Lamentations 3:2–7

The prophet expresses his own sorrow. He no longer represents Zion; he speaks for himself. At the same time his grief is bound up with the people... He owns it to be from Jehovah's hand and rod. Indignation had gone out from God against Israel, and a true-hearted prophet was the last one to shield himself or want to. There was affliction. It came in darkness, not light. And God's hand visited him again and again.

The prophet does not accuse the people and their leaders of having inflicted on him all the persecutions he endured. Instead, he receives them from the hand of God. He says: "I am the man that has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath." He recalls the years spent in the darkness of prison (v. 2, 6) and the loss of freedom (v. 7, 9). He remembers the torture that broke his bones (v. 4).

This is certainly not what Calvin and most commentators before and since make of it. They read it as God's hand pressing on suffering Christians whose minds were confused, so that their lips said much that went too far. Such a reading does little honour to God, let alone to Jeremiah. It makes the Spirit a reporter — and not of a few words or deeds that show up the weakness of the human vessel. On that view He would be reporting long and detailed outpourings that are little more than complaints spoken by the judgment of the flesh.

In chapter 3 the prophet speaks in his own person, by the Spirit of Christ. He expresses all that he felt as he shared the affliction of Israel. At the same time he was the object of their hostility — a position much like that of Christ. What suffering can be like his? He shares the suffering of God's people, and he cannot turn the evil away, because they refuse to hear God's message.

Job adds to this the first of his charges against God. He calls himself "the man whom God has hedged in." Jeremiah's Lamentations uses similar language: "He has driven and brought me into darkness without any light... He has hedged me about that I cannot get out; He has made my chain heavy." But Jeremiah goes on: "It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not... It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD." We fail to find anything like this in Job's words.

There was one difference between him and his people. God had brought him out of his affliction; they were still in theirs. He suffered with them as one of them. But his own sufferings as God's faithful servant in Israel were over. So one person had been in affliction like theirs, and God had delivered him. That gives hope, and that is how this book supports them.

The prophet expresses his own sense of sorrow. He no longer speaks for Zion but for himself, though his grief is still tied to the people — and no less so because they hated and mocked him for loving them in faithfulness to Jehovah. Next (vv. 4-6) Jeremiah recounts his wearing away, the preparations of Jehovah against him, and a condition that looked doomed. "He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; He has broken my bones. He has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation. He has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago."

The prophet does not accuse the people and their leaders of inflicting on him all the persecutions he endured. Rather, he receives them from the hand of God. He says: "I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of His wrath." He recalls the years spent in the darkness of prison (vv. 2, 6), the loss of freedom (vv. 7, 9). He remembers the torture that broke his bones (v. 4).

He goes on to tell how God has brought him into darkness, not into light. God has turned against him, and His hand is on him in judgment every day. Under the weight of God's displeasure, his strength and resilience left him, and his bones were as if broken (vv. 2-4). These are the words of a man who pleased God, and who entered fully into the sorrows of his people.

The prophet speaks as one who has carried in his own heart the deep grief of what Jehovah had brought on Jerusalem. But he feels it as a man who knew God to be his God. So he could experience what it was to be the object of the wrath of God. He suffered with Jerusalem, and he suffered for Jerusalem. This relationship with Jehovah made him feel the affliction more deeply. It also held him up (v. 22). He begins to feel that, after all, it is better to have to do with Jehovah.

The prophet speaks of himself as one struck by the rod of God's wrath, the man who has seen affliction. He had not deserved that wrath. The wrath and affliction had come on a sinful people, but he identifies himself with them. Then think what the suffering and affliction of our Lord must have been! At the close of His blessed life He suffered and died the death of the cross. The rod of righteousness fell on Him. More than Jeremiah did, He tasted that wrath, when He who knew no sin was made sin for us.

His continued life, while bowed under the weight of his troubles, was evidence of mercy. This part of his past history fits the condition of the city and nation at that time. Great as the desolation of the city was, and the trials of the nation, they were not consumed... They deserved to be swept off the earth, but God in mercy had stepped in. "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end." His justice demanded the judgment they deserved. But His mercy gave hope for the future, and they were living examples of it.

In verses 4-6 Jeremiah tells of his wearing away, of the preparations of Jehovah against him, and of his doomed condition.

rosh is a very bitter or poisonous plant. No one has identified it for sure. The word stands as a symbol of "bitterness." Turning to idolatry was like "a root bearing gall and wormwood" (Deuteronomy 29:18). God gave them His judgements as water of gall to drink... The Roman soldiers mixed gall with the sour wine they drank and gave it to men about to be crucified. The aim, as is now thought, was to make them less sensitive to the torture. They offered it to the Lord, but He refused it (Psalm 69:21; Matthew 27:34).

The prophet does not blame the people and their leaders for all the persecutions he endured. Instead, he receives them from the hand of God. He says, "I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of His wrath." He recalls the years spent in the darkness of prison (vv. 2, 6), the loss of his freedom (vv. 7, 9). He remembers the torture that broke his bones (v. 4). His life was spent "far off from peace"; he has "forgotten prosperity" (v. 17). It was all affliction, wormwood, and gall.

The prophet speaks as one who had carried in his own heart the deep grief of what Jehovah had brought on Jerusalem. But he felt it as one who knew God to be his God. So he could experience what it was to be the object of the wrath of God. He suffered with Jerusalem, and he suffered for Jerusalem. But his relationship with Jehovah was real. It made him feel the affliction more, and it also sustained him (v. 22). He begins to feel that, after all, it is better to have to do with Jehovah, though in another way this made it all the more painful... It is right that an affliction like this should be felt. The only harm is when it weakens confidence in the Lord.

At the central point of the book of Lamentations, in chapter 3, Jeremiah tells mainly of his own trials. His language, like that of various Psalms, can also apply to the sufferings of Christ.

Job's first charge against God was to call himself "the man whom God has hedged in." Jeremiah's Lamentations uses similar language: "He has hedged me about so that I cannot get out; He has made my chain heavy" (Lamentations 3:2-7). But he goes on: "It is because of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions do not fail... It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord" (vv. 22, 26). We find nothing like this in Job's words.

Though he had fallen, he was not completely cast down. True, he said, "My strength and my hope has perished from the Lord" (v. 18). Yet as he remembered the wormwood and the gall, his soul was humbled within him. He could say, "This I recall to my mind; therefore I have hope" (vv. 19-21).

The prophet expresses his own sorrow. He no longer speaks for Zion but for himself. At the same time his grief is bound up with the people — and no less so, because they mocked and hated him for loving them in faithfulness to Jehovah.

Next, in verses 4-6, Jeremiah tells how he is wasting away. He tells of Jehovah's preparations against him, and of his own clearly doomed condition.

The prophet does not accuse the people and their leaders of inflicting on him all the persecutions he endured. Instead he receives them from the hand of God. He says: "I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of His wrath." He recalls the years spent in the darkness of prison (v. 2, 6) and the loss of his freedom (v. 7, 9). He remembers the torture that broke his bones (v. 4).

Bitterness and hardship surrounded him. Dark places held him, like the tombs of the dead. A hedge shut him in, and a heavy chain weighed him down. He cried and shouted, only to feel that God shut out his prayer. Nothing could be sadder than the gloomy picture this brings to mind. The Lord had apparently forgotten, or had even become an enemy.

In chapter 3 the prophet speaks in his own person, by the Spirit of Christ. He pours out all that he felt as he shared Israel's affliction. At the same time he was the object of their hatred. His position was much like that of Christ. What suffering can equal this? A man shares the suffering of God's people and cannot turn the evil away, because they refuse to hear God's message.

He had seen affliction by the rod of God's wrath. They, including the prophet, could say God had covered them with anger... But there was one difference between him and his people. He had been brought out of his affliction; they were still in theirs. He suffered with them as one of them, but his own sufferings as God's faithful servant in Israel were over. Here was one who had been in affliction like theirs and had been delivered. That gives hope, and that is how they are supported in this book.

How deeply the ploughman thrusts his blade into the soil, leaving a gaping furrow behind him! What is all this hard labour for? A great purpose. The seed-basket follows the plough, and golden grain is cast into the broken soil... But the field would yield no harvest if it were not first cut and seamed and ploughed. Because the plough does its work in the soil, there is hope.

In verses 7-9, the prophet shows what his portion was. It was not only imprisonment with a heavy chain. There was also the terrible added weight that pleading and prayer could not secure his release. The way was fenced — not to protect him, but to shut him out and frustrate him.

Samson was bound with "fetters of brass" ("copper" — Judges 16:21; 2 Kings 25:7). Copper seems to have been the recognised material for bonds. David, in his lament over Abner, says: "Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put into fetters" (2 Samuel 3:34). The word means, literally, "in copper" (see also Lamentations 3:7).

He adds to this the first of his charges against God, calling himself "the man whom God has hedged in". Jeremiah's Lamentations uses similar language: "He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has made my chains heavy" (Lamentations 3:7). But Jeremiah goes on: "It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions do not fail." And again: "It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD" (verses 22, 26). We fail to find anything like this in Job's words.

In chapter 3 the prophet speaks in his own person, by the Spirit of Christ. He expresses all that he felt as one who shared Israel's affliction and was at the same time the object of their hatred. His position was remarkably like that of Christ. What suffering can match his? He shares the suffering of God's people, yet he cannot turn the evil away, because they refuse to hear God's message.

Little could Jeremiah have guessed what use God would make of his trials… He had seen affliction by the rod of God's wrath… But there was one difference between him and his people. God had brought him out of his affliction; they were still in theirs. He suffered with them as one of them. Yet the personal sufferings he describes, as God's faithful servant in Israel, were over. So one man had been in affliction like theirs, and God had delivered him. This gives hope, and this is how the book supports them.

How deeply into the soil the ploughman thrusts his blade, leaving a gaping furrow behind him! To what purpose is this determined labour? A great purpose! He is preparing the ground for a miracle. The seed-basket follows the ploughshare. Golden grain goes into the furrowed soil… But the field would yield no harvest without that first cutting and seaming and ploughing. Because the ploughshare does its work in the soil, there is hope. Has the ploughshare of adversity or sorrow left deep furrows in your soul? Then have hope.