Day 303

Lamentations 3:1-66; Hebrews 1:1-14; Psalm 102:1-28; Proverbs 26:21-22

YESTERDAY WE BEGAN new books in the Old and New Testaments. We read Philemon in one sitting and finished our discussion. Now, let’s orient ourselves to the strange and mournful territory we’ve wandered into in the Old Testament.

The book of Lamentations is composed of five poems of lament over the fall and destruction of Jerusalem. Try to imagine the magnitude of the soul-wrenching emotion from which these dirges are coming from. Jerusalem was lost. The Temple of the almighty God had been destroyed. Fire consumed the city. Ash was in the air. Blood ran down the streets. In Hebrew, this book is called Ekah, which means “How?” or “How could this happen?”*

Of course, we know that it did happen, because the Babylonians finally breached the wall of Jerusalem and destroyed the city. Archaeological evidence of this conquest can still be found in Jerusalem today.

How it could happen was largely the subject matter covered in the prophecies of Jeremiah. The prophet warned for decades of the impending doom that would befall God’s people if they did not turn from their wicked ways. Now —in Lamentations —the prophecies have come true.

Lamentations doesn’t reveal its author within the text. Traditionally, the book has been attributed to Jeremiah. This is one of the reasons why Lamentations follows Jeremiah in the Bible. Scholars have debated this for centuries, offering many compelling theories in favor of Jeremiah, as well as many compelling reasons why he couldn’t be the author. There is a general consensus on one thing, though: whoever wrote Lamentations was likely an eyewitness to the destruction of the Holy City.

The Babylonians conquered and utterly destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC. Lamentations was likely written shortly thereafter.

Today in Jewish culture, on the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, Lamentations is read on a day of fasting to commemorate the fall of Jerusalem. The reading of each poem provides a backdrop for deep personal reflection.

Lamenting is never an easy thing. Grief is hard —but it also washes us clean. It strips us down until all that is left is the bedrock of our lives. Although this process is intensely painful, it is also freeing. When we have fallen to the depths of sadness, there is hope for our future. Lamenting helps us give language to suffering and let go of who we once were to begin anew. We will find this in the book of Lamentations —and we can find this in our own lives as we delve into these words.

MEDITATION:

The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.