Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like an ostrich in the wilderness. Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their youngThe imagery of "jackals" in this verse is significant. In the Hebrew text, the word used is "תַּנִּים" (tannim), which can refer to wild animals like jackals or even sea creatures like dragons. Jackals are often seen as scavengers, creatures that survive in harsh conditions. Yet, even these animals, often considered unclean and undesirable, display a natural affection and care for their offspring. This phrase highlights the natural order and instinctual compassion found even among the most despised creatures. The act of nursing is a universal symbol of nurturing and care, emphasizing the depth of the tragedy when such basic compassion is absent among the people of Jerusalem. but the daughter of my people has become cruel
The phrase "the daughter of my people" is a poetic expression referring to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, often used in prophetic literature to denote the collective identity of the Israelites. The Hebrew word for "cruel" is "אַכְזָר" (akzar), which conveys a sense of mercilessness and harshness. This stark contrast between the natural compassion of jackals and the cruelty of the people underscores the severity of the moral and spiritual decline in Jerusalem. The use of "daughter" also evokes a sense of familial betrayal, as if a beloved child has turned away from the values and teachings of their heritage. like ostriches in the wilderness
Ostriches are mentioned in several places in the Bible, often symbolizing neglect or lack of wisdom. In Job 39:13-17, the ostrich is described as a bird that leaves its eggs on the ground, seemingly indifferent to their fate. The wilderness, or "מִדְבָּר" (midbar) in Hebrew, represents desolation and abandonment. By comparing the people to "ostriches in the wilderness," the text paints a picture of neglect and abandonment of responsibilities. This metaphor serves as a powerful indictment of the people's failure to care for their young and vulnerable, highlighting the unnaturalness of their behavior in the context of God's covenant community. Persons / Places / Events 1. JeremiahTraditionally considered the author of Lamentations, Jeremiah is known as the "weeping prophet" who lamented the destruction of Jerusalem and the suffering of his people. 2. JerusalemThe city that faced destruction and devastation, leading to the lamentations expressed in this book. 3. The Daughter of My PeopleA poetic term referring to the people of Jerusalem or Judah, highlighting their collective identity and suffering. 4. JackalsWild animals known for their scavenging nature, yet even they are depicted as caring for their young, contrasting with the behavior of the people. 5. OstrichesKnown in ancient times for their perceived neglect of their eggs, used here as a metaphor for the cruelty and neglect of the people. Teaching Points The Depth of Human DepravityThe verse highlights the extent of human depravity and the unnatural behavior that can result from severe judgment and suffering. It serves as a reminder of the consequences of turning away from God. The Importance of CompassionEven in dire circumstances, compassion should not be abandoned. The comparison to animals that care for their young emphasizes the basic human duty to care for one another. The Consequences of SinThe cruelty described is a direct result of the people's sin and rebellion against God. This serves as a warning to remain faithful and obedient to God's commands. Hope in God's FaithfulnessDespite the bleakness of the situation, the broader context of Lamentations points to hope and restoration. God's faithfulness remains even when His people are unfaithful. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the imagery of jackals and ostriches in Lamentations 4:3 help us understand the severity of the situation in Jerusalem? 2. In what ways can we see the consequences of sin affecting our communities today, similar to the situation described in Lamentations? 3. How can we ensure that we maintain compassion and care for others, even in difficult circumstances? 4. What lessons can we learn from the warnings in Deuteronomy 28 about obedience and its impact on our lives? 5. How does the hope of restoration in Lamentations encourage us to trust in God's faithfulness despite our current struggles? Connections to Other Scriptures Isaiah 49:15This verse contrasts the forgetfulness of a mother with God's unfailing remembrance, highlighting the unnaturalness of a mother neglecting her child, similar to the imagery in Lamentations 4:3. Job 39:13-18Describes the ostrich's behavior, providing context for the metaphor used in Lamentations 4:3 about neglect and lack of wisdom. Deuteronomy 28:56-57Warns of the dire consequences of disobedience, including the unnatural behavior of mothers during times of siege, which parallels the situation in Lamentations. People Jeremiah, NazaritesPlaces Edom, Jerusalem, Sodom, Uz, ZionTopics Beasts, Breast, Breasts, Cruel, Daughter, Desert, Dragons, Draw, Drawn, Full, Heartless, Jackals, Milk, Monsters, Nurse, Offer, Ones, Ostriches, Sea-monsters, Suck, Suckle, Suckled, Waste, WildernessDictionary of Bible Themes Lamentations 4:3 4230 desert
4612 birds
5140 breasts
5428 nurse Library A Message from God for Thee
Our two messages we will try to deliver in their order; we shall then want your attention and patience for a minute while we answer the question--Why the difference? and then we will press upon each character the force of the message, that each may be led to believe what is addressed to him. I. Our FIRST MESSAGE IS ONE OF COMFORT. "The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity." 1. We find, at the outset, a joyous fact. Read it …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 8: 18631875-1877. Mrs. Way's Sewing --Class for Jewesses --Bible Flower Mission --George Clarice --Incidents in Home Work --The Lord's Day --Diary at Sea -- Letters of Cheer
Mrs. Way's sewing--class for Jewesses--Bible Flower Mission--George Clarice--Incidents in home work--The Lord's Day--Diary at sea-- Letters of cheer from Canada. The Home of Industry has been already likened to the Pool of Bethesda with its fine porches. Many sights there have been peculiar to itself, and in no instance has this in past years been more remarkable, than in the meeting for Jewesses, which has been carried on ever since the year 1870. From fifty to seventy daughters of Israel are gathered …
Clara M. S. Lowe—God's Answers The Children of the Poor.
THE CHILDREN OF THE POOR. The young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.--LAMENTATIONS iv., 4. The writer of these words bewailed a state of War and Captivity--a state of things in which the great relations of human life are broken up and desecrated. But it is strange to find that the most flourishing forms of civilization involve conditions very similar to this. For, if any man will push beyond the circle of his daily associations, and enter the regions of the abject poor, he will …
E. H. Chapin—Humanity in the City It Will be Attempted to Give a Complete List of his Writings In
chronological order; those included in this volume will be marked with an asterisk and enumerated in this place without remark. The figures prefixed indicate the probable date. (1) 318: *Two books contra Gentes,' viz. c. Gent. and De Incarn. (2) 321-2: *Depositio Arii (on its authorship, see Introd.) (3) 328-373: *Festal Letters. (4) 328-335? *Ecthesis or Expositio Fidei. (5) Id.? *In Illud Omnia, etc. (6) 339: *Encyclica ad Episcopos ecclesiæ catholicæ. (7) 343: *Sardican Letters (46, …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius Sermons of St. Bernard on the Passing of Malachy
Sermon I (November 2, 1148.)[1005] 1. A certain abundant blessing, dearly beloved, has been sent by the counsel of heaven to you this day; and if it were not faithfully divided, you would suffer loss, and I, to whom of a surety this office seems to have been committed, would incur danger. I fear therefore your loss, I fear my own damnation,[1006] if perchance it be said, The young children ask bread, and no man offereth it unto them.[1007] For I know how necessary for you is the consolation which …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh The Great Shepherd
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. I t is not easy for those, whose habits of life are insensibly formed by the customs of modern times, to conceive any adequate idea of the pastoral life, as obtained in the eastern countries, before that simplicity of manners, which characterized the early ages, was corrupted, by the artificial and false refinements of luxury. Wealth, in those …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 The Holy Spirit and the Incarnation of the Word. ...
The Holy Spirit and the Incarnation of the Word. We have seen how Justin declared that it was not permissible to regard "the Spirit" and "the Power" that came upon the Virgin as any other than the Word of God Himself. And we also noted in passing that Theophilus of Antioch spoke of the Word as being "Spirit of God" and "Power of the Highest," the second of which designations comes from Luke i. 35. We have now to ask whether the language of Irenæus corresponds with this interpretation and makes …
Irenæus—The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching That the Ruler Relax not his Care for the Things that are Within in his Occupation among the Things that are Without, nor Neglect to Provide
The ruler should not relax his care for the things that are within in his occupation among the things that are without, nor neglect to provide for the things that are without in his solicitude for the things that are within; lest either, given up to the things that are without, he fall away from his inmost concerns, or, occupied only with the things that are within bestow not on his neighbours outside himself what he owes them. For it is often the case that some, as if forgetting that they have …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great What Messiah did the Jews Expect?
1. The most important point here is to keep in mind the organic unity of the Old Testament. Its predictions are not isolated, but features of one grand prophetic picture; its ritual and institutions parts of one great system; its history, not loosely connected events, but an organic development tending towards a definite end. Viewed in its innermost substance, the history of the Old Testament is not different from its typical institutions, nor yet these two from its predictions. The idea, underlying …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah The Upbringing of Jewish Children
The tenderness of the bond which united Jewish parents to their children appears even in the multiplicity and pictorialness of the expressions by which the various stages of child-life are designated in the Hebrew. Besides such general words as "ben" and "bath"--"son" and "daughter"--we find no fewer than nine different terms, each depicting a fresh stage of life. The first of these simply designates the babe as the newly--"born"--the "jeled," or, in the feminine, "jaldah"--as in Exodus 2:3, 6, 8. …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life Lamentations
The book familiarly known as the Lamentations consists of four elegies[1] (i., ii., iii., iv.) and a prayer (v.). The general theme of the elegies is the sorrow and desolation created by the destruction of Jerusalem[2] in 586 B.C.: the last poem (v.) is a prayer for deliverance from the long continued distress. The elegies are all alphabetic, and like most alphabetic poems (cf. Ps. cxix.) are marked by little continuity of thought. The first poem is a lament over Jerusalem, bereft, by the siege, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Lamentations 4:3 NIVLamentations 4:3 NLTLamentations 4:3 ESVLamentations 4:3 NASBLamentations 4:3 KJV
Lamentations 4:3 Commentaries
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