Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

3:1-2 I am the man. A new speaker, who has experienced God's wrath and desires to teach others what he has learned. Darkness without any light describes the severity of the day of the Lord (cf. Joel 2:1-2; Amos 5:18; Zeph. 1:14-16).

3:4-6 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away. Lit., "he has swallowed up my flesh and my skin." For "swallow" as a metaphor for judgment, see 2:2, 5, 8, 16. he has broken. For "breaking" as a metaphor for punishment, see 1:15 ("crush") and 2:9. Jerusalem was besieged by Babylon; the speaker in this chapter (see note on 3:1-2) was besieged by bitterness and tribulation. For darkness, see note on vv. 1-2. like the dead of long ago. Like persons put in a dark place and forgotten (cf. Ps. 74:18-20; 88:3-7; 143:3).

3:7-9 walled. God has imprisoned the speaker (Job 19:8; Hos. 2:6). Even if the speaker had escaped his prison, God made certain that his path to freedom was blocked.

3:10-11 Even if the speaker had taken the dangerous path to freedom, God was like a bear waiting to attack.

3:12-13 God bent his bow (see 2:4) and made the speaker a target. Indeed, God succeeded in hitting the speaker with the arrows of his quiver.

3:14 Like Jerusalem (1:7), the speaker has endured shame and mocking.

3:15 bitterness. For his food; see v. 5. wormwood. For his drink. This plant has a bitter taste and is often used as a metaphor for hardship and sorrow (v. 19; Prov. 5:4; Amos 5:7; 6:12).

3:16 teeth grind on gravel. Akin to the English phrase "eating dirt."

3:17-18 Since God treats both Jerusalem (2:4-5) and the speaker (3:1-16) as enemies, he has lost peace, happiness, and hope. The true source of a believer's hope for the future is from the Lord.

3:19-20 A prayer for God to remember all that the man has suffered. God has not remembered Jerusalem, to protect her (cf. note on 2:1). wormwood. See 3:15. gall. Or, "bitterness," cf. vv. 5, 15. Remembering what he asks God to remember causes his soul to bow down.

3:21 This verse marks a change in the speaker's attitude. The contentment he remembers renews the hope lost in v. 18. In view of vv. 22-23, 32, he may be reflecting on Ex. 34:6-7, which these verses echo.

3:22 God's steadfast love (his "covenant mercy" or beneficial action on his people's behalf) never ceases, even in the face of Judah's unfaithfulness and the resulting "day of the Lord" (cf. Joel 2:1-2; Amos 5:18; Zeph. 1:14-16). mercies. Or "compassion." This type of mercy goes the second mile, replacing judgment with restoration. never come to an end. God is willing to begin anew with those who repent.

3:23 new every morning. Each day presents another opportunity to experience God's grace. faithfulness. God's covenantal fidelity and personal integrity remain intact no matter what happens.

3:24 my portion. As with the Levites (Num. 18:20), God is the speaker's only inheritance (see Ps. 73:26). says my soul. This is what the speaker remembers in Lam. 3:21. I will hope in him. God daily offers fresh opportunities for reconciliation (cf. v. 18).

3:25 The Lord is good. God's goodness, or gracious sovereignty, is the core of his character (Neh. 9:25; Ps. 34:8; 86:5; Hos. 3:5). wait for him. Not passive, listless sitting, but faithful serving until God acts (Ps. 37:1-11). seeks him. Desires to know him and to do his will (Ps. 34:10; Amos 5:4, 6, 14).

3:26 wait quietly. In a posture of prayer and expectation. salvation. In this instance, deliverance from peril, not salvation from sin.

3:27 He must bear the yoke of punishment for sin (v. 18; cf. 1:14). In his youth indicates that the suffering is temporary.

3:28 sit alone in silence. See 1:1 and 2:10.

3:29 put his mouth in the dust. Assume a posture that expresses humility and dependence on God. There may yet be hope because of God's covenant fidelity (cf. v. 24).

3:30 give his cheek. Those who wait on and seek for God can accept humiliation as coming from God for a purpose.

3:31-33 not cast off forever. God's anger is only temporary (Ps. 103:9), for he sends judgment in order to effect restoration. Though he cause grief, in this instance, because of the people's covenant infidelity, he will have compassion. See Ex. 34:6-7; Lam. 3:22; Hos. 11:1-9. steadfast love. See Lam. 3:22. does not willingly afflict. Lit., "does not afflict from his heart." God's first instinct is not to punish. He does so only when his patience with sinners does not lead to their repentance.

3:34-36 The Lord does not approve (v. 36) of those who crush others underfoot (perhaps a reference to the Israelites who were crushed by Babylon), of those who deny a man justice (cf. Ex. 23:2, 6; Deut. 16:19; 24:17; 27:19; Ps. 94:1-7), or of those who subvert a man in his lawsuit, that is, who make the innocent party guilty.

3:37 spoken and it came to pass. Just as in creation (cf. Gen. 1:3; Ps. 33:9), God sovereignly speaks and commands in history and things happen, including Jerusalem's destruction (Lam. 1:5, 12-16; 2:1-10).

3:38 good and bad. As experienced by human beings (cf. Isa. 45:7; Amos 3:6). The God who sent judgment can also send renewal.

3:39 When people suffer for their sins, they suffer because of what they have done, not because God enjoys punishing them (cf. v. 33).