Lamentations 4: 1 – 22
Rejected
1 How the gold has become dim! How changed the fine gold! The stones of the sanctuary are scattered at the head of every street. 2 The precious sons of Zion, valuable as fine gold, how they are regarded as clay pots, the work of the hands of the potter! 3 Even the jackals present their breasts to nurse their young; But the daughter of my people is cruel, like ostriches in the wilderness. 4 The tongue of the infant clings to the roof of its mouth for thirst; The young children ask for bread, but no one breaks it for them. 5 Those who ate delicacies are desolate in the streets; Those who were brought up in scarlet embrace ash heaps. 6 The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, with no hand to help her! 7 Her Nazirites were brighter than snow and whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in body than rubies, like sapphire in their appearance. 8 Now their appearance is blacker than soot; They go unrecognized in the streets; Their skin clings to their bones, it has become as dry as wood. 9 Those slain by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger; For these pine away, stricken for lack of the fruits of the field. 10 The hands of the compassionate women have cooked their own children; They became food for them in the destruction of the daughter of my people. 11 The LORD has fulfilled His fury, He has poured out His fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion, and it has devoured its foundations. 12 The kings of the earth, and all inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem—13 Because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed in her midst the blood of the just. 14 They wandered blind in the streets; They have defiled themselves with blood, so that no one would touch their garments. 15 They cried out to them, “Go away, unclean! Go away, go away, do not touch us!” When they fled and wandered, those among the nations said,
“They shall no longer dwell here.” 16 The face of the LORD scattered them; He no longer regards them. The people do not respect the priests nor show favor to the elders. 17 Still our eyes failed us, watching vainly for our help; In our watching we watched for a nation that could not save us. 18 They tracked our steps so that we could not walk in our streets. Our end was near; Our days were over, for our end had come. 19 Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the heavens. They pursued us on the mountains and lay in wait for us in the wilderness. 20 The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was caught in their pits, of whom we said, “Under his shadow we shall live among the nations.” 21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz! The cup shall also pass over to you and you shall become drunk and make yourself naked. 22 The punishment of your iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; He will no longer send you into captivity. He will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom; He will uncover your sins!
‘Oh no!’ I said to myself as I turned and saw him standing in my pathway. By the look on his face I acknowledged to myself that I would have to forgo any late meal. I might as well chuck off the possibility of getting home in a reasonable time to catch some shut eye.
Before me was a guy that I have spent a good hundred and some hours counseling and encouraging. I walked up to him and said, ‘by the look on your face it looks like you are not doing so well.’
He responded, ‘you were right.’ This is the problem in counseling people. From the evidence they present you sense the guiding of our Precious Holy Spirit in determining what the real issue is and are denied acceptance by the counselee. Sadly, in time, you were hearing the correct answer from our Holy God but like in this case it took two years for all the hidden secrets and actions to be revealed.
In this brother’s case what I was discerning in his marital problems was that his statements indicated that his wife was possibly seeing another man on the side. She tortured him with his failures while all the time she was infatuated with another man. He couldn’t and wouldn’t consider this possibility. Rejection is hard to accept. It makes you feel all kinds of degrading opinions about yourself and can cause some significant physical and mental bad reactions.
Rejection has been and always will be a part of your normal life as your daily mail. Still, it hurts. Even though we’ve experienced it a hundred times, each rejection is a new wound.
Rejection hurts and it’s real.
What is rejection? Rejection basically means exclusion from a group, an interaction, information, communication or emotional intimacy. The need to belong or the need to have strong and fulfilling relationships is as fundamental to human nature as is the need for food and water.
So, does that mean there’s no way to alleviate your pain of rejection?
Fortunately, that’s not the case. You can’t wish away the pain of rejection, but you can control when you feel rejected.
Here are a couple of suggestions on ‘Ways to Handle Rejection’
1. Be conscious of differences
Each person in this world has a different reality. In any given situation, two people can never think or react in the same way. No one else sees the same world as you do.
Hence, it’s not only possible but in fact likely, that people will behave differently from how you expect them to behave. In other words, how you would’ve behaved if you were them in a certain situation.
This expectation-reality gap often gives rise to feelings of rejection and hurt in people. The first step to avoid unwarranted feelings of rejection is to acknowledge this difference.
2. Force yourself to think of more than one possible outcome
The rule of thumb that I follow to avoid surprise reactions from people in any situation is this: instead of having one expected outcome in mind, I force myself to objectively imagine at least two possible reactions. One is mandatorily less positive than the other. Also, try and find a few supporting reasons why each reaction could occur. Have reasons for each possible outcome.
3. Be objective in your analysis
As you can see, this reasoning exercise achieves two goals. One, it forces you to visualize both the positive and negative outcomes of any situation. Therefore, it mentally prepares you for the negative outcome.
Doing this also looks at the negative outcome in a way which is as objective as possible, thereby minimizing the feelings of personalization associated with the negative outcome.
4. Avoid taking every outcome personally
This brings me to one of the most important aspects of handling rejection successfully-totally avoiding feelings of rejection where they are unwarranted and unnecessary. You must focus on what is true and not allow lies to dominate your thinking. I call it ‘stinking thinking’.
Again, I’m not here to tell you that you can avoid feeling hurt by feeding yourself some distorted version of reality. I’d only like to draw your attention to the fact that often, you interpret a situation as a rejection when it’s not.
I’m talking about the common human tendency of over-personalizing negative outcomes. Going back to the earlier example, it’s important that you recognize that any rejection, in general, is largely unrelated to whether you are good enough for something (or someone) or not.
It only means what you’ve got to offer and what is needed by someone are not the same.
5. Actively seek alternative connections
When it comes to relationships, all possible sources of rejection are not so simple. Feelings of rejection can be caused by issues like your everyday expectations not being met by your partner, an incidence of infidelity or a real shocker like a sudden announcement by your partner of their desire to leave.
In such cases it’s not possible for you to be prepared for the feelings of rejection. It’s real. It hurts, and you must deal with it.
The healthiest and quickest way to recover is to find a sense of belonging through other connections. Actively seek out friends and family if you’re going through a phase of experiencing feelings of rejection from your partner. Try to invest yourself emotionally in these relationships.
6. Reduction in emotional dependence strengthens love
Shift your focus from your partner. Use the pain of rejection to find other reasons to live.
Pick up an old and forgotten hobby, maybe. Pursue it and connect with like-minded people. You’ll find you’re able to derive emotional nutrition from these connections. That will not only help you recuperate from your emotional hurt, but also prepare you for solving any issue at hand together with your partner soon.
Am I telling you to force yourself to fall out of love with your partner?
No. What I am telling you, however, is to stop being emotionally needy.
Remember, loving your partner and being unable to function without their emotional support are not the same thing at all. The first is healthy while the second is not. In fact, once you’ve been able to overcome your emotional “needy-ness”, your relationship will improve greatly as your new partner finds fresh reasons to fall in love with the new you.
Next time you face rejection (and trust me, there will be a next time, cause that’s how life is) try to apply these techniques and you’ll find you’ll be way better off in handling it– channeling it constructively even– if you can do it right.
In today’s scripture we are going to see the Israelites pain and suffering from the consequences of their sins. Since they have played a make-believe game of love and respect for Adoni Yahweh they sadly face everything He said would happen to them. They had been forsaken and rejected.
This lament is noteworthy for its emphasis on the fact that the destruction of Jerusalem was due to the sins of the people. It draws attention to the way in which all classes had suffered. And it ends with the indication of judgment on Edom, who had taken the advantage of the invasion to occupy parts of southern Judah.
1 How the gold has become dim! How changed the fine gold! The stones of the sanctuary are scattered at the head of every street.
What is in mind here are not the gold and precious stones of the Temple, but the gold and precious stones as representing the people of Israel. That is why it can grow dim and be changed. And that is why it can be poured out at the end of every street. The precious stones of the sanctuary may represent the priests.
Some do see it as signifying what happened to the Temple, but this lament is not about the Temple and what happened to it, but about the people.
2 The precious sons of Zion, valuable as fine gold, how they are regarded as clay pots, the work of the hands of the potter!
The thought is of the ‘precious sons of Zion’, representing all the people of the city, who are YHWH’s holy nation and kingdom of priests, a treasure wholly for YHWH. When these sons of Zion were put in the scales the only thing originally which was suitable for weighing them was fine gold. But now they are simply esteemed as earthenware pitchers, something of little value, worked by the hands of the potter. The reference to the potter is a reminder of Jeremiah 19 where the city was to be broken like an earthenware pot.
3 Even the jackals present their breasts to nurse their young; But the daughter of my people is cruel, like ostriches in the wilderness. 4 The tongue of the infant clings to the roof of its mouth for thirst; The young children ask for bread, but no one breaks it for them.
The sad condition of the people is brought out by the fact that they are not even on a par with the despised jackals. The jackals breastfeed their young, but, like the ostriches in the wilderness, renowned for their casualness with their young, the women of Jerusalem (the daughter of my people) are unable or unwilling to do so because they are so starved of food. They hold back their milk because they are starving.
In consequence the tongue of the normally breastfed child cleaves to the roof of its mouth because of its dryness, and when the young children ask for bread no one provides it for them, for there is none to give.
5 Those who ate delicacies are desolate in the streets; Those who were brought up in scarlet embrace ash heaps.
The rich are affected equally with the poor. Those who were used to rich food are now starving in the streets, those who had once been borne in scarlet cloth, the cloth of the rich, now clung to dunghills, possibly as their only source of food.
6 The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, with no hand to help her!
And all this because the sin of Jerusalem was greater than the sin of Sodom, and Sodom had been overthrown in a moment with no one touching her. In other words, she was overthrown by a greater than an earthly hand. But she had been fortunate, for her people had perished without suffering, in contrast with the people of Jerusalem. Note the emphasis on the fact that the overthrow of Jerusalem was due to its sins.
7 Her Nazirites were brighter than snow and whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in body than rubies, like sapphire in their appearance.
Her aristocrats had once been noble, they had been purer than snow, whiter than milk, ruddier than rubies, more polished than sapphires. The idea was of the red and white complexion which was the ideal.
8 Now their appearance is blacker than soot; They go unrecognized in the streets; Their skin clings to their bones, it has become as dry as wood.
But now their faces were blacker than coal, and they themselves were unrecognizable, because of their lack of food and drink. Their skin clove to their bones and had become withered and thin like a stick. They had reached the last stages of starvation.
9 Those slain by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger; For these pine away, stricken for lack of the fruits of the field.
Their condition was such that those who had been slain with the sword were better off than they. And this was because they were suffering a slow and painful death, pining away and stricken through, because of the lack of food.
10 The hands of the compassionate women have cooked their own children; They became food for them in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
Worst of all was the fact that pitiful women boiled their own children to eat them. This was their food during the period of the destruction of ‘the daughter of my people’.
11 The LORD has fulfilled His fury, He has poured out His fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion, and it has devoured its foundations.
And all this was the consequence of YHWH having accomplished His wrath on them and His having poured out His fierce anger. He had kindled a fire in Zion which had devoured its very foundations. Whilst fire certainly had its part to play in the destruction of the city, this description is metaphorical indicating destruction. It was the fire of His wrath.
Humanly speaking, of course, such conditions as have been described were normal during protracted sieges. Many cities had suffered like this while seeking to ward off invasion. But the point here is that this was happening to the people of God, and to the holy city of Jerusalem. It could only have happened to them because YHWH poured out His wrath on them.
The prophet now draws attention to the fact of how much of Jerusalem’s predicament could be laid at the feet of the priests and prophets, the very people who should have been guiding them aright, and he goes on to point out what this would involve for them.
12 The kings of the earth, and all inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem—
He pictures the whole world as astonished at what had happened to Jerusalem, unable to believe that it could be taken. It may be seen as looking at the view of the kings and the inhabitants of the world from Judah’s point of view. How could they not be astonished?
They had reason to be surprised. Jerusalem was a powerful fortress city well able to withstand a siege, its elevated location and strong walls making it appear almost impregnable. And when we add to that the tales of how God had delivered it in times of trouble, most noticeably in the time of Hezekiah, it may well have gained a reputation for such impregnability. Jerusalem had after all been one of the few cities to successfully resist Assyria. Given the fact that it was also ‘a holy city’ it would certainly have had a certain reputation, and people in those days had an awe of something that was ‘holy’. They would remember that Assyria had been unable to take it.
13 Because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed in her midst the blood of the just.
But the prophet has an explanation of why it had now been taken. It was because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests who had shed innocent blood in the midst of her, especially the blood of the righteous, that is, those who were truly loyal to the covenant and to YHWH. The primary reason has to do with morality, and a gross breach of the covenant. YHWH was very much concerned about the behavior of His people, and the shedding of blood was seen as especially horrific. One example of such shedding of the blood of the righteous was the prophet Uriah. Consider also the death of Zechariah the son of Jehoiada (2 Chronicles 24.21), the innocent blood shed by Manasseh (2 Kings 21.16), and the attempts on Jeremiah’s own life (Jeremiah 26.7).
14 They wandered blind in the streets; They have defiled themselves with blood, so that no one would touch their garments. 15 They cried out to them, “Go away, unclean! Go away, go away, do not touch us!” When they fled and wandered, those among the nations said, “They shall no longer dwell here.”
The consequence for the priests and prophets is now vividly described. The opening description is probably figuratively, indicating their then spiritual condition. As they wandered around the streets they were like the ‘blind. They were so blind that they had no understanding of what was true and right. All that they could do was proclaim falsehood. Or it may indicate their condition because of the lack of food. Even the priests and prophets were blinded by hunger so that they reeled as they walked.
And because they had ignored the covenant their blindness had resulted in them shedding innocent blood. Many a law case which resulted in such a conclusion would have been decided by the priests or the prophets, who would have been called on to pass a verdict, and whose influence was great in such matters. In consequence they were as men covered with blood, they were ‘polluted with blood’, so that to touch them would render someone unclean.
They are therefore seen as wandering around like lepers (Leviticus 13.45) crying out, ‘Depart. Unclean, unclean. Depart, depart. Do not touch us.’ Alternately the cries might be coming from the onlookers seeking to avoid contact with them. There is something especially poignant in this in that the touching of a pries or prophet would normally have been unthinkable because they were ‘holy’. But now they were being untouchable for the very opposite reason.
The ‘fleeing away and wandering’ may indicate that these are part of the party that went to Egypt. On the other hand, it may well indicate their situation wherever they went. Once in exile they are pictured as pariahs, as those who should be avoided, so that men recoiled from them and cried out, ‘they will no more sojourn here’. They would incur a great deal of religious blame for what had happened to the Temple.
The real purpose of these verses is in order to bring out the horrific nature of what they had done. The men who should have been ensuring that the covenant was maintained at all costs, had in fact participated in ignoring it.
16 The face of the LORD scattered them; He no longer regards them. The people do not respect the priests nor show favor to the elders.
It was the face of YHWH revealed in anger which had scattered them. He had no regard for them as priests and prophets. Their status meant nothing to Him. And this was also true of ‘they’. This could mean people in general among the nations, or simply the Israelite exiles. They too did not respect the persons of the priests, who would once have been sacrosanct. Nor did they show favour to the elders, those rulers who had brought them to this situation. Those who had been the most respected of men were now despised.
Alternately ‘the elders’ might be translated ‘the old’ indicating that even the old among the priests and prophets, those who would have been especially honored, received no favour from the people. .
17 Still our eyes failed us, watching vainly for our help; In our watching we watched for a nation that could not save us.
The prophet’s thoughts now turn to the days of the siege when they had vainly watched from the walls of Jerusalem, looking out eagerly for those who had promised to assist them against the Babylonians, constantly expecting help. After all Egypt had made such great promises, and who could withstand mighty Egypt? This would especially have been so when the news came of the advancing Egyptian army. But they had watched in vain. No help had come. Egypt had turned out to be a nation which could not save.
In vivid terms the prophet describes what followed the taking of the city. People cowered in their houses afraid to go out. For those who did found that they were hunted down by the enemy. Those who fled to the mountains, or into the wilderness discovered the same. Everywhere that they went they found the enemy. They found themselves pursued in the mountains and ambushed in the wilderness. And this was even true of their king, the king who had been their very life, the Anointed of YHWH, in whom they had had such implicit trust. They had not seen him as a compromising, weak king, but as the son of the house of David who would ensure their standing among the nations. But instead he had fled and had been taken in the snares of the enemy.
18 They tracked our steps so that we could not walk in our streets. Our end was near; Our days were over, for our end had come.
Once the city was taken the soldiery would seek out resistance, which in their eyes would lie in any male who could be found. It thus became impossible to go out in the streets even to search for food. All they could do was lie low and cower in their houses waiting for the end to come, recognising that that day was near. All was lost. Resistance had been in vain. Hope was gone. They had reached the end of their days. They had no time left.
19 Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the heavens. They pursued us on the mountains and lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
Even those who fled to the mountains or the wilderness fared no better. Their pursuers were swifter than the mighty eagles watching for their prey and swooping down on them with incredible speed. They found themselves chased on the mountains and ambushed in the wilderness. There was no escape from the dogged pursuit as the enemy remorselessly hunted them down.
20 The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was caught in their pits, of whom we said, “Under his shadow we shall live among the nations.”
And this had even been so for the Anointed of YHWH. He who had been their very life, whom they had trusted so utterly, and whom YHWH had anointed over them, had fled from the city only to be caught in the snares of the enemy. They had looked to him as the Davidic king to give them status among the nations so that they could proudly hold up their heads, to be the hero under whose shadow they lived. But instead he had failed them and in the end had embarrassingly fled the city, seeking refuge among those nations, and had been trapped like a hunted animal.
Added to the trials through which Jerusalem and Judah was going as just described was the fact that their neighbors Edom had taken the opportunity to seize land in southern Judah as a reward from Nebuchadnezzar for supporting him against Judah. Their king had failed them, but even worse their neighbours had proved treacherous. But this enabled the prophet to introduce a message of hope for Zion, while at the same time assuring Edom of the punishment that awaited them.
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz! The cup shall also pass over to you and you shall become drunk and make yourself naked.
The opening words are sarcastic. Edom was rejoicing at having gained at the cost of their neighbours, for they had supported the Babylonians and had been well rewarded by Nebuchadnezzar, being given land in southern Judah. Well let them rejoice while they can. For shortly the cup that Jerusalem had drunk would be passed to them. They too would drink of the cup of suffering and of God’s wrath, and they too would become drunk and naked.
22 The punishment of your iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; He will no longer send you into captivity. He will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom; He will uncover your sins!
The lament ends with an unexpected assurance to Zion of YHWH’s continued watch over them, and a warning to Edom of what lay in store for them. Whilst Zion could still expect God finally to show mercy, for Edom there was no hope. The contrast is intended to bring out the wonder of God’s goodness towards Zion over against the judgment coming on their enemies.
Having described in detail the ordeal through which Jerusalem has gone, the prophet now assures them that they have reached the bottom of the barrel. They can sink no further. The punishment of their iniquity has been accomplished and YHWH had no plans for further judgments on them. The assumption must be that from now on He intended to smile upon them. Their past sins at least had been dealt with in full measure.
It will be otherwise for Jerusalem’s enemies. Edom would be visited (dealt with in judgment) for their iniquity, and their sins would be uncovered, resulting in the necessary punishment of them. It was the opposite of having their sins ‘covered’. The implication is that it would be different for Jerusalem, who would experience the mercy of God.
