Jeremiah prophesied to the people of Jerusalem in the final decades before the city’s destruction in 586 B.C. His Lamentations were written to lament over that destruction, and so in later years the book was read on 9 Av each year, the day that the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians.

In that we today are witnessing the final days of the same city once again, it seems appropriate that we do a study of Lamentations. In it is revealed the causes of destruction as well as the repentance that might have spared the city.

Lamentations is a book of Hebrew poetry, but not like modern English poetry, where the last words of a line rhyme with the next line. Hebrew poetry is acrostic, where the Hebrew letters of the alphabet appear at the start of each line in ascending order. Thus, Lamentations 1:1 begins with the alef, the first Hebrew letter. Verse 2 begins with the second Hebrew letter, beth. Verse 3 begins with gimel. Verse 4 begins with daleth, etc.

A more well-known example of acrostics is Psalm 119, which is divided into sections that each contain 8 verses, all of which begin with the same Hebrew letter. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, so Psalm 119 contains 22 x 8 verses, or 176 total and is the longest psalm in the Bible. Most Bibles label each section by the appropriate letter.

Why Lamentations was Written

There are two main opinions about the event that caused Jeremiah to write his Lamentations. The first is based on 2 Chron. 35:23-25 when King Josiah of Judah was killed in battle.

²³ The archers shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded.” ²⁴ So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in the second chariot which he had and brought him to Jerusalem where he died… ²⁵ Then Jeremiah chanted a lament for Josiah. And all the male and female singers speak about Josiah in their lamentations to this day. And they made them an ordinance in Israel; behold, they are also written in the Lamentations.

Based on this Scripture, Josephus, the Jewish historian in the first century, wrote in Antiquities of the Jews, X, ch. 5, par 1,

“But all the people mourned greatly for him, lamenting and grieving on his account many days; and Jeremiah the prophet composed an elegy to lament him, which is extant till this time also. Moreover, this prophet denounced beforehand the sad calamities that were coming upon the city.”

Josephus then explains further:

“Whether Josephus, from 2 Chronicles 35:25, here means the book of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, still extant, which chiefly belongs to the destruction of Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar, or to any other like melancholy poem now lost, but extant in the days of Josephus, belonging peculiarly to Josiah, cannot now be determined.”

In other words, Josephus did not know for sure if these lamentations for Josiah were the same or different from the canonical book of Lamentations.

The Septuagint Greek translation of the Old Testament, which was translated about 380 B.C. and beyond, seems to clarify this question. At the beginning of the book, it adds an explanatory paragraph that reads:

“And it came to pass, after Israel was taken captive, and Jerusalem made desolate, that Jeremias sat weeping and lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem, and said…”

The rabbis translating the Scriptures were apparently of the opinion that the book of Lamentations was not written after Josiah was killed in 609 B.C. but after Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 B.C. Undoubtedly, Josephus was very familiar with the Septuagint, so he would have read the opening paragraph inserted by the rabbis.

The death of godly King Josiah marked a turning point in the history of Jerusalem, paving the way for the ultimate destruction of the city under less godly kings. Divine judgment, once pronounced, cannot be stopped, yet it is delayed as long as a godly king rules. Invariably, judgment is timed to occur in the reign of an ungodly king.

After King Josiah was killed in 609 B.C., Jerusalem was captured in 604 B.C. Years later, when Zedekiah came to the throne, he revolted against Babylonian rule, setting the stage for the city’s destruction in 586 B.C. The king had imprisoned Jeremiah for advising him to submit to King Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 37:18); ironically, the Babylonians set him free (Jer. 40:4).

Basic Outline of Lamentations

The book forms a chiasm, or parallelism:

A Judgments (chapter 1)

B The Judge (chapter 2)

B₁ The Judge (chapter 3)

A₁ Judgments (chapter 4)

Concluding Prayer (chapter 5)

Chapter 1 and 2 each have 22 verses—one for each of the letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Chapter 3 has 66 verses, three verses in a row beginning with the same letter. Hence, 22 x 3 = 66 verses.

Chapter 4 returns to 22 verses in the acrostic. Chapter 5 break with this pattern and is the prophet’s prayer and hope for Jerusalem’s restoration after the 70 years of captivity that he had prophesied. Jer.29:10 says,

¹⁰ For thus says the Lord, “When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.”

In Jer. 19:10, 11 the prophet had prophesied the utter destruction of Jerusalem at some point in time, yet it was clear to him that the present destruction in 586 B.C. was repairable. The same was true when the city was destroyed in 70 A.D. However, we now live at the climax of the age, when the city will be broken to such an extent that it “cannot again be repaired” (Jer. 19:11).

The Alef (Bull) Revelation

Lam. 1:1 begins,

¹ [אֵ] How lonely sits the city that was full of people! She has become like a widow who was once great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a forced laborer!

The first word above is אֵיכֹה, ay-ko, “Alas!” whose first letter (on the right) is an alef. This word ay-ko is also the Hebrew title of the book itself. The letter alef literally means “bull” and suggests primacy, or strength. Yet under divine judgment, the city is pictured as a lonely widow, weak and vulnerable, a fallen princess turned slave.

The Beth (House) Revelation

Lam. 1:2 reads,

² [בָּ] She weeps bitterly in the night and her tears are on her cheeks; she has none to comfort her among all her lovers. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies.

The first word of verse 2 is בָּכָה, baw-kaw, “Weep, bemoan.” The word begins with beth, “house; household.” The city is pictured here as a lonely widow in a house of mourning, having been forsaken by all her former lovers (false gods) and former friends or allies who are now her enemies.

Such is the treachery of false gods and political allies. False gods prove to be powerless, and political allies change sides when it is advantageous to them. The result is death and weeping bitter tears over lessons learned too late.

The Gimel (Camel) Revelation

Lam. 1:3 says,

³ [גָּ] Judah has gone into exile under affliction and under harsh servitude. She dwells among the nations, but she has found no rest; all her pursuers have overtaken her in the midst of distress.

In the Hebrew text, this verse does not begin with Judah but the verb, גָּלָה gâlâh, gaw-law, here translated “has gone.” The word means to remove, uncover, or strip, especially in a disgraceful sense. Judah has been stripped of her dignity and possessions. The nation’s sin has been uncovered for all to see. Likewise, she has been removed from the land and taken into exile.

The letter gimel literally means “camel,” signifying pride. Camels walk with their heads high and their noses in the air. They also lift their riders high in the air, which, in a negative sense, denotes pride.

A more positive application of gimel is in the Hebrew word ga’al, “redeemer.” Jesus conveyed this idea in a subtle manner when He spoke of the cross in John 12:32, 33,

³² “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” ³³ But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.

The word ga’al is spelled with a gimel, followed by El, “God.” The word picture portrays lifting up God, and it shows the deity of Christ as “the only begotten God” (John 1:18). It was necessary for Him to be lifted up on the cross in order to “draw all men” to Himself as the great Redeemer of mankind.

The Daleth (Door) Revelation

Lam. 1:4 says,

⁴ [דֶּ] The roads of Zion are in mourning because no one comes to the appointed feasts. All her gates are desolate; her priests are groaning; her virgins are afflicted; and she herself is bitter.

The first word of verse 4 is דֶּרֶךְ derek, deh'-rek, “road, way, journey, course of life.” Whereas men used to make the journey to Jerusalem to keep the feasts, now “all her gates are desolate.” The gates are the doors to the city.

This poetically describes Judah’s new journey along the road of life and history. It is a bitter road, one filled with affliction and bondage to the carnal world system of men’s governments.

The Hey (Window) Revelation

Lam. 1:5 says,

⁵ [הָ] her adversaries have become her masters, her enemies prosper; for the Lord has caused her grief because of the multitude of her transgressions; her little ones have gone away as captives before the adversary.

The first word in verse 5 is not “adversaries” but הָיָה hâyâh, haw-yaw, “to exist, to be or become.” In other words, the tables have turned, so that enemies are now her masters. The Lord Himself “has caused her grief” on account of her repeated violations of His law. This is her present state of existence.

The letter hey, however, also points to revelation itself, the window into the spiritual realm. It means “to reveal” and signifies inspiration. Hence, even in dire circumstances, there is hope, if one but looks through the proper window to see what is beyond it in the future.

The Vav (Nail) Revelation

Lam. 1:6 says,

⁶ [וַ] All her majesty has departed from the daughter of Zion; her princes have become like deer that have found no pasture, and they have fled without strength before the pursuer.

The first word in verse 6 is וַיֵּצֵא vayetze, “And is gone out,” or “has departed.” The word begins with the vav, a nail on the wall or a tent peg that secures the tent and makes it immovable. Her “majesty” is her honor, glory, and splendor that has “departed” like a broken nail. It has fallen off the wall and lies shattered on the floor.

So her “princes,” like broken nails, were scattered like deer, and they have no strength (koach, “firmness, strength”).

In contrast, Isaiah 22:22, 23 speaks of God’s trustworthy servants,

²² Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder. When he opens, no one will shut. When he shuts, no one will open. ²³ I will drive him like a peg in a firm place, and he will become a throne of glory to his father’s house.

Jeremiah’s Lamentations show that Judah’s princes were unable to support the glory of God. Hence, they failed, broke, and their glory “departed,” much as we see in the story of the birth of Ichabod when the Ark of God was taken by the Philistines. 1 Samuel 4:21 says,

²¹ And she called the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

We should also take note that the glory of God departed from the temple in Jerusalem shortly before the city was taken by King Nebuchadnezzar. This is recorded in Ezekiel 10:4, 18, and 11:23.

The Zayin (Weapon) Revelation

Lam. 1:7 says,

⁷ [זָ] In the days of her affliction and homelessness, Jerusalem remembers all her precious things that were from the days of old, when her people fell into the hand of the adversary and no one helped her. The adversaries saw her, they mocked at her ruin.

The first word in verse 7 is זָכְרָה, zakhra, “she remembers.” The word begins with a zayin, “weapon, cut.” In this case, the exiles of Jerusalem were conquered by weapons that cut them off from their “precious things that were from the days of old.”

All of this might have been avoided if the people had known the ways of God and had learned the art of spiritual warfare. The full armor of God is listed in Eph. 6:12-17, including “the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.”

The zayin is also the seventh letter of the Hebrew alpha-bet. Seven is the number of perfection or completion. To use the sword of the Spirit properly and with skill is possible only with a firm knowledge of the Scriptures. To have any hope of complete victory, one must know the will of God in order to use this Sword lawfully.

The Chet (Fence, Inner Room, Heart) Revelation

Lamentations 1:8 says,

⁸ [חָ] Jerusalem sinned greatly; therefore she has become an unclean thing. All who honored her despise her because they have seen her nakedness; even she herself groans and turns away.

The first word in the Hebrew text of verse 8 is חָטָא châṭâʼ, “to miss the mark, fail to reach the goal.” This word begins with the chet, “a fence or inner room,” often representing one’s heart.

Jerusalem’s sin has made her heart “unclean,” and the fall of the city exposed “her nakedness” for all to see. Sin is always a heart matter. When Adam and Eve sinned, they tried to cover their nakedness with fig leaves (Gen. 3:7), which is carnal self-justification.

The exposure of Jerusalem’s nakedness was seen at the end of Jesus’ ministry as a Fruit Inspector. The fig tree in Matt. 21:19, representing the city and the nation as a whole, had many leaves but no fruit. It was an extension of Adam’s attempt to cover his nakedness with fig leaves.

That lack of fruit brought Jesus’ curse upon it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” The result was that the fig tree dried up from the roots. In other words, it ensured Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 A.D.

Jesus later modified the curse, telling us that the fig tree would later come back to life and bring forth more leaves (Matt. 24:32). This occurred in 1948, and many in the church thought the tree would bring forth fruit within 3½ or 7 years. Somehow they forgot the nature of Jesus’ curse.

The heavenly Jerusalem is a blessing to all families of the earth (Gen. 12:3). The earthly city has had opportunity to fulfill the Abrahamic calling, but it has failed utterly since 1948. Instead, it has acted as a cruel warlord, especially to the people of Palestine. Its cup of iniquity has now reached its high point with the Gaza genocide, and its nakedness has been fully exposed to all nations that await the blessing of Abraham’s true children.

So we now await the final results of the curse, which is the final destruction of the city as per Jer. 19:10, 11. The Lamentations of Jeremiah are about to come to the forefront in history once again.

The Teth (Snake) Revelation

Lam. 1:9 says,

⁹ [טָ] Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she did not consider her future. Therefore she has fallen astonishingly, she has no comforter. “See, O Lord, my affliction [oni, “affliction, misery”], for the enemy has magnified himself!”

The first word in verse 9 is טֻמְאָה ṭumʼâh, “uncleanness, pollution.” The word begins with teth, a snake, signifying “to surround.” This word picture points again to the sin of Adam and Eve at the temptation of the serpent (Gen. 3:1). So the prophet laments for the city that is surrounded by the snake, “for the enemy has magnified himself.”

The snake stands in stark contrast to the Holy Spirit, who is our Comforter.

The Yod [Hand] Revelation

Lam. 1:10 says,

¹⁰ [יָ] The adversary has stretched out his hand [yad] over all her precious things, for she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary, the ones whom You commanded that they should not enter Your congregation.

The first word in verse 10 is יָד yâd, “hand.” The word has many applications, but in this case it points to the adversary robbing Jerusalem and laying his hands on “all her precious things.” The focus is primarily on the holy things of the temple.

2 Chron. 36:18 tells us,

¹⁸ All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them all to Babylon.

To do this, of course, required the soldiers to go into the sanctuary itself, where only the priests were allowed to go. The priests were called to raise their hands in praise to God. The name Judah is built upon the yad and means “praise.” But when men continually fail to praise God in their hearts, God ultimately destroys His place of worship and allows unworthy men to desecrate His house.

Will the Jews in our day build a third temple? It will not benefit them at all, because today, heart circumcision is the only acceptable way to praise God (Rom. 2:29).