The core of Lamentations

Introduction

The book of Lamentations consists of five songs. These songs were written shortly after the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC. The fifth song is possibly of a slightly later date, as it differs from the others in several respects. Tradition holds that the author was Jeremiah. This is quite possible. The language of Jeremiah's prophecies and Lamentations share many similarities. It is also notable that, unlike many other prophecies, Jeremiah places the prophecies of salvation in the middle of his book, and in Lamentations, too, the middle song holds a special position, as we will see.
The destruction of the temple was a profound event for the Jews. The temple was the dwelling place of God. And they did not believe that God would allow the enemies to destroy the temple. For then, the enemies might think their gods were stronger than the God of Israel. Many false prophets also indicated this. But the unbelievable happened nonetheless. The Babylonians besiege Jerusalem, ultimately capturing it and destroying the temple. This was a profound event in Israel's history, and the disappointment and sorrow resonate clearly in Lamentations.

De opbouw van Klaagliederen

The structure of Lamentations can be seen as a nut with a precious core. To reach that core, the shell must be cracked, but within it lies something very valuable.
The outer shell consists of the first and last songs. These two songs have related themes. For example, in the first song, Jerusalem is described as a woman. A widow (1:1), a princess who has fallen into slavery (1:1), a woman whose lovers are hostile to her (1:2). In the last song, it is the children who speak. Their mothers have become widows (5:3). Furthermore, there is a strong emphasis on the fact that the inhabitants of Jerusalem must now live among foreign nations. They are driven into hardship (1:3). The enemies are lords and masters (1:5). In the fifth song, we see the other side of the coin: foreigners have taken possession of Jerusalem (5:2). A third point of similarity is the mention of the sins of the people. Grave sins are the cause of Jerusalem's misery (1:8). Sins weigh heavily like a yoke (1:14, 22). Jerusalem is an unclean woman (1:9, 17). The fifth song speaks of the guilt incurred by the sin of the ancestors (5:7).
The second layer consists of the second and fourth songs. These songs also contain related themes. These songs indicate that God has turned against His people as an enemy (2:4ff.; cf. 4:11). Children and infants, in particular, are victims of the famine in Jerusalem that preceded the fall (2:11-12, 20, 22; cf. 4:4, 10). The leaders, the prophets, and the priests are to blame (2:14; cf. 4:13-16). The enemies watch and rejoice (2:16, 22; cf. 4:18, 21).
Attention is also drawn to the middle song in another way. The first, second, and fourth songs are composed using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. They are acrostics. The fifth song is not an acrostic, but it does have the number of verses corresponding to the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet, namely 22. The third song, however, uses each letter of the Hebrew alphabet three times, thus having 66 verses.
The middle song differs thematically from the others. While the other songs explicitly speak of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, we find virtually no direct references to this tragedy in this chapter. The reason is clear: the poet does not want to dwell on history, but rather draw lessons for all believers.

The structure of the third song

The third song consists of three clearly distinguishable sections, all roughly equal in length.
The feelings described in the first section (3:1-20) are intense. God is absent. In fact, God is described as an enemy turned against him. He lives in darkness. The light has disappeared. It's as if he's in prison. With walls around him. A little further on, it becomes even more intense. God is like a bear, like a lion, searching for him as if he were prey. And perhaps worst of all: even when he cries out to God, God doesn't listen. God has closed His ears to his prayer.
At the beginning of the second section (3:21-26), the word "hope" appears three times. This is the first time we encounter it in Lamentations. And this word is found only in the middle section of the third song. We see a poet who doesn't dwell on the miserable situation of the moment but looks ahead. He has placed his hope in God. For He is gracious and merciful. In another translation, this is rendered as gracious and compassionate. The poet knows that God will look after him, even though he doesn't deserve it. How does he know this? He must know it from experience. The poet draws courage from his past experience that God will continue to look after him despite everything. In Dutch, the word "hope" quickly makes us think of something far from certain. But that is not the biblical meaning of the word. It is about a firm confidence that God will truly see and intervene. A certainty based on trust in God. We must wait on God, knowing that He surely sees our misery and will intervene. If we continue to expect it from God, we will not be disappointed. That is what is being said here. The end of this section contains two remarkable conclusions. The first is that even evil is used by God to teach us something. The second is that when things go wrong, we are called to examine ourselves. We must realize that this song is an emotional appeal from a poet, not a theological reflection. But it does make clear that God wants to use everything that happens in our lives to direct our lives and bring us closer to Him. God wants to use everything that happens to us to strengthen our relationship with Him. To bring us where He wants us. And if anything stands between us and God, God can use setbacks to point it out to us. So that we can bring order to our lives.
When we read the beginning of the third section (from 3:43), it seems as if nothing has changed. As if the poet is once again lamenting his fate. He speaks of enemies, of the fate of the daughters of his people. And again, we read that God is invisible, hidden in a cloud, so that no prayer reaches Him. Many things mentioned here seem to repeat texts from the first section. However, if we read carefully, we see a significant difference. In the first section, the poet consistently speaks of himself. It's always about "I." In the first 20 verses, every verse contains the word "I," "me," or "mine." The second section of this song is about the Lord (3:22-26 and 31-40). But here in the third section, we see the poet addressing God directly (3:43-45 and 51-66). There is a clear development in this song. First, the poet laments himself. Then he realizes that God is gracious and merciful and has saved him before. And then, in the third section, we see the poet turn directly to God. Here, the poet acknowledges that God has been near. That He has heard the poet's voice. God has seen the misery the poet is in. And so, he can look to the future. If there is a way out of his current situation, He now expects it from God. He is no longer without hope, but his hope is completely placed in God.
As already indicated, the poet of Lamentations is probably Jeremiah. And then it is striking that in this third song, he draws on experiences from his own life. He speaks of imprisonment. Of the feeling of being in a pit. From Jeremiah's prophecies, we know that he was indeed imprisoned twice because people refused to accept his prophecy. And that he was once thrown into a pit because they wanted to kill him. Fortunately, there was no water left in the well. And he was pulled out again a day later. It's clear that Jeremiah is referring to these experiences in this third song. And that he now draws courage from them, knowing that God hears him and will save him. Even when the situation is now extremely dark and he sees no way out.
This is made clear once again in a special way in the third song. The first, second, and fourth songs begin with the word "How?" With a question. The third song begins with the word "I" and concludes with the name of God, Yahweh. The poet begins by describing his own misery. But he ends with a vision of God.

The center of the center of the center

An Israeli professor (Dr. Yael Ziegler) pointed out what she calls the center of the center of the center of Lamentations. The center is the third song, the center of this song is the second part, and the core of this second part is the following verse:

It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth (3:27).

The poet's primary goal is to deliver a message to posterity. He doesn't want to dwell on the misery of the destruction of Jerusalem, the temple, and the exile. No, he wants to show that he has learned that even in this misery, God wants nothing more than for everyone to draw closer to Him. And in that respect, he has a special message for young people. It is good for them to learn to bear their yoke.
It is especially important when we are young that we learn to see how God wants to work in our lives. If we learn to trust God in the smaller things, we will be able to do the same later when greater problems arise. And here we see the heart of Lamentations. Jeremiah wants to pass on his experiences of trusting God to the generations after him. He has learned to trust God in all circumstances, and he wants to encourage young people to do the same.

Bas Krins