The presence of the LORD has scattered them; He regards them no more. The priests are shown no honor; the elders find no favor. The presence of the LORD has scattered them;This phrase reflects the divine judgment upon the people of Judah. The scattering is a consequence of their disobedience and idolatry, as seen throughout the prophetic books. The presence of the LORD, which once dwelt in the temple in Jerusalem, is now a source of judgment rather than blessing. This scattering fulfills warnings given by prophets like Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 9:16) and is reminiscent of the curses for disobedience outlined in Deuteronomy 28:64. The scattering also prefigures the dispersion of the Jewish people throughout history, including the Babylonian exile. He regards them no more.
This indicates a withdrawal of God's favor and protection, a theme common in the prophetic literature when Israel turns away from God. It echoes the covenantal relationship where blessings are contingent upon obedience (Deuteronomy 31:17-18). The phrase suggests a period of divine silence and abandonment, similar to the experience of Jesus on the cross when He cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46), highlighting the seriousness of sin and separation from God. The priests are shown no honor;
The priests, who were supposed to be mediators between God and the people, have lost their status and respect due to their own corruption and failure to uphold the law (Malachi 2:1-9). This dishonor reflects the broader spiritual decay of the nation. In the New Testament, Jesus criticizes the religious leaders for similar reasons (Matthew 23), and He is presented as the ultimate High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16), who perfectly mediates between God and humanity. the elders find no favor.
Elders were leaders and decision-makers within the community, expected to guide with wisdom and justice. Their loss of favor indicates a breakdown in societal structure and governance, as seen in Isaiah 3:1-5, where the removal of leaders is a sign of judgment. This lack of favor can be contrasted with the New Testament church, where elders are called to shepherd the flock with integrity (1 Peter 5:1-4). The failure of these leaders underscores the need for righteous leadership, ultimately fulfilled in Christ, the King of Kings. Persons / Places / Events 1. The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant God of Israel, who is depicted as actively involved in the judgment and scattering of His people due to their disobedience. 2. The PriestsReligious leaders in Israel responsible for maintaining the temple worship and teaching the law. Their dishonor signifies a breakdown in spiritual leadership. 3. The EldersCommunity leaders who were expected to provide wisdom and guidance. Their loss of favor indicates a societal collapse. 4. The People of JudahThe recipients of God's judgment, scattered due to their persistent sin and rebellion against God. 5. The Babylonian ExileThe historical context of Lamentations, where Judah was conquered, and its people were exiled by Babylon as a consequence of their unfaithfulness. Teaching Points Divine JudgmentGod's judgment is a direct response to persistent sin and rebellion. It serves as a reminder of His holiness and the seriousness of disobedience. Leadership AccountabilitySpiritual and community leaders are held to high standards. Their failure can lead to widespread consequences for the people they lead. The Consequences of SinSin has real and devastating consequences, not only spiritually but also socially and politically, as seen in the scattering and dishonor of Judah. Hope in RestorationWhile Lamentations is a book of mourning, it also points to the hope of restoration for those who repent and return to God. The Importance of RepentanceThe scattering and dishonor serve as a call to repentance, urging believers to turn back to God and seek His favor. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the scattering of Judah reflect the warnings given in Deuteronomy 28 about the consequences of disobedience? 2. In what ways can the failure of the priests and elders in Lamentations 4:16 serve as a warning to current spiritual and community leaders? 3. How can we apply the lessons of divine judgment and mercy in Lamentations to our personal lives today? 4. What steps can we take to ensure that we are honoring God in our leadership roles, whether in the church, community, or family? 5. How does the theme of hope and restoration in Lamentations encourage us in times of personal or communal crisis? Connections to Other Scriptures Deuteronomy 28This chapter outlines the blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience, providing a backdrop for understanding the consequences faced by Judah. Jeremiah 25Jeremiah's prophecy of the Babylonian exile, which aligns with the scattering mentioned in Lamentations 4:16. Ezekiel 22Describes the sins of the priests and leaders, offering insight into why they were shown no honor or favor. People Jeremiah, NazaritesPlaces Edom, Jerusalem, Sodom, Uz, ZionTopics Add, Aged, Anger, Behold, Care, Continue, Didn't, Directions, Divided, Elders, Face, Favor, Favored, Favoured, Gracious, Honor, Honour, Lifted, Longer, Persons, Presence, Priests, Regard, Respect, Respected, Scattered, Shown, WatchesDictionary of Bible Themes Lamentations 4:16 6026 sin, judgment on
7520 dispersion, the Lamentations 4:16-19 8795 persecution, nature of 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 4:16 NIVLamentations 4:16 NLTLamentations 4:16 ESVLamentations 4:16 NASBLamentations 4:16 KJV
Lamentations 4:16 Commentaries
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