A Book of Honest Poetry
I. An OVERVIEW of LAMENTATIONS. (Lam. 1-5)
A. A POETIC response to DEVASTATION. (Lam. 1-5)
B. An ATTEMPT to bring ORDER to CHAOS. (Lam. 1-4)
C. An END that leaves us HANGING. (Lam. 5:19-22)
Lamentations is a short book that often gets overlooked, or at the best, gets boiled down to only a few verses in chapter 3. These few verses are great, and well known, but we can’t lose the wide angle view of what is happening in this book. The wide angle helps us to focus in on the whole of what is being communicated here.
1. Kid’s Question: When has something happened that made you sad? Who did you talk to about it?
2. When have you felt that your world was spiralling out of control? How did you try to deal with it?
II. Exploring the HEART of the POEMS. (Lam. 3:1-40)
A. I’d like to FILE a COMPLAINT. (3:1-18)
B. A FIRM place to STAND. (3:19-25)
C. SURRENDER to a larger PROCESS. (3:25-39)
D. A call to REPENTANCE and RETURN. (3:40)
As is often the case in Hebrew literature, the main wisdom or idea is hidden in the middle. This is what we see in Lamentations. The author (maybe Jeremiah?) focuses in on his (or her?) experience of the fall of Jerusalem, and lays their heart open before God. It’s something we can watch and learn from if we are willing.
3. How comfortable are you with being completely honest with God? Do you tend to express what you are feeling or bottle it up and/or look for distractions?
4. Who has God proven Himself to be for you in the past? How has He done that? Is that easy or difficult to trust?
5. What might “surrender to a larger process” look like in your life right now? How comfortable are you with that option?
III. LEARNING to practice LAMENT. (v.26-28; Phil. 4:6-7)
A. RELEARNING a lost SKILL. (Prov. 25:20; Ps. 13:6; Ps. 13:1)
B. It STARTS by praying HONESTLY. (v.1-18; Ps. 10:1; Ps. 44:23; Hab. 1:2-3)
C. It CLINGS to the CHARACTER of God. (v.22-25; Ex. 33:14; Ps. 103:6,8)
D. It WAITS in hopeful TRUST. (v.26; Ps. 62:1; 2 Cor. 3:18)
Lament is a word we don’t use too often in our society today. Life is hard enough without giving words to difficult feelings and emotions. We feel the need to escape from the heaviness and to lighten things up a little. But the truth is that you can’t run from the heaviness of a broken world…you have to run through it to find God on the other side. That’s what lament is all about.
6. Would you agree or disagree that in church we have lost the language of lament? Why do you feel that way?
7. What role does the church community play in walking with us through difficulty? Are we open to that kind of community or do we prefer to keep our snuggle hidden?
8. What are things that can help us as we wait? Do you have “hopeful trust” that God will come through? If so, how has that developed for you?