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NOTES for Lam 4:1-22

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1 How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!
3 Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.
5 They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.
6 For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.
7 Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire:
8 Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.
9 They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.
10 The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The LORD hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof.
12 The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem.
13 For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her,
14 They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments.
15 They cried unto them, Depart ye; it is unclean; depart, depart, touch not: when they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, They shall no more sojourn there.
16 The anger of the LORD hath divided them; he will no more regard them: they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders.
17 As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us.
18 They hunt our steps, that we cannot go in our streets: our end is near, our days are fulfilled; for our end is come.
19 Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.
20 The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen.
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked.
22 The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will discover thy sins.
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At the end of today's chapter the prophet tells about specific historical events. About how Israel waited for help from the Egyptians, how Zedekiah, the king and support of the people, fled and was captured, and how the neighbors, instead of helping, took advantage of Israel's defeat and weakness. But at the beginning of the chapter we read details of life that can be encountered in any age, during any wars and trials. When a person says that there are things he would never do, most often this is nothing but self-deception. You never know how you will live through hunger, war, and ruin. What you will do to preserve your own life. What you will agree to sacrifice.

Other notes

 
For Lam 4:1-22
1 How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!
3 Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.
5 They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.
6 For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.
7 Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire:
8 Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.
9 They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.
10 The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The LORD hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof.
12 The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem.
13 For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her,
14 They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments.
15 They cried unto them, Depart ye; it is unclean; depart, depart, touch not: when they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, They shall no more sojourn there.
16 The anger of the LORD hath divided them; he will no more regard them: they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders.
17 As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us.
18 They hunt our steps, that we cannot go in our streets: our end is near, our days are fulfilled; for our end is come.
19 Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.
20 The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen.
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked.
22 The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will discover thy sins.
Hide
Repentance is not confined to turning to God, although turning to Him with a request that He intervene in the situation is its spiritual foundation. An equally important element of repentance, however, is recognizing the sin that led to...  Read more

Repentance is not confined to turning to God, although turning to Him with a request that He intervene in the situation is its spiritual foundation. An equally important element of repentance, however, is recognizing the sin that led to the present situation. This is what the author of the book does, for example, when he recognizes that the exile is the consequence of crimes committed long before it, particularly the killing of the righteous mentioned in the book.

This may refer to the persecution that befell the followers of Isaiah of Jerusalem, and perhaps the prophet himself, during the reign of Manasseh. At that time the priestly elite did indeed take an active part in persecuting these people, and many of them were executed or simply killed without trial.

Yet before the exile no one had reflected on the persecution and bloodshed of that time as a crime; no one had recognized them as a sin requiring repentance. Of course, one cannot repent of a sin one has not personally committed; in this sense, descendants cannot repent before God for the sins of their ancestors, and God expects no such thing of them. But it is absolutely necessary to reflect on what happened and recognize it as sin, even for generations that had no part in those events. Yet in pre-exilic Jerusalem, no one gave serious thought to that persecution.

It seemed to belong to the distant past and was viewed simply as part of national history. Even the widespread conversion during Josiah's reign did not lead to recognition of Manasseh's persecutions as sin and crime. Living with unacknowledged sin does not necessarily mean repeating it, but it does mean inevitably committing new sins no better than the old ones. That is what happened during the reigns of Judah's last kings: the religious revival of Josiah's time gave way to widespread apostasy and national pride.

The overwhelming majority were certain that the people to whom they belonged were chosen, that God would protect His Temple, that Jerusalem was a holy city no enemy could enter, and that God's people were invincible by definition. It is hardly surprising that all this ended in a national catastrophe, both spiritual and military-political. God does not punish for sin: He simply steps aside wherever and whenever the sin people freely choose no longer leaves room for Him. The consequences of the sin being committed become the punishment, and they usually prove more than sufficient.

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