August 2005

Contents of this issue of the Joan K. Snipes e-newsletter:
- Lamentations and lament psalms;
- Bible quiz for adults on Biblewise.com;
- a charming Christmas picture book for children;
- upcoming Bible workshops in Illinois and Oregon.

Dear Readers,

Like many people, after the Asian tsunami disaster last December I looked to the Bible for some comfort and uplift. The daily news was so heartbreaking. I found what I was seeking in a book of the Bible I had never really studied previously -- Lamentations.

I began reading Lamentations because it fit my gloomy mood. It is the only Old Testament book that consists solely of laments, and the first few verses metaphorically compare Jerusalem to a widow.

The graphic images on television matched the graphic tone of these verses:

"My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within, my heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city.

"They say to their mothers, 'Where is bread and wine?' as they faint like wounded men in the streets of the city, as their lives ebb away in their mothers' arms." (New International Version, Lamentations 2:11, 12)

What is so very interesting about Lamentations (and the lament psalms) is that despite the darkness, the poet demonstrates an unshakable confidence in God's loving response to despair.

See this example from the third chapter of Lamentations:
"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him." (King James Version, Lamentations 3:22-24)

So, for me, the message was that no matter how great the tragedy, it is possible to maintain hope.

There is an old-time gospel hymn based on these verses, and it became my theme song during this time. The refrain of this Thomas Chisholm/William Runyan hymn is:

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Key to uplifting my mood was finding things for which I could be grateful, as the hymn words encouraged. (To hear the melody and read all the verses of this 1923 Baptist hymn, please see http://www.cyberhymnal.org )

Although the author of Lamentation is anonymous, both Jewish and Christian tradition ascribes it to Jeremiah. Scholars think the book was written shortly after 586 BCE when Babylonia defeated Judah and destroyed Jerusalem.

The first four chapters of Lamentations are acrostic poems. Each line begins with a different and successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. There are 22 letters in this alphabet. The third chapter is longest -- 66 lines -- because three lines (instead of just one) begin with each of the 22 letters. The final chapter is also 22 lines long, but is not acrostic. This may have been a deliberate technique to convey the disorderly, chaotic conditions present in Judah at the time.

The most noticeable acrostic poem in the Bible is Psalm 119. Each of the 22 sections begins with the Hebrew letter designated at the top of the section, beginning with aleph, followed by beth, and so on.

"Lament psalms, comprising approximately one-third of the book of Psalms, are the most numerous category of psalms," according to the authors of "Dictionary of Biblical Imagery." The poet begins by asserting that his situation is hopeless, yet he ends with confidence. Psalm 3 is the first of the many lament psalms, and it is a very quick read with only eight verses.

If you are interested in a list of the psalms by classification, I recommend Russell Robinson's book, "Teaching the Scriptures." (See page 34 in the sixth edition.) Some of the other categories for the psalms include: songs of trust, hymns of praise, thanksgiving songs, festival liturgies, wisdom psalms, messianic psalms, and historical psalms.

Next time you are feeling melancholy, you might find that the book of Lamentations or a lament psalm or two provides just the answer you need. I highly recommend reading them.

BIBLE QUIZ FOR ADULTS

The August edition of www.BibleWise.com features a new, online Old Testament Bible Quiz for adults with 25 questions. I wrote the questions and hope you will find the quiz fun and informative. Please send me your feedback.

B IS FOR BETHLEHEM

This summer I discovered a nice Christmas picture book with appealing illustrations. It is "B is for Bethlehem" by Isabel Wilner. It comes in both a paperback and a board book edition. Although aimed at first and second graders, the book is appropriate for both younger and older children. Children enjoy alphabet books such as this one, and many families have a number of Christmas picture books they pull out and enjoy every year.

Wilner, Isabel. B is for Bethlehem: A Christmas Alphabet. Illustrated by Elisa Kleven. Penguin Books, 1995. Rhyming couplets and colorful, folk-art illustrations. For ages 4 to 8.

UPCOMING BIBLE WORKSHOPS

On Saturday, September 10, 2005, I will conduct a Bible workshop at Hill Top Center in Lake Bluff, Illinois. The workshop, "Teaching the Bible to Children," will be held from 1:00 until 4:00 pm.

On Saturday, October 8, 2005, I will conduct two Bible workshops in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Please contact me or Nancy Falconer (jfalconer@prodigy.net) for details.

Yours truly,

Joan Koelle Snipes

Volume 5; No. 4
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