The formula 'the coming of the Son of Man' is code for 'the Day of the Lord.' The formula does not refer to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, but the days ahead.

Those who returned to Jerusalem did not completely fulfill their commission, failing to completely rebuild the walls and failing to totally rebuild the temple.

Israel's harlotry and rejection of God's covenant gave Jerusalem an increasingly unsavory association, calling for its impending judgment and destruction.

Zephaniah has messages for the remnant of physical Israel, the house of David, and for the faithful remnant from the Israel of God.

Amidst the devastation, the narrator has hope that God would rescue his humbled people. Though He punishes, God is still faithful and loyal to His people.

Personified Jerusalem, whom God depicts as a grieving widow, blames others for her troubles while overlooking her own sins as the real cause of her sorrow.

The book's five acrostic songs (chapters) answer the question, 'Why did this happen?' God brought the punishment on Judah because of gross and sustained sin.

The Lamentations show poignant before-and-after vignettes of formerly happy times contrasted with the horror of the present as God punishes Judah.

Jerusalem recounts her sins as a nation, depending on her own strength or on her lovers (political alliances) rather than upon God.

Book Three of the Psalms deals with the somber theme of judgment on a people who have rejected their God and have produced much rotten spiritual fruit.

As Lamentations opens, Jerusalem is personified as a widow who has had to endure the destruction of her family as well as the mocking scorn from the captors.

In Lamentations 2, Lady Jerusalem sidesteps godly repentance, opting instead for self-centered recrimination against Almighty God.

The expressions of sorrow in the Psalms far outnumber expressions of praise, indicating that the Hebrew culture has almost made the lamentation an art form.

We are mandated to live by faith, being given trials of faith in order to chisel our character. We must totally and unreservedly accept God's sovereignty.

The people suffering under the Babylonians had basked in the privilege of being God's chosen people while also trashing the terms of the Covenant.

Lamentations 3 and 4 show the stark contrast of a once proud people (secure in their wealth, technology, and cleverness) suffering bitter humiliation.

As we approach the coming self-examination prior to Passover, we can apply six significant lessons taught to ancient Israel through the book of Lamentations.

Book Three of the Psalms addresses the compulsion to fast and to mourn. Judah's faithlessness brought about the horrific destruction of Jerusalem on Av 9.

God exiles to punish for sin, separating individuals and groups from Him in order to spur repentance. There is something to exile that God finds very good.

Despite her former relationship with God, absolutely no nation could ever out-sin Judah, even though God had given her multiple warnings to repent.

The 9th of Av commemorates major historical tragedies. When it occurs on a Sabbath during a Shemitah (year of release), horrible things occur.

In Lamentations 3, the narrator finally convinces Lady Jerusalem that her own sins have caused her necessary punishment and affliction by God.

Lamentations 3 looks at the horrible affliction of the people and sees good coming from tribulation because it has been God's tool of correction.

The prophets and the religious leaders bear the greatest blame for the destruction by providing a quasi-religion and not teaching the Law of God.

Paradoxically, Jerusalem has not been a city of peace, but a magnet for conflict, a situation which will not end until Christ returns.

As the Good Samaritan took pity on what normally would be his adversary, we are obligated to be sensitive to the needs of those around us, enemy and friend.

Hamas' October 7 attack fits into a biblical pattern of God's people turning from Him, causing God to hide His face and allow incredible suffering.

Lamentations 4 contains a series of contrasts, showing the indignities suffered by a once proud people reduced to humiliating servitude because of idolatry.