Lamentations: Loneliness

Lamentations Background:

written by Jeremiah

Close the 587 BC

It is the emotional reaction to the seige and fall of Jerusalem

We learn 2 things in Lamentations:

we can accept despair and sadness

we can worship is despair and sadness

We will cover 9 subjects in Lamentations:

loneliness

Depression

Weariness

Embarrassment

Abandonment

Anxiety

Abuse

Suffering

Hope

Lamentations starts with loneliness

Lamentations 1:1–2 (ESV)

How lonely sits the city

that was full of people!

How like a widow has she become,

she who was great among the nations!

She who was a princess among the provinces

has become a slave.

She weeps bitterly in the night,

with tears on her cheeks;

among all her lovers

she has none to comfort her;

all her friends have dealt treacherously with her;

they have become her enemies.

We were not meant to be alone

Genesis 2:18 (ESV)

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

God was concerned with our human relationships

God also used to walk with man in the Garden

But sin severs relationships

Loneliness is the result of relationships being severed

3 types of loneliness

Situational

Emotional

Chronic

Situational Loneliness

Lamentations 1:1–2 (ESV)

How lonely sits the city

that was full of people!

How like a widow has she become,

she who was great among the nations!

She who was a princess among the provinces

has become a slave.

She weeps bitterly in the night,

with tears on her cheeks;

among all her lovers

she has none to comfort her;

all her friends have dealt treacherously with her;

they have become her enemies.

Lamentations 1:16–17 (ESV)

“For these things I weep;

my eyes flow with tears;

for a comforter is far from me,

one to revive my spirit;

my children are desolate,

for the enemy has prevailed.”

Zion stretches out her hands,

but there is none to comfort her;

the Lord has commanded against Jacob

that his neighbors should be his foes;

Jerusalem has become

a filthy thing among them.

Emotional Loneliness

Lamentations 5:3 (ESV)

We have become orphans, fatherless;

our mothers are like widows.

Chronic Loneliness

Usually involves extreme beliefs

Person loses hope of connecting again

Is loneliness useful?

2 Corinthians 4:17 (ESV)

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

Hebrews 10:24–25 (ESV)

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

1 Corinthians 12:7 ESV

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

What do you do to overcome loneliness?

Finally, ask honestly:

how is your relationship with God?

how is your relationship with others?