20240303 Lamentations 1: What a Mess! We Lament our Sin
A few years ago, after church, Rachel’s phone was ringing. It was unusual for her Dad to call her at this time. As people were leaving the church building, I was finishing to turn lights off and lock doors. A few minutes later, Rachel was off the phone and in tears, she said, “Travis is dead.”
Travis was an incredible young man. He was 28 years old. He had been married for two years. He had a 9-month-old son who meant the world to him. This beautiful boy is now 4 years old. He is the spitting image of the dad he will never know. Travis was a beloved son, brother, and husband, and to us, cousin. One morning, Travis got up early to go on an ice-climbing adventure, a few hours later, he tragically fell to his death.
The Bible tells us to rejoice in all things. The Bible says that God works all things together for good for those who love him, but how is this for the good of his wife, child, parents, and other loved ones?
Why? How?
We will all have to face events that will lead to permanent changes in our lives. It can be that our parents inform us that we are going to move to a new city and we will have to leave our friends behind. We may get the horrible news of an accident that led to paralysis or death. Some of us will be fired. The guy or girl you like will not like you back. A spouse may ask for a divorce. Or, following such a long period of wanting to get pregnant, you may learn that you have had a miscarriage.
Words do not exist to make these situations okay. Change is coming or change has come, and we are left needing to adapt to the new normal. Even time does not have the power to ever make these events okay. Family, friendship, work, health, marriage, new life are all gifts from God. When they are taken away, there is real pain and grief. With time we learn to manage our grief, but it never truly goes away. Sometimes, the only exclamation that is appropriate, is “How!?”
There is a book of the Bible’s whose title in Hebrew is the exclamation, “How!” This is the exclamation we make when our hearts are troubled, and we are moved beyond words and cannot say anything more! The book of Lamentations has 5 chapters and 3 of them begin with “How?!”[i] How lonely! (ch 1) How the Lord in his anger (ch 2) How the gold has grown dim! (Ch 4)
God is a good and all-powerful and in his infinite wisdom he wants us to have a book called “How?!” We cry this out when horror strikes. With the collection of poems in Lamentations, the Lord gives us a road map to discover his hidden grace. When we find ourselves in a place of uttermost despair, the Lord meets us in our lament. With practice, we become more comfortable with despair, it can become a familiar pace to meet God.
We do not need to be taught how to cry. Mark Vroegop teaches that while to cry is human, to lament is Christian.[ii] In his book “Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy” Vroegop calls Lament a form of protest against evil and suffering. Lament is Christian because when we cry out to God, we cry out knowing that death, disease, suffering, and evil will not have the final word. Lament is the song we sing while we are between suffering and waiting for God to fulfill his glorious promises!
The book of Lamentations keeps our expectations realistic. On one hand Lamentations makes amazing statements about God and inspired the Great Hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness” but in the end of the book, the trauma is still unresolved. The exclamation, “How!?” remains. That is how life is, even when there is hope in God’s restoration (Lam 3:26, 4:22; 5:21-22). Our lives are messy. Our deaths will not neatly tie a bow by which all our earthly problems are solved. The book is called, “How!?” not “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”
Lamentations is made up of 5 poems. The first four are acrostic poems. This means that each verse begins with the following letter of the alphabet. You’ll notice that Lamentations 1, 2, 4, 5 have 22 verses because Hebrew has 22 letters. Lamentations 3 is the center of the book and has three verses per letter, so it has 66 verses. Going through the alphabet communicates that human suffering connected to the destruction of Jerusalem is total as it goes from A to Z.
Lamentations 5 gives up the acrostic poem almost to communicate that the author has lost his composure. The verses are shorter like they are rapid fire or staccato on a piano. The author cannot contain his pain. He can no longer stick to the style with which he began the book. And yet, there is movement in the book. The book moves from no hope at all in Lam 1, 2 to the confession of a great faith in Lam 3, and other hints of hopeful trust in the King who rules for ever and the plea for restoration (Lam 4:22; 5:21-22).[iii]
The book is about the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC, but it is for us. First, the Lament language occurs elsewhere in the Bible (Ps 6, 88, Exod 34:6f, Num 14:18; Ps 86:14; Ps 37) so it is not reserved for this event. Second, the shift from communal to individual lament in Lamentations shows this book is more than a collection of journal entries. They are poems that invite us as a community and as individuals to mourn, grieve, and worship.[iv]
Third, to this day, the book of Lamentations is read once a year in all Jewish communities to remember the destruction of the temple. Lamentations is part of the religious calendar. Fourth, for us, Lamentations is in our Bible. They were words written by people to God. In a mysterious way, they were inspired by God. They are now in our Bibles, so they are God’s words to us, that we get to voice them back at Him. And so, we begin our study.
My title for Lamentations 1 is “What a Mess, We need to Lament our Sin.” SIOS: (1) Life is a mess, (2) we are guilty in the mess, (3) and we are surrounded by sinners in the mess.
Application
Lam 1 invites us to bring our pain to the Lord. We need to remember the type of literature this is. It is not the voice of a prophet condemning God’s people. It is not a history book to teach us what happened. It is a deeply emotional cry for help that invites God’s people to acknowledge their misery. Suffering silently is not a virtue in Lamentations. You can bring all areas that trouble to the Lord.
From fear for our physical safety to our emotional struggles relational losses, even the fall of the system that holds up a society, Lam 1 invites us to bring our pain to the Lord. Whether it be, struggles with friendship at school or to get the grades you thought you deserved, or feeling left out in some friend groups, struggling physically with an illness, depression, or situations that seem beyond our control like a spouse who is no longer invested in the marriage, children who have walked away from the faith, the agony of not being able to conceive, navigating toxic relationships with aging parents, a tragic accident, or just struggling in an ongoing manner from being the victim in the past of sexual, physical, emotional, and spiritual abuse.
We can all take Lamentation 1 and be honest about the hardship we have and are enduring. But this is not an open invitation to become a group of complainers. Lament is a spiritual activity. As long as we complain to God, we are affirming that he is our God, and he is with us even in our darkest places.
Following the acknowledgement of misery, the author acknowledges Israel’s sin and God’s justice.
Application
We are guilty of sin and this application requires caution. We can say that we stand guilty in our misery without saying that every heartache we experience is the direct result of our own specific sin. Let’s hold this tension with two applications.
First we are sinners, and so we need to lament our sin. Lamenting even small sins shows how seriously we take our sin and value the forgiveness Jesus provides for sinners on the cross. We need to acknowledge and lament our sins.
Second, even when we are not responsible for a particular hardship, we still respond to the crisis as sinners.[v] Our response to other people’s sins is sinful. We use sinful coping mechanisms in response to suffering and undue stress. We escape with entertainment, slander, adult websites, self-entitlement, we retreat from people, and judge others. We experience misery as sinners. (RECAP) Sometimes like the people of Jerusalem, we are responsible. Other times, we endure it as sinners.
The text stresses also the sin of others. Throughout this poem, the author notes the posture of his enemies. With Jerusalem’s downfall, their enemies benefit and prosper (Lam 1:5). The enemies were mocking and rejoicing at Jerusalem’s downfall (Lam 1:7, 21). They plundered them (Lam 1:10). Of his enemies, the poet ends with “Now, let them be as I am (Lam 1:21).”
Application
If God judges all our sin, let him judge the sin of our enemies! When we read the Psalms, those that make us the least comfortable are called the imprecatory Psalms, like Lam 1:21-22. Imprecatory Psalms request that God judge our enemies. Lamentations 1 gives us the right framework for these kinds of prayer that can be appropriate. We highlight our misery. We humbly acknowledge our sin. We affirm God’s justice with us, and then demand his justice for all.
It is right to ask for judgment. Christians are a people who have been forgiven much and are called to forgive. We are prohibited from seeking revenge. The reason is that vengeance belongs to the LORD (Rom 12:19). If we hate our sin and the sin in others we will pray for justice and judgment. If we hate war crimes, we will ask for judgment on those who commit them. Our response to what is happening in Ukraine and Israel-Palestine, and elsewhere is asking God for mercy, and just judgment.
Our sin runs deep and so we can Lament our sinful thoughts, sinful emotions, and desires. Lament is a tool for our faith to begin a journey back to God. We can use the four movements: turn, complain, ask, trust.
Now this is the gospel from Lamentations 1. When someone is an innocent victim of great injustice we empathize and are so understanding when they grieve and even complain. Lamentations offers better news. Lamentation 1 is the cry not of an innocent person but of sinners who suffer for their sin. Therefore, Lament is for unworthy sinners to draw near to God, to voice our pain, frustration, restlessness in dealing with sin and its consequences. God is not just for those who have their act together, or just for the innocent victims. He is for you and me as we wrestle with our sins, he is for those we would consider the worst of sinners.
Jesus is a friend of sinners. This means, all can come to him. This means that a spouse who cheats and has to live with the consequences can lament and turn to God and experience his grace. This means a person who betrays close friends, the greedy father who lost the family savings on a risky investment, the parent who neglected his children, the rebellious child who disrespects her parent can turn to God and Lament.
The Guilty can lament. This is the offensive part of the gospel. It doesn’t seem right, the guilty deserve to suffer. This is the good news, the Guilty can call on the name of the Lord and know mercy, and have justice satisfied. This is Lamentations 1, an invitation to sinners like you and me to turn to God.
[i] BDB, 32.
[ii] Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019), 26.
[iii] Contra. Childs who writes, “the relation between the various chapters does not appear to estalish any progression of thought.” Brevard S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture (Philadelphia, PA: Fortress, 1979), 594.
[iv] Childs, Old Testament as Scripture, 594.
[v] Paul David Tripp’s Instruments in the Hand’s of the Redeemer.
Travis was an incredible young man. He was 28 years old. He had been married for two years. He had a 9-month-old son who meant the world to him. This beautiful boy is now 4 years old. He is the spitting image of the dad he will never know. Travis was a beloved son, brother, and husband, and to us, cousin. One morning, Travis got up early to go on an ice-climbing adventure, a few hours later, he tragically fell to his death.
The Bible tells us to rejoice in all things. The Bible says that God works all things together for good for those who love him, but how is this for the good of his wife, child, parents, and other loved ones?
Why? How?
We will all have to face events that will lead to permanent changes in our lives. It can be that our parents inform us that we are going to move to a new city and we will have to leave our friends behind. We may get the horrible news of an accident that led to paralysis or death. Some of us will be fired. The guy or girl you like will not like you back. A spouse may ask for a divorce. Or, following such a long period of wanting to get pregnant, you may learn that you have had a miscarriage.
Words do not exist to make these situations okay. Change is coming or change has come, and we are left needing to adapt to the new normal. Even time does not have the power to ever make these events okay. Family, friendship, work, health, marriage, new life are all gifts from God. When they are taken away, there is real pain and grief. With time we learn to manage our grief, but it never truly goes away. Sometimes, the only exclamation that is appropriate, is “How!?”
There is a book of the Bible’s whose title in Hebrew is the exclamation, “How!” This is the exclamation we make when our hearts are troubled, and we are moved beyond words and cannot say anything more! The book of Lamentations has 5 chapters and 3 of them begin with “How?!”[i] How lonely! (ch 1) How the Lord in his anger (ch 2) How the gold has grown dim! (Ch 4)
God is a good and all-powerful and in his infinite wisdom he wants us to have a book called “How?!” We cry this out when horror strikes. With the collection of poems in Lamentations, the Lord gives us a road map to discover his hidden grace. When we find ourselves in a place of uttermost despair, the Lord meets us in our lament. With practice, we become more comfortable with despair, it can become a familiar pace to meet God.
We do not need to be taught how to cry. Mark Vroegop teaches that while to cry is human, to lament is Christian.[ii] In his book “Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy” Vroegop calls Lament a form of protest against evil and suffering. Lament is Christian because when we cry out to God, we cry out knowing that death, disease, suffering, and evil will not have the final word. Lament is the song we sing while we are between suffering and waiting for God to fulfill his glorious promises!
The book of Lamentations keeps our expectations realistic. On one hand Lamentations makes amazing statements about God and inspired the Great Hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness” but in the end of the book, the trauma is still unresolved. The exclamation, “How!?” remains. That is how life is, even when there is hope in God’s restoration (Lam 3:26, 4:22; 5:21-22). Our lives are messy. Our deaths will not neatly tie a bow by which all our earthly problems are solved. The book is called, “How!?” not “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”
Lamentations is made up of 5 poems. The first four are acrostic poems. This means that each verse begins with the following letter of the alphabet. You’ll notice that Lamentations 1, 2, 4, 5 have 22 verses because Hebrew has 22 letters. Lamentations 3 is the center of the book and has three verses per letter, so it has 66 verses. Going through the alphabet communicates that human suffering connected to the destruction of Jerusalem is total as it goes from A to Z.
Lamentations 5 gives up the acrostic poem almost to communicate that the author has lost his composure. The verses are shorter like they are rapid fire or staccato on a piano. The author cannot contain his pain. He can no longer stick to the style with which he began the book. And yet, there is movement in the book. The book moves from no hope at all in Lam 1, 2 to the confession of a great faith in Lam 3, and other hints of hopeful trust in the King who rules for ever and the plea for restoration (Lam 4:22; 5:21-22).[iii]
The book is about the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC, but it is for us. First, the Lament language occurs elsewhere in the Bible (Ps 6, 88, Exod 34:6f, Num 14:18; Ps 86:14; Ps 37) so it is not reserved for this event. Second, the shift from communal to individual lament in Lamentations shows this book is more than a collection of journal entries. They are poems that invite us as a community and as individuals to mourn, grieve, and worship.[iv]
Third, to this day, the book of Lamentations is read once a year in all Jewish communities to remember the destruction of the temple. Lamentations is part of the religious calendar. Fourth, for us, Lamentations is in our Bible. They were words written by people to God. In a mysterious way, they were inspired by God. They are now in our Bibles, so they are God’s words to us, that we get to voice them back at Him. And so, we begin our study.
My title for Lamentations 1 is “What a Mess, We need to Lament our Sin.” SIOS: (1) Life is a mess, (2) we are guilty in the mess, (3) and we are surrounded by sinners in the mess.
Life is a Mess.
The poet uses vivid images to communicate the depth of suffering. He calls Jerusalem a widow and a slave (Lam 1:1). He calls her a promiscuous woman who feels deep shame (Lam 1:8-9). She is a wealthy person who must sell possessions to avoid starving. The text covers all kinds of suffering. It includes loneliness (Lam 1:1, 2, 9, 16, 17, 21), great distress (1:3, 4, 20), having no place to rest (Lam 1:3), no more feasts (Lam 1:4), bereavement (Lam 1:5, 20), deep sorrow (Lam 1:12), failure of leaders (Lam 1:4, 19), and hunger (1:11, 19, 20).Application
Lam 1 invites us to bring our pain to the Lord. We need to remember the type of literature this is. It is not the voice of a prophet condemning God’s people. It is not a history book to teach us what happened. It is a deeply emotional cry for help that invites God’s people to acknowledge their misery. Suffering silently is not a virtue in Lamentations. You can bring all areas that trouble to the Lord.
From fear for our physical safety to our emotional struggles relational losses, even the fall of the system that holds up a society, Lam 1 invites us to bring our pain to the Lord. Whether it be, struggles with friendship at school or to get the grades you thought you deserved, or feeling left out in some friend groups, struggling physically with an illness, depression, or situations that seem beyond our control like a spouse who is no longer invested in the marriage, children who have walked away from the faith, the agony of not being able to conceive, navigating toxic relationships with aging parents, a tragic accident, or just struggling in an ongoing manner from being the victim in the past of sexual, physical, emotional, and spiritual abuse.
We can all take Lamentation 1 and be honest about the hardship we have and are enduring. But this is not an open invitation to become a group of complainers. Lament is a spiritual activity. As long as we complain to God, we are affirming that he is our God, and he is with us even in our darkest places.
Second, We are guilty in the Mess: Complain but also humbly consider yourself as well.
In 11 out of the 22 verses of Lam 1, the author confesses either that Jerusalem is guilty or that God is just, or both. Lam 1:2, 19 refer to lovers which are Israel’s idols. According to Lam 1:5, “the Lord has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions.” In Lam 1:8, “Jerusalem sinned grievously.” The misery is the result of the Lord’s hand. His anger is fierce (Lam 1:12). By his hand, “my transgressions were bound into a yoke and fastened together on my neck” (Lam 1:14). Lam 1:18 “The LORD is in the right, for I have rebelled against his word.” Lam 1:21, “You have done it.”Following the acknowledgement of misery, the author acknowledges Israel’s sin and God’s justice.
Application
We are guilty of sin and this application requires caution. We can say that we stand guilty in our misery without saying that every heartache we experience is the direct result of our own specific sin. Let’s hold this tension with two applications.
First we are sinners, and so we need to lament our sin. Lamenting even small sins shows how seriously we take our sin and value the forgiveness Jesus provides for sinners on the cross. We need to acknowledge and lament our sins.
Second, even when we are not responsible for a particular hardship, we still respond to the crisis as sinners.[v] Our response to other people’s sins is sinful. We use sinful coping mechanisms in response to suffering and undue stress. We escape with entertainment, slander, adult websites, self-entitlement, we retreat from people, and judge others. We experience misery as sinners. (RECAP) Sometimes like the people of Jerusalem, we are responsible. Other times, we endure it as sinners.
Third, We are surrounded by sinners in the mess.
The text stresses also the sin of others. Throughout this poem, the author notes the posture of his enemies. With Jerusalem’s downfall, their enemies benefit and prosper (Lam 1:5). The enemies were mocking and rejoicing at Jerusalem’s downfall (Lam 1:7, 21). They plundered them (Lam 1:10). Of his enemies, the poet ends with “Now, let them be as I am (Lam 1:21).”
Application
If God judges all our sin, let him judge the sin of our enemies! When we read the Psalms, those that make us the least comfortable are called the imprecatory Psalms, like Lam 1:21-22. Imprecatory Psalms request that God judge our enemies. Lamentations 1 gives us the right framework for these kinds of prayer that can be appropriate. We highlight our misery. We humbly acknowledge our sin. We affirm God’s justice with us, and then demand his justice for all.
It is right to ask for judgment. Christians are a people who have been forgiven much and are called to forgive. We are prohibited from seeking revenge. The reason is that vengeance belongs to the LORD (Rom 12:19). If we hate our sin and the sin in others we will pray for justice and judgment. If we hate war crimes, we will ask for judgment on those who commit them. Our response to what is happening in Ukraine and Israel-Palestine, and elsewhere is asking God for mercy, and just judgment.
Conclusion
God is for our good, and so lament is for our good. We live in a world full of misery. Lament is a cry of faith! It is turning to God even when he seems absent like he does not care. Mark Vroegop sees four elements in lament we turn to God, complain, make requests, and trust. Lament is the choice of coming to God rather than walking away when your world is falling apart. It is the expression of grief in prayer that helps us to trust God. We can echo the requests of Lamentations 1:9 “O Lord, see my affliction” and Lam 1:11 “Look O Lord, and see for I am despised.”Our sin runs deep and so we can Lament our sinful thoughts, sinful emotions, and desires. Lament is a tool for our faith to begin a journey back to God. We can use the four movements: turn, complain, ask, trust.
Now this is the gospel from Lamentations 1. When someone is an innocent victim of great injustice we empathize and are so understanding when they grieve and even complain. Lamentations offers better news. Lamentation 1 is the cry not of an innocent person but of sinners who suffer for their sin. Therefore, Lament is for unworthy sinners to draw near to God, to voice our pain, frustration, restlessness in dealing with sin and its consequences. God is not just for those who have their act together, or just for the innocent victims. He is for you and me as we wrestle with our sins, he is for those we would consider the worst of sinners.
Jesus is a friend of sinners. This means, all can come to him. This means that a spouse who cheats and has to live with the consequences can lament and turn to God and experience his grace. This means a person who betrays close friends, the greedy father who lost the family savings on a risky investment, the parent who neglected his children, the rebellious child who disrespects her parent can turn to God and Lament.
The Guilty can lament. This is the offensive part of the gospel. It doesn’t seem right, the guilty deserve to suffer. This is the good news, the Guilty can call on the name of the Lord and know mercy, and have justice satisfied. This is Lamentations 1, an invitation to sinners like you and me to turn to God.
[i] BDB, 32.
[ii] Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019), 26.
[iii] Contra. Childs who writes, “the relation between the various chapters does not appear to estalish any progression of thought.” Brevard S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture (Philadelphia, PA: Fortress, 1979), 594.
[iv] Childs, Old Testament as Scripture, 594.
[v] Paul David Tripp’s Instruments in the Hand’s of the Redeemer.
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