V1
Jerusalem the queen or princess, had become a slave to Babylon. Her God
given glory was lost.
V2
She relied upon friends, heathen nations, and lovers, false gods; but
they dealt treacherously with her (v19). She failed to trust in her God, and
suffered the consequences.
V3
Judah in exile, dwelling among the Gentiles, far from her home.
V4
Religious practice in Jerusalem had ended, no feasts and no priests.
V5
The real problem was “her many sins.” This was the cause of the
slavery, the bondage, and her grief; the Lord had afflicted her.
V6
The previous glory and splendour of Zion was lost.
V7
Jerusalem’s enemies mocked her downfall. She had to remember her
treasures, for they had all gone.
V8
Her serious sins had serious consequences.
V9
She did not consider her future destiny, Deut 29.29; Ps 90.12. She forgot
that sin has consequences on the earth; her folly was neglecting that truth.
Jerusalem began by tolerating sin, and ended by promoting it.
V10
The precious things of God were defiled by the ungodly.
V11
One of the effects of the siege and defeat was severe famine.
V12-22
These words are attributed to Jerusalem, expressing her sorrow. They
reflect Jeremiah’s own experience.
V12
Here is the lonely widow, the degraded princess, sitting at the side of
he road, weeping and calling out. She has received her sorrow from the Lord
Himself. Such suffering was not the natural consequence of her sins, but rather
divine judgment is the inevitable consequence of sins.
V13
Again, it was the Lord who brought all these things upon Jerusalem.
V14
The yoke of her transgressions, for sin brings bondage; Christ spoke of
those who become slaves on sin (John 8.34). It was for this reason that
Jerusalem could not withstand the attack of Babylon.
V15
God summoned the army of Babylon; and Jerusalem was trodden in the
winepress of God’s wrath.
V16
Sorrow over suffering; the comforter, the Lord Himself, was far away.
V17
Zion stretches out her hands, pleading for a comforter. But there was
none to help, no near neighbour who will come near; for she was unclean.
V18
Confession and sorrow for sins; Jerusalem had rebelled against the
gracious commandment of the Lord; here she began to grasp her own responsibility
for what had happened to her.
The events also stood as a warning to “all peoples.”
V19
Jerusalem’s new found allies, and their idols, proved unreliable. Her
repeated forays into idolatry were detrimental. Priests and elders, who should
have been a strength, died uselessly in the city.
V20
Jerusalem suffered great distress and torment; inside and outside men and
women died; there was no escape for them. Those who were outside the city came
across the Babylonian army, and were killed; inside the city there was famine,
killing many.
V21-22
The expectation that wicked nations, gloating over Jerusalem’s
disaster, would also fall under condemnation. Indeed, Jeremiah had addressed
such nations (Jer 46-51).