Those who demand justice sometimes say, “I only want what’s coming to me.” However, where God is concerned, justice does not always bring a reward. In Judah’s case, justice meant punishment. Lamentations 1:17–22 concludes the first of five poems in the book of Lamentations, a song of repentance. These words express lament but, along with it, a confession of sin. Zion admits her guilt, saying: “The LORD is righteous, yet I rebelled against his command” (v. 17).

The prophet describes Zion as a woman with pleading arms outstretched but no one offering comfort (vv. 17, 21). This is not a complaint about the Lord’s treatment so much as a lament about the consequences of her actions, epitomized by exile, betrayal, and severe famine (vv. 18–19). Verse 20 is emphatic both in its acknowledgment of Jerusalem’s sin and its depiction of the consequences. Zion confesses that she was “most rebellious” and complains that there is death in the street and the house alike. Yet the agents that God used to discipline His people were not innocent themselves. The final verses express a longing for God to judge Jerusalem’s enemies. Verse 22 pleads: “Let all their wickedness come before you; deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my sins.”

Although such longing is understandable, it reveals the inadequacy of justice. True justice will leave all parties guilty and condemned. The only way out of such a standoff is to seek the justice that comes through the grace of Jesus Christ. Through Him, God proves that He is both “just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26). It is a mistake to long for “what’s coming to us” unless it comes by way of the grace that Jesus Christ has purchased on our behalf.

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