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Affliction, bitterness, shame, and more affliction: Lamentation’s dire poetic illustration of Jerusalem’s siege and Israel’s exile continues.

The first two poems developed the wide-angle image of a whole city in anguish. Today’s reading zooms in on one lonesome, grieving man who speaks for all the people. Like most poems in Lamentations, the third is also an acrostic (alphabet poem), but introduces a significant twist.

The other acrostic poems dedicate one verse to each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The third chapter has three verses per letter. The author doesn’t have a laser pointer to highlight main points or key comparisons, so he uses literary structure as a spotlight.

The first 18 verses of chapter 3 detail the man’s agonizing personal experience of Babylonian destruction and exile. Like we saw in chapter 2, he never says Babylon is to blame. He appears to be operating with a bigger, wiser perspective by recognizing his suffering is ultimately an experience of God’s good, restorative justice.

In the midst of despair—also literally in the middle of the poem—the man expresses his bitter grief while also remembering Yahweh’s character: “Because of Yahweh’s loyal love, we do not perish, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness!” (Lam. 3:22-23).

Those hopeful words do not mean the poet has finally escaped suffering. You’ll find plenty of tears and terrors in the rest of the poem, but you’ll also see how he’s finding peace along the way.

Choosing to voice anger and misery through lament is to get close to God, not move further away. Other options, like blaming God or faulting others, only thwart any progress toward true peace. The lamenter stays humble while suffering and finds hope. He can find refreshing waters and green pastures in death’s valley of affliction by staying close to God through lament.

Reflection Questions

• Take a moment to review the description of Yahweh’s character in Exodus 34:6-7. Where do you see these characteristics of Yahweh in today’s reading? What makes God’s character a source of hope for this grieving poet?
• Look closely at the suffering man’s language toward Yahweh in this poem. When does the man start talking to Yahweh instead of just about Yahweh? What does this show you about the design and message of the poem?