Lamentations 1-2

Lamentations 1-2

 

There is a valid reason that Jeremiah Is called "The Weeping Prophet."  These verses are filled with mourning, pain, sadness and heartbreak, reflecting on the destruction of a place, a city, a nation.  We see images of Jerusalem in these chapters including the image of a widow, a queen, now a slave.  A picture of beauty that now cries alone, unrested, in ruble.  She is called Jerusalem, Zion, Daughter of Zion, and the Virgin Daughter of Jacob.  These identities have been the same for centuries and the saddest part is that there are still weepers. 

 

I took a lot of history classes in college and one of the most memorable was about the Crusades.  We studied many primary sources and covered readings from many of the priests, kings, and crusaders themselves.  I loved that class and many memories have been brought up as we have read from these prophets.  One image that I always remember reading was during one of the first crusades the Europeans ("Christians") raided Jerusalem and killed everyone there.  The reading described streets flowing with blood and then the emptiness of this once breathtaking city.  My point of this is that it seems that this is a cry that Jerusalem has known for all its existence.   There has always been and always will be someone weeping for Jerusalem.    

 

Some of the key thoughts I get out of these chapters is the reminder that we serve a God who keeps his promises, the good and the ones we hope he forgets.  He disciplines His children for their sin and disobedience, no matter how hard the punishment is.  I was also thinking how it's ok to mourn, to cry out, and to despair. Jeremiah knew this was coming and his pain is visible.  He cried to the Lord and was finally heard by many.   His words have echoed Jerusalem for centuries.  Interestingly, I read that parts of these verses are recited weekly by devote Orthodox Jews at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.  These words are a symbol of the destruction of the Temple and that many times Jerusalem has been destroyed.  God can always use our words when we are obedient and our hearts are right.