Lamentations (Mentor Commentary | MC)
Overview
The five chapters of Lamentations may be easily overlooked. Not only is the book brief, but it is also sandwiched between the two giants of Old Testament prophecy, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Lamentations also deals with realities which we rather wish were not discussed—consequently it is little studied. However, although there much here to challenge faith, there is much that builds it up. Lamentations was not written in the first instance to serve as warning to others, or to even keep alive the present memory of past suffering. It is the present that dominates the thought of the book. And in that present are overriding thoughts—“Has God left us?” “Have we blown our chance as God’s covenant people?” “Is there a way forward towards the restoration?” John L. MacKay skillfully answers these questions and more.
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- Provides exposition that builds the faith of the reader
- Discusses how the book was first written as a way to keep alive the collective consciousness of the community
- Examines these passages in a way that provides comfort in times of struggle
- Chapter 1
- Grief Observed
- Grief Felt
- Chapter 2
- Under the Cloud of the Lord’s Anger
- Distressed at Jerusalem’s Plight
- Zion’s Plea
- Chapter 3
- The Agony of Suffering
- Moving Out of Darkness
- Self-Examination, Complaint and Grief
- Prayer Based on Past Experience
- Chapter 4
- Zion’s Continuing Torment
- Rejected by the Lord
- Helpless Is Man’s Aid
- The Destiny of Edom and Zion
- Chapter 5
- A Plea for Attention
- Restore Us!
Top Highlights
“This image for enjoying a particularly close relationship with the Lord and depending on divine provision for survival became a metaphor for a truly God-centred life which was able to survive in times of difficulty and crisis (cf. Pss. 16:5; 73:26; 142:5).” (Page 142)
“The wrath of God is the inherent divine reaction to the presence of sin.” (Page 24)
“I without such an introduction would be heard as a continuation of the preceding speech of daughter Zion, whereas it is now a male figure who speaks and refers to himself as the man. This is not the ordinary term for a male (ʾîš) but a rarer word (geber) which describes a man at the peak of his physical power when he is most competent to direct and secure his affairs. Indeed, there are passages where the term is employed with positive, spiritual significance.” (Page 126)
“Here it is the covenant nation which is undergoing God’s chastisement. What is in view is the fate of the nation with privileged knowledge of, and access to, God. Since it has undervalued its special access to God and has thought little of its heritage, he has in retribution withdrawn those blessings from them.” (Page 28)
“What the poet does do—and invites us to participate in—is to feel along with her, and in an attitude of sympathy and love to see if anything can be done to relieve her distress by pointing out a way back to the enjoyment of a harmonious relationship with God.” (Page 23)
John MacKay’s Lamentations is a good commentary for preaching. MacKay is aware of the issues but does not get bogged down in technicalities. Lamentations often is neglected, so this will be helpful.
—2009 Preaching Survey of Bibles and Bible References
- Title: Lamentations: Living in the Ruins
- Author: John L. MacKay
- Series: Mentor Commentaries
- Publisher: Mentor
- Print Publication Date: 2008
- Logos Release Date: 2011
- Pages: 240
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Bible. O.T. Lamentations › Commentaries
- ISBNs: 9781845503635, 1845503635
- Resource ID: LLS:MENTRCOM25LA
- Resource Type: Bible Commentary
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-12T23:09:12Z