Lamentations 4:1-22 Wasted Away
Famine has taken a great toll on the people of Judah. They wasted away as their punishment from the Lord. And it followed them wherever they went until God’s wrath was spent.
In our passage today, I see the children. I see their little bodies wracked with hunger and pain. Malnutrition was part of their everyday existence. Begging anyone for food and receiving none. Some of the youngest ones even found their way into the ‘stew pot’ where their parents consumed their flesh to prolong their own lives. Some of these children never knew anything different. They were born during the time of God’s wrath pouring out. Many would not live to see the end of it. But SOME of them would be the generation that came home from Babylon.
I’m not sure if this lament is including the time after being carried off or not. Probably so, as it speaks of the nations not wanting them. When Jeremiah’s group dragged him to Egypt, the disasters they were trying to escape followed them there. God said they would but the people wouldn’t listen.
Starvation is a PAINFUL way to die! I agree with the author (Jeremiah) when he says that the sword would have been easier. He also said that God was more gracious with Sodom and Gomora than He was with Judah. Sodom and Gomora suffered ONE night. They were gone in an instant. Jerusalem was under attack for three YEARS. Their store houses were drained with nothing to replenish them. By the end, even the king’s belly was empty.
To that argument though I have to add this thought. Sodom and Gomora lost EVERYONE. No one survived that night. There were none to carry on their history, customs, arts, or culture. Judah and Israel’s history, customs, art, culture and much more would survive as many of those suffering at the time would survive. Not ALL would die by famine. But it would be a lesson they would NEVER forget; at least as long as the generation living it and the next survived.
Those who lived through the Great Depression are examples of that. The generations living in it and their children had different attitudes on ‘waste’ and ‘making due’ than their later descendants. Those directly impacted would be appalled at our ‘throw away society’ today. I ‘got in trouble’ for giving away tools that I no longer needed the other day. I didn’t throw them away but passed them to others who could use them because I had completed the job for which they were purchased. And I wouldn’t be doing that task again for the next 20-30 years. I couldn’t see making room in an already running over cupboard for them. I believe in sharing what I have with those in need.
I KNOW that God watched over those who obeyed Him and surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar. He promised them safety if they would go to Nebuchadnezzar voluntarily. I doubt they suffered starvation as captives in Babylon. They would learn the lesson God had for them but their starvation would end.
Father God, some of the tools You use to teach Your people lessons leave a LONG-lasting mark. Some marks are physical. Others are emotional and spiritual. Starvation hits all three. I have experienced self-imposed starvation but not from absence of food. Even that has had a lasting impression. My daughter and her family experienced severe shortage of food but You protected them from true starvation. Thank You for all of us! I’m glad to forego that full ‘learning experience’.
You use whatever it takes to get man’s attention. Thank You for getting mine! Please get my children’s attention. Bring them back to You. Bring my grandchildren to You too. They are in serious confusion right now Father. Bring them wisdom and clarity of the truth.
