What type of book is lamentations

The city in question was none other than Jerusalem. Jeremiah walked through the streets and alleys of the Holy City and saw nothing but pain, suffering, and destruction in the wake of the Babylonian invasion of BC.

It also makes sense to date the book as close to the invasion as possible, meaning late BC or early BC, due to the raw emotion Jeremiah expresses throughout its pages.

Like the book of Job, Lamentations pictures a man of God puzzling over the results of evil and suffering in the world. The people of this once great city experienced the judgment of the holy God, and the results were devastating. But at the heart of this book, at the center of this lament over the effects of sin in the world, sit a few verses devoted to hope in the Lord Lamentations — This statement of faith standing strong in the midst of the surrounding darkness shines as a beacon to all those suffering under the consequences of their own sin and disobedience.

As the verses of Lamentations accumulate, readers cannot help but wonder how many different ways Jeremiah could describe the desolation of the once proud city of Jerusalem. Children begged food from their mothers Lamentations , young men and women were cut down by swords , and formerly compassionate mothers used their children for food Jeremiah could not help but acknowledge the abject state of this city, piled with rubble.

Speaking in the first person, Jeremiah pictured himself captured in a besieged city, without anyone to hear his prayers, and as a target for the arrows of the enemy —8, Yet even in this seemingly hopeless situation, he somehow found hope in the Lord — The most useful of these are Joyce and Hillers Gwaltney provides a brief history of interpretation. Bailey offers a useful introduction for more theologically oriented readers, while Landy provides a literary introduction.

Bailey, Wilma Ann. Edited by Gale A. Yee, Hugh R. Page Jr. Coomber, — Minneapolis: Fortress, Offers a highly accessible overview of the text in its ancient context, the interpretive tradition, and contemporary Jewish and Christian communities.

Gwaltney, William C. Edited by John H. Hayes, 44— Nashville: Abingdon, Provides an overview of the major issues in the history of Lamentations scholarship, focusing not only on 20th-century scholarship, but also including interpreters from late Antiquity onward.

Hillers, Delbert R. Edited by David Noel Freedman, — New York: Doubleday, A standard scholarly introduction to the major issues in Lamentations research, though now somewhat dated; particularly useful for historical-critical issues. Joyce, Paul M. Why do you forsake us so long? Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may return; renew our days as of old unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure.

Each chapter represents a separate poem. In the original Hebrew, the verses are acrostic, each verse starting with a succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Lamenting is appropriate in a time of distress, but it should quickly give way to contrition and repentance Lamentations ; This same sorrow over the sins of the people and their rejection of God was expressed by Jesus as He approached Jerusalem and looked ahead to her destruction at the hands of the Romans Luke But God takes no joy in having to punish His children and His offer of Jesus Christ as a provision for sin shows His great compassion on His people.