Lam 3:4 | KingComments | STEP | In , there is a new ‘I’ person. In Lamentations 1, the ‘I’ person is the city speaking out about the suffering that has come upon her. In Lamentations 2, it is Jeremiah who speaks of and to the city, to voice her lament to the LORD. That chapter concludes with that as well. Now we come to a third “I”. The city has spoken in the female form. But now a man speaks. It is someone from among the people who has experienced suffering himself and now describes it as his own personal suffering. Who else could this be but Jeremiah? “Seen” here implies not only observation, but also participation in it. Here it means an actual experiencing. Furthermore, it also appears that this man is innocent. He does make himself one with the guilty people and speaks of ’we’, but personally he can say in that he has enemies who pursue him without cause. The people in Lamentations 1 cannot say that. They are partly to blame. But here someone is speaking very personally, someone from the guilty people, but who himself is innocent. We also hear the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking in the remnant from the time then. That is how it will be in the future. The faithful remnant will have to experience everything. They will suffer doubly: both at the hands of the enemies from outside and at the hands of the apostate people from inside. This has been the part of the Lord Jesus, Who identifies Himself one with this remnant. We often hear this in the book of Psalms. His voice makes itself one with that of the remnant. We hear the Innocent speak: “I am the man.” The rod of God’s wrath comes down on Him. The depth of Jeremiah’s suffering is reflected in the three complaints in . He has “seen”, experienced, and witnessed misery 1. through the rod of the LORD’s wrath ( ), 2. because the LORD drives him into darkness ( ), and 3. because the LORD turns His hand against him again and again ( ). In contrast to the expectation of being led by God as his Shepherd into light and joy, he has been driven in darkness, which is affliction ( ). The word for “driven” does not have the meaning of God’s gracious guidance, but of driving animals. He was driven harshly by the rod of God’s wrath. The suffering he experiences as a result is without ceasing ( ). It goes on and on, without a moment to be able to take a breath. We can think of the great tribulation for the remnant, but also of the Lord Jesus and His suffering on the cross. In follow the evidence of His suffering. In them we hear how this suffering was experienced. The first evidence is the wasting away of His flesh and skin and the breaking of His bones ( ). Flesh, skin and bones make up the whole body. The breaking down of the individual parts may be the result of a serious illness (cf. ) or an aging process, where everything breaks down and wastes away. The breaking of the bones refers to the removal of all strength and an end to the ability to live ( ). In doing so, he indicates the severity of this illness. The removal of the strength to bear it shows the depth of his suffering. All his strength is failing him. We hear here the language of Psalm 22 and Psalm 69. We also hear someone like Job speaking in these verses ( ). In we are confronted with suffering from the outside. Jeremiah uses the picture of a besieged city, against which the enemy is erecting a siege wall to attack the inhabitants of the city. His suffering feels, as if the LORD has thrown up a rampart of bitterness and hardship against him. He is surrounded by it, hemmed in. From all sides, destruction grins at him like a high, impregnable wall. Nebuchadnezzar has built against Jerusalem and surrounded the city ( ), but Jeremiah knows that the LORD is doing it. He feels so hopeless and despairing that he already counts himself among those who have died ( ; ). His comparison with “those who have long been dead” also means that he is not only abandoned and alone, but also that he is forgotten, gone from memory. No one thinks of him anymore. That is how hopeless he feels. Inside wasting away, around him a wall, while he is in deadly darkness ( ). Is there a more tragic condition imaginable in which a human being can find himself? are a climax and evaluation of the previous three verses, reflecting his feelings of total loss of freedom of movement. Jeremiah feels like someone who is completely walled in ( ). He is encased in concrete that surrounds him like an armor. He feels surrounded by a wall of affliction inflicted upon him by the LORD. In his stone shell he is also bound with chains of bronze. The chains of bronze with which Zedekiah was brought to Babylon ( ), he feels as if he was bound with them himself. This is hard on the prophet to whom the LORD promised that He would make him walls of bronze against the people ( ). Jeremiah feels so hemmed in that he believes that even his prayer does not reach God’s ears ( ; ). It is dramatic to experience that God does not hear, that He closes His ears to prayer (cf. ). Also the way out upward seems closed. Not only does he feel himself enclosed in a narrow, walled-off space, but he also sees that all his roads, if he could go them, are blocked with hewn stones ( ; cf. ). And if he could find a way, it turns out to be crooked. We cannot enter a road that is blocked (cf. ). If we go a crooked way, we won’t end up where we want to be. Here, to Jeremiah’s feelings, the LORD makes his path crooked. He is not coming out to Him. That is something to be distraught about. Balaam’s way is also blocked by the LORD ( ), but that is because this bad man is on his way to do a bad work. In the picture changes again (cf. ; ). Jeremiah experiences God “like a bear lying in wait” and “a lion in secret places”. A bear and a lion are tearing animals that know no compassion. They are out to attack and devour their prey unexpectedly. They lurk and hide and wait patiently until their unsuspecting prey is near them. Then they strike ruthlessly. It is to him as if the LORD has so deflected his ways that he did have to fall into the claws of the bear and the lion ( ). The LORD has allowed him to fall into a trap. In this way the LORD has torn his life apart and made him desolate. There is no life left in him and it cannot emerge from it. The next picture of the LORD looms before Jeremiah: that of an archer ( ). He feels himself the prey of God’s arrow on the bow that He has bent against him and aimed at him. He experiences that God is after him. The arrows from the LORD’s quiver hit him in his inward parts, literally his kidneys ( ; cf. ; ). The kidneys are the seat of wisdom ( ; mind is literally kidneys). He has lost all his wisdom. He cannot understand or reconcile this with what he knows of God. Besides feeling like the target of God’s arrows, he is also the target of jeers ( ). It is not here as in Lamentations 1 where the people lament about their enemies, but here Jeremiah speaks as the innocent about what his own people do to him ( ). What Jeremiah says in is the experience of Job ( ; cf. ). The LORD has said that He will do this to Judah and the false prophets ( ), but now that fate befalls the faithful prophet. Instead of good food, he is given nothing but bitter food to eat. It is not even possible to refuse it, for it is administered to him. He has to eat it. He is satisfied with it and drenched in it. Taking in that bitter food is like biting on gravel ( ). Biting one’s teeth on gravel is the punishment for telling lies ( ). When you have that experience, even though you have always spoken the truth, you feel being pressed down in dust or ashes (cf. ). Then there is no more peace, nor is there any memory of the good ( ). is a kind of conclusion to the previous verses, in which Jeremiah expressed his feelings (cf. ). Such a spiritual state of utter despair robs a person of all his strength. What is left when nothing remains of what was expected of the LORD? The lament ends in despair. Yet despair does not have the last word. Despair brings to prayer and prayer brings to hope. We see this in the following verses. The question may well be asked what we do with our laments when we become despondent and think that the expectation of the Lord is gone. When that expectation is gone, what good is prayer? As a result, some have fallen away from the faith, showing that they had no living relationship with the Lord. But for the believer, precisely when there is despair, the way out is to pray again.

‏ Lamentations 3:4

The Man Who Has Seen Affliction

In Lam 3:1, there is a new ‘I’ person. In Lamentations 1, the ‘I’ person is the city speaking out about the suffering that has come upon her. In Lamentations 2, it is Jeremiah who speaks of and to the city, to voice her lament to the LORD. That chapter concludes with that as well. Now we come to a third “I”. The city has spoken in the female form. But now a man speaks. It is someone from among the people who has experienced suffering himself and now describes it as his own personal suffering. Who else could this be but Jeremiah?

“Seen” here implies not only observation, but also participation in it. Here it means an actual experiencing. Furthermore, it also appears that this man is innocent. He does make himself one with the guilty people and speaks of ’we’, but personally he can say in Lam 3:52 that he has enemies who pursue him without cause. The people in Lamentations 1 cannot say that. They are partly to blame. But here someone is speaking very personally, someone from the guilty people, but who himself is innocent.

We also hear the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking in the remnant from the time then. That is how it will be in the future. The faithful remnant will have to experience everything. They will suffer doubly: both at the hands of the enemies from outside and at the hands of the apostate people from inside.

This has been the part of the Lord Jesus, Who identifies Himself one with this remnant. We often hear this in the book of Psalms. His voice makes itself one with that of the remnant. We hear the Innocent speak: “I am the man.” The rod of God’s wrath comes down on Him.

The depth of Jeremiah’s suffering is reflected in the three complaints in Lam 3:1-3. He has “seen”, experienced, and witnessed misery

1. through the rod of the LORD’s wrath (Lam 3:1),

2. because the LORD drives him into darkness (Lam 3:2), and

3. because the LORD turns His hand against him again and again (Lam 3:3).

In contrast to the expectation of being led by God as his Shepherd into light and joy, he has been driven in darkness, which is affliction (Lam 3:2). The word for “driven” does not have the meaning of God’s gracious guidance, but of driving animals. He was driven harshly by the rod of God’s wrath.

The suffering he experiences as a result is without ceasing (Lam 3:3). It goes on and on, without a moment to be able to take a breath. We can think of the great tribulation for the remnant, but also of the Lord Jesus and His suffering on the cross.

In Lam 3:4-18 follow the evidence of His suffering. In them we hear how this suffering was experienced. The first evidence is the wasting away of His flesh and skin and the breaking of His bones (Lam 3:4). Flesh, skin and bones make up the whole body. The breaking down of the individual parts may be the result of a serious illness (cf. Psa 38:3) or an aging process, where everything breaks down and wastes away. The breaking of the bones refers to the removal of all strength and an end to the ability to live (Isa 38:13).

In doing so, he indicates the severity of this illness. The removal of the strength to bear it shows the depth of his suffering. All his strength is failing him. We hear here the language of Psalm 22 and Psalm 69. We also hear someone like Job speaking in these verses (Job 7:5 ; Job 19:20 ; Job 30:30).

In Lam 3:5 we are confronted with suffering from the outside. Jeremiah uses the picture of a besieged city, against which the enemy is erecting a siege wall to attack the inhabitants of the city. His suffering feels, as if the LORD has thrown up a rampart of bitterness and hardship against him. He is surrounded by it, hemmed in. From all sides, destruction grins at him like a high, impregnable wall. Nebuchadnezzar has built against Jerusalem and surrounded the city (Jer 52:4), but Jeremiah knows that the LORD is doing it.

He feels so hopeless and despairing that he already counts himself among those who have died (Lam 3:6; Psa 143:3). His comparison with “those who have long been dead” also means that he is not only abandoned and alone, but also that he is forgotten, gone from memory. No one thinks of him anymore. That is how hopeless he feels. Inside wasting away, around him a wall, while he is in deadly darkness (Psa 88:10-12). Is there a more tragic condition imaginable in which a human being can find himself?

Lam 3:7-9 are a climax and evaluation of the previous three verses, reflecting his feelings of total loss of freedom of movement. Jeremiah feels like someone who is completely walled in (Lam 3:7). He is encased in concrete that surrounds him like an armor. He feels surrounded by a wall of affliction inflicted upon him by the LORD. In his stone shell he is also bound with chains of bronze. The chains of bronze with which Zedekiah was brought to Babylon (Jer 39:7 ; Jer 52:11), he feels as if he was bound with them himself. This is hard on the prophet to whom the LORD promised that He would make him walls of bronze against the people (Jer 1:18).

Jeremiah feels so hemmed in that he believes that even his prayer does not reach God’s ears (Lam 3:8; Lam 3:44). It is dramatic to experience that God does not hear, that He closes His ears to prayer (cf. Psa 22:1b-2 ; Psa 77:9). Also the way out upward seems closed.

Not only does he feel himself enclosed in a narrow, walled-off space, but he also sees that all his roads, if he could go them, are blocked with hewn stones (Lam 3:9; cf. Job 19:8). And if he could find a way, it turns out to be crooked. We cannot enter a road that is blocked (cf. Hos 2:6b). If we go a crooked way, we won’t end up where we want to be. Here, to Jeremiah’s feelings, the LORD makes his path crooked. He is not coming out to Him. That is something to be distraught about. Balaam’s way is also blocked by the LORD (Num 22:26), but that is because this bad man is on his way to do a bad work.

In Lam 3:10 the picture changes again (cf. Hos 13:7-8; Amos 5:19). Jeremiah experiences God “like a bear lying in wait” and “a lion in secret places”. A bear and a lion are tearing animals that know no compassion. They are out to attack and devour their prey unexpectedly. They lurk and hide and wait patiently until their unsuspecting prey is near them. Then they strike ruthlessly.

It is to him as if the LORD has so deflected his ways that he did have to fall into the claws of the bear and the lion (Lam 3:11). The LORD has allowed him to fall into a trap. In this way the LORD has torn his life apart and made him desolate. There is no life left in him and it cannot emerge from it.

The next picture of the LORD looms before Jeremiah: that of an archer (Lam 3:12). He feels himself the prey of God’s arrow on the bow that He has bent against him and aimed at him. He experiences that God is after him.

The arrows from the LORD’s quiver hit him in his inward parts, literally his kidneys (Lam 3:13; cf. Deu 32:23; Job 16:13). The kidneys are the seat of wisdom (Psa 16:7; mind is literally kidneys). He has lost all his wisdom. He cannot understand or reconcile this with what he knows of God.

Besides feeling like the target of God’s arrows, he is also the target of jeers (Lam 3:14). It is not here as in Lamentations 1 where the people lament about their enemies, but here Jeremiah speaks as the innocent about what his own people do to him (Jer 20:7b).

What Jeremiah says in Lam 3:15 is the experience of Job (Job 9:18; cf. Rth 1:20). The LORD has said that He will do this to Judah and the false prophets (Jer 9:15 ; Jer 23:15), but now that fate befalls the faithful prophet. Instead of good food, he is given nothing but bitter food to eat. It is not even possible to refuse it, for it is administered to him. He has to eat it. He is satisfied with it and drenched in it.

Taking in that bitter food is like biting on gravel (Lam 3:16). Biting one’s teeth on gravel is the punishment for telling lies (Pro 20:17). When you have that experience, even though you have always spoken the truth, you feel being pressed down in dust or ashes (cf. Jer 6:26). Then there is no more peace, nor is there any memory of the good (Lam 3:17).

Lam 3:18 is a kind of conclusion to the previous verses, in which Jeremiah expressed his feelings (cf. Lam 3:54b). Such a spiritual state of utter despair robs a person of all his strength. What is left when nothing remains of what was expected of the LORD? The lament ends in despair. Yet despair does not have the last word. Despair brings to prayer and prayer brings to hope. We see this in the following verses.

The question may well be asked what we do with our laments when we become despondent and think that the expectation of the Lord is gone. When that expectation is gone, what good is prayer? As a result, some have fallen away from the faith, showing that they had no living relationship with the Lord. But for the believer, precisely when there is despair, the way out is to pray again.