Day 236: Jeremiah laments Jerusalem’s fate

The weeping prophet comes into his own. Jeremiah had a bitter mission, to prophesy doom to people who thought he was a traitor, and to be left alive to weep over the success of his prophecy.
Jerusalem’s miserable state
Lamentations 1:1-22
The Lord’s terrible punishment
Lamentations 2:1-10
Jeremiah’s deep sorrow
Lamentations 2:11-22
His suffering
Lamentations 3:1-20
His hope
Lamentations 3:21-30
The Lord’s mercy
Lamentations 3:31-36

Jeremiah surveys the wreckage and destruction. The broken city is silent and bereft of comfort. He weeps, she weeps, the people are dead or gone, and hope is absent. Jeremiah feels desperate: “I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of the LORD’s wrath. He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light.” (3:1-2) Even prayer is pointless (8) - God isn’t listening.
But suddenly, Jeremiah remembers hope. Suddenly the tone changes and he confidently declares: Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.” (3:32) After all, it was God who gave Jeremiah this mission, he also told him that the exile would only last 70 years, and that beyond it, God still had plans for his people.