▸ AUTHOR: The universal consensus of early Jewish and Christian tradition attributes this book to Jeremiah. Even though the author is unnamed in the book, the superscription to Lamentations in the Septuagint states: “And it came to pass, after Israel had been carried away captive and Jerusalem had become desolate, that Jeremiah sat weeping, and lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem saying. . . .” The Talmud, as well as many other ancient sources, also supports this position.
▸ TIME: c. 586 B.C.
▸ KEY VERSES: Lam. 3:22–23
▸ THEME: A lament is a vehicle for working through sorrow. While grief is expressed in words, its resolution is in God and the hope He gives for the future. In a way, the lamentation process is one of coming to grips with all that God wants us to see about our present circumstances. For the people of Judah to lose a country meant not only the loss of the homeland, but the loss of God’s presence and power to sustain the people in that land. It is hard for people who have never experienced such loss to understand the depth of grief expressed in this book.