Lamentations 3 | Bible Study Questions

Observation

What does it say?

  1. Read Lamentations 3.
  2. Do you notice any repeated words or ideas in these chapters?
  3. How is God described in this passage?
  4. How are God's people described?
  5. What commands do you see?
  6. How does the tone of the author change throughout the chapter?

INTERPRETATION

What does it mean?

  1. What affliction has the author seen? (v. 1)
    1. Why do you think the author uses all personal pronouns in this first section (v. 1-24)? (I, me, my, etc.)
    2. What does the author call to mind in verse 21?
    3. How does remembering God's steadfast love give hope? (v. 22-24)
  2. Who is the "him" talked about in verses 28-30?
    1. Why should this person endure these things?
  3. What do verses 31-33 reveal about God's heart?
    1. What does it mean that God causes affliction but doesn't afflict from his heart? (v. 33)
  4. Dane Ortlund speaks of this idea in his book "Gentle and Lowly". Read the following excerpt:
    "Some of us view God's heart as brittle, easily offended. Some of us view his heart as cold, uneasily moved. The Old Testament gives us a God whose heart defies these innate human expectations of who he is.
    We must tread cautiously here. All of God's attributes are non-negotiable. For God to cease to be, say, "just" would un-God him just as much as if he were to cease to be "good". Theologians speak of God's simplicity, by which we mean that God is not the sum total of a number of attributes, like pieces of a pie making a whole pie: rather, God is every attribute perfectly. God does not have parts. He is just. He is wrathful. He is good. And so on, each in endless perfection.
    ...Apparently, God is also complex enough to make decisions both of judgment and o mercy out of his heart. Yet at the same time, if we are to follow closely and yield fully to Scripture's testimony, we are walked into the breathtaking claim that from another, deeper angle, there are some things that pour out of God more naturally than others..." (page 140).

    1. How does this quote help us to understand what the author of Lamentations 3:33 is talking about?
    2. How do we see God's heart in the gospel?

APPLICATION

How should it change us?

  1. What should be our attitude of mind in times of affliction, rebuke, or punishment?
    1. What would it look like to turn our complaints in these times into prayers?
    2. How might that lead to hope?
  2. Choose a verse or phrase from verses 22-33 that applies to your life right now.
    1. What do you need to remind yourself of or to remember about God?
    2. How does coming back to a proper understanding of God re-center you or help you in whatever you’re walking through this week?
  3. Pray in light of this passage and about any applications you have made
  4. Sing The Steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases to God and to one another.

Lamentations 3 | Bible Study Questions

Observation

What does it say?

  1. Read Lamentations 3.
  2. Do you notice any repeated words or ideas in these chapters?
  3. How is God described in this passage?
  4. How are God's people described?
  5. What commands do you see?
  6. How does the tone of the author change throughout the chapter?

INTERPRETATION

What does it mean?

  1. What affliction has the author seen? (v. 1)
    1. Why do you think the author uses all personal pronouns in this first section (v. 1-24)? (I, me, my, etc.)
    2. What does the author call to mind in verse 21?
    3. How does remembering God's steadfast love give hope? (v. 22-24)
  2. Who is the "him" talked about in verses 28-30?
    1. Why should this person endure these things?
  3. What do verses 31-33 reveal about God's heart?
    1. What does it mean that God causes affliction but doesn't afflict from his heart? (v. 33)
  4. Dane Ortlund speaks of this idea in his book "Gentle and Lowly". Read the following excerpt:
    "Some of us view God's heart as brittle, easily offended. Some of us view his heart as cold, uneasily moved. The Old Testament gives us a God whose heart defies these innate human expectations of who he is.
    We must tread cautiously here. All of God's attributes are non-negotiable. For God to cease to be, say, "just" would un-God him just as much as if he were to cease to be "good". Theologians speak of God's simplicity, by which we mean that God is not the sum total of a number of attributes, like pieces of a pie making a whole pie: rather, God is every attribute perfectly. God does not have parts. He is just. He is wrathful. He is good. And so on, each in endless perfection.
    ...Apparently, God is also complex enough to make decisions both of judgment and o mercy out of his heart. Yet at the same time, if we are to follow closely and yield fully to Scripture's testimony, we are walked into the breathtaking claim that from another, deeper angle, there are some things that pour out of God more naturally than others..." (page 140).

    1. How does this quote help us to understand what the author of Lamentations 3:33 is talking about?
    2. How do we see God's heart in the gospel?

APPLICATION

How should it change us?

  1. What should be our attitude of mind in times of affliction, rebuke, or punishment?
    1. What would it look like to turn our complaints in these times into prayers?
    2. How might that lead to hope?
  2. Choose a verse or phrase from verses 22-33 that applies to your life right now.
    1. What do you need to remind yourself of or to remember about God?
    2. How does coming back to a proper understanding of God re-center you or help you in whatever you’re walking through this week?
  3. Pray in light of this passage and about any applications you have made
  4. Sing The Steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases to God and to one another.