In this book of lament poems, we come to a deeper understanding of the grief and trauma that the Israelites experienced with the Babylonian exile. Note, that this is a book filled with questions like: Why, God!? - and it was still included in the Bible. Why is that? What does that tell us about God? What does that say about people?

For a broader view of this book of the Bible, we encourage you to watch this video:

Bible Journaling Tip:

One of the most confusing aspects of the Bible for modern believers is that we seldom read the Bible the way it was intended to be read: In the Bible, there is a library of books. A fun creative exercise is to make dividers for your Bible to mark the start of each new book: this can be an artwork, or a plain colored page - but it could also include a quick summary about the book like the genre, the main idea, and who wrote it.  

LOOK UP (information): encounter God through the Scripture 

Author:

The author of Lamentations is anonymous. What we do know about him is that he survived the Babylonian exile, and is now reflecting on that time. Mark places where you can see the author refer back to what you read about in other books of the Bible, like 2 Kings or Jeremiah.

Audience:

This book deals with the common human problems of pain and grief. There is a paradox or tension present in this book which is crucial to identify in order to understand its intent: As those who love God, we are fixing our eyes on heaven, yet we are struggling in our day-to-day lives. Why is that? How can we be hopeful and dreadful at the same time?

History:

The book of Lamentations is a combination of reflections that bring us into the confusion and pain that the Israelites felt when the Babylonian exile happened. You will remember that we read about the Babylonian exile in 2 Kings. This book can be read hand-in-hand with Isaiah and Jeremiah to see where what they prophesied became true. Mark any overlaps in your Bible. Isn’t it interesting that God sent various people with the same message? Do you think these prophets knew each other? 

Genre:

The genre of this book is historical narrative, in a poetry style. It is made up of five poems, written post-exile. For easy reading, mark the beginning of each of the 5 poems in the margins of your Bible by drawing a line. Do the poems follow on each other? Can they be read as a whole? What do they have in common?

LOOK IN (revelation): contemplate / reflect on our own lives

Key verse:

Lamentations 1:11-12 NIV

All her people groan as they search for bread; they barter their treasure for food to keep themselves alive. “Look, Lord, and consider, for I am despised. Is it nothing to you, all you who pass me by? Look around and see. Is any suffering like my suffering that was inflicted on me, that the Lord brought on me in the day of his fierce anger?”  

Inspiration:

Lamentations is one of those books in the Bible that makes us face a characteristic of God that is more difficult to understand. However, we need not shy away from such emotions. Like we see in this book, we can press into difficult feelings and bring them before God. Some examples of such questions arise from these verses: Why do people hunger? What is spiritual hunger? How come people don’t care about each other in the world? Does God punish us?

LOOK OUT (transformation): respond with creative worship action  

Drawing prompt:

Draw or paint a picture of yourself before God or Jesus. Show that you have a lot of questions: that can be evident through your facial expression and posture, or by holding physical questions in your hands. What is God’s response? How does He react to your lament? You can show Jesus with open arms, patiently listening and responding to your questions.

Bible Journey with JournalOwl:

Here are some questions / prompts provided by the JournalOwl community. 

• What was scattered throughout the streets in verse one of this book? (Lamentations 4:1)
• What contrasts did the writer make between Jerusalem in her glory and Jerusalem in her shame in these verses? (Lamentations 4:1-12)

Follow this link to dive into this book with an online Bible Study group.

 Writing prompt:

Poems of lament are also found in Psalms. They have three unique functions: protest, process, and position. Protest means crying out about that which is wrong in the world. Process means coming to terms with heavy emotions. Position means talking about these problems with God, and placing ourselves before him. 

Write your own poem of lament using these three functions. How does it make you feel to write about real difficult emotions and bring them before God? Is God intimidated by your questions?

Prayer:

God, I want to thank you for the book of Lamentations. Thank you for freeing me from the belief that I have to be perfect before I can approach you. Help me to come to you with greater vulnerbaility and less walls up each day that I walk with you. Let my response to this text be worship unto you!