This acrostic lament contains a variety of similar statements describing the destruction and misery of Jerusalem. Thus the two section titles that follow describe a slight shift in viewpoint rather than a major division of the chapter into two distinct segments. In the first segment (vv. 1-11), the prophet described the desolate city from the viewpoint of an observer primarily. In the second segment (vv. 12-22), he personified Jerusalem bewailing her own desolate condition.
"Jeremiah's first dirge established the book's theme--the sorrow of sin."18
All the dirges in Lamentations express the grief of the defeated Jerusalemites. But the miserable condition of the city is most prominent in this first one, not so much what she had undergone as what she had become.
One of the striking features of this lament is its emphasis on God's initiative in bringing destruction on Jerusalem and its people. Jeremiah saw Him as the One ultimately responsible for what had happened because He was angry over their sins. Many different words describing Yahweh's hostility against His people appear in this chapter. This lament also describes in greater detail than chapter 1 the nature of the calamity that had befallen Judah.
"This second poem contains a new and more bitter lamentation regarding the fall of Jerusalem and the kingdom of Judah; and it is distinguished from the first, partly by the bitterness of the complaint, but chiefly by the fact that while, in the first, the oppressed, helpless, and comfortless condition of Jerusalem is the main feature,--here, on the other hand, it is the judgment which the Lord, in His wrath, has decreed against Jerusalem is shown by the prominence repeatedly given to the wrath, rage, burning wrath, etc. (ver. 1 ff.)."26
As mentioned previously, this lament is an acrostic in triplets; the same succeeding Hebrew consonant begins three verses instead of just one, as in the previous chapters. The verses are about one third as long as most of those in the first two chapters.
This chapter differs from the others in this book in that it contains a first-person narrative of the prophet's reactions to the sufferings he endured as the Lord's faithful servant. It is similar to the "confessions"sections in the Book of Jeremiah in that the prophet opened up and let the reader into his heart and mind.
"Jeremiah proposes his own experience under afflictions, as an example as to how the Jews should behave under theirs, so as to have hope of a restoration; hence the change from singularto plural(vv. 22, 40-47)."31
Faithful servants of the Lord of all ages can identify with many of the prophet's sentiments expressed here.
"Chapter 3 is the heart of Jeremiah's short book. This chapter gives the book a positive framework around which the other chapters revolve. The black velvet of sin and suffering in chapters 1-2 and 4-5 serves as a fitting backdrop to display the sparkling brilliance of God's loyal love in chapter 3."32
In parts of this chapter, Jeremiah spoke for the people of Jerusalem and Judah as well as for himself (e.g., vv. 22, 40-47).
"He speaks as a representative Israelite, facing the dark and baffling ways of Providence."33
"In many respects this elegy crystallizes the basic themes of Lamentations, and as a fore-shadowing of the passion of Jesus Christ has definite affinities with Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22."34
The fourth lament is similar to the second one in that they both describe God's judgment of Jerusalem and Judah.
"The lamentation over the terrible calamity that has befallen Jerusalem is distinguished in this poem from the lamentations in chap. i. and ii., not merely by the fact that in it the fate of the several classes of the population is contemplated, but chiefly by the circumstances that the calamity is set forth as a well-merited punishment by God for the grievous sins of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. This consideration forms the chief feature in the whole poem, from the beginning to the end of which there predominates the hope that Zion will not perish, but that the appointed punishment will terminate, and then fall on their now triumphant enemies."49
This poem, like the one in chapter 3, contains verses of only two lines each. It is the only non-acrostic chapter in the book, though like chapters 1, 2, and 4, it consists of 22 verses. The doleful qinahmeter is also absent in this chapter giving it a somewhat more positive tone. However, 45 words end in u(in all verses except 19), which gives the chapter a rather mournful tone when read aloud in Hebrew.
The chapter is more of a prayer than a lament, though its content focuses on the pitiful condition of the Judahites because of Jerusalem's fall.
"The best fruit of anyone's mourning is his praying to God."55
Jeremiah's prayer, which he voiced for his people, contains two petitions, namely, that God would remember the plight of His people (vv. 1-18) and that He would restore them to their promised covenant blessings (vv. 19-22; cf. Deut. 30:1-11).
"The chapter comprises a confession of sin [v. 16] and a recognition of the abiding sovereignty of God [v. 19]."56
