An Elder Speaks

The Remnant’s Remonstrance
by Ronald Thompkins
May 30, 2004

1 Remember, O Jehovah, what is come upon us: Behold, and see our reproach.

 2 Our inheritance is turned unto strangers, Our houses unto aliens.

3 We are orphans and fatherless; Our mothers are as widows.

4 We have drunken our water for money; Our wood is sold unto us.

 5 Our pursuers are upon our necks: We are weary, and have no rest.

6 We have given the hand to the Egyptians, And to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with

 7 Our fathers sinned, and are not; And we have borne their iniquities.

8 Servants rule over us: There is none to deliver us out of their hand.

9 We get our bread at the peril of our lives, Because of the sword of the wilderness.

10 Our skin is black like an oven, Because of the burning heat of famine.

11 They ravished the women in Zion, The virgins in the cities of Judah.

12 Princes were hanged up by their hand: The faces of elders were not honored.

13 The young men bare the mill; And the children stumbled under the wood.

14 The elders have ceased from the gate, The young men from their music.

15 The joy of our heart is ceased; Our dance is turned into mourning.

16 The crown is fallen from our head: Woe unto us! for we have sinned.

17 For this our heart is faint; For these things our eyes are dim;

18 For the mountain of Zion, which is desolate: The foxes walk upon it. (Lamentations 5: 1-18, ASV)

Remonstrance is defined as a strong representation of reasons or facts something is opposed to or complained about.

In these final words from the prophet Jeremiah he writes of the disgrace and now orphaned state Judah has found herself in because of her sins against God. The words found in verses 1 and 18 describe the reproach brought against God and the resulting consequences of a once proud, rich and select people who had forgotten who they were and who they belong to.

The same people who had once feared Judah and been in awe of her power, might, and protection because of her chosen status with God, now sneer at them

The reference to God remembering them was not that they for one minute thought God had forgotten them, but they felt the severity of their yoke was so long they in fact thought God had in fact forgotten them. All they had possessed was now taken from them. People they did not know now occupied their homes. They had become orphans and widows from God as a result of their actions (verse 3).  God had long ago reminded them that they did not own the land He would allow them to possess (Leviticus 25:23). This land was part of their inheritance which they now had forfeited.

Because of the protection and security that came with an inheritance and marriage, orphans and widows were states of life not envied.

It is probably no doubt man then as well as now sometimes find what maybe regarded as God’s rigidity of His ways as being boring and not fashionable (Malachi 1:13). In hindsight they now long for the old life that had brought the security they once had in the Father’s arms. Now their captors have their feet on their necks (verse 5).

The men of Judah who once fought Judah’s battles under God’s protection are now either dead or captives. Those males now left find themselves doing the work once reserved for women. The captives now help themselves to the women and daughters of royalty as spoils of their victory. They find themselves unable to afford something as basic as water. They once again allay themselves with the Assyrians and Egyptians simply to acquire this necessity of life.

Verses 7 to 10 appear to question God as to why He is punishing them for the sins of their fathers. However, Ezekiel and Jeremiah had settled this matter long before now (Ezekiel 18:20).

A people who had enjoyed all that life had to offer in terms of the riches of this life now found themselves suffering at the hands of those who were their former slaves or other lesser rank.

They were no longer able to hear the joys of freedom (Lamentations 5:15). Their leaders had also found themselves victims to all that comes with sins (Lamentations 5:12).

Their sins not only brought them to their knees, but even worst it resulted in a reproach against God, which now cost them not only everything they physically owned, but also their very souls.

The plight of these Jews reminds us today that only through the love of God do those who stay faithful have the opportunity for everlasting life through the blood of Jesus.

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