Lam 1:9 | KingComments | STEP | The poet compares the city to a woman in whom menstruation has stained her skirts, which is seen by everyone and evokes horror in everyone ( ). This refers to her idolatry by which she has become unclean, an uncleanness that clings to her whole walk. She has not thought at all about the consequences of her idolatry, what the end of it is, where it would end up and what it has ended up in now (cf. ; ). She did not consider that the LORD would intervene, although He had often warned her of this through His prophets. The depth of misery into which the city sank because of her unfaithfulness was “astonishingly” (cf. ). She had never imagined this. “Astonishingly” means that God has acted in an astonishing way with her, causing her to sink into an unimaginable depth of misery. The depth into which the city sank has a supernatural origin in the eyes of the prophet. Following on from this, we read for the second time that she has no comforter, an observation that shows her misery even more emphatically. In the last part of we hear for the first time the city herself speak of her, “my”, affliction. Jeremiah here identifies himself with the city. He puts the words in the mouth of the city. The exclamation “see, O LORD” occurs two more times in this chapter ( ). The purpose of the exclamation is to point out to the LORD her affliction, so that when He sees it, surely this will arouse in Him compassion for her. She points out to Him that by humbling her the enemy magnifies himself. Surely He, Who alone is truly to be “magnified”, cannot let that go unpunished. The adversary not only disgraced Jerusalem, but he also reached out his hand to the valuables of the temple ( ; ; ). That nations have entered the sanctuary is a shocking thing and intolerable to a Jew ( ; cf. ). Foreigners were forbidden to enter the temple ( ). People who were not even allowed to join the congregation of Israel had entered the sanctuary. That it could happen is because Jerusalem did not keep the sanctuary of her heart free from the destruction of the enemy of the soul. She has allowed the enemy to rob her spiritual treasures because she has become involved with the enemy and started serving his gods. After the destruction of the city – and not during the siege – “all her people”, that is, the remaining population, sigh and are desperate for food ( ). The desperation is general. They have given all their valuables just to get some food. This revived them for a while and extended their lives (cf. ; ). Now there is nothing left to give. Starvation is their future. For the second time we read “see, O LORD” ( ; ). It comes from the depths of her soul. It is not about calling His attention to the scorn as such, but to the depth and extent of it. She hopes this will move the LORD to compassion.

‏ Lamentations 1:9

The Present Condition as a Lament to God

The poet compares the city to a woman in whom menstruation has stained her skirts, which is seen by everyone and evokes horror in everyone (Lam 1:9). This refers to her idolatry by which she has become unclean, an uncleanness that clings to her whole walk. She has not thought at all about the consequences of her idolatry, what the end of it is, where it would end up and what it has ended up in now (cf. Deu 32:29; Isa 47:7). She did not consider that the LORD would intervene, although He had often warned her of this through His prophets.

The depth of misery into which the city sank because of her unfaithfulness was “astonishingly” (cf. Deu 28:43). She had never imagined this. “Astonishingly” means that God has acted in an astonishing way with her, causing her to sink into an unimaginable depth of misery. The depth into which the city sank has a supernatural origin in the eyes of the prophet. Following on from this, we read for the second time that she has no comforter, an observation that shows her misery even more emphatically.

In the last part of Lam 1:9 we hear for the first time the city herself speak of her, “my”, affliction. Jeremiah here identifies himself with the city. He puts the words in the mouth of the city. The exclamation “see, O LORD” occurs two more times in this chapter (Lam 1:11 ; 20). The purpose of the exclamation is to point out to the LORD her affliction, so that when He sees it, surely this will arouse in Him compassion for her. She points out to Him that by humbling her the enemy magnifies himself. Surely He, Who alone is truly to be “magnified”, cannot let that go unpunished.

The adversary not only disgraced Jerusalem, but he also reached out his hand to the valuables of the temple (Lam 1:10; 2Chr 36:10; Jer 52:17-23). That nations have entered the sanctuary is a shocking thing and intolerable to a Jew (Psa 79:1; cf. Deu 23:3-4).

Foreigners were forbidden to enter the temple (Eze 44:7). People who were not even allowed to join the congregation of Israel had entered the sanctuary. That it could happen is because Jerusalem did not keep the sanctuary of her heart free from the destruction of the enemy of the soul. She has allowed the enemy to rob her spiritual treasures because she has become involved with the enemy and started serving his gods.

After the destruction of the city – and not during the siege – “all her people”, that is, the remaining population, sigh and are desperate for food (Lam 1:11). The desperation is general. They have given all their valuables just to get some food. This revived them for a while and extended their lives (cf. Jdg 15:19; 1Sam 30:12). Now there is nothing left to give. Starvation is their future.

For the second time we read “see, O LORD” (Lam 1:11; Lam 1:9). It comes from the depths of her soul. It is not about calling His attention to the scorn as such, but to the depth and extent of it. She hopes this will move the LORD to compassion.