The Shadow of Christ in the Book of Lamentations:
A Guide to Grieving with Faith
DETAILS: Publisher: Crown & Covenant Publications Publication Date: November 25, 2022 Format: Paperback Length: 172 pg. Read Date: February 5-12, 2023
The people had been warned about this day of judgement for centuries, but as God pleaded with them through the prophets, they became more stubborn in their sin. Now the day had come. If there was ever an “I told you so” moment, this was it. But the speaker does not stand aloof; he gives a voice to the sorrow and suffering of the people. He wept with them and for them with sympathy that arose from the depth of his soul. Although the people had brought this terrible day upon themselves, they were met with compassion and “a spirit of gentleness” with which we are to minister to those who are overtaken in any trespass (Gal. 6:1).
What’s The Shadow of Christ in the Book of Lamentations About?
Based on a series of sermons, Williams walks the reader through the book of Lamentations—in a careful manner. He doesn’t avoid technical points, nor does he dwell on them, moving the book in an esoteric direction. At the same time, he doesn’t keep it so simple that there’s not a lot to learn, to think about, or to meditate on.
As the back of the book says,
The book of Lamentations counsels us on how to:
- respond to hardships with faith,
- grieve with hope,
- and find the renewal of grace during the trials of life.
and Williams is careful to draw out each of these points more than once.
But that’s not the focus of his book—and, Williams would argue, it’s not the focus of Lamentations. The focus is on how Christ is displayed and revealed through this short Old Testament book. This comes through loud and clear and proves comforting and inspiring.
Christ-Centered Perspective
When seen in this light, a book that technically has no direct speech from God comes alive with the voice of the Son whom he would send.
Starting in the introduction and carrying on through the end, Williams makes it clear that this is going to be a Christ-centered book because the role of this book is to reveal Christ to his people. There is a speaker throughout the book, referring to himself as “I.” Williams argues that this is the voice of Christ—he is the lamenting one alongside the other voices in the book.
I’m not going to try to echo his arguments—I don’t have that kind of space. But when he started to enfold it, I was captivated—and as he returned to it throughout the book, I kept being captivated and wanted to spend more time examining these points.
So, what did I think about The Shadow of Christ in the Book of Lamentations?
When believers experience hardship or the chastening of God, asking this blunt question awakens us to the truth: Has God utterly rejected us? To ask the question is to answer it. You may not know how any hardship will end, but as a child of God, you know how it will not end. Nothing can Separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:39).
The conclusion of Lamentations shows us that there js always a path forward when we walk with faith.
Of all the prophetic books, Lamentations is the one that has always resonated with me the most—but I always knew I was missing something about it. Starting in Chapter 2 (where he begins his argument for the Voice of Christ in this book), so many lightbulbs turned on—I know Christ was revealed in this book (as he is everywhere), but I didn’t understand how thoroughly the book did that.
I’m not for one second suggesting that this is an exhaustive treatment of the book, nor that Williams is the final answer when it comes to this idea—but it’s a fantastic place to start.
The rest of the book was just as good—I walked away from every chapter with a better understanding of or refreshed appreciation for the text.
If you’re looking for a trustworthy guide to this dark portion of Scripture (that is also full of light and hope), you’d do well to look to C.J. Williams.
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