Outline of Lamentations
analytical Essay
1766 words
Outline of Lamentations1
I. LAMENTATIONS 1
A. Complaint made to God and request for his mercy 1:1-11
B. Complaint made to friends 1:12-17
C. Appeal to God 1:18-22
II. LAMENTATIONS 2
A. Anger of God as the cause 2:1-9
B. Sorrow of Zion’s children 2: 10-19
C. Complaint is made to God 2: 20-22
III. LAMENTATIONS 3
A. God’s displeasure and the fruits of it 3:1-20
B. Words of comfort to God’s people 3:21-36
C. Duty prescribed in this afflicted state 3:37-41
D. The complaint renewed 3:42-54
E. Hope in God and to wait for his salvation 3:55-66
IV. LAMENTATIONS 4
A. Injuries and indignities done to those who used to be respected 4:1, 2
B. Effects of the famine by the siege 4:3-10
C. Sacking of Jerusalem 4:11, 12
D. Acknowledges the sins 4:13-16
E. Gives up all as doomed to utter ruin 4:17-20
F. Foretells the destruction of Edomites 4:21, 22
V. LAMENTATIONS 5
A. Representation of the present calamitous state of God’s people in their captivity 5:1-16
B. Protestation of their concern for God’s sanctuary 5:17, 18
C. Supplication to God and expostulation with him for return of mercy 5:19-22.
Lamentations, written by the prophet Jeremiah, is a poem mourning the passing of Judah by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E. (Bailey, 82) through siege and battle. Prior to the destruction, Jeremiah had warned or rather prophesized that Judah must change its ways or suffer the consequence of the Lords wrath. Before the Babylonians destroy the city of Jerusalem, Jeremiah warns the people to live by the laws of Babylon and even wrote the warning down to be presented to the people and even to the King. The King, who was placed on the throne by Egypt, in anger, burns the paper and has Jeremiah thrown in jail. While in Jail, Jeremiah conti...
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...usalem that they sought prophets who would tell them that they were doing good, and to ignore the wrongs that they were committing. He tells them in a blunt manner as one who had the authority to, which leaves one to believe that this man was not above lecturing and berating his people when they did wrong. Instead he let them have it sort of like a father who doesn’t just punish but teaches by pointing out the mistakes made. In this verse I saw Jeremiah as a stern father figure as well as a prophet.
Bibliography
Bailey Lloyd. Jeremiah, The New Book of Knowledge, Grolier Incorporated, 1998.
Beza, Theodore. Commentary on Lamentations, The 1599 Geneva Study Bible. www.biblestudytools.net
Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry, A Commentary on The Whole Bible Volume 4 Isaiah to Malachi, Old Tappan New Jersey, Flemming H. Revell Publishers 1981.
Scofield, C.I. The New Scofield Study Bible, New York, Oxford University Press, 1967
Mears, Henretta C. What the Bible is All About, Minneapolis, MN, World Wide Publications
Carol L. Meyers, "Lamentations," World Book Online Americas Edition, www.aolsvc.worldbook.aol.com/wbol/wbPage/na/ar/co/310820, January 1, 2002.
In this essay, the author
- Describes the lamentations 1 and 2.
- Explains god's displeasure and the fruits of it 3:1-20. words of comfort to god’s people 3:21-36.
- Analyzes the effects of the famine by the siege 4:3-10 and the sacking of jerusalem.
- Analyzes how jeremiah's poem mourns the passing of judah by the babylonians in 586 b.c.e.
- Describes how the babylonians lay siege to jerusalem and the survivors are either exiled or go into hiding and leave the area into egypt where they continue to think about what they have lost.
- Explains that the book of lamentations is written in five chapters in an acrostic style poem based off of the hebrew alphabet.
- Analyzes how uses colorful speech and analogies to impart upon the reader the full scope of damage done to the city.
- Analyzes how the language used in these poems is hebrew; much is lost in translation, thus no way to capture the essence of the words and thoughts behind them. the chapters mentioned above come across as a beautiful and yet mournful poem.
- Analyzes jeremiah's verse 20: "should the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the lord?"
- Analyzes how jeremiah states that priests and elders have given up the ghost in search of food in the city, but if read another way, it could go more like this.
- Explains that jeremiah's people are warned to stay away from idolatry, and based on the rest of the bible that when things get hard, they want to make something tangible that they can worship.
- Analyzes how chapter three describes what happened during the siege and afterwards, mostly lamenting the total destruction of what was once grandiose.
- Analyzes how jeremiah brings up the rest of the chapter talking about how the people had imprisoned him and then cast stones upon him.
- Describes the verses that sum up the theme and flavor of the book: lamentations 2:13, 14: what shall i liken to thee, o daughter of jerusalem?
- Analyzes how jeremiah sums up the destruction of jerusalem in verse 2:13, comparing the damage to the size of the sea, and blaming the people for their turning to false prophets.
- Cites bailey lloyd, jeremiah, beza, theodore, and henry on the whole bible volume 4 isaiah to malachi, flemming h. revell publishers 1981.
Related
- analytical
- explanatory
- Ezekielanalytical essayEzekiel lived in a time of international crisis and conflict. Assyria was the world power in the area under the rule of Tiglath-pilesar III. In 724 B.C Israel raged war upon Assyria, and Israel was no match for Assyria. In 627 B.C the last of the able Assyrian rulers, Ashurbanipal died. Following the death of Ashurbanipal, Babylon under Nebuchadrezzer II wanted independence from Assyria. In 614 B.C the Assyrians under Nineveh surrendered to the rising Babylonians. In 605 B.C the Babylonians defeated the Egyptians and established themselves as the leading power in the area. During all of this warring, Judah allied itself with Babylonia and kept her independence. However, in 597 BCE, after failing to continue their payment of tribute, Babylonia besieged Jerusalem. Nebuchadrezzer II, king on Babylonia, installs a puppet king, Zedekiah, in order to keep the Judeans in line. Nevertheless, Zedekiah rebels also. In 586, Babylonia exiles the most of the rulers and people of Judah to Babylonia, leaving only the poorest, and decimates Jerusalem, including the temple. Since the people believed the “Zion Theology,” which said Jerusalem is God’s choice of Zion and the monarchy comes from David, exile left the Judeans completely lost. The responses varied among the exiled Judeans, since they assumed that they were safe, after the temple wasn’t destroyed during the first destruction of Jerusalem and the fall of Israel. One response was lament, a feeling or an expression of grief, over their loss. Another was anger towards the Babylonians. A further response was anger toward neighbors who failed to aid them. Moreover, some Judeans turned to Marduk, chief god of the gods of Babylonia, figuring that he overpowered Yahweh, the god of the Judeans. Finally, the Judeans thought judgment had befallen them for their sins against Yahweh and Yahweh revoked his protection of Jerusalem. The Judeans remained in exile, until 538 BCE.
In this essay, the author
- Describes how ezekiel lived in a time of international crisis and conflict.
- Explains that ezekiel, son of buzi, a zadokite priest, received his call to prophesy around 593 bce, along the chebar river at the village of tel-abib.
- Explains that ezekiel was a reluctant prophet and had responsibilities to people other than himself. the symbolic scroll, mentioned in the second and third chapters, was at first bitter but soon turned sweet.
- Describes pfisterer darr's words: "i will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a flesh. i will make you follow my statues and be careful."
- Analyzes how ezekiel wrote of yahweh's restorative plan, rather than the second exodus of an enraged deity. the heart of stone refers to the rebellious, obstinate nature of the hebrews before the exile
- Analyzes how the spirit of yahweh is a recurring theme in the old testament.
- Explains that in ezekiel 36: 26-28, yahweh forgives the hebrews and assures them of their return to the land in which they are exiled from.
- Explains that brownlee, william h., 'the book of ezekiel.' interpreter's one volume commentary.
- Explains cook, stephen l., "ezekiel." the new oxford annotated bible third edition: new revised standard version with the apocrypha.
- Explains howie, c.g., the interpreter's dictionary of the bible: an illustrated encyclopedia.
- Describes may, herbert g., the book of ezekiel, and the interpreter's bible.
- Explains that pfisterer darr, katheryn. the new interpreter's bible vol. iv.
- Explains that vawter, b., "book of ezechiel (ezekiel).'' new catholic encyclopedia.
1696 wordsRead More - Ezekielanalytical essayEzekiel lived in a time of international crisis and conflict. Assyria was the world power in the area under the rule of Tiglath-pilesar III. In 724 B.C Israel raged war upon Assyria, and Israel was no match for Assyria. In 627 B.C the last of the able Assyrian ruler, Ashurbanipal died. Right after the death of Ashurbanipal, Babylon under Nabopolassar wanted independence from Assyria. In 612 B.C the Assyrians under Nineveh surrendered to the rising Babylonians. In 605 B.C the Babylonians were at war against the Egyptians. The Babylonians won and they established themselves as the leading power in the area. During all of this Judea allied with the Babylonians and with this Judea kept her independence. During the last century before Judea was destroyed it was ruled by four rulers and of those rulers, all but Josiah were wicked. Josiah was committed to God and led Judea to him. All the others did not heed the warnings of Ezekiel and Jeremiah from God, and the rulers of Judea chose to rebel against God. God punished Judea by sending Nebuchadnezzar’s army to crush the nation of Judea and flatten the city of Jerusalem.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that ezekiel is one of the four greater prophets in the old testament. he was taken captive in jehoiachin, eleven years before the destruction of jerusalem.
- Explains that ezekiel lived in a time of international crisis and conflict. assyria was the world power in the area under tiglath-pilesar iii.
- Explains that god appeared to ezekiel in a storm cloud, surrounded by cherubim, and commanded him to go to an impudent children and stiffhearted. god didn't allow him speak for the next seven years so that he could not speak.
- Analyzes how ezekiel changed the basis of his messages after the fall of jerusalem.
- Analyzes how ezekiel's personality has been called neurotic, paranoid, psychotic and schizophrenic. he was truthful, forgiving, obedient, and had endurance.
- Explains that ezekiel's death is unknown, but an ancient jewish tradition states that he was killed by his own people because of his preaching.
1076 wordsRead More - The New and Old Testamentexplanatory essayElwell, Walter A. and Barry J. Beitzel, 1988. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible. Grand Rapids:
In this essay, the author
- Explains that there have always been people who have tried to undermine ity of god's word. in light of these dangerous teachings, orthodoxy has shown through.
- Explains that marcion's attempt to have a unified book of authoritative books included only the gospel of luke and paul’s writings. the complete old testament was done away with and all other letters written were not inspired.
- Explains that there were other reasons for the need for an authoritative text. the gnostics combined the ideas of christianity and greek philosophy to make one religion.
- Explains that neither of these two councils formulated and penned down what the official listing of the canon that is possessed by believers today. instead, they affirmed the letters and books that were already in circulation while condemning those books which have no place in the church.
- Explains that the councils did not officially create the modern day biblical text, but affirmed which letters and books were to be included. some books do not pass all the tests but completed enough to make it into the canon.
- Explains that each book had to possess each of these qualities in order to be included in the canon. church leaders and councils followed these qualifications.
- Explains that the councils never officially mandated the canon, but rather approved what was already agreed upon to stop the spread of heretical teachings. barker, lane, and michaels make a great observation in regards to this formation.
- Opines that barker, glenn w., william l. lane, and j. ramsey michaels, 1969, the new testament speaks.
- Describes elwell, walter a., and barry j. beitzel's baker encyclopedia of the bible.
- Explains that the bible is divine revelation, breathed by god, written by men, and applicable for all of humanity. there is a classic divide in the books—old and new testament.
- Explains that the bible was originally written by apostles, elders and teachers of the church, but the gospels served a different purpose.
- Explains that people have always tried to usurp ity of god's word, but others have answered the call to protect the sanctity of the word. a list of what should be included in the canon was discovered by ludovico antonio muratori.
- Explains that there was no official, authoritative text by which the church should conduct itself by. the council of laodicea rejected the book of revelations from their listing.
1625 wordsRead More - The Life of Jeremiahanalytical essay...leadership them telling them to not expect a swift return to Jerusalem, but to build homes and starts businesses. During the worst days of the siege in 588B.C.E. Jeremiah purchased some ancestral land. With this act he was affirming his deepest faith in Yahweh that he would not abandon his people and remove them from the Promised Land forever. Jerusalem finally fell in 587B.C.E. actualizing Jeremiah's fears and predictions. Jeremiah was captured during the fall but was later released to travel where he pleased. After the assassination of Gedaliah in 582B.C.E., Jeremiah was forced to travel with refugees to Egypt where he continued to prophesize until his death.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes jeremiah as one of the most intriguing and revealing old testament prophets. his story is of human weakness and strength.
- Explains the meaning behind the prophet's sermons and predictions. prophets speak by delegated authority and are commanded by a higher power.
- Explains that jeremiah was born to a priestly family whose origins have been traced back to moses. he began his prophecy during the reign of josiah.
- Analyzes how jeremiah challenged the orthodoxy of zionist theology with his temple sermon, which condemned the people for being immoral and held the temple as superstition.
- Explains that jeremiah instituted the help of his friend and secretary, baruch, to take dictations, and created a scroll that warned of babylonian danger.
- Explains that jeremiah is one of many prophets spoken about in the old testament. many of his prophecies and sermons were controversial but they had a meaning and these meanings can still be used today.
762 wordsRead More - Interpreting Jeremiah in the Jewish and Christian Scripturesanalytical essayBefore I start to explain anything that Jeremiah had to say and his messages, I must first explain a little bit about the kind of man that Jeremiah was. As with most of the prophets, personality plays a major role in what they wrote. It is almost impossible to find a passage in the bible that has not influenced in some way by peoples beliefs and feelings. The writings that Jeremiah had done are the same way. His personality influenced them immensely (Smith, 3). ."..The fact is that no prophet started so deeply from himself as Jeremiah did." (Smith, 5). There can be no way of knowing exactly how he lived or how long that he lived. The only information that can be gathered on him is from what people have written about him in the bible. Some more information of Jeremiah was that he was hated by almost everyone for him message that he was sending. People did not want to hear that they were doing wrong and that Yahweh was angry with them. Because of this, Jeremiah himself didn't want to be a prophet. He despised spreading such an unpopular message, but he saw it as something he had to do. He took it as more of an obligation rather than a delight.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that there are many passages in the bible that appeal to different people. jeremiah's views on sin made them look at how people act in a different way.
- Explains that personality plays a major role in the writings of jeremiah. he was hated by almost everyone for his unpopular message.
- Explains that jeremiah had a unique message that dealt with the way that people lived their lives. he believed that sin was chiefly directed towards judah.
- Explains that they do not say in their hearts, "let us fear the lord our god, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest."
- Analyzes how jeremiah explains that when sin is conceived it brings forth adultery, brutishness, and untruthfulness just to name a few.
- Analyzes how jeremiah's message of sin being spread among people can be said about some situations today. a unified nation cannot be made up of people that do not agree on issues.
- Analyzes how jeremiah's main message in chapter 5 is that the people had sinned against the old covenant.
- Analyzes how jeremiah's message was not without good news for the people, but they didn't approve it. the passage in the fifth chapter did not directly come out and say that they were going to be given a second chance.
- Explains that the messages in jeremiah can be related to today's society, and the main message in chapter 5 is that sin is spread from person to person.
768 wordsRead More - Origen Lord Of The Flies Analysisanalytical essayOrigen suggested that Jeremiah and his views during Israel’s captivity serve as lessons for Christians, these lessons being: “conversion, repentance, the Judgment, spiritual progress, the Fire, the role of Christ, the role of evil, the meaning of Israel, and salvation.”2 These views of Jeremiah come from a relatively limited remains of Origen’s work, only paragraphs from the Homilies to be specific. However, they demonstrate the commitment Origen made to understanding and interpreting the Bible, while Christianity was still at such an early
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes origen's homilies, which provide an idea of his life, and demonstrate the preacher, teacher, exegete and religious thinker that he was.
- Analyzes how origen's homilies focuses on jeremiah and his views during israel’s captivity as lessons for christians.
- Analyzes how origen's exegesis of jeremiah and the detail he put into analyzing it is directly related to the rest of orige' s works, teachings, and beliefs.
273 wordsRead More - Communicating Leadershipanalytical essayElwell, Walter and Robert Yarbrough. Encountering the New Testament. Grand Rapids MI: Baker Publishing Group, 1998.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how jesus honed his charismatic leadership skills and led the twelve apostles with a transformational communicating leadership to carry on his vision.
- Explains that jesus chose a team of twelve with little skill other than being able to fish. his vision remained strong in his disciples long after his death.
- Analyzes how jesus was creative in he learned how to use parables to spread his message. he encouraged people to ask questions and answered them directly.
- Explains the definition of a traditional or transformational communicating leader.
- Explains that leaders exert more influence than other group members, but are also influenced by followers. leadership in the transformational communicating form worked in jesus' day and still works today.
- Explains banner, david k., blanchard, ken, elwell, and yarbrough. designing effective organizations: traditional and transformational views.
- Explains hackman, michael, and craig johnson. leadership a communication perspective. 4th ed. long grove il: waveland press, inc., 2004. hellriegel, don, susan jackson and john slocum jr.
1933 wordsRead More - Matthew Book: Jesus Walking on Water Symbolismanalytical essayEnglish, E. Schuylyer. Studies in the Gospel According to Matthew. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1938.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the christian science movement says that jesus could not have walked on water because it is not possible to deny gravity and that matter does not exist.
- Explains william barclay's idea that jesus didn't walk on water, stating that he walked through the surf of the sea.
- Analyzes how peter had a habit of acting on impulse. he would jump to do what his heart desired without counting what the cost would be. the lord saved peter from drowning in the sea.
- Explains english, e. schuylyer, studies in the gospel according to matthew, 2nd ed. grand rapids: zondervan publishing house, 1938.
- Explains that morgan, g. campbell, studies in the four gospels, 3rd ed.
- Explains haldeman, i.m. christian science in the light of holy scripture.
- Explains that the theme of matthew is the kingship of christ. the ship is israel, while the disciples are the remnant.
- Explains that peter's words "if it is you" could be translated as "since it was you." peter knew that jesus could do anything, but he got his eyes off of jesus.
938 wordsRead More - Jeremiahanalytical essayJeremiah “made himself the message” to preserve YHWH-Israel covenantal relationship. Jeremiah seriously conveyed his messages by various prophetic gestures to catch people’s attention, such as remaining unmarried (16:1-9), the purchase and breaking of the flask (19:1-14), the wearing of an ox-yoke (27:2; 28:11), the buying of land in Anathoth (32:15), etc. Jeremianic prophecy primarily emphasized that keeping the Sinai covenant as specified in the Ten Commandments was the only way to save Judah from devastation and exile (11:3-4). The unconditional Davidic covenant and the divine promise of protection of Jerusalem will not help Judah to escape from divine judgment if Judah does not turn back to God and act for justice (7:5-7). The Temple Sermon (7:1-15; 7:16-8:3) is Jeremiah’s powerful messages of worshiping YHWH, of repentance, and of divine forgiveness. However, like YHWH used Assyria to punish Israel in 722 (Isa 10:5-6), YHWH also used Babylon to punish Judah in 586 (21:8-10) because of infidelity of the two kingdoms toward YHWH. For Jeremiah, God’s anger is the “wrath of love” responding to the blameworthy behaviors of Israel/Judah.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the 52 chapters of the book of jeremiah are a complex work of several collective sources, textual traditions, and different versions.
- Explains that jeremiah was called by god to prophesy for the people of judah. he was persecuted because of "ridicule, rejection, persecution, imprisonment, and exile."
- Analyzes how jeremiah supported the reform of king josiah, based on the code of deuteronomy.
- Analyzes how jeremiah 30-33, also called the book of consolation, is a strange and interrupting insertion into the book of judah.
- Analyzes how jeremiah 31:1-14 uses two dominant tenses to convey prophetic messages of hope for israel.
1238 wordsRead More - Analysis of Corinthians 2:1-17analytical essayHenry, Matthew. Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 1996.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how paul addresses several concerns in the second letter to the corinthians. he addresses the situation of a man who has sinned against himself and against the corinthian church.
- Analyzes how paul addresses the fact that he did not want to return to the church at corinth and bring pain upon them again.
- Analyzes how the greek word lp means to grieve, torment, afflict with sorrow, or bring pain upon. paul didn't want to bring undue sorrow upon the church.
- Explains that paul was putting the corinthian church first. his love for them and his desire to see the church as a whole restored took precedence over his personal feelings.
- Explains that when dealing with a situation in love, sometimes there is pain before the situation is resolved or restored.
- Analyzes how paul's sin had affected the corinthian church. the consequences of his sin were affecting him, paul, and the church. confessing our sins to god restores our relationship with him.
- Explains that paul instructed the church to forgive a man who had sinned against them.
- Describes how a sister-in-christ was disciplined, repentant, sought forgiveness, and then publicly forgiven. the pain on all individuals involved was enormous.
- Opines that forgiveness lifts up the one who has fallen. through the process of restoration sin is exposed and the individual becomes vulnerable.
- Opines that we must be careful not to give opportunity for satan to get a foothold in our lives and churches.
- Explains that paul knew the situation in the corinthian church could not be ignored so he sent them a letter. he had to trust the lord to work out the circumstances.
- Analyzes how paul turns his focus to the unfailing character of god. he begins by giving thanks to god, no matter our circumstances.
- Opines that christ defeated sin on the cross, which was the only payment sufficient to cover our sins. christ is the victor, who leads believers in a grand procession.
- Explains that fragrances can be pleasant or putrid. they invoke an emotional response and remind us of memories of childhood or christmas.
- Explains that the fragrance of christ the victor leading us along is too immense to keep to ourselves. the corinthians were being led by christ as they forgave this man.
- Explains that god sent his son, jesus christ, to live a perfect life, paying for our sins by his death on the cross. god initiated his plan sending christ to be in believers.
- Opines that paul was right. how can anyone think he is worthy of anything from god? we are completed filthy.
- Explains that christ in us is the reason anyone is adequate to do the work of the ministry. paul said many individuals "peddling" or trying to build themselves up through power or money.
- Explains that paul teaches that we must allow christ to lead us, love through us and protect us. we must be careful not to allow satan an open door of opportunity.
- Describes matthew henry's commentary on the whole bible: complete and unabridged in one volume.
2806 wordsRead More