Scripture Reading: Lam. 5:18-22
In this concluding message to the life-study of Lamentations, I would like to give a further word on 5:18-22.
At the end of Jeremiah’s lamentations, in the last verses of chapter five, we can see a comparison. Lamentations 5:18 and 19 say, “Because of Mount Zion, which is desolate — / Foxes rove in it. / You, O Jehovah, remain forever; / Your throne is from generation to generation.” First, Jeremiah speaks of the foxes roving in Mount Zion, and then he declares that Jehovah and His throne remain forever. The comparison here is between Jeremiah’s disappointment over the fact that foxes were roving in Zion and his realization that Jehovah and His throne remain forever.
When Jeremiah wrote these verses, he was perplexed and disappointed. Because of his background, he knew the writings of Moses, and he knew the covenant which God had made with Abraham and his descendants. Nevertheless, in his five lamentations he did not speak much according to God’s word. Rather, he spoke altogether according to his personal, human feeling. At the beginning of his fourth lamentation, he referred to Israel as pure gold which had become dim. “How the gold has become dim! / How the most pure gold has changed!” (v. 1). Then near the end of his last lamentation, he said that foxes were roving in Mount Zion. This shows Jeremiah’s disappointment. Zion was the holy land. To God it was the most holy, sanctified place on earth. How could foxes come into this holy city and even rove on the peak of Zion, where the temple was built? This caused Jeremiah to lament.
Prior to 5:19, Jeremiah was writing according to his personal, human feeling, but in this verse he leaps out of his human feeling into God. After speaking of foxes roving in Mount Zion, he suddenly declares, “You, O Jehovah, remain forever.” Foxes are not the only thing in the universe. Jehovah, the Lord of the universe, remains to exercise His administration. Jerusalem was overthrown, the temple was burned down, God’s people were carried away, but what about our God, Jehovah? Jehovah remains, and His throne has not been overthrown and never will be overthrown.
The divine title Jehovah means “I am.” He is the One who was, who is, and who will be forever (Rev. 4:8b). Jerusalem was finished, the temple was finished, and the land of Israel was finished, but Jehovah will never be finished.
When Jeremiah’s position and angle were changed from himself to Jehovah, he realized that although everything may be lost, Jehovah remains forever. Today the foxes may rove in Zion, and tomorrow they may be gone, but Jehovah will never be gone. The fact that nothing remains and that everything is finished manifests the truth that Jehovah remains forever. Everything may be lost, but “You, O Jehovah, remain forever; / Your throne is from generation to generation,” with no beginning and no ending. Heaven and earth may end, but He will never end. He is the unique source, and all the generations come out of Him.
I appreciate the contrast in these verses, for it shows us what remains and what does not remain. Today certain things may be “roving” in Catholicism, in Protestantism, in Judaism, and in the world. We should not believe that any of these roving things will remain. Eventually, every “ism” will come to an end, yet Jehovah will remain forever.
In dealing with many negative things and evil persons, there is often no need for God to act. Instead of doing something, He does what He teaches us to do — He waits. In particular, He waits for the evil ones to die. We should realize, therefore, that death is a very useful tool in the hand of God. Where are all the evil ones in history? Where is Hitler? Where is Mussolini? One by one, all such evil ones have died. Throughout human history, every evil person eventually has been terminated by death. God, who remains forever, has simply waited for death to take them all away.
Although Jeremiah realized that God’s being is eternal and His throne remains forever, he still had something within him that caused him to end his lamentations with questions and even with challenges. In 5:20-22 he said to Jehovah, “Why do You forget us forever / And forsake us for so long a time? / Turn to us, O Jehovah, and we will be turned; / Renew our days as before. / Or have You utterly rejected us? / Are You exceedingly angry with us?” Here Jeremiah speaks to Jehovah a challenging word, even a commanding and rebuking word. However, Jehovah did not answer him. Instead of answering Jeremiah or telling him to be quiet, Jehovah remained silent. At the end of Lamentations, the time had not yet come for God to answer Jeremiah’s questions.
All Jeremiah’s challenges and questions are answered in the following books of the Bible. The consummation of this answer will be the New Jerusalem. There he will see everything clearly. Until then, Jeremiah must wait on Jehovah, just as he said in 3:25: “Jehovah is good to those who wait on Him.” Jeremiah must wait until the New Testament age, until the age of the millennial kingdom, and until the New Jerusalem. Then he will be fully satisfied.
