Lamentations 2:17. That he had commanded, &c.— "He hath fulfilled the threatening which he had denounced against those who were disobedient to the law of Moses, as well as what he had denounced long before by his prophets." read more
17. Lord—Let not the foe exult as if it was their doing. It was "the Lord" who thus fulfilled the threats uttered by His prophets for the guilt of Judea (Leviticus 26:16-25; Deuteronomy 28:36-48; Deuteronomy 28:53; Jeremiah 19:9). Tzaddi. read more
B. Jeremiah’s grief 2:11-19This section contains five pictures of Jerusalem’s condition. [Note: Dyer, "Lamentations," pp. 1215-16.] read more
Passersby expressed their amazement at Jerusalem’s great destruction. They could hardly believe that it had been such a beautiful and happy place. Judah’s enemies rejoiced to see the evidence of her fall. They took pride in seeing her destruction. Jerusalem’s destruction was the fulfillment of the destruction that Yahweh, long ago, had told His people might come (cf. Leviticus 26:14-46; Deuteronomy 28:15-68). He was ultimately responsible for it. He had shown no mercy in judging, but instead... read more
Zion’s Sorrows due to Jehovah’s AngerIn this second dirge, the cause of Zion’s woe is dwelt upon. Jehovah has become angry with His people, therefore He has cast them off. Zion’s miseries are the judgments of God, which have been sent because of Judah’s sins. In structure the poem is an acrostic, each v. being of triple character, as in Lamentations 1. The prophet speaks.1-10. The agonies caused by Adonai’s anger.1. The beauty of Israel] the Temple (Isaiah 64:11), or possibly the heroes of... read more
(17) The Lord hath done . . .—The writer points, in opposition to the boasts of the enemies, to the true author of the misery of the people. In that thought, terrible as it might at first seem, there was an element of hope. It was better to fall into the hands of God than into those of men (2 Samuel 24:14). The suffering came as a chastisement for past transgressions, and might therefore be mitigated by repentance. The Destroyer was also the Healer, and would answer the prayers of those who... read more
True Devotion Lamentations 2:19 Where there is love there is true devotion. There is true devotion when the object of love is God. I. False devotion. People are apt to deceive themselves and suppose themselves to be devout when they are nothing of the sort. One is given to much frequenting of church, yet her heart all the while is full of rancour against a neighbour. Another mortifies and denies himself food and sleep, but takes no little pride in his austerities, and flatters himself he is... read more
THE CRY OF THE CHILDRENLamentations 2:10-17PASSION and poetry, when they fire the imagination, do more than personify individual material things. By fusing the separate objects in the crucible of a common emotion which in some way appertains to them all, they personify this grand unity, and so lift their theme into the region of the sublime. Thus while in his second elegy the author of the Lamentations first dwells on the desolation of inanimate objects, -the temple, fortresses, country... read more
CHAPTER 2 What the Lord Has Done The great catastrophe continues in vivid description throughout this chapter also. Not an enemy has done it, not Nebuchadrezzar and his Chaldean hordes, but the Lord is the executor of all. The beauty of Israel He cast down; He swallowed up the habitations of Jacob; He burned against Jacob like a flame; He bent His bow like an enemy; He poured out His fury like fire; He was as an enemy. These are a few of the many expressions with which the righteousness of the... read more
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E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Lamentations 2:17
For the transposition of the Hebrew alphabet here, see note on Lamentations 2:16 , above. devised. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:16 , Leviticus 26:17 . Deuteronomy 28:15 ). read more