According to the Hebrew Bible, the following five books are considered as one single book known as the “Five Scrolls”, each with a title of a feminine gender noun, placed right after Proverbs and just before Daniel: Ruth, Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Esther. Therefore, I plan to introduce these five books together this time.

It is best to find a version that arranges this book according to its poetic structure because that way, it is easier to see the following arrangements (Note that there are 22 Hebrew alphabets) :

1:1-22      1^st  lament             The author and the personified Zion lament Jerusalem’s destruction

2:1-22      2^nd lament             The author and the personified Zion lament and appeal

3:1-66      3^rd lament             Personified Jerusalem sings of despair, hope and imprecation

4:1-22      4^th lament             The author and the people of Zion lament the siege of Jerusalem

5:1-22      5^th lament             The people of Zion weeps

All five laments are composed of 22 stanzas (The 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd laments have three lines per stanza; the 4^th has two lines; the 5^th has only one line per stanza), because there are 22 alphabets in the Hebrew language. The 1^st, 2^nd and 4^th lament have 22 stanzas and the first letter of each stanza starts with a succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet (For example, the first line of each stanza starts with a letter beginning with say, A; then the first line of the second stanza starts with a letter beginning with B, and so on. This is known as acrostics). But the 3^rd lament is unique. It has 3 lines per stanza, and all three lines begin with the same alphabet, making it the climax of the 5 laments. Then the final 5^th one drops off significantly because not only is it the shortest with one line per stanza, it is not even acrostic, suggesting a lowly ending for the book.

In addition to knowing the structure, a familiarity with OT Jewish history will greatly help appreciate Lamentations. This is because the book was written some time after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. On this historical period, 2 Kings 25 and Jeremiah 53 have both written regarding the 2-year siege, the fall, the famine and then the slaughter. Lamentations recollect these events from the perspective of the remnants that grappled with the historical reality and the covenant of Yahweh that seemed to guarantee the security of His people, city and temple. A knowledge therefore of the covenant between Yahweh and Israel and the city of Jerusalem would be an asset in appreciating Lamentations.

Israelites have long considered themselves as the Elect people of God, descendants of Abraham, redeemed from Egypt personally by Yahweh and settled in the infallible place of His name (Deut. 12:11; Neh. 1:9). Therefore the city of Jerusalem and especially the Temple could never fall (See Jer. 7:26, 28 and Ezek.13-14). But when it happened, even though they considered it justified for God to judge them for their unrighteousness, it was hard to believe that Yahweh would turn His face away from the land, temple, and people (2:20-22). As if rubbing salt into wounds, as Habakkuk and Obadiah did, the author of Lamentations too struggled with the puzzling question why Yahweh chose a people who were just as bad, if not worse than, the Israelites to mistreat His own Elect (1:21-22; 3:61-66; 4:21-22).

Lamentations is an expression of confession mixed with a resignation and anger, that the people of God felt as they struggled to reconcile their predicaments and God’s promise. Although the book has a grayish atmosphere, it never allows its readers to lose sight of the faithfulness and goodness that is Yahweh’s character as proclaimed in the Book of Moses, reminding everyone that there is new mercy every morning (3:19-24; cf. Deut. 34:5-7). This short book of five chapters revolves around historical events of the 6^th century before Christ. But the way it speaks of the tension between God’s judgment and His loving kindness, remains relevant to the many situations Christians face in life now in the 21^st century.