Obscure Opportunities in Bible Study
Many years ago, a popular song proclaimed, “Sad Songs Say So Much.” In my personal Bible study, I discovered this to be true in the Scriptures as well. The Old Testament book of Lamentations is literally a book of sad songs. Historically, these were written in the horrible aftermath of Jerusalem’s destruction by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The five poetic chapters graphically depict the feelings of “the weeping prophet”—Jeremiah—as he walks through the rubble of what used to be.
Because of its somber tone, Lamentations is rarely the topic of a sermon or Bible study, except perhaps the well-known passage in chapter three which inspired the hymn, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” But the truths of this book are very relevant for Christians of all ages.
Simply put, Lamentations depicts the wages of sin. In addition to describing the awful situation he witnessed, Jeremiah points to the reason for the calamity—the sin of the people of God. In my Bible study I discovered that the prophet wrote each chapter as an acrostic poem: each chapter has 22 verses, and each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. (The exception to this is chapter three, which consists of 66 verses, and every three verses begin with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.) Jeremiah gives an “A to Z” treatment on the consequences of Judah’s sin.
So often a teacher or preacher concentrates their Bible study on the love and grace of God that the terrible cost of sin is sometimes overlooked. We would rather hear happy messages that make us feel good. But God included the book of Lamentations to remind us that sin has a high price tag, even for Christians. Yes, sin can be forgiven, but there are still consequences in this life.
My Bible study in Lamentations reminded me that no temptation—no matter how alluring it seems at the time—is worth the cost in the long run. “The way of the transgressor is hard,” and that goes for God’s children as well as unbelievers. It also encourages me to look in unfamiliar places in my Bible study to discover important, though sometimes overlooked, truths of God’s Word.