Verse one: How is the gold become dim! How is the most fine gold changed!

Gold represents God’s Word and His people -- so this is showing that the Word changed from the old testament -- to the New Testament; also, from the law people -- to the grace people.

The stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street. The ‘stones’ represent those who made up that old sanctuary. For proof, read in Peter where he said we are ‘stones’ in the building of God. So, these ‘stones’ were the people making up that old covenant people. They were ‘poured’ out in all the ‘streets’. Streets represent the way of righteousness. For proof, read in Psm. 23, where he said, “he leadeth me in the PATHS of righteousness. Path and street is the same thing. This matches what Jesus said that every stone will be thrown down and not one left upon another. This was the fall of this old law covenant.

So, this is telling us that those Old Testament ‘stones’ were no longer a street into the city of God. These stones are also those 10 commandments. The writing upon tables of stone is showing this. That law is the stony heart. Those stone tables are this hard heart. Law is the stones to those who still follow law.

V2---The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, [now see here, how this proves it was speaking of those people of God?] (This is how Scripture explains the Scripture, so that there can be no doubt as to the true meaning) --how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!

Now this shows the sons of God down here on earth, in an earthly body of clay; made this way by God, the potter. Even Jesus became one of these earthly pitchers.

V3 shows them becoming cruel in that they no longer ‘fed’ their ‘children’. This means they no longer had the word of God to feed to them .

V4--The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.

Once again, showing that there was no spiritual food in that old covenant for the people; so they were thirsting to death and starving without food [spiritual meat].

V5--They that did feed delicately are DESOLATE in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.

This is again showing this city of the Old Testament being left DESOLATE. In the streets = the paths of righteousness -- they do not have it. Scarlet is the color of sin and the dragon = it also shows royalty -- so these people were full of sin; yet lived lavishously on earth; but now embrace ‘dunghills‘.

Paul said he counted all that old law life of his to be just ‘dung’. So, this is the ‘dunghills’. People, if you cling to the old law, you are embracing ‘dung’.

V7- Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, and their polishing was of sapphire:

This describes the original state of Adam in the Garden of Eden; compare it with Ezek. 28. They once were pure in the sight of God also; but now, they are become vile.

V8- Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick. This shows the horrible ‘change’ which occurred when they were cast out of that original garden condition of immortal to mortal. Now they are not recognizable from that original glory. But it also shows the spiritual ‘death’ of those who stayed in the law covenant, once the Grace covenant was brought in. They are dead in trespasses and sins for they have rejected the sacrifice of Jesus and his way of faith.

9. They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.

This speaks of the wounded 7th head of law which was killed with the ‘sword’ of the Word as Jesus died and took that old head into hell and destroyed it there. See then that those who clung to ‘Moses; law’ after Grace came in are actually starving to death because there is no spiritual food in the law any longer.

10. The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people.

Now at first glance, one would think this is terrible for in the natural mind it seems to be saying those women actually killed, boiled and ate their own children. But this is only a carnal interpretation and not the true answer. What this is saying is that the ‘old testament’ people had to ‘eat’ [spiritually] their children’s bread who came into Jesus by the Baptism of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost. Those who received this baptism that day were ALL children of those law covenant people. The ‘promise’ was unto their ‘children’. So all those at Pentecost were their ‘children’. In order to continue to ‘live’ one must then ‘eat’ their children, or in other words, accept the new covenant, which their children brought in.

Here is some beauty to prove this: ~~Isaiah 61: 1. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

2. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

[Here Jesus is speaking. He said he had been sent to comfort all that mourn. Now we have shown how that old law group had to mourn. But if they turned to Pentecost, Jesus would comfort them with the comforter, the Holy Ghost.]

3. To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

This is speaking of receiving the Holy Ghost instead of that old ‘law spirit’. Thus they became the apostles and disciples of Jesus = trees of righteousness, the ones Jesus planted.

4. And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

Raising up the former desolations means changing that old desolate law group into the faith group of the NT salvation. Thus they repaired those old waste ‘spiritual cities’ from Adam on down to the day of Pentecost.

5. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

These ‘strangers’ are the NT Christian ministers feeding them the Word of righteousness and faith. Those who had been ‘alien’ = Gentiles are now their plowmen and vinedressers = those feeding them the New Covenant message.

6. But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.

These are the Christians now being called the Priests of the Lord - not the OT priests. Remember God has done away with them. So it is the riches of the gospel to the Gentiles, which is now their glory.

Now back to Lam. 4. This verse is powerful; in that it leaves no doubt that God hath destroyed this old ‘city’.

Verse 11--The LORD hath accomplished HIS fury; [now let someone say this is NOT the work of God against this old covenant!] --he hath poured out his FIERCE ANGER, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath DEVOURED THE FOUNDATIONS thereof.

People, this proves that God himself destroyed the very foundation of that old covenant city.

If the foundation is destroyed, it most certainly cannot stand. It has FALLEN.

V12--shows that no one on earth would have believed that the ADVERSARY [the New Testament Christian], their enemy, should have entered into the GATES of Jerusalem.

See, they became the GATES INTO THE CITY OF GOD, THE New Jerusalem. That old ‘Jerusalem’ [the law] was destroyed.

READ THIS VERSE CAREFULLY, If you desire TRUTH!

V. 13--FOR THE SINS OF HER PROPHETS, AND THE INIQUITIES OF HER PRIESTS, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her,

See that this shows that her PROPHETS AND HER PRIESTS sinned in shedding the BLOOD OF THE JUST in the MIDST OF HER. Does not this fit exactly what Jesus pronounced against this bloody city of Jerusalem, when He said they had shed all the blood of the righteous which had ever been shed? He said they had killed all their prophets [this is the true prophets sent by God]

So, don’t you see that this again identifies this old city of Jerusalem as the mystery Babylon? Even in the OT writings, this is proven.

Verse 14--They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments.

Who is this wandering around as blind men? It is the people who cling to the old covenant after the New Covenant has been brought in. The streets represent the way in which we follow God; our Spiritual highway!

So, in the New Testament Street, these law keepers were blind; not able to ‘see their way’.

They polluted themselves with blood -WHAT? They were destroying their people, spiritually by denying them access to New Testament Salvation through the blood of Jesus; they were ‘shedding innocent’ blood spiritually.

Verse 15 shows that they had to depart and call it unclean. They fled away and wandered among the heathen

V16--The anger of the LORD hath divided them; [see, here that God was angry with them and divided them?] He will no more regard them: [shows he no more favored them]--they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders.

Here God divided light from darkness. He separated the law keepers from the ones choosing to accept and live by faith. He does not regard them now for they do not respect the new priests of the New Covenant, the Christians nor did the gladly accept the new elders, the apostles. See these people are ‘their children’ but they are the ‘elders’ ordained by God. Those old Jews just could not see nor accept this change to the children of Grace.

V17--shows they were still looking to a nation [old Israel], which could not save them. It also shows that their help from this source was in vain.

V18--They hunt our steps that we cannot go in our streets: our end is near, our days are FULFILLED; for our END IS COME.

This verse is critical to understanding Lamentations: that God destroyed, without mercy, this Old Testament way of life.

See that it said, somebody was hunting their steps; that they could not go in their streets - this somebody was the New Church-- they were seeking to bring them into the Church- their ‘law’ street was polluted, and they could not go to God that way. Notice, it said their end is near; their days were FULFILLED; THEIR END HAD COME.

This is proof that they were finished at the time the New Church started. How could it need to be any plainer?

V19-- Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.

This speaks of the New Testament ministers seeking them everywhere. The N.T. Church had been given the wings of an ‘eagle’ and fled into the ‘spiritual wilderness’, remember? So this is who is laying wait for them in the wilderness; this church was in new territory with God and they were seeking to bring all those old covenant people into this new territory with God.

So, see, instead of being something terrible, as most people assume, it is really something very good.

V20--shows that they had been the anointed of the LORD, but now they are taken into the ‘pits’ of the New T. Church.

Isaiah 51:1. Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.

‘Pit’ shows a woman. The whore is called a deep pit or ditch. So here the NT Church is being called a pit = Sarah, the Mother of the righteous. So this is telling those OT people were taken in the pits of the NT Church.

2. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.

3. For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

Here is a marvelous thing. The wilderness, which the NT Church fled into, is like Eden in that we are again given the life of God, the Holy Ghost. Her dried up condition of no life in the OT [desert] is now like the garden of the Lord in the joy and gladness therein.

4. Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.

A ‘law’ SHALL proceed from me. This was written long after the law of Moses was given; so it has to be another law yet to come. This is the law of Christ = FAITH. This is the law we must live by; not the law of Moses = the 10 commandments.

5. My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.

This saying My Righteousness is NEAR is Jesus saying his salvation is near when he was on earth. So this proves it was NOT THAT OT law.

Now back to Lam. 4--verses 21 & 22 show that the punishment which came upon these people shall come upon others who also make themselves ‘drunken and spiritually naked = the Laodeican Church people.

It is so very important to your salvation to realize that you cannot come to God through that old covenant.

By: Jo Smith