FUNERAL SONGS BITTER MOURNING, OR NEW HEAVENLY MERCIES?! Standing in awe before this book, man will have his whole being retreat to see God’s exalted love for all mankind, and will get in touch with God’s holiness, who, in spite of His love for sinners, even while chastening them, He does not endure sin. This book will always remain a source of comfort for the wounded souls, opening the gates of heaven before them. It also bears a prophetic portrait concerning the Lord Christ, the Savior of the world, who has delivered Himself a sacrifice for mankind, yet was not received by His own, who intended to get rid of Him. And It is, as well, the book of every believer whose broken heart burns with love and desire for the salvation of the whole world. (1) Beyond the desolation of the temple, and the captivation of the people, the prophet Jeremiah saw a painful portrait of a people chosen by God to enjoy His divine bosom, to set them a living role model for all mankind to imitate, to forsake idol-worship and abominations, to believe in the living God, to get attached to Him, and to enjoy His fatherhood; Then, saw them perverted to sin, preferring the corrupt life to the fellowship with God. For the sake of chastening them, God allowed for them to be delivered to, and enslaved by a heathen people; so that by letting them taste the bitterness of sin and its perdition-bringing fruit, they would forsake it and return to Him, the way all humanity does all along the generations. (2) Portraying the bitterness of sin, we could perceive that what dwells upon us of chastisement – however harsh it may seem – comes from a loving heavenly Father who anticipates our return to Him. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4: 19). (3) Although the title of this book refers to that it is funeral songs, namely, lamentations fit for death itself, Yet, with all the bitterness they bear, they present comfort for the wounded souls, open the gates of heaven before us, and bring us back to the divine mercies. (4) This book, bears, as well, a prophetic portrait concerning the suffering Lord Christ; starting by bitterly revealing what have dwelt upon the ancient people because of their denial of Christ whom the fathers and the men of God, for so long, have anticipated His coming; And portraying the city of Jerusalem and the promised land as in a calamity, of which there is no way out; Yet in the middle of the book (Chapter 3), the prophet gets in touch with God’s mercies, shining each morning, once man forsakes his denial, and receives faith in the Sun of Righteousness (3: 22- 23), and once the rich grace of God and His endless mercies on humanity are revealed. (5) Those lamentations reveal a broken loving heart burning with love for his people and desiring to see all restore the lost glory. The author is a witness of the desolation of Jerusalem on the hands of Nebuchadnezar of Babylon in October 587 B.C. The desolation of Jerusalem, as far as the prophet Jeremiah was concerned, was not merely the loss of a strong and magnificently beautiful capital, being the city of God embracing His unique temple, and representing the presence of God among His people; But the prophet felt that that desolation refers to the departure of God’s glory from the city, the temple, and the people; Yet in hope, he anticipated the glorious divine salvation. For him, the shock was beyond his endurance, whether on account of the Babylonian invasion, or the people’s denial of the Lord Christ. He cried out in pain, wept, and called his people for prayers, and for their return to God by practical repentance. It is a book for every believer, whose heart kindles with love for all mankind, who, not enduring to see the perdition of anyone, whatever his race or circumstances; moans, seeking the salvation of all humanity; and cries out together with the prophet, saying: “O my anguish l, my anguish! I writhe with paint! O the walls of my heart; My heart is beating wildly; I cannot keep silent; for I hear the sound of the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war” (Jeremiah 4: 19); “Oh, that my head were water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night, for the slain of the daughter of my people” (Jeremiah 9: 1). + It is time for me now, as well, to utter those words. Yes! Indeed, more that it was in the time of the prophet; If I do not grieve on many cities in many nations; but I do grieve on a soul as valuable, and even more valuable, than many such cities and nations! I do not grieve for the sake of the destruction of a city, or its captivation by the wicked; but for the sake of the destruction of your holy soul … and of the destruction and the desolation of the temple bearing the Lord Christ in her… For this temple is more holy that temple (of the old covenant); not adorned by gold and silver, but by the grace of the Holy Spirit; And, instead of the ark of the covenant, and the two statutes of the cherubim, there in the heart, is the Lord Christ, His Father, and the Holy Spirit (the Paraklete). (St. John Chrysostom) + For several days I keep weeping on the people who were driven to perdition through the wicked heretic teachings; on the minds of the simple that went astray, and got used on hearing the evil heresy. (St. Basil) AN INTRODUCTION TO THE LAMENTATIONS OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH In Hebrew they are called ‘ekah’ or ‘Eikhah’; meaning (How), the first word of the book as a whole, as well as of the second and the third lamentations. For the Jews, the lamentations are included together with the group of books, called in Hebrew ‘the ketubim’, and in Greek ‘The Hyographa’, meaning (the holy writings). In the Septuagint version, it came following the books of Jeremiah and Baruch. The author of the book: According to the Jewish tradition, and the Christian tradition, the author of this book is the prophet Jeremiah, who used to work in the royal court, during the invasion of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezar, and the first desolation of the temple. This tradition is set upon what came in 2 Chronicles 35: 25; that it was a lamentation he wrote about king Joshia. Moreover, the ‘Targum’, and the simple Syrian version (Pechitta), both refer the book to the prophet Jeremiah. It was claimed that the prophet Jeremiah retreated to a cave outside the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem where he wrote this book. To this cave, the tourists guides to this very day, keep referring to it as the (grotte of Jeremiah). Indeed, no other author could be more bitterly grieved on that event than the prophet Jeremiah. The language of the book refers to him as the author of this book; as is also confirmed by certain evidences in and outside it; Although some scholars believe that it was written by several authors. It was written by the prophet Jeremiah after the siege of Jerusalem, and its utter fall; As according to the Septuagint version: “It so happened after Israel was taken into captivity, and Jerusalem was destroyed, that Jeremiah sat weeping and crying with this lamentation on Jerusalem; saying ….” (Jeremiah 1: 1); These words, according to some, were in the Hebrew origin from which the Septuagint version was translated. The same introduction came in Latin translation in the ‘Volgata’, with the addition of the words: “And in the bitterness of heart, Jeremiah wept and cried out, saying: ….”. In (Lamentation 3: 48, 49), out of Jeremiah’s eyes, fountains of tears, unceasingly flowed. And in Jeremiah 7: 29, it came that the Lord sought from Jeremiah to tell Jerusalem to “cut off her hair, cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the desolation of Jerusalem”. Jeremiah as a witness of those events: Jeremiah, as a witness of those events, wrote his lamentations (Jeremiah 1: 13- 15; 2: 6, 9; 4: 1-12); probably with the help of ‘Baruch’ his personal scribe (Jeremiah 36: 4; 45: 1); during the fall of Jerusalem in the year 586 B.C., or a little time after; in mid July as the city fell, and mid August as the temple was burned down. Witnessing, as well, the destruction of the city wall, the towers, the houses, the royal palace, and the temple, Jeremiah wrote his memories down while the events were still alive in his mind, before he was carried away against his will to Egypt in the year 583 B.C. (Jeremiah 43: 1-7); His lamentations came conforming with what he previously mentioned in his prophesies in his book. The circumstances of writing the lamentations: The prophet wrote it during his grief upon the desolation of Jerusalem and the holy land on the hands of the Chaldeans, and upon the killing and the captivation of many; leaving only the poor, and the people of no skills; and utterly wiping out the seat of the kingdom of Judah. The lamentations were not written as a historical record, nor as a description of the events themselves, as much as to reveal what were beyond the events, of the dealings of God with His people and believers, who kept on their disobedience and stubbornness; and with those He used as tools to chasten His believers, who have haughtily acted against God Himself In the first 29 chapters of his book, the prophet Jeremiah prophesied that calamity; Whereas in his lamentation, he concentrated on revealing his grief and his broken heart. This book, together with the books of Ruth, Esther, the Song of songs, and the Ecclesiastes, came in the Old Testaments, to be called the five scrolls of ‘Megilloth’, which were read in the synagogues during specific occasions. The book of lamentations was read in the ninth day of July/August to commemorate the desolation of Jerusalem on the hands of Nebuchadnezar; And that date, itself, was used for the day of the desolation of the temple built by Herod on the hands of the Roman ‘Titus’ in the year 70 A.D. Having portrayed to us what dwelt upon Jerusalem and the people of Judah, confirming that that extensive affliction was allowed by God for the sake of chastening His people; Yet the prophet kept on wondering why the divine firmness could reach such a level, and could last as long as 70 years! But the Holy Book perpetually confirms the fatherhood of God; being a Father while granting an abundance of blessings; and a Father while allowing for temptations, however harsh they may be. If God allowed for such chastisement against His people, we should not forget the following: (1) Before entering into the promised land, more than eight centuries before that captivation, and through the prophet Moses, God, giving the people a warning, in some detail, concerning the consequences of disobedience, stubbornness, going after idol-worship, and partaking of the heathen abominations, threatening captivation, He said: “All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever. Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things. Therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of all things; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you. The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand., a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young. They shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you.. They shall besiege you at all your gates, until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land, and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the Lord your God has given you. You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you. The man among you who is sensitive and very refined will be hostile toward his brother, toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the rest of his children whom he leaves behind; so that he will not give any of them the flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing left in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates. The tender and delicate woman among you, who shall not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her delicateness and sensitivity, will refuse to the husband of her bosom, and to her son and her daughter. Her placenta which comes out from between her feet, and her children whom she bears, for she will eat them secretly, for lack of all things in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at your gates. If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD (Deuteronomy 28: 45- 58). (2) 800 years before the captivation, Joshua the son of Nun prophesied before the distribution of the promised land among the Israeli tribes, about this captivation (Joshua 23: 15-16); in the hope that they beware against the disobedience and plunging in evil. (3) God for as long as many centuries, sent several prophets to warn the people. As for Jeremiah, for a duration of more than 40 years (645 – 605 B.C.), he kept on warning the people, the king, and the rulers on all levels. But instead of repenting and returning to God, they accused the prophet of national treason; and got attached to the false prophets who talked smoothness, to gain favor in the eyes of the people and the rulers, whether for the sake of material or honor profits, and they persecuted the prophet. And when his prophesies were eventually fulfilled through the coming of Nebuchadnezer and his army, Jeremiah kept on warning the people who were persistent on their disobedience; even while talking to them with extreme sadness. The divine decision of falling into captivity was not, therefore, made in a hurry, nor without giving the people every chance to be saved from it. The goal of the book: (1) These lamentations were written specifically for the Jews, three months after the Babylonian captivation, to be sung with the spirit of sadness by those going into captivity in Babylon; beside those who remained in Israel; in intense reproach because of the desolation of their land, particularly Jerusalem and the temple. Their goal was not merely to cry over what they have reached; as much as to discover two main things in their life: The first is what their persistence on evil, and their oppression against the prophet, have done to them. And the second is their living hope in God, the Forgiver of sins, and the Grantor of glory…. The wages of sin are very high; but God’s mercies will never fail. (2) By the spirit of prophecy, Jeremiah proclaimed the future return from captivation; For God desires the success of His children, and their glory, even during the moments of chastisement. (3) Jeremiah proclaimed the bitterness of his soul. Despite what dwelt upon the people and the rulers about which he warned them; yet, when reproach came upon them, he did not gloat against them, for their oppression against him, as well as against God Himself, but his soul was embittered within him; on account of that he was a man of love; No one has been so loyal to his people, with such a heart kindled with the fire of true love, like Jeremiah. (4) This book motivates us to repent, to return to the Lord, the Grantor of joy, through getting sad because of our sins that caused us to lose our inner peace; and to hear the divine voice, saying: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel” (Joshua 7: 13). When Achan the son of Carmi sinned and committed trespass in the accursed thing, God’s wrath came upon the whole congregation of Israel (Joshua 22: 20). Solomon the sage said: “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting…. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth” (Ecclesiastes 7: 2, 4). (5) Jerusalem has been the joy of the whole earth because it was the city of God; the secret of its beauty was the presence of God. But once the glory of God departed from it because of its persistence upon sin, it lost its beauty, strength, and joy; its people were captivated; and those who remained in the land became slaves to the king of Babylon. Using of this book: According to Schaff, the Jews used to gather together every Friday afternoon, to mourn the fall and desolation of Jerusalem; at the site of the Wailing wall, where they used to read these lamentations beside other suitable psalms; while kissing the stones of the wall, and wetting them with their tears. The fifth lamentation or poem is a psalm or prayer, called “the prayer of Jeremiah” is still read by some of the Jews in their synagogues during ‘Temouz – Ab’ of every year, remembering the first desolation of Jerusalem in the year 587 B.C., and the ultimate desolation of the temple in the year 70A.D. The Coptic church starts the service of the twelfth hour of the Great Friday, commemorating bringing Jesus’ body down from the cross, and His burial, by reading a part of this praise, sung by the bishop if present, or by the priest. As these lamentations reveal the sadness of the crucified Christ over the whole world, as well as over every soul that rejects faith in Him, and chooses for itself what Jerusalem has chosen by its denial of its Savior. At the same time, the Lord proclaims that what has come upon Him, as a unique sacrifice, was on account of that he accepted to bear our iniquities; and of that, by His own free will, He died to take upon Himself God’s wrath away from us, and to grant us holiness together with Him. Its linguistic structure: (1) The book is formed of five pieces of Hebrew poems, whose magnificence is not apparent in the translations as it does in its original language. The first four poems are written in the form of mourning lamentations, the verses of each came arranged according to the Hebrew alphabet; the same order we find in certain psalms like psalms 25, 34, 37, 111, 119, 145. (2) Each of the three lamentations 1, 2 and 4 is formed of 22 verses arranged according to the order and the number of the Hebrew alphabet ‘Acrostics”. (3)The third lamentation is formed of 66 verses, every three of them start with one letter, according to the order of the Hebrew alphabet. (4) The fifth lamentation, is formed of 22 verses, yet, although it is a similar poetic piece, it is not bound to the Hebrew alphabetical order. Its features: (1) Revealing what lies behind that calamity, no wonder that the author gives a portrait of a desolate city with no inhabitants (4) (although in the same lamentation he says that its inhabitants are there (11); … a portrait so horrible of people who reached the ferocity to eat their own children (cannibalism) (2: 20; 4: 9-10); who had to purchase water to drink (5: 4); of no more joy of heart, nor music to be heard in Jerusalem; and of that the responsible parties for that situation were the priests and the false prophets (4: 13). (2) The book presents to us what is like funeral rites for the beautiful city that was counted before as the city of God, and now has reached as though to death. Yet, at the same time, opening the door of hope in the Lord, sets for us the practical way to deal with the bitter troubles and calamities. (3) The book reveals the personality of the prophet Jeremiah, who has warned the people and the rulers; and now, after the calamity has already dwelt, his tears would not cease. He wrote the most magnificent lamentation known to mankind, coming out of a loving and a loyal heart; And amid his tears that would not dry, he had nothing before him but to end every one of his poems (except for the fourth one), by a prayer, in which he cries out to God. (4) The essence of his message was that “Whatever man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6: 7); For us to perceive that rebelling against God, rejecting the work of His grace, and disobeying His commandment, are nothing but an invitation to the dwelling of bitter calamities, to a loss of a blessed eternity, and of a fellowship of the heavenlies. (5) God did not respond to Jeremiah’s prayer for the people’s sake, Seeking their repentance and sanctification, God will chastise them, not for the sake of revenge, as much as for their reform, teaching, and spiritual growth. (6) A call for serious work, particularly in the time of youth (3: 27); as it was the case of Joseph, Joshua, Samuel, David, Paul, and Timothy (7)These lamentations present to us a clear picture of how, in the time of afflictions and temptations, we should cry out to God, saying: “Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we will be restored. Renew our days as in old”, unless You have utterly rejected us, and are very angry with us” (5: 21, 22). (8)These lamentations reveal the perpetual opening of the doors of hope in God’s mercies; As there will never be time to say that they are closed, or that it is too late, even when the darkness are intense. As long as we still have breath in us, God anticipates our return to Him: “For the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion, according to the multitude of His mercies” (3: 31, 32); and, “Through the Lord’s mercies, we are not consumed ; because His compassion fail not; they are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness” (3: 22, 23). Yet, these lamentations reveal as well, that repentance has to be serious, and not with a shallow mind. (9) Although the talk, literally refers to the Babylonian captivation, yet the name ‘Babylon’ did not appear in the book; A proclamation that the lamentations are not limited to a particular event, but present a bitter portrait of the fruits of the lack of living faith, of the rebellion against the God, and of the slothfulness in keeping the divine commandment. (10) If God does not hesitate to chasten His own beloved people (Deuteronomy 32: 10), What do you expect He will do to the nations that reject His word? (11) The lamentations bear divine comforts; counted as a call for prayer, and for resorting to God in the midst of affliction. (12) The essence of this book is that God is great in His faithfulness (3: 22, 24). (13) According to some, these lamentations reveal God’s plan for the salvation of this people, in their consistent stubbornness. He used the intense chastisement like electric shocks by a clever physician for treatment. In the midst of the bitterness of chastisement, we should always perceive the fatherhood of God (Hebrew 12: 10). As in every lamentation, the prophet reveals a divine grace: a- In the first lamentation, together with the intense feeling of grief, and that God has utterly forsaken him, the prophet Jeremiah all of a sudden says: “The Lord is Righteous; for I rebelled against His commandment” (1: 18) b- In the second lamentation, enjoying a deeper insight of the truth, the prophet says: “The Lord has done what He proposed. He has fulfilled His word which He commanded in days of old. He has thrown down, and has not pitied. And He has caused your enemy to rejoice over you; He has exalted the horn of your adversaries” (2: 17). Jeremiah realized how God promised to open up before His people the windows of hope if they obey His commandments; And that the captivation will come to an end after 70 years (Jeremiah 25: 11). c- In the third lamentation, while crying with intense pains, the prophet presents to us expressions full of comfort, saying: “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed. Because His compassion fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, Therefore I hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him” (3: 22-25). d- At the end of the fourth lamentation he proclaims: “The punishment of your iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion. He will no longer send you into captivity. He will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom; He will uncover your sins” (4: 22). e- In the fifth lamentation, the splendor of the divine truth appears, that fills the soul with hope: “You, O Lord, remain forever; Your throne from generation to generation” (5: 19). Its theological thought: Beside the high literal and linguistic level that characterize this book; counted as among the most magnificent pieces of lamentation in the world, particularly in its original language; It is, as well, the source of living theological thoughts: (1) These lamentations reveal that all what may dwell upon us of calamities are allowed by God, the Omni-merciful. Even if it is difficult for man to moan amid the severe temptation, Yet, he is committed to seek from God to reveal to him the divine goal that lies behind them, like the repentance and the return to Him. (2) We are committed, amid the afflictions, to trust in, and to resort to God, the Beneficent. (3) The past experience of dealing with God in the old, helps the believer to pass through the present affliction, however severe it is, with the spirit of hope. (4) The goal of repentance is not to seek from God to lift the affliction up from us, as much as it is to encounter Him, and to live together with Him with the spirit of thanksgiving; which is the true way of reform (Isaiah 35: 1- 10; Jeremiah 31: 1; 31: 40; Ezekiel37: 1-28; Hosea 3: 5; 14: 1-9; Joel 3: 18-21; Amos 9: 11-15; Micah 7: 14-20; Zecharia 14: 1-11; Malachi 4: 1-6). (5) God will never forsake us amid our affliction; but desires our salvation. The ministry of the Lord Christ and the book of lamentations: According to some, the man who went through humiliation in the third lamentation is the prophet Jeremiah himself, he who counted what dwelt upon his people as though it dwelt upon him personally. While, according to others, he speaks here in the name of Zedekiah, king of Jerusalem; The church, though, believes that the true Sufferer is the Lord Christ, the second Adam, who, through His own free will, and pleasure, He endured humiliation to save the first Adam and his descendants. Hence the priest sings this lamentation at the beginning of the twelfth hour of the great Friday, to commemorate the burial of the Lord Christ. Anyway, in this book, Jeremiah talks on the tongue of the Savior Lord, according to what the Lord Himself has said to him: “You shall be as My mouth” (Jeremiah 15: 19). If Abraham, the father of fathers, by offering his own son a sacrifice, gave a true prophecy of the Father who offered His only begotten Son for the sake of the salvation of the world; So was Jeremiah, who, by his abundant sufferings, he passed through the wine press, as a symbol and a prophecy of the Lord Christ. Jeremiah’s sufferings, grief, and tears, proclaim the feelings of sorrow of God on His people; And were, as well, a prophecy about the passion endured by the Lord Christ on the cross. Jeremiah’s tear flowed upon the city that rejected him, and did not receive the voice of the Lord on his tongue. In that he was a symbol of the Lord Christ, the Word of God Himself, who, during His last week ascended the Mount of Olives, and looked down at the city (Matthew 23: 37). His tears flowed in grief over the city that rejected Him as its Savior. Jeremiah’s tears (3: 48-49), refer to the tears of the Lord Christ over the same city (Matthew 23: 37-39; Luke 19: 41-43). Although it is God who allowed for that affliction to happen for the sake of chastisement, yet He grieves for the desolation that dwelt upon man because of his sins; as “In all their affliction He was afflicted” (Isaiah 63: 9). The day will come when He will wipe out every tear (Isaiah 25; 8; Revelation 7: 17; 21: 4), when sin will be no more. This book embraced the following expressions of Messianic concepts (1: 12; 2: 15; 3: 14, 15, 19, 30): 1- The Lord Christ came as a Groom for humanity that was widowed (Lamentation 1: 1) 2- With broken heart the disciples looked at the cross (Lamentations 1: 12). 3- The multitude scoffed at the crucified Christ (Lamentation 1: 15). 4- The realization of what came in Isaiah 50: 6, concerning surrendering His back to those who struck Him; and His cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; And what came in Isaiah 53: 3, about Him as despised and rejected, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, (Jeremiah 3: 14-15; 19: 30). The book of tears: Expressing the hidden cry-outs of the heart; what the human language could not express of what lie in the depth of the soul; the inner bitterness and the intense joy; Tears are likewise a way, mostly unintentional, to seek help from those around us of relatives and friends; used by the suckling to express hunger or pain; and a toddler as pressure upon those around him or her to get something out of them. The prophet Jeremiah is called the “Weeping prophet”; whose tears profusely flowed, not only from his eyes, but from his heart as well, that dissolved with bitterness upon the daughter of his people. His tears did not bear some kind of selfishness, for he did not cry for the sake of some personal loss, or of personal pain that might has dwelt upon him, but his tears bore an abundance of love toward God, His people, temple, and city. His tears reveal his personality as a man of God, full of love and compassion like his Lord, as well as his care, sanctification and consecration of the ministry of God. If the world is full of oppression, and humanity suffers from poverty, wars, and calamities, together with a rebellion against God, and a disregard of the eternal destiny; It is befitting of us to grieve, together with our Lord Jesus, who wept on Jerusalem, and partook of the sorrow of Mary and Martha. The book of the “weeping Jeremiah”, with its prophecies, came to reveal his grief on what was going to dwell upon Jerusalem and the people of God; And his lamentations came to bear the same bitterness after the prophesied desolation was realized. The lamentations and Mount Calvary: In one of the traditions, it came that the prophet Jeremiah wrote those lamentations in the “Grotte of Jeremiah”, close to Jerusalem, below Mount Calvary, where the Lord Christ was crucified; where the prophet poured an abundant flow of tears, and wrote his sad lamentations for the sake of the sins of his people. Yet, looking with the spirit of hope up to Mount Calvary, filled his heart with hope, and turned the lamentations into a song sung by Christ while bearing the sins of His people, on His way to Hades to destroy the fruit of sin, to carry His believers as spoil, and to bring them forth by His resurrection to the paradise of joy. The main elements in the book: (1) The captivated kingdom of Judah: The book of lamentations brings Jerusalem before us, widowed by her own will; having lost her heavenly Groom through choosing sin as a vain groom; has lost the celebrations of feasts; had sorrow as her portion; and her princes came to be in reproach. Hence the prophet cries for her sake, and lament the state she has reached. The Lord Christ wept over Jerusalem: “As He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying: “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19: 41-42). And before the Lord wept over Jerusalem, the “weeping prophet”, for the same reason, wept over her until his eyes failed by tears. According to the Jewish tradition, Jeremiah sat weeping outside the Northern wall of the city on a plateau called Calvary (or Golgotha) where our Lord was to be crucified. (2) The Lord Christ: The Groom and Savior of His people, to whom His people gave their backs and not their faces; oppressed Him, and intended to get rid of Him in any possible way, Hence, denied themselves of the Source of joy. If God does not endure sin, yet He is grieved for the sake of what dwelt upon His own people. In the midst of afflictions, “His mercies are new every morning” (3: 23); Not being God of vengeance against men, but against sin, He mercifully seeks the sanctification of His people to enjoy Him. (3) Jeremiah: The man of God. The bitterness of his heart toward his people and his country, is not merely an emotional partaking, but a true fellowship with those suffering, as a member in a sick body. He did not hold his peace before their oppression, nor admonished them for not listening to his warnings, but stood crying bitterly for their sake; For what dwelt upon them, has dwelt as well upon him; and their sickness was his sickness. As a man of God, he faithfully expresses the feelings of the Lord toward His people, even in the midst of the darkest moments of their chastisement. (4) Judah’s allies turned into their enemies; Egypt who had a treaty with Judah against Babylon; Once Judah collapsed it became her enemy. (5) Judah’s neighbors: like Edom that was like a sister, gloated against her; caught those fleeing from Judah, and delivered them to the Babylonians to captivate (Obadiah 14). For Edom, Judah became a barren land, only fit as pasture foe sheep. Egypt, a previous ally of Judah, once Jerusalem was besieged by the Chaldeans, spared herself the danger of confronting Babylon for Judah’s sake. (5) Babylon: whom God used as a tool to chasten Judah; assuming that its conquest was by the might of its arm, and reproaching God, the Lord of hosts, God turned against it and destroyed it. Its divisions: The first lamentation: Jerusalem the forgotten widow The second lamentation: In Your anger, O Lord,You intend to lift me up to Your heavens The third lamentation: A shining hope in the midst of the darkness. The fourth lamentation: The dwelling of the reproach of sin. The fifth lamentation: Wait on the Lord the eternal King, and supplicate to Him. The first lamentation: Jerusalem the forgotten widow: The author portrays Jerusalem as a widow not ceasing to cry, had no comforter, her splendor was taken away, her temple was defiled and destroyed, came to be in unique mourning; and no sorrow could surpass her sorrow; On account of that it is the Lord who allowed it for her because of her transgressions, she supplicates seeking His mercy. … The broad lines of this lamentation are: The sin may promise man riches; but it deprives him of all the divine goods. Rejecting the yoke of submission to the Lord (Jeremiah 27-28); Jerusalem bore the bitter yoke of the enemy (Lamentation 1: 14; Jeremiah 5: 5). The friends who provoke man to sin, ridicule him when he suffer its consequences. On account of God being Holy, sin has to be condemned. The second lamentation: In Your anger, O Lord, You intend to lift me up to Your heavens: The author portrays this widow seeing her children faint because of hunger dwelling upon the city; humiliation dwelling upon the young men; her king and princes scattered among the nations; and her elders sitting speechless on the ground; passersby whistling and scoffing, shaking their heads over the daughter of Jerusalem, the city they used to count as the gladness of the earth -- She has nothing else but to shed her tears before the Lord, supplicating to Him to have compassion upon her children, and to let her enjoy the divine mercies. … The broad lines of this lamentation are: Sin brings forth reproach and desolation. …. According to the historical records, Babylon was the enemy; But actually, it is God who became the enemy for a certain time, for the sake of her eternal salvation (4-5). Babylon was no more than the ax of the battle. The passersby, not only do not care, but they partake of bringing forth reproach(15) The enemy may boast his great conquest, but he does not glorify God. The third lamentation: A shining hope in the midst of the darkness: A turning point in Jeremiah’s experience; Instead of concentrating upon how Jerusalem (the soul) reached such desolation, and how the enemy became so violent and oppressive; he concentrates his eyes upon the Lord the Savior, Bearer of our reproach. God does not reject us forever; for He is a loving and a compassionate Father Do not fear (57), for God’s mercies are “new every morning”. Allow Him to cross over into your depths, to make you start a new life, regardless of your past experience of failure. People are portrayed as though one person, who became a laughing stock for all, and a song for them all day long; whom God let drink the gall, who almost lost hope; Yet, anticipating God’s mercies, and seeing them “new every morning”, he cries out, saying: “The Lord is my portion, says my soul” (3: 24). The fourth lamentation: The dwelling of the reproach of sin: Looking at the desolation that dwelt upon Jerusalem, the author sees it, not in the buildings, nor in the possibilities, as much as it is in the soul that has been like gold and precious stones, and now turned into mud and mire; In the young men who have turned into broken up earthen vessels; In those who were once living in luxury, and are now wandering homeless in the streets; Who were clothed with scarlet, are now searching for food in the trash baskets; In the rulers who were brighter than snow, and purer than milk, now their skin got stuck to their bones, and dried up like wood; And in the compassionate mothers whose hands stretched to cook their children to eat. … Because of the sins of the false prophets and the priests, the blood of the innocent was shed, people were taken into captivity; and Edom exulted in gloating. The fifth lamentation: Wait on the Lord, the eternal King, and supplicate to Him: In his prayer, the author laments how the people lost their freedom, bowed down under the yoke of bondage in captivity by the Chaldeans, with no one to save them from their hands; How all of them, elders and young, came to be in unceasing mourning; How Mount Zion turned into a barrenness for the foxes; And finally how sin, rebellion, and getting away from God, were behind all that;… Perceiving that no one can bring them back to God except God Himself, the author cries out: “Turn us back to You, O Lord, … Renew our days as of old” (Lamentation 5: 21).. A comparison between the book of lamentations, the book of Jeremiah, and the second book of the kings Many elements that came in the lamentations conformed with what came in the book of Jeremiah and the second book of the kings (and also in 2 Chronicles 36: 11-21). The lamentations The book of Jeremiah 2 kings 25 Jerusalem under siege 2: 20-22; 3: 5-7 39: 1-3; 52: 4-5 1-2 The famine !: 11, 19; 2: 11- 12, 19-20; 4:: 4- 5. 9-10; 5: 9-10 37: 21; 52: 6 3 The army and the king flee away !: 3, 6; 2: 2; 4: 19-20 39: 4-7; 52: 8-11 4-7 Burning the palace, the temple, and the city 2: 3-5; 4: 11; 5: 18 39: 8; 52: 13 8-9 Departure to captivity 1: 1-5, 18; 2: 9, 14; 3: 2, 19; 4: 22; 5: 2 28: 3-4, 14; 39: 9-10 11-12 Confiscating the treasures of the temple !: 10; 2: 6-7 51-52 13-15 Killing the rulers 1: 15; 2: 2-, 20 39: 6 18-21 Humiliating Judah 1: 1; 5: 8-9 40: 9 22-25 No outside help 4: 17; 5: 6 27: 1-11; 37: 5-10 24: 7 OBJECTIONS OF CRITICS AND REBUTTALS TO THEM Objection 1: In 2 Chronicles, it came: “Jeremiah also lamented for Josiah; and to this day all the singing men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations; … and indeed they are written in the laments” (2 Chronicles 35: 25). According to some extreme critics the talk here refers to the canonical book of the lamentations; and the author of the book of Chronicles misunderstood what came in the lamentations (2: 7; 4: 20) as a mourning wrote by Jeremiah for the sake of Josiah. Rebuttal: By a particulate reading of that book, one realizes that it is not a funeral song concerning Josiah. The lamentations mentioned by the author of the second book of Chronicles, have nothing to do with that book. The Historian Josephus might have referred to that by saying: [Jeremiah wrote a funeral song for the funeral of Josiah, still remaining to this day]. It is impossible to believe that the Historian Josephus had no knowledge of the book of lamentation; for if it was the song he referred to, he would have said that. What came in the second book of Chronicles, and what was mentioned by Josephus, confirm that Jeremiah wrote several funeral songs or lamentations (that do not concern king Josiah). Comparing between what came in the book of lamentations and what came in the book of Jeremiah, ‘Driver’ confirmed analogy between them. Objection 2: Including this book among the books of ‘Kethubhim’, according to some, is against the Jewish view that it is written by the prophet Jeremiah. Rebuttal: It did not perpetually come among the books of ‘Kethubhim’, but was sometimes included among the five books of ‘Megilloth’ in the Hebrew books; on account of that it was read in the ninth day of the month of Epip (Ebib), in memorial of the desolation of the temple. Objection 3: According to some, certain expressions could not be referred to the prophet Jeremiah, like: “Her prophets find no vision from the Lord” (Lamentation 2: 9). Rebuttal: This expression more strongly bears what came against the false prophets (Jeremiah 14: 14; 23: 16) Objection 4: According to many, the author refers himself to the people who anticipated salvation on the hands of Pharaoh; which Jeremiah was against. Rebuttal: Jeremiah did not bind himself to those who put their trust on Egypt; who were actually the greater majority of people. And if he happen to say: [We did so and so], it is because the majority did; although he did not consent to their behavior ------------------------------. AN INSPIRATION FROM THE BOOK OF LAMENTATIONS LAMENTATIONS OR HEAVENLY COMFORTS?! + Grant me, O Lord, two of the spirits of the weeping prophet Jeremiah; By the spirit of prophecy, seeing what will dwell upon his people; His heart moaned inside him. His head turned into a fountain of tears In his love and loyalty to his people, his life turned into unceasing weeping; He had no fear of the king, nor the greats, and the rulers; He had no fear of the religious leaders; And he did not care for the accusations of his village. He was only preoccupied with the salvation of all. + Whenever he passed by the temple, his soul was embittered; He could not endure to watch the city of God desolated; Nor to watch the temple of God being defiled by the pagans; Nor the see the people lying like corpses in the streets; Seeing all that by the eyes of prophecy, he cried out; Yet no one listened, nor cared; But all turned into enemies who prosecuted him; All sought to get rid of him, however high was the price. + When what his prophesies were realized; All became in bitterness; But he did not take the watching position; Nor justified himself, having warned and no one listened; He felt that what dwelt upon them, as though has dwelt upon him personally. + He wrote his lamentations in a grotte close to Jerusalem; He wrote them to express what he felt in his depths; He wrote them to call all to repentance. + He confirmed to them God’s promises concerning the future return from captivity; But God anticipates their return to Him to save them; The prophet called all to work with the spirit of faithfulness and seriousness.; To have the door of hope open before them; And he called them to remember God’s past dealings with them all along the past generations. + By the spirit of prophecy, Jeremiah proclaims the future coming of the Savior Messiah; Helplessly he weeps for their sake; Whereas Jesus weeps for them and saves them; His mercies are new every morning; He perpetually seeks their salvation. + If Judah’s friends turned into enemies; They did not stand negatively as mere watchers; But gloated, and even helped the enemy to bring them into captivity. + Jeremiah sees Jerusalem as a lonely and a forgotten widow; But her heavenly Groom is waiting for her; He prepares for her a heavenly marital home; He prepares glories for her; Whereas unless her opponents repent, their work will come back upon their heads.
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