Lamentations 1

To lament- To express grief, to mourn

How do we know this was written by Jeremiah
1. Jewish tradition (Josephus consider Jeremiah/Lamentations 1 resource)
2. Early Christian History
3. He is the best candidate given the timeframe and context
4. Similar vocabulary and imagery is used
--Jeremiah 4:17 vs. Lamentations 3:48-49
--Jeremiah 18:4-6 vs. Lamentations 4:2
--Jeremiah 37:16 vs. Lamentations 3:52-53

Historical Context
627- Jeremiah begins his ministry as prophet (Jeremiah 25:3)
605- Daniel and others taken in 1st Seige
593- Ezekiel and others taken in 2nd Seige
586- City fully destroyed, Jeremiah writes Lamentations
*Jeremiah preached for over 40 years with practically no result
*Jeremiah found himself looking over Jerusalem pouring out his heart, much like Jesus in Matthew 23

Israel was both a nation and a church and thus, we can compare these 'losses' to our nations and our churches. Have we suffered losses in these same areas? If so, we should also lament.

Losses suffered by Jerusalem in 586bc
1. Population
2. Greatness
3. Freedom
4. Joy
5. Alliances
6. Comfort
7. Celebration
8. Religion
9. Fruitfulness
10. Authority
11. Purity
12. Splendor
13. Resources
14. Treasures
15. Friends
16. Cleanliness
17. Respect
18. Future
19. Sacred Places
20. Necessities
21. Notoriety
22. Protection
23. Strength
24. Youth
25. Hope
26. Position
27. Obedience
28. Leadership
29. Peace
30. Compassion

If you notice, these are not evil things. The problem is when we place our trust in these things and not in God. Modern nations, denominations, local churches and individual citizens and Christians often place their trust in these things. But these things are fickle. They flee.

Emerging Themes
1. They trusted in the wrong things
2. God was behind the judgment
3. The reason for their losses was sin