How the gold has grown dim,
how the pure gold is changed!
The holy stones lie scattered
at the head of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion,
worth their weight in fine gold,
how they are regarded as earthen pots,
the work of a potter's hands!
3 Even jackals offer the breast;
they nurse their young;
but the daughter of my people has become cruel,
like the ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the nursing infant sticks
to the roof of its mouth for thirst;
the children beg for food,
but no one gives to them.
5 Those who once feasted on delicacies
perish in the streets;
those who were brought up in purple
embrace ash heaps.
6 For the chastisement of the daughter of my people has been greater
than the punishment of Sodom,
which was overthrown in a moment,
and no hands were wrung for her.
7 Her princes were purer than snow,
whiter than milk;
their bodies were more ruddy than coral,
the beauty of their form was like sapphire.
8 Now their face is blacker than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets;
their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it has become as dry as wood.
9 Happier were the victims of the sword
than the victims of hunger,
who wasted away, pierced
by lack of the fruits of the field.
10 The hands of compassionate women
have boiled their own children;
they became their food
during the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The Lord gave full vent to his wrath;
he poured out his hot anger,
and he kindled a fire in Zion
that consumed its foundations.
12 The kings of the earth did not believe,
nor any of the inhabitants of the world,
that foe or enemy could enter
the gates of Jerusalem.
13 This was for the sins of her prophets
and the iniquities of her priests,
who shed in the midst of her
the blood of the righteous.
14 They wandered, blind, through the streets;
they were so defiled with blood
that no one was able to touch
their garments.
15 “Away! Unclean!” people cried at them.
“Away! Away! Do not touch!”
So they became fugitives and wanderers;
people said among the nations,
“They shall stay with us no longer.”
16 The Lord himself has scattered them;
he will regard them no more;
no honor was shown to the priests,
no favor to the elders.
17 Our eyes failed, ever watching
vainly for help;
in our watching we watched
for a nation which could not save.
18 They dogged our steps
so that we could not walk in our streets;
our end drew near; our days were numbered,
for our end had come.
19 Our pursuers were swifter
than the eagles in the heavens;
they chased us on the mountains;
they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
20 The breath of our nostrils, the Lord's anointed,
was captured in their pits,
of whom we said, “Under his shadow
we shall live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
you who dwell in the land of Uz;
but to you also the cup shall pass;
you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.
22 The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished;
he will keep you in exile no longer;
but your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish;
he will uncover your sins. Lamentations 4 ESV
Lamentations 4 Holy Stones Lie Scattered
How the gold has grown dim - The temple had much gold, but it was no longer taken care of, it was varnished, covered in dust, stripped from it's place. It's tribute to glory had long been abandoned by the apostasy of those who profaned the temple in their deeds and false teaching.
The holy stones lie scattered - That which was set apart, unique to this building, hewn for this specific place, was now thrown down by the Babylonians. Why should they regard the house of the God that was not regarded by His people? You didn't obey Him, why do you mourn the loss of the building, the social gatherings? Even the stones cry out.
1As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, His disciples came up to Him to point out its buildings. 2“ Do you see all these things?” He replied. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” 3While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”… Matthew 24: 1-3
The precious sons of Zion - Babylon took Jerusalem's brightest, most talented, and set about the task of reprogramming them. They were significant men in Israel, promising to rise as stars among their peers, but in Babylon they would be sold, and their lives would always hang in the balance. All they had to do was shine, and men would envy them. All they had to do was confess allegiance to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, refuse a command against the living God, and they would find the furnace and the lion's den. Babylon removed wisdom from the land.
Like the ostriches in the wilderness - Jackals manage in bleak environments to still eat enough to nurse their young. Ostriches look uncaring, leaving their eggs on the ground, and though they manage this way a human child cannot cry out for long, will not forage on it's own. The children are starving in the streets and the parents are turning of deaf ear for there is no food
…14For she leaves her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand. 15She forgets that a foot may crush them, or a wild animal may trample them. 16She treats her young harshly, as if not her own, with no concern that her labor was in vain.…. Job 39: 14-16
Those who were brought up in purple - They were from wealth, royalty. They grew up having more than enough, but then they went into a siege that lasted 18 months. Even when Babylon pulled back, many of these would not know how to live as the poor, to leave and find food. There is poverty of the pocket, but worse is that of the mind and soul.
…35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and for the gospel will save it. 36 What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?… Mark 8: 35-37
Than the punishment of Sodom - Sodom was destroyed in an instant, but this has drawn out, and the horrors of it are such that they thought would never come. They are watching their children starve and die, their sons and daughters taken away.
…48As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did as you and your daughters have done. 49Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy. 50Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them, as you have seen.… Ezekiel 16: 48-50
Now their face is blacker than soot - The effects of famine. When the skin loses moisture, as one is dehydrated and leaned out, you can pinch the skin and it will not return to it's place. The eyes become sunken and dark, sleep is evasive because of the bodies warning cry for food. As the internal organs break down the skin changes color, the mind goes for lack of fat and fuel. Those that were once recognized as great men, achievers, the cream of the crop, they were now unrecognizable.
13Behold, My Servant will prosper; He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. 14Just as many were appalled at Him— His appearance was disfigured beyond that of any man, and His form was marred beyond human likeness — 15so He will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths because of Him. For they will see what they have not been told, and they will understand what they have not heard.… Isaiah 52: 13-15
The hands of compassionate women - These were not women known for abusiveness, for uncaring, no, before all this they would have been esteemed as great mothers. Now, here they are, boiling their own children for food. You can see why they behaved like ostriches, they did not have the means to care for them, but as we grasp for our own lives it becomes easier to sacrifice those we have distanced ourselves from.
The kings of the earth did not believe - They thought Jerusalem was sound, the approach too difficult, her walls grand, armies ready, water supply and food sufficient to wait out the enemy. It was an 18 month siege so we see the ferocity that built up on the other side, the wrath that was allowed to accumulate.
This was for the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priest - God didn't send these prophets yet they went and would not shut up. They preached against repentance, tickling the people to death. The priests should have recognized this as shepherds and held these men and their words up against the word of God. They were corrupt too, and so they liked the message which stood against what they had learned in God's word.
They were so defiled with blood - They participated in the killing of God's true prophets, like the parable of the vineyard. They also share blood guilt for those they led astray.
…25Now I know that none of you among whom I have preached the kingdom will see my face again. 26Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27For I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole will of God.… Acts 20: 25-27
…6but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments. 7You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain. 8Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.… Exodus 20: 6-8
1Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.… James 3: 1-2
Away unclean - They wandered blind, without shepherds to lead them, and those that they had led them into uncleanness, the murder of the prophets. No one wanted to hear the voices of the false prophets any longer because they could see the end of it, but the people themselves were shewed away by the surrounding neighbors. No one wanted to harbor them or associate with them. The had waited on and hoped in Egypt, but alas they could not deliver.
…51You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did. 52Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers— 53you who received the law ordained by angels, yet have not kept it.”… Acts 7: 51-53
They dogged our steps - Watched from every side, the siege mounds, then siege towers. Arrows from the towers and catapults throwing rocks. Their lovely home had become a high security prison.
“Supposed to refer to the darts and other missiles cast from the mounds which they had raised on the outside of the walls, by which those who walked in the streets were grievously annoyed, and could not shield themselves.” (Clarke)
Our pursuers were swifter - They were much healthier on the other side of the siege, and those that tried to get away from them, who made a run for it, were quickly captured.
Under his shadow - They thought they would live safely under the shadow of the king. They put hope in the temple, in God's covenant with David, in being children of Abraham, but not in God Himself, to Him they would not bow.
“Zedekiah was a weak and treacherous individual who condoned the religious corruption and moral degeneracy of the time, and generally ignored the advice proffered by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 37:2), except on occasions of grave crisis.” (Harrison)
To you also the cup shall pass - Edom was a horrible brother to Jacob, he laughed at Jerusalem's demise, but his turn was coming.
The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished - Their sins are covered, the time of her punishment was ending.
…29A jar of sour wine was sitting there. So they soaked a sponge in the wine, put it on a stalk of hyssop, and lifted it to His mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit. 31It was the day of Preparation, and the next day was a High Sabbath. In order that the bodies would not remain on the cross during the Sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies removed.… John 19: 29-31
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