God’s Punishment For Jerusalem’s Sin

Topic: Famine
Passage: Lamentations 4:1–13

July 28, 2021

Commentary

Jerusalem’s judgment is brought into sharp focus by comparing her present condition with that before the fall. Jeremiah makes a contrast of the happy conditions of former days with the present devastation of Jerusalem.

First the fate of the city is described; then the prophet gives the reasons for the unbelievable devastation. The prophet focuses his readers thoughts in an unusual way upon Judah’s tragic fate. He employs a series of striking contrasts:

  1. The fate of the gold and precious stones (vv. 1-2). Once bright and shining Jerusalem’s gold is now dimmed and marred.
  2. The tragedy of starving infants (vv. 3-6). Even the wealthiest and most cultured mothers now go hungry. While Sodom’s destruction was sudden, Jerusalem’s ruin came by prolonged torment.
  3. The debilitation of the Nazarites (vv. 7-8). These noble men, separated unto God and once physically magnificent, now are shriveled with hunger.
  4. The misery of famine (vv. 9-11). Far better to have perished by the sword than to be reduced to the inhuman extremities of hunger and want.
  5. The false confidence of Jerusalem’s people (vv. 12-13). Jerusalem was a mighty fortress which seemed secure. The people thought God would never allow the city where His presence dwelt to be destroyed.

Application

I must be careful not to glory in what I have and fall into spiritual bankruptcy.

Lamentations 4:1– 13 (NET)

1 Alas! Gold has lost its luster; pure gold loses value. Jewels are scattered on every street corner. ב (Bet)

2 The precious sons of Zion were worth their weight in gold— Alas!—but now they are treated like broken clay pots, made by a potter. ג (Gimel)

3 Even the jackals nurse their young at their breast, but my people are cruel, like ostriches in the wilderness. ד (Dalet)

4 The infant’s tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth due to thirst; little children beg for bread, but no one gives them even a morsel. ה (He)

5 Those who once feasted on delicacies are now starving to death in the streets. Those who grew up wearing expensive clothes are now dying amid garbage. ו (Vav)

6 The punishment of my people exceeds that of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment with no one to help her. ז (Zayin)

7 Our consecrated ones were brighter than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies more ruddy than corals, their hair like lapis lazuli. ח (Khet)

8 Now their appearance is darker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it is dried up, like tree bark. ט (Tet)

9 Those who die by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, those who waste away, struck down from lack of food. י (Yod)

10 The hands of tenderhearted women cooked their own children, who became their food, when my people were destroyed. כ (Kaf)

11 The Lord fully vented his wrath; he poured out his fierce anger. He started a fire in Zion; it consumed her foundations. ל (Lamed)

12 Neither the kings of the earth nor the people of the lands ever thought that enemy or foe could enter the gates of Jerusalem. מ (Mem)

13 But it happened due to the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who poured out in her midst the blood of the righteous. נ (Nun)