What is the meaning of Lamentations 3:15? He has filled me with bitterness • Jeremiah, speaking for the devastated nation, acknowledges that the Lord Himself allowed overwhelming sorrow to overtake him. • Bitterness pictures grief that saturates every part of life—compare Naomi’s words, “The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me” (Ruth 1:20) and Job’s lament, “My soul is weary of my life” (Job 10:1). • Scripture repeatedly shows the Lord using bitter seasons to correct and mature His people (Psalm 119:67; Hebrews 12:10-11). • This honesty does not diminish God’s goodness; instead, it underscores that He is present even in hardship, sovereignly shaping His children for their good (Romans 8:28). He has intoxicated me with wormwood • “Wormwood” is a plant so pungent it became a biblical symbol for judgment and poisoned consequences (Deuteronomy 29:18; Jeremiah 9:15; Revelation 8:11). • To be “intoxicated” or “saturated” with it means being forced to drink suffering until it seems to take control—paralleling the cup of wrath imagery found in Psalm 75:8 and Isaiah 51:17. • Jeremiah feels consumed by the nation’s well-deserved discipline; yet even that cup is measured by God, never random or cruel (Jeremiah 23:15; 1 Peter 1:6-7). • The verse invites sober reflection on sin’s cost—“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, he will reap” (Galatians 6:7)—while hinting that the same God who hands the cup can remove it in mercy (Lamentations 3:31-33). summary Lamentations 3:15 records Jeremiah’s raw confession that the Lord has allowed him to drink deeply of grief’s bitter cup. By pairing “bitterness” with “wormwood,” the prophet stresses the thoroughness of divine discipline and the seriousness of sin. Yet the surrounding context reveals that this very God is faithful, and His compassions never fail (3:22-24). The verse therefore teaches that when God permits bitterness, it is purposeful, measured, and ultimately aimed at restoration for those who trust Him. |
    |