Lamentations 1:7
Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her: the adversaries saw her, and did mock at her sabbaths.
Original Language Analysis
Cross References
Historical Context
The "pleasant things" Jerusalem lost were both tangible and intangible. Materially: the magnificent temple, prosperous commerce, beautiful architecture, agricultural abundance, political independence. Spiritually: regular worship, functioning priesthood, prophetic guidance, sense of God's presence and favor, covenantal security.
The phrase "in the days of old" (yemei kedem) harks back to David and Solomon's reigns, Israel's golden age. Solomon's temple dedication (1 Kings 8) saw God's glory fill the sanctuary. The Queen of Sheba marveled at Israel's wisdom and prosperity (1 Kings 10:1-9). These memories, while perhaps idealized, represented what covenant faithfulness could produce.
The mockery of sabbaths by adversaries echoes other passages. Psalm 80:6 laments being "a reproach to our neighbors." Psalm 44:13-14 describes becoming "a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people." The sabbath, meant to be a sign of God's sanctifying work (Ezekiel 20:12), became evidence (in enemies' eyes) that Israel's God couldn't protect them.
Yet even bitter memory served purpose. Ezra 3:12 describes old men who had seen Solomon's temple weeping at the second temple's foundation—memory preserved standards of glory. Nehemiah 1:3-4 shows remembering Jerusalem's ruin motivating action. Right remembering—neither idealizing the past nor forgetting God's former mercies—can fuel repentance and hope.
Questions for Reflection
- How can remembering God's past faithfulness and blessings serve either to increase our present pain or to fuel hope, depending on how we remember?
- What does the mockery of Israel's sabbaths teach about how the watching world evaluates the authenticity of our faith based on our obedience?
- In what ways might we need to remember our own 'pleasant things'—not to induce nostalgia but to recognize what covenant disobedience cost?
- How does the Holy Spirit help us remember rightly—neither forgetting God's mercies nor becoming paralyzed by past glory?
Analysis & Commentary
Memory intensifies present pain: "Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old" (zachrah Yerushalayim yemei anyah um rudi kol machmudeha). The term machmad (מַחְמָד, "pleasant things, precious things") refers to material prosperity, yes, but more fundamentally to covenant blessings—God's presence, peace, fruitfulness—now lost.
The contrast between past glory ("days of old," yemei kedem) and present suffering creates unbearable tension. This retrospective shows both the magnitude of loss and the reality of what covenant obedience once provided. Deuteronomy 28:1-14 promised exactly these blessings for faithfulness; verses 15-68 threatened their removal for disobedience. Jerusalem's fall vindicated God's warnings.
The verse continues with public humiliation: "when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her: the adversaries saw her, and did mock at her sabbaths" (tsareha ra'uha sachaku al mishbateha). The "sabbaths" (mishbat, מִשְׁבַּת) likely refers to all sacred observances that marked Israel's distinctiveness. What was meant to witness to God's holiness became object of mockery—a warning that religious observance without heart obedience provokes scorn rather than admiration.