! (1) Blackened and tarnished, the golden city lies in a desolate ash heap. He bewails the utter ruin of the Temple—The stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street; i.e., scattered all over the city. The youth of the nation, the hope of its ongoing life, lie dead in the streets. In life they were comparable to fine gold, (2); now they are mere lumps of clay, like broken pitchers on the refuse heap of the potter!

The mothers of Judah, deranged from suffering, treat their babies worse than the wild animals treat their young. Despite the fact that sea monsters (3; better “jackals”) are violent beasts of prey, yet they do not forget their offspring. Although ostriches are notorious for being neglectful and cruel to their young (Job 39:13-17), the mothers of Judah are even worse; they have become cruel (inhuman). With their motherly instincts dead, they let their nursing infants die for lack of nourishment. The younger children cry for bread (4), but no one takes note of their need. Women who were once clothed in scarlet (purple) and feasted on dainty food now wander aimlessly about the streets. They are reduced to circumstances in which they embrace dunghills (5) in their search for food.

Jerusalem has had a sadder fate than Sodom. That city was overthrown…in a moment (6) by the hand of God, but Jerusalem's punishment has been drawn out almost beyond endurance. The reference to Sodom emphasizes the magnitude of Jerusalem's guilt. She was the city that had had the Temple, the law, and the prophets. Since so much light and privilege had been hers, she deserved a severer punishment than Sodom. It must have been difficult for a Jewish poet to write v. 6, and it portrays in an unforgettable fashion Jeremiah's understanding of the degrading power of sin.

“Her princes”—rather than Nazarites (7)—once beautiful in appearance, well-fed, and popular with the people, are now in a lamentable condition. Their faces are “darker than blackness” (8, lit.); their names are forgotten; people do not recognize them, for they are but walking skeletons, shriveled and withered like a stick.

The condition of Judah and Jerusalem is so deplorable that those slain with sword (9) are better off than the living. The siege had deprived the living of even the bare necessities of life. Some pitiful women (10), driven by hunger, boiled their own children for food. No one would have thought that Jerusalem could have come to this! Even the kings of the earth (12) are astonished at the fate of this nation and city. Sin when it has run its course brings forth death (Jas. 1:15).

In 1-12 we see “Sin's Degrading Effects.” (1) Life's beauty goes, 1; (2) The resources of youth are lost, 2; (3) Womanhood sinks lower than the beasts of the field, 4-5, 10; (4) Sin's effects are greatest where light has been brightest, 6; (5) Even leaders become confused and broken men, 7; (6) Final punishment is frighteningly thorough, 11-12.

B. THE DEMORALIZING POWER OF SIN, 4:13-16

The responsibility for the ruin of Judah is laid squarely on the religious leaders of the nation.

This was for the sins of her prophets

and the iniquities of her priests (13, RSV).

It is in the lives of these men that we see the demoralizing power of sin. They could have saved the land from ruin. Instead, (1) Their teachings and their example crippled the moral life of the nation. (a) They could not discern between the voice of God and the voice of their own hearts. (b) They prophesied that which was false, saying, “Peace, peace; when there is no peace” (Jer. 6:14). (c) They succumbed to the pressure of the times and preached what the people wanted to hear; they did not expose the sins of the people, so that they could be healed (2:14). (d) They were afraid to stand up for the right; they placed popularity above righteousness. (e) They came to believe a lie to be the truth, and a truth a lie. Jeremiah had earlier thundered against these false leaders of the people (Jer. 5:31; 6:13; 23:11- 16), but they thwarted his every effort to influence the people toward genuine repentance.

(2) They were guilty of murder, perhaps not directly, but indirectly. Under the guise of religion, they shed the blood of the just in the midst of the nation (13). Their counsel and influence had brought about the death of the righteous (see Jer. 26:20-24). (3) There came a day when their world tumbled in on them. When the city of Jerusalem was destroyed, they became bewildered; They…wandered (staggered) as blind men in the streets (14). Their confusion was a result of the blindness of their hearts. They were not adequate for the emergencies of life. (4) Their sin found them out. Their masks came off when their predictions were proved false. Men then recognized them for what they were, vile and wretched impostors. It was their punishment to be treated as moral lepers. Men cried after them, Depart ye…unclean…depart…touch not (15). (5) They were driven from their own land by their own people. The curse of Cain rested on them. They wandered…among the heathen (15), but even here they were not wanted. (6) They suffered divine retribution; The anger of the Lord has scattered them (16). Despite the fact that they were priests and elders, no favor was granted them by either God or man. As the moral Governor of the universe, God took the responsibility to see that they were punished.

C. THE DECEIVING POWER OF SIN, 4:17-20

This section is an acknowledgment that the nation had put its confidence in the wrong place. The poet confesses for the people. Jeremiah is looking back to the time of the siege (17-18), the fall of the city (18), the flight of the king and his nobles (19), and the capture of Zedekiah (20).

The prophet declares that (1) the nation was deceived into placing its trust in foreign allies. We have watched for a nation that could not save us (17). Jeremiah, and other prophets, had warned Judah against putting her confidence in men, but the nation had rejected the word of the Lord and continued to rely on Egypt. Pharaoh had made an attempt on one occasion to come to the rescue of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 37), but the whole episode had been a sorry failure. The Psalmist had likewise cried, Vain is the help of man (Ps. 60:11), but it is amazing what people “fall for” when they are out of step with God.

(2) The nation had been deceived into thinking that it could successfully resist Babylon. Although Jeremiah had repeatedly proclaimed that God had delivered the Near East into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 25), the people of Judah would not believe. They continued to rebel until the city fell. Our days are fulfilled; for our end is come (18). (3) They were deceived into thinking that they could escape by fleeing. They pursued us upon the mountains (19). This apparently refers to the flight of Zedekiah and his princes (Jer. 39:4-7). When people begin to disobey God, they keep thinking that the next move will be the right one. It never is. (4) The nation was deceived into thinking that God's promises to the Davidic house were unconditional. They had completely misunderstood the character of God, and His methods of operation. Now they wail, The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, was taken in their pits (20). The reference here is to the capture of Zedekiah by the Babylonians in the “jungle” of the Jordan, and the end of the Davidic monarchy. The verse reveals the loyalty of the people of Judah to their royal house, but it also reveals that reliance upon man as the ultimate source of wisdom and strength is grievously misplaced.

D. THE DESTRUCTIVE POWER OF SIN, 4:21-22

Here is an example of how the sin of pride can destroy a nation. Edom (see map 1), although a descendant of Abraham and a kinsman of Judah, was always arrogant and haughty where Israel was concerned. Her pride reached classic proportions in her reaction to the fall of Jerusalem in 587-586 B.C. She herself had “played things smart.” She had collaborated with the enemy, betrayed her neighbors, and withheld her help from the needy. Taking advantage of the misfortune of her kinsman, she went so far as to annex some of Judah's territory (Ezek. 35:10-12). Now she rejoices with fiendish glee at the punishment of Judah, and her own escape from the horrors of war. But at the height of her exultation a voice is heard pronouncing her doom.

The beginning of 21 is sheer irony, Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom—i.e., have your fun now—the cup shall pass through unto thee. The reference is to the cup of God's fury as prophesied by Jeremiah (25:15-28). Thou shalt be drunken, and all the things that accompany drunkenness will be hers: shame, confusion, sorrow, and destruction.

In 22 the poet frankly confesses that Judah and Jerusalem have been severely punished at the hand of the Lord. But Judah has taken her punishment and it is over; The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished. For her a better day is coming; He will no more carry thee away into captivity. The implication is that Judah has a future but Edom has none. When Edom's day of punishment arrives, He will discover (uncover) thy sins. Edom will fall to rise no more (Obad. 18).