4 How dark the gold has become,
How the pure gold has changed!
The sacred stones are poured out
At the [a]corner of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion,
Weighed against fine gold,
How they are regarded as earthen jars,
The work of a potter’s hands!
3 Even jackals offer the breast,
They nurse their young;
But the daughter of my people has become cruel
Like ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the infant cleaves
To the roof of its mouth because of thirst;
The little ones ask for bread,
But no one breaks it for them.
5 Those who ate delicacies
Are desolate in the streets;
Those [b]reared in purple
Embrace ash pits.
6 For the [c]iniquity of the daughter of my people
Is greater than the [d]sin of Sodom,
Which was overthrown as in a moment,
And no hands were [e]turned toward her.
7 Her [f]consecrated ones were purer than snow,
They were whiter than milk;
They were more ruddy in [g]body than corals,
Their polishing was like [h]lapis lazuli.
8 Their appearance is blacker than soot,
They are not recognized in the streets;
Their skin is shriveled on their bones,
It is withered, it has become like wood.
9 Better are those [i]slain with the sword
Than those [j]slain with hunger;
For they [k]pine away, being stricken
For lack of the fruits of [l]the field.
10 The hands of compassionate women
Boiled their own children;
They became food for them
Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The Lord has accomplished His wrath,
He has poured out His fierce anger;
And He has kindled a fire in Zion
Which has consumed its foundations.
In this next lament, Jeremiah focuses on the children affected by the wickedness of Israel. There is no one to care for them, no food for them. Though they were pure and white, they have become black, withered and shriveled (vv. 7-8). One of the worst indictments of all is just before this in v. 6, that their sins were greater than the sin of Sodom. (Genesis 19)
Now that’s saying something, for those people were depraved indeed, wanting to molest the very angels God sent to rescue Lot and his family. Yet, after reading this passage, and seeing the lack of care for their children, it would be hard to say Israel was any better. They had tried to murder God’s messengers, burned their children in the worship of false gods, and worse (v. 10).
We might think those days are long gone; after all, we live in a more civilized age… But do we? It doesn’t take much to see the enemy is coming for our children as well, trying to twist them from the image of God into something unrecognizable also. Far too often, the wicked are succeeding in their twisted schemes, and so we ought to be on our guard, for our own faith, and for the very souls of our children.
This is no game, nothing to be taken lightly, but lives are at stake in this world. God has called each of us to himself, and He has called us to take part in His plan. As Jesus said so many years ago, the fields are ready, but the workers are few. Again, God has called each of us to do our part, and not to sit on the sidelines idly watching. There are no benchwarmers in God’s kingdom, if we are on his team, we each have a mission to fulfill.
Today and every day, ask God what you can do for Him. Forsake the twisted ways of this world and keep your heart pure as you pursue God and His plans. Do it for your sake, and for the sake of the children. We all need Him more than ever, and are each pining for something (v. 9). Pine for Him and serve no other!