Do we see ourselves in Jerusalem lamenting over her sin and suffering? Let’s look at an acrostic poem of Jerusalem’s sorrow in Lamentations 1.
How lonely has Jerusalem become, a vassal city of a foreign king?
[Alef א] How lonely she lies, the city that thronged with people! Like a widow she has become, this great one among nations! The princess among provinces has become a vassal.
[Bet ב] Bitterly she cries in the night, as tears stream down her cheeks. No one consoles her of all her friends. All her neighbors have betrayed her; they have become her enemies. (Lam 1:1-2 LSB)
Are foreign alliances with nations that worship false gods like treacherous lovers?
[Gimel ג] Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits.
[Dalet ד] The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. (Lam 1:3-4 KJV)
How would we feel if our enemies became our masters?
[He ה] Her adversaries have become her masters; Her enemies are complacent; For Yahweh has caused her grief Because of the greatness of her transgressions; Her infants have gone away As captives before the adversary.
[Vav ו] So all her majesty Has gone out from the daughter of Zion; Her princes have become like deer That have found no pasture; So they have fled without strength Before the pursuer. (Lam 1:5-6 LSB)
Have our nations sinned greatly like Jerusalem and become objects of ridicule?
[Zayin ז] In the days of her affliction and homelessness Jerusalem remembers all her treasures That were hers since the days of old, When her people fell into the hand of the adversary And no one helped her. The adversaries saw her, They laughed at her ruin.
[Het ח] Jerusalem sinned greatly, Therefore she has become an object of ridicule. All who honored her despise her Because they have seen her nakedness; Even she herself groans and turns away. (Lam 1:7-8 NASB)
Had Jerusalem even thought about cause and effect for her future, that pagan nations would desecrate her holiest place?
[Tet ט] Her filthiness clung to her skirts; she did not consider her future. Her fall was astounding; there was none to comfort her. “Look, Lord, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed.”
[Yod י] The enemy laid hands on all her treasures; she saw pagan nations enter her sanctuary—those you had forbidden to enter your assembly. (Lam 1:9-10 NIV)
Does national sin bring consequences at the dinner table, national sorrow?
[Kaf ך] All her people sigh, They seek bread; They have given their valuables for food to restore life. “See, O Lord, and consider, For I am scorned.”
[Lamed ל] “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Behold and see If there is any sorrow like my sorrow, Which has been brought on me, Which the Lord has inflicted In the day of His fierce anger. (Lam 1:11-12 NKJV)
Has the Lord turned us back, captive to the consequences of our national sins?
[Mem ם] “He has sent fire from heaven that burns in my bones. He has placed a trap in my path and turned me back. He has left me devastated, racked with sickness all day long.
[Nun נ] “He wove my sins into ropes to hitch me to a yoke of captivity. The Lord sapped my strength and turned me over to my enemies; I am helpless in their hands. (Lam 1:13-14 NLT)
Has God trodden down our nation and has the enemy prevailed?
[Samekh ס] “The Lord has set at nothing all my mighty men within me. He has called a solemn assembly against me to crush my young men. The Lord has trodden the virgin daughter of Judah as in a wine press.
[Ayin ע] “For these things I weep. My eye, my eye runs down with water, because the comforter who should refresh my soul is far from me. My children are desolate, because the enemy has prevailed.” (Lam 1:15-16 WEB)
Where is the comforter of Zion, because the people disobeyed His word?
[Pe פ] Zion spreads out her hands; she has no comforter. The Lord commanded Jacob’s enemies to surround him. Jerusalem is just a piece of garbage to them.
[Tzadi צ] The Lord is right, because I disobeyed his word. Listen, all you people; look at my suffering. My young women and young men have gone away as prisoners. (Lam 1:17-18 CEB)
Will our national allies come to our aid if we betray the Lord our God?
[Qof ק] I called out to my lovers, but they betrayed me. My priests and my leaders died while searching the city for scraps of food.
[Resh ר] Won't you look and see how upset I am, our Lord? My stomach is in knots, and my heart is broken because I betrayed you. In the streets and at home, my people are slaughtered. (Lam 1:19-20 CEV)
Are our international lovers, our allies glad that our nation groans in trouble?
[Shin ש] “They heard my groaning, yet there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that you have done it. You have brought the day you announced; now let them be as I am.
[Tav ת] “Let all their evildoing come before you, and deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my transgressions; for my groans are many, and my heart is faint.” (Lam 1:21-22 ESV)
Did Jesus likewise lament over Jerusalem, because of an impending punishment in 70 AD?
As He approached and saw the city, He wept over it, saying, “If you knew this day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days will come on you when your enemies will build an embankment against you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you and your children within you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in you, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:41–44 HCSB)
Do we see ourselves in Jerusalem lamenting over her sin and suffering? You decide!
