Solomon

In his book Grief and Pain, Walter Kaiser notes a pattern to grieving in the book of Lamentations. There is a crescendo in chapters 1-2, a climax of grief in chapter 3, and then a decrescendo in chapters 4-5. Put another way, the prophet's grief builds with intensity until he lifts his eyes to God in chapter 3, only then does his heart begin to settle down and regain spiritual composure. These three movements (crescendo – decision or trust – decrescendo) appear to form a pattern to grieving.

Taking into account the diversity of interpretation that surrounds the book of Habakkuk, there seems to be a similar pattern. The prophet is overwhelmed by grief in the first chapter. The volume of his lament gets louder and louder until he finally cries out: "Will this go on forever!" (v. 17) In the second chapter he lifts his eyes to the vision of God and, though still a bit confused, begins to trust the Lord (vv. 1-4). Here he comes to understand that God has a plan in chaos and will someday put an end to evil in the world. This, of course, is understood by faith (v. 4). Finally, there is a decrescendo in the final chapter. Grief has given way to joy. The prophet learns to "rest in the day of trouble" (v. 16) and rejoice and praise God in times of suffering (v. 19).

If this pattern of grief (crescendo – decision or trust – decrescendo) was limited to few isolated passages we would be justified in saying that these emotions are unique to some writers and may not apply to all believers. This, however, is not the case. God's people appear to display these same three movements in virtually all of the biblical scenes of grief and suffering. Consider the example of Psalm 94:

"O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth! ² Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve! ³ O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult? ⁴ They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast. ⁵ They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage. ⁶ They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless; ⁷ and they say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.” ⁸ Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise? ⁹ He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? ¹⁰ He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke? He who teaches man knowledge– ¹¹ the LORD–knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath. ¹² Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law, ¹³ to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. ¹⁴ For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; ¹⁵ for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it. ¹⁶ Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers? ¹⁷ If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. ¹⁸ When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. ¹⁹ When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. ²⁰ Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute? ²¹ They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. ²² But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge. ²³ He will bring back on them their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the LORD our God will wipe them out."

The psalmist is greatly concerned about the evil that the unrighteous have inflicted upon the community (vv. 1-2). Verses 3-11 show a crescendo as the psalmist cries out with a growing intensity. Then in verses 12-15 he lifts his eyes to the Lord, putting his trust in God. From here verses 17-23 show a decrescendo: the heart of the psalmist begins to settle down as he has decided to trust the Lord.

Crescendo – trust – decrescendo, this is a concerto of grief.

What can we learn from these three movements? In the next post I'll lay out some of the practical implications.