Plea for restoration

 Lamentations 5:21–22 (NRSV)

21Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored; renew our days as of old—
22unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure.

The weight of Israel’s sin was more than they wanted to bear. Their life was completely changed after they became captives of Babylon. They felt that God had abandoned them and was no longer concerned for their well-being. The utter rejection was the feeling they had yet they knew that their sin had caused all of their troubles. The only hope was to cry out for mercy and restoration. The anger of God was justified, and their punishment was a result. But God would restore the nation in his timing and in his way. The nation would return to him but the former glory they once experienced would never be the same. During the millennial reign of Jesus there will be a complete restoration of Israel that will go beyond what they experienced prior to the fall of the nation.