DAILY BIBLE READING --AUG. 31/2000
Would you eat your own children? It might be that you don't have children yet, so this may be a question that you really haven't thought much about.This practice is relatively uncommon today because of our wonderful system of trade all over the world. If people are short of food, we can quickly (usually within a matter of hours) get them fruits and vegetables to eat. We can deliver them by planes or trains, and even in trucks. Today we have a wonderful distribution system.
In olden biblical times, they did not have these things. Most of their transportation was on asses. This little animal was a courageous helper, but he was overworked and often tired from the many jobs he did for Man.
In those days, if your fig trees were cursed and withered, or if quail was in short supply--there wasn't much to eat except your children. We shouldn't blame these people for that; Rather, we ought to ask ourselves: "What would we do in their place, if our stomach was sore from unceasing hunger?". What if you could hardly get to sleep for thinking about food?
There is a way to understand this: Have you ever been to a movie theatre when you were dying to have popcorn? But you didn't want to miss any of the movie. And the smell of popcorn was everywhere, so that you could barely follow what was happening on the movie screen because of your terrible hunger? Now do you understand the temptation that these poor hungry people had to struggle with?
The bible does not make it clear that hunger was involved, but the bible has to leave some things out; Otherwise, who could read such a long book? The bible has God forcing them to eat their children, but you must understand God. You see, God was in many ways like the judges you see on your TV. Once God made a ruling it was final unless he changed his mind later. Sometimes it was only a test of obedience--like any Father would do. Also, God made the children eat their fathers, too. Some of these children grew up to become parents themselves.
It is not that God does not like children. God has a son Himself. His name is Jesus. But sometimes God gets pretty angry (you know how parents can be). God always knows what is best, just like your own parents do.
Have you ever seen a crocodile eat its babies. They do it more than people. They pick up their babies one at a time and they shake it into their huge jaws where they crunch it alive. It is an unpleasant sight to see, isn't it? Today we are very lucky that we have huge trucks to bring food to people even when they didn't have good crops.
Leviticus 26
29
You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.
Deuteronomy 28
53
Because of the suffering that your enemy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you.
Jeremiah 19
9
I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another's flesh during the stress of the siege imposed on them by the enemies who seek their lives.'
Ezekiel 5
8
"Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations.
9
Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again.
10
Therefore in your midst fathers will eat their children, and children will eat their fathers. I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds |
