Careful students of the Bible have identified three offices in Old Testament Israel—prophet, priest, and king. These leaders were given by God to His people so they might provide spiritual guidance and political oversight. When one leader failed, it was hoped that another leader was able to get the nation back on course. So when King David sinned, for example, the prophet Nathan rebuked him and led him to repentance (2 Sam 12). Likewise, when the priests of Israel allowed the temple to deteriorate, King Joash initiated an effort to renovate the house of the LORD (2 Kings 12). Unfortunately, as evident in Lamentations 3, all three branches of Judah’s government had failed in their assignments when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians. The prophets, priests, and kings alike had all forsaken divine guidance, abusing their sacred offices and exposing the nation to the holy judgment of God. The chapter begins with a memorable comparison. Golden articles from Jerusalem’s temple had lost their shine when trampled in the city streets. But far more precious than gold were the young men of Judah who were also trampled underfoot. As Jeremiah had predicted, the people of God had been treated like so many shards of broken pottery (v 1-2; cf Jeremiah 19). What follows is a horrific description of the famine they experienced (v 3-10), and another reminder that Jerusalem was suffering because of divine justice (v 11). They were guilty of many sins, but more than anything else, what had provoked the LORD’s anger was the negligence of the city’s leaders. Philip Ryken says, “The prophets had sinned, leaving the people to starve for God’s Word as well as for food. The temple priests had shed innocent blood. The king, too, had failed to provide godly leadership. He had established unholy alliances with ungodly nations like Egypt, and the help he was promised never came. In the end, the king himself (‘the LORD’s anointed’) was betrayed into the hands of his enemies” (v 12-20). All these human failures caused God’s people to long for a better Leader. Ultimately, they were looking for the kind of leadership that can only be found in Jesus Christ. Unlike the lying prophets of Israel, He always gives God’s true Word. Unlike her unholy priests, Christ offered Himself as a perfect, once-for-all sacrifice for sin. And unlike her selfish kings, He bravely defends His people from all their enemies. Jesus is the Redeemer we all need. For further meditation: