Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Who do you think wrote Lamentations?
- Why does the Poet imagine Zion as a woman?
- How does Jerusalem in her glory compare to the city at the time of the poem?
- Is the Poet victim-blaming here? Is that an okay thing to do?
- Was God justified in destroying the city? Is that a question the people would have even asked at the time?
- How does the Poet encourage hope in this time of destruction?
- Why does the Poet ask God to punish his enemies in the same way he's punished the people of Jerusalem?
- The Poet compares Jerusalem's sins to Sodom's. Which do you think are worse?
- How are different people in the city affected by its destruction? Who are the most vulnerable?
- Do you think the people's suffering is exaggerated or accurate in these poems? Why or why not?
- Do you think this tragedy should have damaged the people's relationship with God? Why didn't it?
- And the big question—why do bad things happen? Does Lamentations give us a good answer?