The pronouns “he” and “his” (referring to God) and “I” and “me” (referring to the prophet) are prominent in these sixty-six verses that form the heart of the book. Lamentations 3: is the central verse of the book, and verses 21–39 comprise the “theological heart” of the chapter and the book. From 1: to 3:18, Jeremiah has described “hopelessness,” but verses 19–39 focus on the hope that we have in God, no matter how desperate our situation might be. Jeremiah speaks for himself, but as he does, he also reflects the feelings and faith of the godly remnant of Jews who heard God’s Word and sought to obey Him.
The prophet’s pain (vv. 1–18). Babylon was the rod of God’s wrath to the Jewish nation (Isa. 14:3–8), but the sufferings of the people and the destruction of the city and the temple were the great causes of pain in Jeremiah’s life. These tragic events would not have occurred if the people had listened to him and obeyed God’s will. Jeremiah had faithfully proclaimed God’s message for forty years, and yet the nation had turned a deaf ear. Is it any wonder he suffered?
The rod of discipline was bad enough, but the darkness made it even worse (v. 2). In Scripture, darkness is often a picture of defeat and despair (Ps. 107:10, 14; Isa. 9:2) because sitting in darkness is like dwelling with the dead (v. 6). The hand of God was against him (Ps. 32:4; 82:5), and the result of all this suffering was that Jeremiah looked very old (v. 4; see Job 16:8–9). He felt confined, hemmed in by walls, and hindered by chains (vv. 5–7). Even worse, when he looked up to pray, Jeremiah felt like God had slammed the door on him (v. 8; see v. 44). God was like a bear and a lion, and Jeremiah felt mangled and dragged away (vv. 10–11). The lion was a symbol of Babylon (Jer. 4:7; 5:6). God was like an enemy and His arrows were aimed at His servant (vv. 12–13; see Job 6:4; 7:20).
Now that Jeremiah’s words had been fulfilled, you would think the people would have respected him and listened to him, but they didn’t. They ridiculed him and sang disrespectful songs about him (v. 14; see v. 63; Jer. 20:7–18). Once again, he was like the Lord Jesus, who was also ridiculed by the people (Ps. 69:12). We expect the Gentiles to mock the Jews (1:21; 2:15), but we don’t expect the Jews to mock their own prophet. Jeremiah compared it to tasting the bitter herbs at the Passover feast or drinking bitter gall (vv. 15, 19; see Job 16:13; 20:25; Ps. 69:21). Myrrh mixed with wine was used as an anesthesia to deaden pain, but what Jeremiah “drank” only made his pain worse. Bitterness and brokenness went together, for he felt like a man with a mouth full of broken teeth and gravel! Most mourners put ashes only on their heads, but he was covered with ashes (v. 16).
A familiar word on the lips of Jewish people is shalom, which means “peace, prosperity, health, wellbeing.” But the prophet experienced no “shalom,” for peace and prosperity were far from him and his people (v. 17). He recorded the depths of his despair in verse 18 when he cried out, “My splendor is gone! Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!” (nlt). The glory of the city had vanished and along with it, the hope in the heart of God’s suffering servant. But this cry of despair was the turning point in Jeremiah’s lament, for now he focused on the Lord and not on himself and he said, “I have hope” (v. 21).
The Lord’s promises (vv. 19–39). Jeremiah turned from contemplating his misery to remembering God’s mercy. He still experienced pain and sorrow, but he also called to mind the faithfulness of the Lord, and this gave him hope (vv. 19–21). The pessimistic American newspaper editor Henry L. Mencken called hope “a pathological belief in the occurrence of the impossible,” but no true child of God could accept that definition. A. W. Tozer said it better when he called hope “the divine alchemy that transmutes the base metal of adversity into gold.” (See 1 Peter 1:6–8.) The realization of God’s mercy, compassion, and faithfulness generated hope in Jeremiah’s soul, and his contemplation of trouble became a confession of faith. Because the Lord loves us, He chastens us (Heb. 12:5–11), but He doesn’t consume us; He disciplines, but He doesn’t destroy.
Unbelief causes us to look at God through our circumstances, and this creates hopelessness; but faith enables us to look at our circumstances through the reality of God, and this gives us hope. A radio listener once sent me a little rhyme that has encouraged me on more than one occasion. Look at yourself and you’ll be depressed. Look at circumstances and you’ll be distressed. Look at the Lord and you’ll be blessed!
If the Lord is “our portion” (Ps. 73:26; 142:5), then we are strengthened by that which cannot be used up or destroyed. God is our eternal source of strength, hope, and blessing (Ps. 46:1). Our circumstances change, and so do our feelings about them, but God is always good, loving, merciful, and kind, and He never changes. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13: nkjv). To build life on that which is always changing is to invite constant unrest and disappointment, but to build on the changeless and the eternal is to have peace and confidence.
As Jeremiah contemplated the character of God, he realized that the best thing he and his people could do was to wait patiently and silently for the Lord to work and accomplish His will in His time (vv. 25–28). God is gracious, God is great in faithfulness, and God is good—no matter how we feel or what we see. But it isn’t enough just to sit and wait; we must also seek the Lord and draw closer to Him (vv. 25, 40). As for the children and youths who were suffering, even they could learn from this experience and grow up to be strong men and women (v. 27). Jeremiah was now an old man, but he had suffered in his youth, so he knew what he was talking about (Jer. 1:8, 17–19; 15:10, 15–17). His youthful experiences of trial and opposition helped to prepare him for his present ministry.
The secret of victory in tough times is simply to submit to the Lord and accept the fact that “the Lord has laid it on him” (v. 28 niv). “It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him” (1 Sam. 3: nkjv). We must bow before the Lord—even putting our faces in the dust—and submit to Him without complaining, knowing that in His time, He will see us through. In that hour of pain and perplexity, Jeremiah laid hold of some wonderful assurances that can encourage us today:
• The Lord doesn’t cast off His people and forget them (v. 31)
• In the midst of pain, we know He loves us (v. 32)
• God doesn’t enjoy chastening His own and He feels our pain (v. 33)
• God sees the way people treat us (vv. 34–36)
• God is on the throne and in control of all events (vv. 37–38)
• If He chastens us for our sins, we shouldn’t complain, for even His chastening is evidence of His love (v. 39)
As I wrote this section of our study, I occasionally glanced at a picture on a nearby bookcase. It’s a reproduction of Rembrandt’s painting “Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem,” which Rembrandt painted in 1630. It depicts a sad old man, seated on a rock, a copy of the Scriptures on his left and behind him on his right a scene of people fleeing a burning city. If I weren’t a Christian believer, the painting would discourage me, but I see in it the truths Jeremiah shared in verses 19–39. Like the prophet, we must live a day at a time and each morning draw upon a new supply of God’s mercy. No matter what the Enemy says to us, we must remind ourselves that “the Lord is good” and He is never closer to us than when He chastens us.
The nation’s penitence (vv. 40–51). The phrase “punishment of his sins” in verse 39 naturally brings up the necessity for personal and national repentance. Jeremiah knew that the fall of Jerusalem was an act of chastening on the part of Jehovah (1:8–9, 12–15; 2:1–8; 4:6, 22) and that the purpose of that chastening was to bring the nation to her knees, confessing her sins. This meant searching their hearts, acknowledging their transgressions, and seeking the forgiveness of the Lord. Cleansing and restoration were promised in the covenant (Deut. 30) and also in Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple (2 Chron. 6:36–42; 7:11–14). God chastens us that He might be able to cleanse us when we tell Him we’re sorry.
In Ezra 9, Nehemiah 9, and Daniel 9, you find prayers of confession on behalf of the people of Israel. You also find similar prayers in the Psalms. Jeremiah’s prayer revealed a man with a broken heart who couldn’t stop weeping over the sins of the people (see 1:16; 2:11, 18–19). Though the nation was but “scum and refuse” in the eyes of the Gentiles, the prophet knew that Israel was still God’s chosen people, bound to Him by the very covenant they had broken. They had forsaken Him, but He would not forsake them, even though He chastened them severely. He had been longsuffering toward them but they had refused to heed His warnings (2 Chron. 36:11ff.).
God’s call for His people to repent is just as valid today. Are we listening?
The prophet’s persecutors (vv. 52–66). These verses summarize much of what you read in Jeremiah’s prophecy: his being hunted like a bird and being put into a pit (Jer. 37—38), insults and other verbal abuse, and plots to kill him (Jer. 11:18–23,26–28). Had the people listened to God’s servant, their nation, city, and temple would have been saved and their lives spared. Jeremiah found his support and salvation in the Lord, and he called upon Him in times of trouble. “Fear not” was God’s message of assurance (see Jer. 1:8). God saw the wrongs that were done to His servant and He heard all the lies that were told about him. But no matter what people may say about us or do to us, the Lord is on our side, even in times of chastening. God didn’t desert His servant, nor will He desert us.
We aren’t surprised that Jeremiah asked God to treat his persecutors the way they had treated him. Jeremiah was God’s servant and spokesman, and their rejection of him meant their rejection of God’s Word. You can’t reject God’s Word and escape eventual judgment. David prayed the same kind of prayer when he was going through persecution (Ps. 28:1–4). As Christians, we’re instructed to pray for our persecutors and to do them good, in the name of Jesus (Matt. 5:10–12, 43–48). Our Lord is the greatest example in His treatment of His enemies (1 Peter 2:21–24), for He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).