- Things are still not good in Jerusalem.
- The Temple is in total ruins. The solid gold holy items inside have been stolen. The stones that formed the walls of the Temple are scattered all over the ground. It's a terrible sight to see.
- The worst part is that this tragedy has degraded the people. Even a jackal will take care of her kids, but babies are dying of thirst and children are begging for food and no one is helping them. Loving mothers are boiling and eating their children for food. Things have gotten way out of control.
- Rich folks are no better off than anyone else. They used to wear fancy clothes and enjoy delicious feasts, but now they're starving and dirty just like everyone else.
- And no one even recognizes the princes. They're just as lowly and pathetic as the rest of the inhabitants.
- Their punishment is worse than Sodom's (way back in Genesis).
- The Poet also thinks that the people who died during the fighting were the lucky ones. At least they had quick deaths and didn't have to waste away as they slowly starved.
It's a Corrupt World After All
- All this happened because God was angry. And Jerusalem didn't like him when he was angry.
- Honestly, no one thought that Jerusalem could be defeated like this. Not a king in the world believed that an invading army could make it past the walls of the city. Oh, were they wrong.
- God allowed this to happen because the leaders in the city failed him. The priests who ran the Temple were corrupt. They killed good people and then walked around soaked in blood as if they had done nothing wrong.
- Now they're in exile and God couldn't care less about them. What are the rest of the people? Collateral damage? Well, yeah.
- The leaders hoped that other nations and kings would rescue them when Babylon attacked, but no one came. They should have asked for help from God, not their political allies. In their defense, political allies do tend to have things like swords and soldiers on hand.
- God has punished Zion and punished her good. But now it's over with and he's not gonna let them keep suffering like this.
- Eventually, he'll bring the people home. Lesson learned though, right guys? That's some tough love right there.
- God will turn his attention to other sinful cities like Edom. Seriously, Edomites, watch out. You're on God's list of nations to smite. It's not a good place to be.