예레미야애가 [새번역] Book of Lamentations

Author and Date The author of this literary masterpiece is unknown. Lamentations provides eyewitness testimony of Babylon’s destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. in vivid, poetic detail. It was likely written between 586 and 516 B.C., with an early date being more probable. Theme The key passage in Lamentations is 3:19–24, which affirms that belief in God’s mercy and faithfulness is the key to a restored relationship with God. Forgiveness is possible even for people who have deserved God’s judgment (1:18). Hope, not despair, is the central theme in Lamentations. Purpose Lamentations was most likely written to be prayed or sung in worship services devoted to asking God’s forgiveness. Such services began as early as the months after the temple’s destruction in 586 B.C. (Jer. 41:4–5). They continued after the temple was rebuilt during Zechariah’s time (c. 520 B.C.; see Zech. 7:3–5; 8:19). In later years, Lamentations was read and sung as part of annual observances marking the temple’s destruction. Key Themes Lamentations presents many key theological realities from an important era in Israel’s history: It includes memorable prayers that confess sin, express renewed hope, and declare total dependence on God’s grace. It is the only book in the Bible written by a person who actually lived through the divine judgment the Bible often refers to as “the day of the Lord” (see Joel 2:1–2; Amos 5:18; Zeph. 1:14–16). It provides great insight into the nature of pain, sin, and redemption. Like so many other OT passages, Lamentations teaches that Jerusalem fell: a. because of the people’s sins (1:18); b. because they rejected God’s word sent through the prophets (2:8, 14, 17); c. because their leaders led them astray (4:13). It affirms God’s never-ceasing mercy (3:19–24; compare Deut. 30:1–10). Readers can know that God never gives up on his people, even when they sin greatly. Lamentations agrees with the Psalms that prayer is the way to restore a broken relationship with God. It also shares the Psalms’ emphasis on God’s sovereignty (see Ps. 103:19). Like many of the prophets, Lamentations warns of the “day of the Lord.” This is the day when God judges sin. That day has already occurred in historical events like the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. It will occur again at the end of time as the final “day of the Lord.” People need to take seriously the warnings about such days of judgment. Outline How Lonely Sits the City (1:1–22) God Has Set Zion under a Cloud (2:1–22) I Am the Man Who Has Seen Affliction (3:1–66) How the Gold Has Grown Dim (4:1–22) Restore Us to Yourself, O Lord (5:1–22) 한글 성경에는 본서가 에레미야서 다음에 있는데 이것은 70인역 역자들이 바꾸어 놓 은 순서를 따른 것이지 히브리어 원전의 순서는 아니다. 애가는 히브리인들의 국치일인 압(Ab)월 9일 즉 예루살렘이 바벨론에게 파괴당한 날 에 낭독한 두루마리이다. 본서의 내용이 바로 예루살렘의 파괴와 그 후의 참상을 기록한 것이기 때문이다. 본서의 구조적 특징은 제 1장부터 4장까지 각 장이 히브리 글자 가나다순으로 각 절 의 첫 글자가 되게 지었다는 것이다. 이러한 형식을 아크로스틱(Acrostic)시형이라고 한다. 그래서 각장의 절수가 히브리어의 가나다 글자 수인 22절로 되어있다. 제 애3장은 글자 하나로 세 절씩 반들었기 때문에 66절이 되어있다. 제5장은 가나다 순 으로 짓지 않았지만 절수는 22절이다. 본서는 주전 586년에 멸망한 유다와 예루살렘의 참상을 슬퍼하는 시이다. 선민 이스 라엘 민족의 국가가 한 때는 모든나라의 수도 중에서 으뜸가던 예루살렘의 현재의 비 참이 무슨까닭인가? 그것은 하나님과의 언약을 어기고 죄를지은 결과라는것을 솔직하 게 고백한다. 동시에 저자는 소망을 하나님께 두고 애절하게 하나님께 구원하여 주실 것을 기도하고 있다.