Lamentations is Just Complaining and Wailing, Why is It Even In The Bible

Published: Last edited:

The book literally says lamentations which in simple term can be called complaining. My first time reading this book I was wondering why would anyone even add this to the bible.

A lot of complaining

It starts off with some very unpleasant ideas and continues in despair.

How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow is she, who was great among the nations! The princess among the provinces has become a slave! ~ Lamentations 1:1

stick figure drawing of a person in a red shirt with thick black marker outlines stares into the horizon with no light

This is not something one would expect to find in the bible when you are looking for an encouraging word. You even begin to wonder what the point of this book being included in the bible for Christians who follow Jesus. Certainly it’s not compatible with the message of Salvation and the redemption of God’s people? Or so I thought.

For 2 chapters there is no encouraging word about God or hope for his children as the book continues with words so heavy and despairing. Just take a look at these verses:

Without pity the Lord has swallowed up     all the dwellings of Jacob; in his wrath he has torn down     the strongholds of Daughter Judah. He has brought her kingdom and its princes     down to the ground in dishonor. ~Lamentations 2:2

My eyes fail from weeping,     I am in torment within; my heart is poured out on the ground     because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint     in the streets of the city. ~ Lamentations 2:11

The turning point

This sorrowful tone continues into chapter 3 as well. However in this chapter there is one big turning point with a big BUT. Not at the beginning because even up to verse 20 it says:

I remember my affliction and my wandering,     the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them,     and my soul is downcast within me. ~ Lamentations 3:20

Then the next verse goes:

Yet hope returns when I remember this one thing: The LORD’s unfailing love and mercy still continue, Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise. ~Lamentations 3:21 GNT

The New King James Version (NKJV) says:

This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the LOR It is good for a man to bear The yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone and keep silent, Because God has laid it on himD. ~Lamentations 3:21-28 NKJV

stick figure drawing of a person in a red shirt with thick black marker outlines stares into the horizon with the sunrise illuminating the water and casting a shadow

From verse 21 the scene changes from despair to hope. In a few verses the tone of the whole book is now transformed. From the author Jeremaiah’s perspective all the sufferings and complaints mentioned previously are negated by the fact that the Lord’s mercies still remain.

a picture of hope in the misdst of other text: war, fear, anxiety, pain, panic

Many Christians draw encouragement from this verse that sits in the midst of wailing and complaining. One very popular song that I think takes from this goes:

The steadfast love of the LORD, never ceases His mercies never come to an end They are New, every morning New every morning Great is your faithfulness O Lord Great is your faithfulness

Here is a video of the song “The Steadfast Love of the Lord”, which beautifully captures the essence of these verses, showing how Jeremiah’s words of hope continue to inspire worship and comfort hearts today: