Scripture Reading: Lam. 4, Lam. 5
In this message we will cover the fourth and fifth lamentations. After considering these lamentations as a whole, we will pay close attention to 5:19-22.
The fourth lamentation — a lamentation over the punished people — is recorded in chapter four.
The people of Israel were afflicted with a lack of food in their siege (vv. 1-10). The shining “pure gold” and the glittering “sapphire” became “black coal” because of the lack of food (vv. 1-5, 7-9). The compassionate women boiled and ate their own children (v. 10). God’s people were afflicted because their iniquity was greater than the sin of Sodom (v. 6).
The children of Israel were consumed by the burning anger of Jehovah’s wrath (vv. 11-20). Such an anger was not believable to the kings of the earth nor to the inhabitants of the world (v. 12). God’s people were consumed because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests (vv. 13-16). The people looked in vain for a nation’s help (vv. 17-20).
Verses 21 and 22 speak of their hope in the future. They hoped that the punishment for their iniquity had been accomplished and that Jehovah would no longer take them into exile (v. 22a). They hoped also that Jehovah would punish the iniquity of Edom (vv. 21, 22b).
Jeremiah wrote this lamentation altogether in a human way. His sympathy, his love, his sorrow, and his weeping were altogether human. Everything uttered by Jeremiah in this lamentation was the issue of his being human. In recalling Israel’s past (v. 2) he was human, and in speaking regarding the coming punishment of Edom (v. 22) he was even more human. His human feeling for Israel led him into human jealousy concerning Edom. Jeremiah was unhappy that Edom was enjoying peace while Israel was under God’s punishment. Therefore, according to his human feeling, he declared that God would punish the iniquity of Edom and uncover their sins.
The fifth lamentation, which is a lamentation as a prayer for the holy people as the conclusion of the fourth lamentation, is recorded in chapter five.
This prayer begins with Jeremiah’s asking Jehovah to remember their sufferings and to look and see their reproach (v. 1).
This prayer continues with Jeremiah’s relating their miserable condition (vv. 2-6, 8-18).
In verses 7 and 16b Jeremiah confessed their fathers’ sin and their sin.
This prayer concludes with a petition (vv. 19-22). In his petition, Jeremiah praises Jehovah (v. 19), questions Him (vv. 20, 22), and makes a request of Him (v. 21). Let us now consider the crucial points in these verses.
The books of Jeremiah and Lamentations were written based upon the eternal view of God’s economy. But in the book of Lamentations until the end of chapter five, Jeremiah wrote in a very human way, with much human sympathy and compassion for the children of Israel. Although Jeremiah was very human, he was also a man of God. He knew that the problems of the children of Israel could not be solved by merely being human. Therefore, at the end of the fifth lamentation, in verses 19 through 22, he turned to Jehovah.
Verse 19 says, “You, O Jehovah, remain forever; / Your throne is from generation to generation.” The phrase “You, O Jehovah, remain forever” refers to God’s eternal being, and it indicates that there is no change with Him. In the human realm, changes take place in every way. In particular, many things changed in the situation of the children of Israel. But there was no change with God’s eternal being. He remains forever the same.
The phrase “Your throne is from generation to generation” refers to God’s eternal and unchanging government. God’s throne has no beginning or end; His throne exists from generation to generation. Jeremiah’s writing here concerning God’s eternal being and His eternal and unchanging government surely is divine.
Although Jeremiah’s expression in verse 19 is divine, he reverts to speaking in a very human way in verses 20 through 22. In verse 20 he writes, “Why do You forget us forever / And forsake us for so long a time?” Here Jeremiah is actually complaining to God and challenging Him. After offering the high praise in verse 19, Jeremiah strongly challenges God in verse 20, asking Him why He had forgotten them and forsaken them. Actually God had neither forgotten nor forsaken His people.
In verse 21 Jeremiah continues, “Turn to us, O Jehovah, and we will be turned; / Renew our days as before.” This word, which is expressed as an imperative, indicates that Jeremiah considered that the responsibility for the turning of the children of Israel depended upon Jehovah. He considered that Jehovah was the active one and the children of Israel were the passive ones. This too was an expression of Jeremiah’s human feeling. Here Jeremiah seems to be saying, “Jehovah, we cannot turn or be renewed. The responsibility for this is with You. You have to turn to us, and then we will be turned. We cannot be active unless You are active first.”
Although Jeremiah spoke in a human way about their needing Jehovah to turn to them, his thought was correct. This is proved by Zechariah 12, a chapter which speaks about Israel’s household salvation. When the household of Israel receives the Lord’s salvation, who will turn first, Israel or the Lord? Who will take the initiative? This chapter reveals that it is the Lord, not Israel, who will take the initiative and turn. When Jerusalem is besieged by Antichrist, the Lord Jesus will turn to the children of Israel and appear to them. They will then look on Him, the One whom they have pierced, and repent (v. 10). This means that when they see the Lord, they will turn to Him and receive His household salvation.
In verse 22 Jeremiah concluded his writing by asking two questions of Jehovah: “Have You utterly rejected us? / Are You exceedingly angry with us?” Jehovah had not utterly rejected Israel, nor was He exceedingly angry with them. But they needed to wait on Him until the time of restoration, when He will restore the children of Israel to be in His person and in His eternal kingdom to enjoy what He had promised to their forefathers.
As we have pointed out, in the third lamentation Jeremiah spoke of God’s lovingkindness, compassions, and faithfulness, and at the end of the fifth lamentation he appealed to God’s eternal being and His eternal throne, His unchanging government. Which do you appreciate more and which do you consider higher — God’s lovingkindness, compassions, and faithfulness or God’s eternal being and eternal throne? God’s eternal being and throne are higher than His lovingkindness, compassions, and faithfulness.
According to the New Testament, God’s salvation is a matter of His love (John 3:16), His grace (Eph. 2:8), and His righteousness (Rom. 1:17). God’s love and grace may change, but God’s righteousness cannot change, because His righteousness is related to His government (Psa. 89:14, ASV). Both love and grace are related to God’s heart. God’s heart may change, yet He would still be righteous. God’s righteousness cannot change, because He must always be righteous. God’s lovingkindness and compassions can change, but God’s person and His government remain unchanging forever.
Jeremiah ended Lamentations not with God’s lovingkindness, compassions, and faithfulness but with God’s eternal being and His throne. This is a strong sign that in writing Lamentations Jeremiah touched God’s economy. Although his lamentations were too much in his human feeling, taste, love, and sympathy, at the end he came out of his being human and entered into God’s divinity. There, in 5:19, he touched God’s person and God’s throne.
In the New Jerusalem, God will be fully unveiled in His person and in His government, both of which are the unshakable foundation of His dealing with us. At that time, we will see God Himself as the eternal King with His eternal, unshakable kingdom (Heb. 12:28).
