Understanding
The Bible |
Dr. Clarence
E. Mason, Jr.
Philadelphia College of Bible
1970
OLD
TESTAMENT PROPHETIC BOOKS
Dr. Clarence E. Mason, Jr.
PHILADELPHIA COLLEGE OF BIBLE
1970
OLD TESTAMENT
PROPHETIC BOOKS
LAMENTATIONS: Introduction and Simple Outline
(C. E. Mason, Jr.)
WRITER: This book is attributed by tradition to the prophet Jeremiah.
In the Septuagint translation it begins with the following note: "And it
came to pass after Israel had been carried away captive, and Jerusalem made
desolate, Jeremiah sat weeping, and lamented this lament over Jerusalem and
said." Modern critics have questioned the Jeremiah authorship on these
grounds: Chapters 2 and 4 they say lean strongly on Ezekiel and parts must have
been copied after Ezekiel's writings. Chapter 4:17 could not have been written
by Jeremiah because the writer includes himself among those who looked for help
from Egypt, and verse 20 speaks of Zedekiah as Jeremiah could not have done.
But these are merely guesses, because Jeremiah identified himself with the nation
and looked upon the king as the anointed of God. Others object that the style
is not that of Jeremiah. The testimony of the past, however, should not be set
aside without the strongest evidence and such evidence is lacking.
MESSAGE:
The book is rightly called "Lamentations. " Its Hebrew name is simply
"Alas!" There is intense struggle of soul between the author as patriot
and priest, and as prophet and servant of God. As patriot he cries out against
the sufferings which have come upon his people, and as priest he represents
the people's case to God. But then as servant of God he cannot but vindicate
God's holiness in judgment, and as prophet he represents God's case to the people.
The book is itself a prophecy in that it reveals to us the heart of Him to whom
1:12 could alone fully apply, the One who wept over Jerusalem (Mt. 23:36-38).
In a spiritual sense we are listening to the heart cries of "the Man of
Sorrows, who hath borne our grief and carried our sorrows."
"In
every pang that rends the heart
The Man of Sorrows had a part!"
STRUCTURE: The book is really composed of Five Dirges, and each Dirge is a complete poem occupying a chapter in itself. The first four chapters are acrostics, each verse of chapters 1, 2, and 4 beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In chapter 3 the first three verses begin with the first letter and so on. Chapter 5 is not acrostic.
The outline is as follows:
THE DESOLATION AND SORROW OF JERUSALEM 1
The desolation described 1-11
The appeal for sympathy in sorrow 12-17
Confession
of sin 18-22
THE DAY OF THE LORD'S ANGER 2
Jehovah seems as though He has become their enemy 1-10
However, their afflictions are due to their transgressions 11-19
The prayer
of penitence 20-22
THE PROPHET IDENTIFIES HIMSELF WITH ISRAEL IN THEIR SUFFERING AND DISTRESS 3 "Let us search and try our ways"
The story of his affliction 1-21
The expression
of his faith in God 22-36
The mercy, faithfulness, goodness, and compassion of God are all expressed
in this section. Only God's grace has spared even a
remnant.
The only basis of restoration: Self-judgment 36-50
A prayer
for vengeance on Judah's enemies 51-66
PAST GLORY AND PRESENT SHAME CONTRASTED 4
Contrast
between the present and the past 1-12
A picture of the terrible starvation due to Nebuchadnezzar's siege
of Jerusalem.
The change
due to the sins of prophets and priests, who shed the blood
of the just and led the people astray 14-20
Edom to
be condemned and Zion comforted 21-22
THE PRAYER OF HOPE IN THE MIDST OF SORROW 5 (not acrostic)
Appeal
to Jehovah to remember their sorrow and desolation 1-19
"Thou, 0 Lord, remainest forever!"
Prayer for conversion and renewal 20-22
"Mason's Notes"
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