The Donner Party’s infamous tale of starvation on the Oregon trail has become a symbol of the shocking lengths to which people will go under extreme circumstances. Some in the party actually resorted to cannibalism.

Jeremiah gives us a similarly grim picture of some in Jerusalem who were so desperate with hunger that they “cooked their own children” (v. 10). Although the act itself was monstrous, those who did such a shocking thing were not. Jeremiah actually says they were “compassionate women.” How, then, do we explain such inconsistent behavior? It may partly be explained by the rationale of verse 9, which says that those who were killed by the sword were better off than those who died of famine. Perhaps those unfortunate mothers convinced themselves that what they were doing was actually an act of mercy that would protect their children from being so “racked with hunger” that they would “waste away for lack of food from the field” (v. 9).

In the end, however, Jeremiah opts for a theological explanation for such unbelievable extremity. The sufferings and atrocities described in this poem are signs of God’s judgment (v. 11). They are also a warning to the rest of the world that God will one day call everyone to account (v. 12). This is truth poignantly summarized by the apostle in 1 Peter 4:17: “For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” Judah ignored God’s warnings, and the consequences make us shudder.

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