The Poetry of Pain
Lamentations
Pain is one of the common languages of humanity. We hurt from so many things, from so many losses, from so many rejections, from so many personal choices, and from so many betrayals. Pain reaches into our souls and we reel. We experience the digging or suffocating sensation in our hearts and we weep. The mind gets lost in excruciating thought as the vice of reality squeezes the life out of us. We hang like a carcass as the sun scorches and the unforgiving wind abuses.
The book of Lamentations explores a time of great pain for the people of Israel, a time when death surrounded. The Israelites deeply feel the effects of their willful abandonment of the covenant with God. Even though they can acknowledge their own culpability in the events, they still wonder at the extent of the pain and how God can allow such events in their lives.
Lamentations is written with the events that led to the exile still in living memory. The poet(s) vividly recall the Babylonian siege, the starvation, the death, the destruction of the temple, and the deportation.[1] The poet(s) could be writing from devastated Jerusalem or from a location far from God’s promised inheritance. Either way, the ache of life is clearly expressed through the artistic manipulation of words. In this ache, the poet struggles through confession, doubt, anger, brokenness, hope, and hopelessness. The ache does not find resolution. Ultimately, the ache does not find firm foundation. The careful and artistic words leave people in the midst of pain. Their exile and suffering do not come to an end.
In this manner, Lamentations speaks into the common experience of pain. All people grope for something to hold onto when life abuses. All people scream out frustration and anger until throats are raw. As Scripture, Lamentations encourages the expression of pain. God knows that pain tears and continues to wound. God provides these beautiful poems in order that people might know that we can scream out to God. In pain, we can all pray similar groans, knowing God hears and responds. There is hope in the midst of the chaos.
The very structure of these poems emphasize this. The casual observer of these poems may notice that chapters 1, 2, 4, and 5 each have 22 verses. Chapter 4 contains 66 verses, which is a multiple of 22. There is order here. The Hebrew text of these poems reveals even further order. The poet chooses to use the acrostic form in order to deliver the poetry. The word acrostic comes from the Greek meaning outermost line of poetry. The basic acrostic takes a word, phrase or series of specific letters, such as the alphabet, and uses the letters to inform the start of each line.[2] Each successive line in the poem begins with the next letter in the word, phrase, or series of letters.
The poet(s) who wrote Lamentations use this form with some specific variations in order to guide people in expressing pain. Chapters 1, 2, and 4 follow a strict acrostic, using the Hebrew alphabet as the guide for writing the lines. The first verse of each of these chapters begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Aleph. Each successive verse begins with the next letter in the Hebrew alphabet, forming a 22 line poem. Chapters 3 and 5 offer variations on this pattern. Chapter 3 has 66 lines also following an acrostic pattern, but in three verse units. In this chapter, each set of three lines begins with the next successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The first three lines begin with aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the second three with beth, and the third three with gimel. This pattern continues through all 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Chapter 5 maintains the 22 verse pattern, but does not actually use the acrostic form. This produces a similar rhythm, but without the full ordered structure.
While we cannot determine the reasons behind this literary choice by the poet(s), we can consider what such a pattern might say in regards to grief. First, as already inferred, the structure brings a certain order as the process of pain is explored.[3] This ordered presentation might present the reader and hearer with a sense of peace in the midst of the pain. Even as we experience the hurt of life, God offers order in the chaos and the promise of shalom. This ordered thought finds greater emphasis in chapter 3 through the triplicate reinforcement present in the text. This chapter stands at the center of the text. This central location is of particular importance in most Hebrew literature. Often the center of the text serves as the central theme, the focus around which the rest of the text finds meaning. As we will discover, the words of this central poem emphasize hoping in the Lord and His character. Therefore, the greater use of the acrostic pattern more strongly emphasizes the peace and order that God brings in the midst of the very real pain of life.
Secondly, the acrostic form emphasizes the alphabet as a product of a civilization that could otherwise be viewed as fallen.[4] The Hebrew people, both those from the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, have affectively lost their civilization. Emphasizing the Hebrew alphabet within this poetry of pain reminds the readers and listeners that they are a product of a particular culture. That culture finds its foundation in its relationship with the one true God and the covenant promise of that God. Through that very covenant God established a morality for living and expectations for relationship growth between the people of Israel and Himself. This reminder of the culture, which seems in danger, might allow the people to find comfort in the midst of the pain. The loss of the alphabet in chapter 5 might emphasize how desperate the people are to maintain their culture through God and the blessings of God’s covenant. The prayer in chapter 5 begs for restoration as the people feel more and more distant from God.
Third, the acrostic pattern symbolizes fullness or completeness.[5] The fullness of grief finds expression through the poetry of Lamentations. Along with the poet, we experience sorrow, remorse, confession, brokenness, loss, and desperation. This poem offers a complete picture of the pain experienced by the exilic community. Thus, it can also help all those who follow God find a voice for their pain. In addition, the fullness of God’s presence in the midst of grief and pain finds expression through the inclusion of these poems in Scripture. We can rest, knowing that God is completely involved in all areas of life, including our grief, even the grief that is self-inflicted.
As we immerse ourselves in the poetry of Lamentations, we must realize that God enters into our deepest pain and our deepest rebellions. Even when we break covenant, God offers His ear to our cries. God fully and completely wants to connect with us. We are His dearly beloved even in our actions of rebellion, actions that often lead to pain. In our own suffering we can find a voice in the inspired words of these poems. We can also find hope and comfort in the inspired words of these poems.
Prayer: Ever present God, even in our rebellion you step into our pain and our world offering your words and actions of comfort. Your scriptures continually inspire, helping us scream out and sort through our suffering. You offer peace in the chaos. Please help the words of these poems echo through our souls, helping us understand our pain, culpability, need for confession and the gift of reconciliation. Draw us ever deeper into your comforting presence. In the name of your incarnated son, Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen!
[1] I use poet(s) in order to show that there are various opinions regarding authorship. Some feel that Jeremiah or another individual composed the poems that make up Lamentations. Others have the opinion that many authors may have contributed to the poetry that makes up the book.
[2] Rod Pagett, ed., The Teachers and Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms. (New York: Teachers and Writers Collaborative, 1987), 5.
[3] J. Andrew Dearman, The NIV Application Commentary: Jeremiah/Lamentations. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 335.
[4] F. W. Dobbs-Alsopp, Interpretation: Lamentations. (Louisville: John Knox Press, 2002), 18.
[5] Dearman, 428.
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