Lam 3:1-24 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Lam 3:1-66: 3:1-66 In this chapter, the author laments what has happened (3:1-20 , 48-54 ), remembers the faithful love of the Lord (3:21-25 ), describes how God’s people should respond (3:26-47 ), and calls upon the Lord in prayer (3:55-66 ). Summary for Lam 3:1-24: 3:1-24 The author speaks of the suffering of Judah and Jerusalem as his own.

Summary for Lam 3:1-66: 3:1-66 ^a In this chapter, the author laments what has happened (3:1-20 ^b, 48-54 ^c), remembers the faithful love of the Lord (3:21-25 ^d), describes how God’s people should respond (3:26-47 ^e), and calls upon the Lord in prayer (3:55-66 ^f).
Summary for Lam 3:1-24: 3:1-24 ^g The author speaks of the suffering of Judah and Jerusalem as his own.
Summary for Lam 3:6-9: 3:6-9 ^h Some understand these verses as a poetic reference to Jeremiah’s confinement in a muddy cistern before the destruction of Jerusalem (Jer 38:6-13 ⁱ).
3:9 ^j blocked my way ... made my road crooked: Sin causes confusion and cuts a person or a community off from a happy future. Innocent people know the future as a straight path that is easy to follow (Prov 21:8 ^k). Isaiah imagined God’s activities as a procession on a straight road that his worshipers would prepare (Isa 40:3 ^l).
3:12 ^m Cp. Job 6:4 ⁿ.
3:19 ^o is bitter beyond words (or is wormwood and gall): Wormwood is a plant with a bitter taste; here it represents the emotional intensity of inner agony (Prov 5:4 ^p; Rev 8:11 ^q). Gall is a poisonous plant that causes severe physical pain if eaten; it is a powerful symbol for extremely stressful emotions (Deut 29:18 ^r; Ps 69:21 ^s). The author seems to be at a dead end from which he cannot escape.
Summary for Lam 3:22-33: 3:22-33 ^t God’s love and faithfulness never cease. Just as God had been faithful in bringing judgment on Jerusalem for their sins, he would be faithful in bringing restoration to those who returned to him. 3:22 ^u The faithful love of the Lord is the basis for the poet’s recovery from deep depression. As with Jeremiah in the cistern (Jer 38:6-13 ^v) and Jonah in the stomach of the great fish (Jon 2:2-10 ^w), the Lord provided salvation from death.
3:23 ^x God’s faithfulness speaks of his absolute reliability, which is evident in his daily mercies. He continually provides a habitable world in which we can live.
3:24 ^y The Lord is my inheritance: The land of Canaan had been regarded as Israel’s inheritance since the time of Moses (Exod 15:17 ^z; Josh 21:19 ^aa; 1 Chr 28:8 ^ab; Ps 47:4 ^ac), but the true inheritance of God’s people is really God himself (see Ps 16:5-6 ^ad; Eph 1:11 ^ae; Heb 9:15 ^af; 1 Pet 1:3-4 ^ag).