| Author: Probably Jeremiah Date: 586 B.C. Subject: The destruction of Jerusalem and exile of Israel. Theme: Turning Tragedy into Triumph. Timeline: 612 - Nineveh falls to Babylon. 605 - Babylon Defeats Egypt in the battle of Carchemish. 605 - Jerusalem�s key officials taken captive into Babylon. (Daniel and Friends) 597 - Ten thousand Israelites led into captivity. (Ezekiel) 586 - Jerusalem & Temple Completely Destroyed. 585-535 - Lamentations Written. The Circumstances Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, fell to Babylonian hordes in 612 B.C. As a result of the battle, the entire Assyrian empire had been destroyed. Egypt challenged the Babylonians for the right to be the next world rulers in the battle of Carchemish. This took place in 605 B.C., and King Neco and his army were defeated by the forces of Nebuchadnezzar. The newly founded empire could not risk any more threats from surrounding nations so as a preventative, key officials (both political and religious) were among the first to be taken into Babylonian captivity in 605 B.C. Eight years later, in 597 B.C., 10,000 Jews would be led into captivity where, once again, they would serve as slaves. The situation looked bleak for Israel, but they still had their city, they still had their temple, and they still had Jeremiah there to offer them the hope of salvation if they would repent of their sins. Illustrating his message with a clay jar, Jeremiah warned the people that if they were too hard to be molded by his hand they would be shattered on the rocks. They lived in fear and anguish but still refused to turn to God, and so he handed them over to their sin. They would indeed be shattered. In 586 the city was completely destroyed. The walls and buildings were brought down along with the temple, and the destruction of Jerusalem was complete. The Message It was common for Jews to write a dirge following the death of a loved one. Lamentations is a dirge written for the death of a city and a nation. Each of the five chapters is written as an acrostic using the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, repeated 3 times in ch. 3 for a total of 7 dirges from �Aleph� to �Thau.� The original Hebrew name for the book is �Aykaw� or �How!� which is the first word of chapters 1,2, and 4. Jeremiah describes his pain in spine-chilling metaphorical language. . . �He has broken my teeth with gravel; He has made me cower in the dust . . . My strength has perished, and so has my hope from the Lord� (3:16-18). These words well represent the mood of the book, but 3:20-26 stand out in the alphabet of gloom as an oasis in the desert. In an emotional explosion of spiritual triumph Jeremiah cries out, �The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases! His mercies never come to an end! They are new every morning! Great is thy faithfulness!� Israel has rejected God. Jeremiah had spent the last 40 years warning them of the coming consequences of their sin, and now those consequences have arrived. The grain of hope that God allows his children in this flood of despair is the reminder that �God is good to those who wait for Him.� The Relevance Satan loves to flood the Christian mind with misery, cynicism, and confusion. When he engulfs us in a flood of sorrow he moves us to believe that we are beyond hope, beyond salvation. Rather than turning to God for deliverance from our trials, Satan influences us to reject His lordship and blame Him for our suffering. Only when we are without God are we truly without hope, as Paul wrote, �God is faithful; he will not let you be tested beyond what you can bear. But when you are tested, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it� (1Cor.10:13) (The Greek word �peirazo� is better translated �tested� than �tempted�). Faith and hope involve trusting in God to provide the �way out� as he promised he would do. Peter and Judas were both tested in a similar way on the same night. They both denounced their Lord. They both suffered severe mental anguish for what they had done. Judas collapsed under his anxiety and hung himself, but Peter was �sifted like wheat� and made a stronger and purer man by coming through the trial and returning to His Lord. Whether or not they come as a result of our personal sin, we can expect that tests will come. When they do, may God provide you with the strength of Spirit with which he strengthened Jeremiah to cry out to God, �Great is thy faithfulness!� |
| Lamentations |
| "'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul. Therefore I will hope in Him!" |
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