To crush under foot all the prisoners of the earth,
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
to turn aside the right of a man before the face of the Most High,
This verse is the middle line of three, and all three name wrongs the Lord refuses to approve. Here a man is robbed of his rights in full view of the Most High — so does God see it, and will He act?
Verses 34 to 36 belong together. One writer notes how the list is built, then answers the question it raises.
The next three verses have an unusual structure: each one begins with an infinitive... They are acts of oppression, cruelty, and wrong. Should the Lord not see this? Certainly they have no sanction from Him.
The verse sits inside a passage about God's hand on His own people. So how do His dealings differ from the injustice He refuses to approve?
He is too loving to lay on us one unnecessary burden; He is too holy to leave out one needed stroke. Unrighteousness He cannot tolerate... All His ways are right. It is only our faulty sight that makes them seem otherwise. At last He will take us by the hand and go over the whole path with us. His own glory will light up every step. Then we shall understand, as we cannot now, how just and true all His ways were as He led us through this scene.
The verse does more than name the wrong. It says where the wrong happens: in front of God. That title carries its own weight in Scripture.
Look at the various places where this name is found and you will see that it is God's "millennial name above all idolatrous gods and demons and all power." In this character Scripture calls God "possessor of heaven and earth." That is why Nebuchadnezzar had to lie under God's judgment until he knew "that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He will."
So a court hands down its corrupt verdict under the eye of the One who owns heaven and earth and gives out kingdoms. Nothing escapes His sight, and nothing escapes His reach.
Some trouble a person has earned. Some he has not. One writer says God allows the second kind too, and shows what it is for.
God often allows sorrows to come on His own people as discipline, even when the troubles themselves were not deserved. For instance, a believer may be falsely accused and thrown into deep mental grief. All the while he frets, knowing he is not guilty of the cruel charge, and feeling he is treated wickedly. But seen rightly, this is simply an opportunity to share Christ's sufferings. For was He not hated "without a cause," and did not false witnesses rise up against Him?
The same wrong reached its height at one trial. One writer points to the day when justice and righteousness parted company.
Remarkable expression — "judgment shall return to righteousness." When did judgment depart from righteousness? Do you not remember? When this very people had dragged the Son of God to the bar of the Gentile governor. And do you not remember when Pilate had said, "I find no guilt in him," they cried "Crucify him"? Yes, in Pilate's hall, long centuries ago, judgment in the person of Pilate and righteousness in the person of Jesus parted company. The innocent Man was condemned and killed. Thank God, that Man is my Saviour; I hope He is yours.
(He is quoting an older wording of Psalm 94:15. The ESV reads: "justice will return to the righteous.")
- Seen. The verse stands in a list of three acts of oppression, cruelty and wrong. Does the Lord see them? He certainly does.
- Disowned. Such wrongs have no approval from God. An unjust verdict may have power behind it, but never His backing.
- Measured. God's own dealings are different. He never adds one needless burden and never leaves out one needed stroke. One day He will walk us back over the whole path in His own light.
- Shared. Undeserved trouble is not wasted trouble. A false charge gives the believer a share in the sufferings of Christ, who was hated without a cause.
- Reversed. Justice and righteousness parted in Pilate's hall, and the innocent Man was condemned. They will not stay apart: justice will return to righteousness.
to wrong a man in his cause, -- will not the Lord see it?
Lamentations 3:36 ends three lines that name the treatment God will never approve. It stands in a chapter where God Himself has struck His people — so does the cruelty of the human hands He used stand approved with Him?
Three lines in Hebrew each begin the same way, and they belong together as one sentence. One commentator sets out the grammar and then the plain sense:
These next three verses have an unusual structure. Each one begins with a verb in the infinitive form, and the common Authorized Version presents this well. "To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth, to turn aside the right of a man before the face of the most high, to subvert a man in his cause — Jehovah approves not." These are acts of oppression, cruelty, and wrong. Should the Lord not see this? They have no approval from Him at all.
So "his cause" means a legal case. The ESV calls it "his lawsuit."
God sent Judah's suffering. But if any of His dealings look unjust, another commentator points to where the real problem lies:
Unrighteousness He cannot tolerate. All His ways are fair. It is only our defective sight that makes them appear otherwise. One day He will take us by the hand and go over the whole path with us. He will let the light of His own glory shine on every step. Then we shall understand, as we cannot now, how just and true all His ways were as He led us through this world.
Discipline from God and cruelty from people can arrive in the same blow. The same writer separates the two, and shows what the undeserved part is for:
Babylon had no excuse for oppressing Judah, judged by any standard of human fairness. Greed for empire and lust for power drove her wars. God often allows sorrows to come on His own people as discipline, even when the troubles themselves were not deserved. Someone may be accused falsely, for example, and suffer deep mental pain. All the time he frets, knowing he is innocent of the cruel charge and feeling that he is treated wickedly. But seen rightly, this is simply an opportunity to share in Christ's sufferings. Was He not hated "without a cause"? Did false witnesses not rise up against Him?
Oppressors count on God not noticing. But the delay has a limit:
"They say Jehovah will not see; the God of Jacob will pay no attention." How far wrong their thoughts are in this matter. The seeming delay lasts only "until the pit is dug for the wicked. For Jehovah will not cast off his people." He will prove Himself their help, their defence, and the rock of their refuge.
Later in the same chapter the prophet acts on this confidence:
The prophet is confident that He will appear for vindication and deliverance. The deep and deserved humiliation put on His people does not weaken his assurance or stifle his cry. On one side, if He has seen the wrong done to the righteous, He would judge his cause. On the other, He had seen all the enemy's revenge and scheming against him.
Feeling the weight of the blow is not the danger:
He feels that it is good to be afflicted, and to wait on Jehovah who strikes him, for He will not cast off forever. He does not afflict willingly, but from necessity... It is right to feel an affliction like this. The only harm comes if we let it weaken our confidence in the Lord.
- Sees — Three lines form one sentence: crushing prisoners, twisting a man's rights, ruining his case. They are oppression, cruelty and wrong, and God gives them no approval.
- Refuses — God may send the trouble and still refuse to own the cruelty of the hand that brought it. Unrighteousness He cannot tolerate.
- Distinguishes — Deserved discipline and undeserved cruelty can arrive together. The undeserved part becomes a share in the sufferings of One who was hated without a cause.
- Waits — Oppressors count on God not noticing. The delay lasts only until the pit is dug for the wicked.
- Vindicates — Deep and deserved humiliation need not silence the cry. If He has seen the wrong, He will judge the cause.