We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are like widows—the verse uses familial imagery to describe the national condition: the people are orphaned and their mothers widowed. The loss of father figure suggests the loss of protector and provider; orphans are those without protection. Theologically, the verse presents the people as vulnerable and undefended; they are in the condition of greatest weakness. The mothers' widowhood suggests that the men are dead or taken away; the family structure is destroyed. The verse emphasizes the psychological and spiritual desolation: the basic structures of family and protection are gone. Yet the comparison to mothers and children suggests persistence; even orphans and widows exist and survive. The verse appeals to God to restore the father role; implicitly, God is the father who should protect the orphaned people.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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