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Jeremiah and Lamentations: Babylonian Crisis

  1. Lesson One
    The Prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1–6, 26–29, 35–38)
    19 Activities
    |
    4 Assessments
  2. Lesson Two
    Jeremiah: Idolatry and Anguish (Jeremiah 39–51)
    20 Activities
  3. Lesson Three
    Jeremiah: Shame and Dignity (Jeremiah 7–20)
    21 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  4. Lesson Four
    Jeremiah: A Future Hope (Jeremiah 21–25, 30–34)
    21 Activities
    |
    2 Assessments
  5. Lesson Five
    Lamentations
    21 Activities
  6. Course Wrap-Up
    Course Completion
    1 Activity
    |
    1 Assessment
Jeremiah and Lamentations: Babylonian Crisis Lamentations In Front | Workbook: Fate and Relationality
Lesson 5, Activity 16

In Front | Workbook: Fate and Relationality

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Grab your Workbook Journal!

[Record your answers in the workbook provided at the beginning of this course.]

Five ancient Sumerian city laments have survived to the present day. Let’s consider two more of them: the “Sumer and Ur Lament” and the “Uruk Lament.” In doing so, we can draw out one more crucial difference in the biblical text. 

To start with, the explanation for why the cities are destroyed is entirely different in the biblical account. Read the selections from the different sources and try to identify the “Why?” given in each. (Note the bolded words in the Sumerian laments.)

Sumerian City Laments

“Father Enlil, the one who advises with just words, the wise words of the Land [ . . . ] your inimical judgment [ . . . ] look into your darkened heart, terrifying like waves. O Father Enlil, the fate that you have decreed cannot be explained”
Sumer and Ur Lament 456-458

 

Mortal man multiplied to become as numerous as the gods. When together [ . . . ] had achieved a momentous decision, the [ . . . ] of the gods [ . . . ] Enki and Ninki determined the consensus . . . Enul and Ninul assigned the fate” 
Uruk Lament 4-5

Lamentations

Jerusalem sinned grievously; therefore she became filthy.
Lamentations 1:8 ESV

 

Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven: “We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven.” 
Lamentations 3:40-42 ESV

  1. Record your observations in your workbook.
Fate and Relationality

In the Sumerian account, destruction is fated by the gods. In one case it’s explained: “mortal man (had) multiplied to become as numerous as the gods.”

In the Bible, Jerusalem’s destruction is the result of human sin. God is punishing the people, not out of resentment, but for their many sins and their insistence on opposing Him and His covenant. Israel lives in a moral universe with predictable consequences.

The Sumerians are not credited with causing the disaster, and they’re not given any hope of resolving it in the future. Fate was the cause of their city’s fall and they can only hope that fate will be kinder in the future.

In Lamentations, the people are participants in their hope and have an opportunity to contribute to their restoration. Human agency doesn’t compete with divine sovereignty. Rather, it makes us responsible for the consequences of our behavior.

Source: “The Sumerian City Laments and the Book of Lamentations,” TheTorah.com. https://thetorah.com/sumerian-city-laments-and-the-book-of-lamentations/