A Lament For A National Tragedy

“How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave. She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies.”
— Lamentations 1:1-2

A People in Exile

The entire book of Lamentations is a poetic expression of mourning for Jerusalem when it was invaded and destroyed by the King of Babylon and the Jewish people were exiled to Babylon. Not only was this a horrendous humanitarian crisis and a loss of a peoples country, but this was also a spiritual tragedy; the loss of the perceived presence of God (the temple) and confusion about his promises. The book of Lamentations is a place to voice that confusion, pain and regret. This short video from The Bible Project gives a more in depth background of this book.

Even though the story of the Babylonian siege was the first major catastrophe in Israel’s history, it was not the first time we saw massive human suffering and it certainly hasn’t been the last. In recent years we have seen a global pandemic the invasion of Ukraine, a brutal invasion with the slaughtering of young children and the elderly in Israel followed by another war, and more. Lamentations shows us not only are we not alone in our brokenness and despair but that it is good to take time to mourn and voice our confusion and pain.

About the Music

“Prayer” is the first piece of a set of three pieces for cello and piano called From Jewish Life written by Ernest Bloch. He was a Swiss-born American composer born to Jewish parents. While he drew inspiration for his compositions from many sources, much of his music was inspired by Old Testament themes. From Jewish Life has many motifs and themes that are derived from Jewish folk tunes and hymns.

  • “How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave. She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies. Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and hard servitude; she dwells now among the nations, but finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress. How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave. The roads to Zion mourn, for none come to the festival; all her gates are desolate; her priests groan; her virgins have been afflicted, and she herself suffers bitterly. Her foes have become the head; her enemies prosper, because the Lord has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe. From the daughter of Zion all her majesty has departed. Her princes have become like deer that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer. Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and wandering all the precious things that were hers from days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the foe, and there was none to help her, her foes gloated over her; they mocked at her downfall. Jerusalem sinned grievously; therefore she became filthy; all who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns her face away. Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her future; therefore her fall is terrible; she has no comforter. “O Lord , behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!” The enemy has stretched out his hands over all her precious things; for she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary, those whom you forbade to enter your congregation. All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. “Look, O Lord , and see, for I am despised.” “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the Lord inflicted on the day of his fierce anger. “From on high he sent fire; into my bones he made it descend; he spread a net for my feet; he turned me back; he has left me stunned, faint all the day long. “My transgressions were bound into a yoke; by his hand they were fastened together; they were set upon my neck; he caused my strength to fail; the Lord gave me into the hands of those whom I cannot withstand. “The Lord rejected all my mighty men in my midst; he summoned an assembly against me to crush my young men; the Lord has trodden as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah. “For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears; for a comforter is far from me, one to revive my spirit; my children are desolate, for the enemy has prevailed.” Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her; the Lord has commanded against Jacob that his neighbors should be his foes; Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them. “The Lord is in the right, for I have rebelled against his word; but hear, all you peoples, and see my suffering; my young women and my young men have gone into captivity. “I called to my lovers, but they deceived me; my priests and elders perished in the city, while they sought food to revive their strength. “Look, O Lord , for I am in distress; my stomach churns; my heart is wrung within me, because I have been very rebellious. In the street the sword bereaves; in the house it is like death. “They heard my groaning, yet there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that you have done it. You have brought the day you announced; now let them be as I am. “Let all their evildoing come before you, and deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my transgressions; for my groans are many, and my heart is faint.”'

    Lamentations 1:1-22

    1. What thoughts an emotions come to your mind from understanding the book of Lamentations?

    2. How does listening to the music while reflecting on the text change your perspective on the poems?

    3. Take some time to write out out your own lament.

For more organized and guided journaling check out Kristin Vanderlip’s journal on this subject.