How do you calculate the cost of war? You can count the money spent to support troops, supply arms, and then rebuild the damage. You can add up the number of lives lost on all sides. But there are hidden costs, like social disruption, as well. This is less obvious and harder to measure. It may take generations before the full effects become apparent.

Lamentations 5:11–14 identifies several of the things that Judah and Jerusalem felt. First, he mentions the trauma endured by the women of Zion (v. 11). Jeremiah does not try to be delicate in his description. In verse 11, he uses a word that appears elsewhere in contexts that speak of sexual violence and humiliation (Judg. 19:24; 20:5; 13:14). The second effect was the dismantling of Judah’s leadership. The princes had been “hung up by their hands,” and the elders “shown no respect” (v. 12). A third effect was the crippling of Judah’s workforce by means of enslavement (v. 13). Finally, the prophet mentions the emotional cost. The picture Jeremiah paints in verse 14 is one of silence and desertion. The city gate, usually a social hub and center of business, is empty. The elders are no longer in their customary place dealing with the day-to-day affairs of the city. The young men have stopped their music.

As Jeremiah’s Lamentations move toward their conclusion, the unspoken question that shapes them comes home with great force. Why does God allow the unthinkable to happen? It is the question that has haunted every one of these songs like a ghost. The answer, at least in part, is that the Lord does not do so lightly. Deep need often requires extreme measures. God allows such things to bring us to the end of ourselves.

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