Lam 1:6 | KingComments | STEP | In these verses the prophet looks back to earlier, better days. Against that backdrop, the present misery comes out all the more poignant. The roads of Zion, that is, the roads that lead to Zion, used to be full of those who come “to the appointed feasts” ( ). Now they lie desolate, for no one goes up to Zion anymore, nor can they, for the people are in exile. To emphasize the desolation, the roads are represented as persons who “are in mourning” because of the desolation. Three times a year the feasting people covered the roads with song as they went up to Jerusalem for the feasts of the LORD. Now these roads mourn because no one goes up to Jerusalem for the feast anymore. There are no more people. The gates of the city are in ruins, and when the gates are in ruins, the city is also in ruins. It is an open city; anyone who wants to can walk right in. The gates are the places where justice was spoken ( ). But there is no more justice. The gates were also places where social intercourse took place and markets were held. It was the meeting place between the pilgrim and the city ( ). All that is over. The priests who were leading the people in idolatry see the result of their false pursuits and sigh. The few faithful priests can no longer enter the temple, for it has been destroyed. The few young women who are still there, who sang at the great feasts ( ; ), who also imagined life so totally different, are saddened. For herself, that is the city, the society in it, everything is bitter. Zion has been surrendered into the hand of her adversaries who are now her masters ( ; cf. ). These now finally prosper (cf. ). The thorn in their side, Jerusalem, has been destroyed. It is painful to be humiliated. It is extra painful to find that the enemy finds satisfaction in it. Who really did it is the LORD. He has had to bring this sorrow upon her and to do so “because of the multitude of her transgressions”. Here, for the first time, the occasion of the misery is mentioned. It is the first statement – from the poet and not yet from Jerusalem itself – about the city’s transgressions and that the LORD therefore had to execute judgment. More of such statements follow ( ). The people must come to this confession and seek the cause of judgment in themselves. Immediately after this expression of faith, the poet again sees the prevailing distress and is again seized by it. He describes until the end of what Jerusalem has lost. First he mentions the little children, the toddlers, the children of the covenant. It shows in a very penetrating way that the LORD has abandoned His people. Several times in this book the children are mentioned ( ; cf. ). For them especially, the consequences are disastrous. They are the greatest victims of the unfaithfulness of a people or parents. They are chased into captivity before the adversary, torn away from their parents and from brothers and sisters. Little children must be eliminated so that they cannot grow up and in their adulthood become a danger to the occupying forces. Of the splendor that the city, the “daughter Zion”, once possessed because of the glorious sanctuary in which the LORD dwelt ( ), nothing remains, it has disappeared ( ). The princes, the people who ruled the city, have become hunted deer with nowhere to rest and pasture. The siege of the city has left them starving and powerless. They can’t even flee anymore, but are driven out like slaughter cattle before the persecutors.

‏ Lamentations 1:6

The City, Formerly Full of Feast and Joy

In these verses the prophet looks back to earlier, better days. Against that backdrop, the present misery comes out all the more poignant. The roads of Zion, that is, the roads that lead to Zion, used to be full of those who come “to the appointed feasts” (Lam 1:4). Now they lie desolate, for no one goes up to Zion anymore, nor can they, for the people are in exile.

To emphasize the desolation, the roads are represented as persons who “are in mourning” because of the desolation. Three times a year the feasting people covered the roads with song as they went up to Jerusalem for the feasts of the LORD. Now these roads mourn because no one goes up to Jerusalem for the feast anymore. There are no more people.

The gates of the city are in ruins, and when the gates are in ruins, the city is also in ruins. It is an open city; anyone who wants to can walk right in. The gates are the places where justice was spoken (Rth 4:1). But there is no more justice. The gates were also places where social intercourse took place and markets were held. It was the meeting place between the pilgrim and the city (Psa 122:2). All that is over.

The priests who were leading the people in idolatry see the result of their false pursuits and sigh. The few faithful priests can no longer enter the temple, for it has been destroyed. The few young women who are still there, who sang at the great feasts (Psa 68:25; Jer 31:13), who also imagined life so totally different, are saddened. For herself, that is the city, the society in it, everything is bitter.

Zion has been surrendered into the hand of her adversaries who are now her masters (Lam 1:5; cf. Deu 28:13 ; 44b-45). These now finally prosper (cf. Job 12:6). The thorn in their side, Jerusalem, has been destroyed. It is painful to be humiliated. It is extra painful to find that the enemy finds satisfaction in it.

Who really did it is the LORD. He has had to bring this sorrow upon her and to do so “because of the multitude of her transgressions”. Here, for the first time, the occasion of the misery is mentioned. It is the first statement – from the poet and not yet from Jerusalem itself – about the city’s transgressions and that the LORD therefore had to execute judgment. More of such statements follow (Lam 1:8 ; 14 ; 18 ; 20 ; 22). The people must come to this confession and seek the cause of judgment in themselves.

Immediately after this expression of faith, the poet again sees the prevailing distress and is again seized by it. He describes until the end of Lam 1:6 what Jerusalem has lost. First he mentions the little children, the toddlers, the children of the covenant. It shows in a very penetrating way that the LORD has abandoned His people.

Several times in this book the children are mentioned (Lam 2:20 ; Lam 4:4; cf. Jer 9:21). For them especially, the consequences are disastrous. They are the greatest victims of the unfaithfulness of a people or parents. They are chased into captivity before the adversary, torn away from their parents and from brothers and sisters. Little children must be eliminated so that they cannot grow up and in their adulthood become a danger to the occupying forces.

Of the splendor that the city, the “daughter Zion”, once possessed because of the glorious sanctuary in which the LORD dwelt (Psa 96:6), nothing remains, it has disappeared (Lam 1:6). The princes, the people who ruled the city, have become hunted deer with nowhere to rest and pasture. The siege of the city has left them starving and powerless. They can’t even flee anymore, but are driven out like slaughter cattle before the persecutors.