“How lonely sits the city That was full of people! How like a widow is she, who was great among the nations!
The princess among the provinces Has become a slave! She weeps bitterly in the night; her tears are 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.” (v1,2)
This is after Jerusalem’s defeat, once prosperous, now lonely and empty after the defeat by Babylon. The contrast is clear, having been great, now a slave. Even her friends have become her enemies. Many of the original documents indicate that after Israel had been taken captive, that Jeremiah sat weeping and lamenting over Jerusalem.
Even though Jeremiah had prophesied all this it still filled him with deep sorrow and he wept. He could rightly have said he had warned them of what would happen, and could have appeared smug, but he was distressed. He even uses the image of a woman bereaved of her husband and children.
“Judah has gone into captivity, under affliction and hard servitude; She dwells among the nations, she finds no rest;
All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits. The roads to Zion mourn Because no one comes to the set feasts.
All her gates are desolate; Her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness.
Her adversaries have become the master, her enemies prosper; For the LORD has afflicted her because of the multitude of her transgressions. Her children have gone into captivity before the enemy. And from the daughter of Zion All her splendor has departed. Her princes have become like deer that find no pasture, that flee without strength before the pursuer.” (v3-6).
He continued (v3-6) moving from the poetry to the facts. Judah was conquered and captive. All is desolate, the busy gates are almost silent, and all connected with Jerusalem mourn but their enemies appear to be blessed at Jerusalem’s expense. The paths to the feasts are now deserted. Jeremiah quite clearly sates that this the Lord’s doing because of their sin. The word ’transgression’ is literally ‘rebellion’. Their disobedience has had far reaching consequences in that even their children have gone into captivity.
All Jerusalem’s previous splendour has gone, now desolate and defeated. Even her virgins are afflicted. Virginity spoke of purity, but that is now gone. Her princes, leaders, have fled like animals who have become without strength, and they find no pasture to sustain them.
“In the days of her affliction and roaming, Jerusalem remembers all her pleasant things That she had in the days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the enemy with no one to help her, the adversaries saw her and mocked at her downfall.” (v7)
When things go wrong, it is not unusual to think back over better times. Jerusalem was no exception as they did just that, they have fallen into enemy hands, and none came to help, even their enemies laughed at their downfall. It wasn’t a pleasant situation. It should be a lesson to us all, but all too often we don’t learn to keep close to the Lord and obey Him.
We then find out why this happened – “Jerusalem has sinned gravely; therefore, she has become vile. All who honoured her despise her because they have seen her nakedness; Yes, she sighs and turns away. Her uncleanness is in her skirts; She did not consider her destiny; Therefore, her collapse was awesome; She had no comforter.
“O LORD, behold my affliction, for the enemy is exalted!” The adversary has spread his hand over all her pleasant things; For she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary, those whom You commanded not to enter Your assembly.
All her people sigh, they seek bread; They have given their valuables for food to restore life. “See, O LORD, and consider, For I am scorned.” (v8-11)
It is clear that the answer is simple, it was the great sin of the people over many generations. The city had been great and dignified but was now exposed and shamed (they have seen her nakedness) but she seemed unperturbed and indifferent. She thought nothing about where it would lead to. Her collapse was awesome and had no comforter. The reason for Jerusalem’s desolation is clearly her sin. She had acted like an immoral woman and had been treated like one.
It appears that there was a cry for help to the LORD. Babylonian soldiers entered the temple, something which was forbidden to foreigners, but they had also plundered its treasures and taken their food (bread) so that the starving people were trying to trade their personal possessions to obtain bread.
“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Behold and see If there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which has been brought on me, which the LORD has inflicted in the day of His fierce anger.” (v12)
The city also cried out to others (those who pass by) if they had any pity. She had been attacked, set on fire, left in ruin (v13). Jerusalem had no sympathy from them and were in anguish. They considered that there was no sorrow like theirs, it was in compressible and yet we shall see that they realised it was through their own disobedience. We often hear people say that ‘there is no sorrow like my sorrow’ and often it is a sad situation but can it really be as bad as Jerusalem which had fallen from such dizzy heights to absolute ruin and was surrounded by their enemies, who were once considered as their allies.
I’m sure we could say the same today, “Is it nothing to you all you who pass by.” Do people think nothing of the ruin and devastation caused by sin? If we are honest, we must conclude that our world is in a mess, and we need to turn back to God, from the oldest to the youngest, from the king to the ordinary person in the street. We are witnesses that there are those who call evil good, and good evil, as Isaiah the prophet said in chapter 5 of his book. (v18-21).
The writer and probably Jerusalem realised that the LORD had inflicted this devastation and not the Babylonians which probably made their sorrows worse. They deserved it. They are justly being punished by God.
“From above He has sent fire into my bones, and it overpowered them; He has spread a net for my feet and turned me back; He has made me desolate and faint all the day. “The yoke of my transgressions was bound; They were woven together by His hands, and thrust upon my neck.
He made my strength fail; The Lord delivered me into the hands of those whom I am not able to withstand.
“The Lord has trampled underfoot all my mighty men in my midst; He has called an assembly against me to crush my young men; The Lord trampled as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah.” (v13-15)
When God sent the enemies against Jerusalem, she was unable stand against them because she was so weak and helpless. The people would understand the imagery, treading the winepress to get the juice out of the grapes. This was one of the several pictures of the way God had punished them for their sin.
“For these things I weep; My eye, my eye overflows with water; Because the comforter, who should restore my life,
Is far from me. My children are desolate Because the enemy prevailed.” Zion spreads out her hands, but no one comforts her; The LORD has commanded concerning Jacob that those around him become his adversaries;
Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them.” (v16, 17)
Jeremiah is often described as the weeping prophet and that’s what he is doing here for his city and nation. These are not crocodile tears; they are real because God felt very far from them. Their eyes overflowed with water; that’s not just a little trickle of a tear. They had no one to help them. All her neighbours had become hostile to them. God, the righteous judge was punishing them for their rebellion against Him. Even their neighbours regarded them as unclean and became their enemies.
“The LORD is righteous, for I rebelled against His commandment. Hear now, all peoples, and behold my sorrow;
My virgins and my young men Have gone into captivity. “I called for my lovers, but they deceived me; My priests and my elders breathed their last in the city, while they sought food to restore their life.” (v18,19)
Interestingly she is not bitter against God, she recognises the He is righteous and that she has rebelled. She even calls others to learn from their demise. She had called out to those who were their so-called lovers, but they deceived her and took her food, while the elders and priests starved to death.
“See, O LORD, that I am in distress; My soul is troubled; My heart is overturned within me, for I have been very rebellious. Outside the sword bereaves, at home it is like death. “They have heard that I sigh, but no one comforts me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; They are glad that You have done it. Bring on the day You have announced, that they may become like me. “Let all their wickedness come before You and do to them as You have done to me for all my transgressions; For my sighs are many, and my heart is faint.” (v20-22)
These final verses seem to be a prayer to God for His righteous judgment to be meted out on those who have oppressed them. She acknowledges her distress and her rebellion. She is faint and she sighs but she seems to be merely asking God to do the same to them as He had done to her. They had gloated over her punishment, and she asks the same for them. It seems to be revenge and not repentance.
We are not to seek revenge, it is God’s prerogative, rather we are to bless those who seek evil against us. (Luke 6:27-29).
