Lamentation 1:1-11 – Sin always brings about inexplicable ruin

Jerusalem, the once beautiful city, the joy of all the earth, was now in total devastation. The whole of chapter one describes her ruin. The Prophet Jeremiah wrote this dirge as an acrostic poem. A letter in the Hebrew alphabet, from its first letter “Aleph” to its last letter “Tav” would start in every fourth line of this dirge. The intention was to convey that Jerusalem, that once beautiful city had undergone tremendous suffering in every conceivable way because of her sin.

In verses 1-11, we see how this beautiful city had become so changed and devastated that it evoked a lament from the prophet. He went on to describe painfully the devastation and ruin of that city. If there was no cause, the situations would not have become what they had become. There is always a cause and effect. Thankfully, we can always repent and turn to the faithful God. That was what the prophet did when he was goaded to prayer asking God to take notice of the plight of the people.

In the first seven verses, the prophet described the pathetic situation Jerusalem was in. She, the once beautiful princess, had now become a forlorn widow. So, she sat there sorrowfully mourning the loss of her husband and children. Being captured by King Nebuchadnezzar and her people deported to Babylon, they had become forced labourers. The lovers, meaning the political alliances that they sought for protection, had deserted her and left her stranded. Her friends, referring to their once friendly neighbouring countries, had betrayed and dealt treacherously with her people. They had become their enemies. And as if it was not bad enough that they should have experienced disasters in their own country, yet now in their exile, they were still plagued by war and famine.

This pilgrim city, once buzzing with activities where the people congregated to celebrate the annual feasts and festivals, had now come to a standstill. All the celebration had ceased. The thriving business that once attended the celebration had dissipated and disappeared. Her priests were left jobless. They had no opportunity to attend to temple duties that they once officiated. Zion had become a joke to all the people.  

What was the cause? What led them to come into their present state? Verses 8-9 provided the answers. In their prosperity, they had forgotten about being pure and holy before God. Their sins were so well camouflaged that they were not apparent to men. They failed to realize no one can hide the filth from the eyes of the One whom they were accountable. In their prosperity, they had no consideration for God. It is worth noting that the condition of our life is a great indicator of the state of our relationship with God. Their pride led them into their self-serving, destructive habits. Seeing the consequences of their sin, the prophet turned to God in prayer in verses 9-11. He described their captor as arrogant, imperious and heavy-handed. In distress, the prophet asked God to take note of the plight of the people and the misery they had to endure.  

Here’s a lesson for us. We need to live a life related to God with consistency. We must love and trust Him all the time. This is best reflected in our obedience, whether in good or bad times. Never take our eyes off Him for a moment. Always live responsibly, bearing in mind that we are accountable to Him. Don’t ever forget that our sin will find us out! The consequence of sin will always be greater than what we can bear. So, stay focused on the journey and pray at all times!