In this chapter, we find Jeremiah developing his thoughts from the previous chapter, which describes how the people of Judah and Jerusalem recognise how far they have moved away from God and how they now accept God’s punishment because they realise that everything has happened because of their sinful actions in leaving God.
The chapter begins by identifying God as the One who has been working against Jacob, that is, Israel and Judah, because they left God, and He was the one who poured out judgment upon the people.
The word ‘anger’ occurs five times in this chapter, Lamentations 2:1 / Lamentations 2:3 / Lamentations 2:6 / Lamentations 2:21 / Lamentations 2:22, and the word ‘wrath’ is found twice, Lamentations 2:2 / Lamentations 2:4.
It’s clear to understand that because they had defied God’s will, they fell into the hands of God and so experienced His wrath. Hebrews 10:31. The word ‘cloud’, Lamentations 2:1, is used to describe how they were overwhelmed with tragedy.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following concerning the cloud.
‘During the exodus, God had shielded the Chosen People with a cloud, the dark side of which confronted Egypt; but now it is the remnant of Israel that faces the ugly side of the cloud! Throughout this chapter, there appears the screaming fact that it is God Himself who has brought all of the evil upon His sinful people.’
Israel was once a beautiful place; it had the temple within it, but by the time Nebuchadnezzar was finished, the temple was destroyed, and so that wonderful symbol which they loved so much and took so much pride in was literally taken away, Jeremiah 52. His footstool, the mercy seat of the temple, was literally destroyed, Lamentations 2:1.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The footstool may be a reference to the ark of the covenant, 1 Chronicles 28:2 / Psalms 99:5, or the temple, but it probably refers to Jerusalem.’
The word ‘horn’, Lamentations 2:3, in this passage represents strength, but notice it was God Himself who brought Israel’s strength to an end, Lamentations 2:3-5 / Deuteronomy 4:24 / Hebrews 12:29. The magnificent temple of stone and beauty was swept away as if it were a gardener’s stall made of branches and leaves, Lamentations 2:6.
The New Layman’s Bible Commentary says the following.
‘God, in these verses, is represented as a furious warrior, who with irresistible power destroyed everything that Judah had trusted in. They had stopped trusting in God, and instead were relying on might, Lamentations 2:2, palaces, Lamentations 2:5, strongholds, Lamentations 2:5, the physical Temple, Lamentations 2:6.’
He brought everything which stood for strength, their buildings, their leaders, king, priests, and elders to an end, Lamentations 2:7-8.
The New Bible Commentary says the following.
‘Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian armies are here ignored! The capture of Jerusalem, far from being God’s defeat, was a victory for his righteousness, Isaiah 42:24-25. God’s judicial displeasure against iniquity is a grim reality indeed for those who render themselves liable to receive it.’
Notice the law is no more, and her prophets no longer find visions from the LORD, Lamentations 2:9.
Keil, in his commentary, says the following.
‘When Jerusalem was destroyed, Israel received no prophetic communication; God the Lord did not then send them a message to comfort and sustain them.’
By the time God was finished, there was nothing left to identify her as a nation among the nations of the world, Lamentations 2:10 / Isaiah 24:24-25.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The most respected leaders of the Israelites had suffered humiliation and now sat on the ground with dust on their heads, signs of mourning. Girding with sackcloth and bowing to the ground also expressed grief over what the Lord had done. Thus, the Lord broke down the leaders of the nation as well as its walls.’
We often read in the papers or see it in the news when a city is torn apart by war, and the people are just ripped apart with grief. This is their home where they were raised, all their friends and family live there, they worked there, they had fun there, but all those memories are gone in a moment.
In these passages, we can almost feel the pain of Jeremiah. He is overwhelmed with grief and moved to tears as he laments over the devastation of his beloved city and people, Lamentations 2:11-13. He’s moved because his people no longer dwell there, Jeremiah 9:1 / Jeremiah 14:17.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This is one of the saddest pictures in the literature of mankind. Children crying for bread, fainting from hunger in the streets, dying at their mother’s breasts from starvation! This is evidently the account of an eyewitness who had watched these things occur during that horrible siege that ended in the destruction of Jerusalem, 2 Kings 25.’
Even though his fellow Israelites didn’t understand who they were, Jeremiah knew that his people were the people of God, and we can only imagine what’s going through his mind as he sees his country come to an end and cease to exist. There’s no hiding the pain and sorrow that Jeremiah is feeling, and no doubt his fellow Israelites were feeling the same.
Imagine being in existence as a nation for a thousand years, but in a matter of moments, you cease to exist. Jeremiah says, This has happened to no other nation in such a short period of time.
We can imagine them longing to return, Psalm 137, longing to be restored, and when people are desperate for good news, there’s always a false prophet around to tell you what you want to hear.
These false prophets were speaking to the Israelites and giving them false hope, Lamentations 2:14 / 1 Kings 18:19 / Jeremiah 2:5 / Jeremiah 10:15 / Jeremiah 14:13 / Jeremiah 16:19.
They were supposed to be preaching against the sin of the people, but instead, they excused their sinful actions, and because of this, they actually sealed the fate of the nation.
Much like many religious organisations today, the false prophets preached what the people wanted to hear, and what the people wanted to hear was confirmation of their idolatrous behaviour, and so, these false prophets must take responsibility for the fall of Israel, Jeremiah 14:14-16 / Jeremiah 23:9-40.
It’s sad but true that even today, many preachers won’t stand on God’s Word, and as a result, they are, by default, turning the people away from God, 2 Thessalonians 2:6-9.
Israel, as a nation, got to the stage where they became so arrogant that they were claiming to be a special nation that had been created by God, which was true, but as a nation, they proclaimed this to all the other nations around, under the presumption that God was actually rejecting all the other nations on Earth.
Because of this boasting, we can imagine the other nations making a laughingstock out of them, we can imagine them saying, ‘you’re not so special now, are you!’ Lamentations 2:15-16. As a result of this, the other nations would obviously mock God Himself, saying that He was no different from all the other ‘gods’ whom they worshipped.
Notice that Jeremiah says, ‘The LORD has done what he planned; he has fulfilled his word, which he decreed long ago,’ Lamentations 2:17. We can trust God at His word, when He gave Israel the law at Mount Sinai, He told Israel that if they abandoned His commandments, He would abandon them, and then bring them to destruction, Leviticus 26:14-46 / Deuteronomy 28:15-68.
We all know that when people receive a great privilege, it comes with greater responsibility. Israel had the privilege of being a chosen people, and so, protected from the hostility of the nations around them by God’s protective care, and other nations were aware of this.
However, when they abandoned the One who created them as a nation, they had to be destroyed. Why? Simply because the other nations had to see and understand that God wouldn’t accept His people leaving Him to worship other gods, Lamentations 2:17 / Deuteronomy 28:52-68.
Here we read Jeremiah expressing a prayer for the people, Lamentations 2:18 / Psalms 17:8. The walls of the cities figuratively stood for the people, and so, here we see Jeremiah describing how the people, in desperation, cry out to God for deliverance, Lamentations 2:18 / Isaiah 14:31.
It’s not uncommon to find someone else expressing how others feel, and here Jeremiah is expressing the feelings of his fellow Israelites.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Jeremiah responded to this call to prayer by asking the Lord to consider who was suffering so greatly that women were cannibalising their own newborn children to stay alive in the famine, Leviticus 26:27-29 / Deuteronomy 28:53-57 / 2 Kings 6:24-31. Would he allow such a fate for healthy children? Would He permit the slaying of Judahite priests and prophets in the very temple of the Lord?’
In their desperation, they asked God to think again about them as a nation. The question is asked: has God ever been treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the children they have cared for? 2 Kings 6:28-29. Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord? Lamentations 2:20.
In other words, they asked God for a second chance and in doing so, Jeremiah spoke about some of the devastating things which took place during the destruction of Jerusalem, Lamentations 2:21-22 / Jeremiah 6:25. And what was their hope? Their hope lay firmly on God’s mercy.
It’s such a blessing to know that God isn’t only a merciful God but a God of second chances. Most of us lived our lives in rebellion against God without even knowing it, but He was merciful enough to send His Son to die for each of us, and He is merciful enough to give everyone some time to repent before He comes back, therefore giving us a second chance, 2 Peter 3:9.
I think if we are honest enough with ourselves, we would admit that He is the God who gives us chance after chance after chance to live right for Him. The Israelites had to learn that arrogance wasn’t the answer.
Yes, they were God’s chosen people, but they shouldn’t have boasted about it to the extent of condemning others around them as if they could do no wrong.
In the church today, we must be careful of having the same attitude, yes, we’re God’s chosen people, 1 Peter 2:9, but we shouldn’t arrogantly pronounce to the world that, ‘we belong to God, therefore, we can’t do any wrong, we’re going to heaven and the rest of you are doomed for hell!’