Lamentations 5

The Explanation

Lamentations 5 is the last chapter of a book full of tears. The name of the book already says it: laments. Songs of sorrow. The city of Jerusalem has been destroyed by the Babylonians. The temple is burned down. Many people are dead, others have been taken to a foreign country. The ones who are left behind are hungry, scared, and heartbroken. And in the middle of that mess, someone prays this prayer.

The prayer begins bluntly: "Remember, Yahweh, what has come on us." It is as if the writer says: God, please look. Do not turn Your face away.

Then he sums up what is going wrong, and it is a lot. Their houses now belong to strangers. Children have lost their fathers. Mothers have become widows. They even have to pay for their own water and firewood, things that used to be free. Enemies chase them until they drop from exhaustion. There is barely any bread. Their skin has turned dark from hunger and heat. Young men have to carry millstones, work meant for animals. Children stumble under piles of wood that are too heavy for them.

The joy is gone. No more music at the city gate, no more dancing. Verse 15 says it beautifully and sadly at the same time: "Our dance is turned into mourning."

And then, in verse 16, something important happens. The writer does not blame only the enemies. He says: "Woe to us, for we have sinned!" He knows his people turned away from God for years. They ignored the prophets. And now everything has collapsed.

The prayer ends strangely. Verse 19 sings out: "You, Yahweh, remain forever. Your throne is from generation to generation." Beautiful. But right after that comes verse 20: "Why do you forget us forever?" And the very last verse says: "But you have utterly rejected us. You are very angry against us." The book ends without a happy conclusion. Just a question hanging in the air.

What Does This Mean?

The Bible does not always end a chapter neatly. Sometimes God lets a prayer end in a question mark. That is honest. Because that is how life sometimes feels. You pray, and you do not immediately hear an answer.

But look closely at verse 21: "Turn us to yourself, Yahweh, and we will be turned." The writer knows he cannot fix this himself. Only God can turn them back. That is a deep thing to understand. When you have made a mess of something, you cannot always just start over on your own. You need someone who pulls you back.

This chapter also shows that sorrow and faith can exist at the same time. The writer believes God is King forever, and at the same time he cries out: why do You seem so far away? Both things are true.

The Common Thread

The people of Jerusalem lost their crown (verse 16). Their king was gone, their city broken. But God had promised, long before, that one day a King would come who would never lose His crown. That King is Jesus.

Jesus knew what it was like to be forsaken. On the cross He cried, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" That sounds almost exactly like verse 20 of Lamentations. Jesus went through that darkness so that we would never have to be truly forsaken by God. The prayer that ended without an answer in Lamentations, Jesus took it upon Himself and answered it with His whole life.

For You

You may pray honestly. You do not have to pretend with God. If something is really hard, if you are sad or angry or confused, you may tell Him, just like the writer of Lamentations. You do not have to end every prayer with something cheerful.

And if you have done something wrong, something you cannot undo yourself, you can pray verse 21: Turn me back, Lord. He is the God who brings people back, again and again.

Talk About It

Why do you think God let this book end without a nice, happy ending?

Have you ever prayed something and felt like there was no answer? What did you do?

Praying Together

Lord, thank You that we may be honest with You. When we are sad, when we do not understand, when we have done wrong. Turn us to Yourself. Thank You that Jesus went through the darkness so we can come home to You. Amen.