Lamentations

This book of poetic songs of lament were written because of the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon on 586 BC. It is traditionally thought to be written by Jeremiah, and most of these 5 chapters were written as an acrostic, meaning each verse starts with the letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The main points found in the songs are 1) This devastation came because of the sin of the people in Judah, including the religious leaders' sin. 2) This devastation was the work of the Lord. 3) The people knew who to cry out to, and that was the Lord. 4) The Lord loves His children, and He is good and faithful. 5) Since the Lord is good and faithful, and because they brought this punishment upon themselves because of their sin, they should confess and turn to the Lord. 6) The Lord will take care of Judah's enemies, and they too will be held accountable for their actions. Then the 7th point comes in the form of a question, "Have You utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure?" In other words, is this the end? Is God through with them? If Jeremiah did write these songs, then he knows that the nations will serve Babylon seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11), yet because of his grief, he struggled. The Lord God was not done with them, and He is not done with us either. Great is His faithfulness!