Have you ever experienced the consequences of a poor choice? Like being grounded because you skipped a few math assignments? Or finding out the hard way that you can be arrested for vandalizing a teacher’s car? Lamentations is a collection of mournful poems expressing how distressed, disturbed and tormented the people of Judah felt in their captivity. They looked back and realized how foolish they had been to go against God’s ways. There’s a powerful lesson in Lamentations for everyone: Think first. After you’ve made a wrong choice, there’s often nothing you can do to avoid agonizing consequences.
The writer of this poem knows that God is punishing him for his sins (Lamentations 3:1). And he wonders: Is there any hope for a person who has done wrong? Will God punish me forever? The answer comes in Lamentations 3:25–27. Even if you’ve done wrong and are suffering for it, you can still have hope. God “is good to those whose hope is in him” (Lamentations 3:25), and he will forgive you and give you another chance as well. The writer warns that you may have to live through some hard times while you wait for that next chance to come (Lamentations 3:26). But don’t give up. Keep on hoping in God, and he will be good to you.
Lamentations
You Feel Terrible!
The Jews felt awful after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and God’s temple. They realized it was their fault.