Lamentations

Book Reviews aim to provide succinct, thoughtful summaries of books I have read. Each review contains quotes from the book, thoughts from others, and also some thoughts of my own. Typically they will be structured in the following order: author, introduction, message and purpose, remarkable chapter, and conclusion. This review will cover Lamentations, a book written around 585 BC and one that is part of a larger collection of books called The Bible.

Lamentations

Author

Given the rich tradition linking Jeremiah to the book of Lamentations, it seems safe to conclude that Jeremiah is the author.

Introduction

This is a book about pain but with hope in God. The author vividly addresses the extremes of human pain and suffering as few other authors have done in history. For this reason, Lamentations is an important biblical source expressing the hard questions that arise during our times of pain. The suffering the author discusses was brought on by the brutal overthrow of Jerusalem in 586 BC, one of the darkest times in Jewish history.

Message and Purpose

Lamentations does not offer a complete or understandable explanation for the suffering and pain brought forth by the overthrow of Jerusalem, but it was important that the pain and suffering be connected to that actual event. If these pent-up feelings of agony could not be attached to some datable event, the pain could threaten to take on cosmic proportions. This is why history is necessary. When sorrow becomes detached from history, suffering gets out of hand because perspective is lost, tempting a suffering person to lose touch with reality.

There was more than enough to weep over. The united lament of the people related to their covenant history with God. This anchored their sorrow but also gave their grief specific barriers, lest they should be overwhelmed and lose all hope.

Instead of offering a set of techniques, easy answers, or inspiring slogans for facing pain and grief, Lamentations supplies: (1) an orientation, (2) a voice for working through grief from "A" to "Z," (3) instruction on how and what to pray, and (4) a focal point on the faithfulness of God and the affirmation that He alone is our portion.

Remarkable Chapter

The book of Lamentations exhibits a remarkably fine artistic structure. Each of its five chapters (or poems) is a structurally unified text. The fact that there is an uneven number of poems allows the middle poem (chapter three) to be the midpoint of the book. Thus, there is an ascent in chapters one and two and a descent following in chapters four and five, thereby making chapter three the natural climax and central message of the book.

After two chapters of woe and grief, chapter three begins with a similar tone. But about a third of the way in, a significant change in tone occurs. After brooding over his anguish and sorrow, the author switches the focus to God's goodness in verses 22-24 which properly summarize the message of this book:

"Because of the Lord's faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! I say: The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him."

Conclusion

Few things contrast religious and humanistic traditions more than their respective responses to suffering. The humanist sees suffering as a bare, impersonal event without ultimate meaning or purpose. For believers, suffering is a personal problem because they believe that all events of history are under the hand of a personal God. And if that is true, then how can God's love and justice be reconciled with our pain? Lamentations gives no easy answers to this question, but it helps us meet God in the midst of our suffering and teaches us the language of prayer.