Sometimes, it’s over. A nation is crushed. With that, people must query: “is there is anything left?” With the populace in despair, other questions arise: “How did it come to this?”; “What is to become of us?”; and “Who are we?”
These questions weight heavy on a nation eternally covenanted-by Decalogue- to a Deity.
Writings, at the Judean nation’s fall, shed light on pertinent matters. What was national mindset as it came to grips with the catastrophe. And, how did the writers address the theological implications.
The Judean Kingdom’s Fall
While existential threats to nations have occurred across the millennia, the Judean nation’s fall was uniquely documented.
The Hebrew Bible, a library of Israelite literature, addressed the matter within various books. This post will examine one- the Book of Lamentations.
The Book of Lamentations poetically reflected upon the human aspects of the catastrophe. Beyond the mere horrors of being physically dispossessed, the spiritual loss was also addressed.
A particular passages from Lamentations touches upon the Ten Commandments. The Decalogue-related reference leads to the question as to what role the Mt. Sinai covenant would play for the people moving forward.
The Nation
At Mt. Sinai, the Children of Israel formed a covenant- the Decalogue- with their Deity. As a result, they would eventually inhabit a Deity-provided Promised Land.
With the Judean Kingdom’s fall, this very “Promised Land” was no more.
To those observing this debacle, the question arose as to “what would become of the Judeans?” Can a people of shared beliefs, values and commitments exist without the Promised nation?
The reference to Judeans, however, may be a misnomer within this discussion. The Judean Kingdom’s population likely included refugees from other Israelite tribes arising from the prior Assyrian Northern Kingdom conquest.
Thus, the Lamentations‘ author confronted the reality. “What can be made of a once landless people who once again were landless?”
The Book of Lamentations
It is believed that the Book of Lamentations– essentially poetry- was crafted contemporaneously with the nation’s fall. Many scholars believe that the writing was completed prior to the Judeans’ eventual return from the Babylonian exile.
Thus, the author’s views were likely formulated around 586 BCE. This was the year that the Judean Kingdom fell to the Babylonian Empire ruled by King Nebuchadnezzar II. As noted above, the Judean’s sister state- the Israelite Northern Kingdom- had previously fallen.
The Babylonian devastation struck to the heart of Judea with the razing of Solomon’s Temple and the population exiling. With this, the Divided Israelite Kingdoms were completely destroyed.
With the total loss, the Lamentations‘ author was impelled to enter the realm of theology. One existential question was to whether the Mt. Sinai covenant remained intact.
Passages
The Lamentations‘ author captures human suffering and reality from the loss in one particular passage.
The Lamentations notes, “[r]emember, the Lord, what has befallen us; look and see our disgrace. Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our houses to foreigners. We have become [like] orphans, and there is no father; our mothers are widows. We pay money to drink our own water, obtain our wood for a price.” Book of Lamentations 5:1-4.
In describing this apparent utter ruin, the Book of Lamentations‘ author makes a spiritual observation: “He [God] stripped His booth like a garden, He destroyed His place of assembly, the Lord made Zion oblivious to Festival and Sabbath, and in His fierce anger He spurned king and Kohen.” Book of Lamentations 2:6. [Note: Artscroll, The Writings, translation.]
Other translations, use the word “forget.” See NIV
The Judean People being oblivious or forgetful towards the Sabbath ties this passage to the Ten Commandments. The Sabbath, part of the Decalogue, is a covenant sign. This was expressed in the Book of Exodus. It states “and the Children of Israel shall observe the Sabbath, to make the Sabbath though their generations, an eternal covenant. Between me and the Children of Israel it is a sign forever…” Exodus 31:16-17:
The term oblivious is significant. While it means a lack of awareness or concern, it is not an expression of permanence. The same can be said with the term forget. This notion is in contrast to the fate of Zedekiah, the last Judean Monarch.
The Second Book of Kings tells that the Babylonians slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes. They then proceeded to blind him. 2 Kings 25:7. He was then taken in chains into captivity.
Arguably, the author suggests that while the covenant was on life support, there was still a spark of life. While the human memory of the Sabbath was impacted by the events, the Sabbath was not eliminated. Every seventh day, there the possibility existed that could be revisited, re-learned or remembered.
The Last Hope?
Thus, despite everything seemingly been lost, the author suggests an inkling of hope. The people’s loss, while not as harsh as their monarch, was significant. The human memory of the past could be recaptured.
While making this case, Lamentations pleads for the suffering to end. The author writes: “[f]or even if You had utterly rejected us, You have already raged sufficiently against us.” Book of Lamentations 5:22.
Despite this rejection, optimism remains. The author- not giving up- pleads: “[b]ring us back to You, the Lord, and we shall return, renew our days as of old.” Book of Lamentations 5:21.
Conclusion
Lamentations‘ Sabbath reference suggests that its author was keenly aware of the holiday’s significance to the Ten Commandments. Thus, Lamentations‘ obliviousness or forgetfulness reference to the covenant sign implies the author connected the Decalogue to the nation’s fall.
The author’s language, however, falls short in describing the event as a total loss. Arguably, the Sabbath’s elimination would have sealed the covenant’s end. Thus, the Sabbath’s existence left the door open for its remembrance. With the remembrance, observance remained a possibility of displaying. The covenant’s sign remained. The agreement, somehow, in some shape or form, would remain intact.
As such, despite crafted within the most troubling of times, The Book of Lamentations possessed a flicker of optimism.
Be well!!
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