Compare Lamentations 2:20 with Deuteronomy 28:53. What warnings are consistent in both? Opening the Texts Side-by-Side “Look, O LORD, and consider: Whom have You ever treated like this? Should women eat their own children, the children they have nurtured? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?” “Then you will eat the fruit of your womb—the flesh of the sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you—during the siege and hardship your enemy will impose on you.” What Both Passages Warn • God’s judgment for covenant violation can reach horrifying extremes—so severe that parents resort to cannibalism of their children during siege conditions. • The calamity is not random; it is the announced consequence of persistent disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:15, 45; Lamentations 1:5). • Spiritual leadership and sacred spaces will not shield an unrepentant people; priests and prophets may perish alongside everyone else (Lamentations 2:20; cf. 1 Samuel 2:27-34). • National security is removed—enemies surround, besiege, and break the will of the people (Deuteronomy 28:52; Lamentations 2:8-9). • The moral order collapses; what should be unthinkable becomes the desperate “new normal” (2 Kings 6:28-29; Ezekiel 5:10). Key Observations • Deuteronomy states the curse prospectively; Lamentations records the curse historically fulfilled in the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem (586 BC). • The shocking image of parents eating their children is used by God to underscore the depth of covenant betrayal and the seriousness of His holiness (Leviticus 26:27-29; Jeremiah 19:9). • Both texts assume the literal accuracy of God’s word: what He foretold, He accomplished. Takeaways for Today • God keeps both His promises and His warnings; trust and obey Him (Numbers 23:19). • Sin’s trajectory is always downward; unchecked disobedience leads to unthinkable consequences (Romans 6:23; James 1:15). • National or personal security apart from faithfulness is illusory—repentance is the only safe harbor (2 Chron 7:14). |
    |