God, You Created This Pain!

The Lord unleashes his wrath like staccato strikes of lightning as the “day of his anger” brackets the poem from start to finish (Lamentations 2:1, 22). Yet instead of Yahweh’s shekinah glory, Jerusalem cowers beneath dark clouds. For the Lord has cast down his beautiful temple and abandoned his footstool—the ark of the covenant (Psalm 132:7; 1 Chronicles 28:2). Thus, Jeremiah recalls God’s judgment in horrifying detail:

The Lord has swallowed up without mercy all the habitations of Jacob; in his wrath he has broken down the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; he has brought down to the ground in dishonor the kingdom and its rulers. He has cut down in fierce anger all the might of Israel; he has withdrawn from them his right hand in the face of the enemy; he has burned like a flaming fire in Jacob, consuming all around (Lamentations 2:2–3).

Yahweh consumed pasturelands, fortresses, leaders, and armies as the city erupted in flames. He gave them over to destruction like when he caused the Red Sea to smother her enemies (Exodus 15:6, 12). In wrath, he turned against his own children who once brought him great delight:

He has bent his bow like an enemy, with his right hand set like a foe; and he has killed all who were delightful in our eyes in the tent of the daughter of Zion; he has poured out his fury like fire. The Lord has become like an enemy; he has swallowed up Israel; he has swallowed up all its palaces; he has laid in ruins its strongholds, and he has multiplied in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation (Lamentations 2:4–5).

Solomon’s temple became a slaughterhouse as the Lord flattened their place of worship like a flimsy garden shed, “He has laid waste his booth like a garden, laid in ruins his meeting place; the LORD has made Zion forget festival and Sabbath, and in his fierce indignation has spurned king and priest. The Lord has scorned his altar, disowned his sanctuary; he has delivered into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces; they raised a clamor in the house of the LORD as on the day of festival” (vv. 6–7). Yahweh removed Judah’s political and spiritual leaders (Jeremiah 33:23–25), then ceased their annual celebrations and weekly worship in the temple. He ended the atonement sacrifices and snuffed out the prayers of incense. The Babylonian invasion was just as noisy as the Jewish Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles. To the listening ear, it may have sounded like old times.

Yet instead of feasting, there was famine.

Instead of songs of joy, came cries of anguish.

Instead of wine, blood flowed in torrents through the streets.

Instead of worshipers, God’s temple was defiled by pagans.

Instead of the sweet aroma of incense, the people choked on the stench of rotting flesh.

Over and over, the Lord poured out wrath upon his people like a one-man wrecking crew amidst the rubble. Yet the prophet never once mentions “Babylon” in his lament (though he does so more than one hundred times in the book of Jeremiah). Yahweh himself had caused his people’s suffering. He carefully measured his holy city—not to build, but to tear down.

The LORD determined to lay in ruins the wall of the daughter of Zion; he stretched out the measuring line; he did not restrain his hand from destroying; he caused rampart and wall to lament; they languished together. Her gates have sunk into the ground; he has ruined and broken her bars; her king and princes are among the nations; the law is no more, and her prophets find no vision from the LORD. The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth; the young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground” (Lamentations 2:8–10; see Amos 7:7–9).

The Lord lays to rest his beloved daughter as the city sits in sackcloth and laments with bitter grief (2 Chronicles 36:17). The stone walls themselves cry out and the gates which once offered strong protection have fallen into ruin. The nation’s leaders are now in exile, so the people live in lawless chaos (2 Kings 24:10–16; 25:7). Judah’s prophets receive no guidance from the Lord and the learned teachers of Jerusalem have nothing more to say. The young women no longer sing and dance in worship as the desolate city mourns.

Application Insight: Never forget that God is in control. Even in your suffering, he sovereignly remains at work. At first, that truth might hurt, knowing that God is, in some way, responsible for your pain. Yet his wrath is never uncontrolled—never explosive, unreasonable, or sinful. God’s anger is an instrument of his will and the doorway to his mercy (Psalm 77:9). So, as you meditate on this truth, rejoice in the God who reigns. For the One who brought your suffering is the One who will remove it. The One who has afflicted you desires your greatest good (Isaiah 45:7).

Lament often sounds like a child accusing her father: “You brought this sickness upon me. You took my loved one home. You caused my business to fail. You let me down.” Lament complains to God, yet even that complaint is an act of faith—an expression of passionate prayer. In the midst of suffering, we bring our pain to God. We declare our sorrow, despair, and heartache. And it’s okay. God can bear our tears and grief. Our Father holds us in his loving arms as we sob into his chest. Too many have been taught to hold it in—to keep a stiff upper lip and stoic face as we push our sorrows down. Yet biblical lament teaches us to do otherwise—to pour out our hearts like water (e.g., Psalm 88).

Application Insight: In times of sorrow, learn to lament before the only God who hears. Write down your complaints or speak them aloud, “Lord, you did this. You caused this to happen. You hurt me in these ways. You brought this sadness into my life.” It’s acceptable to speak your pain to God until those prayers of lament have led you into worship.