Sword Slain or Pine Away Lamentations 4:9

Jeremiah has listed the sanctuary and several groups of people who were affected by the overthrow of Jerusalem. Children, those who were once delicately fed, and the Nazarites who were once adorned and honored as fine jewels were among them, and now their punishment was worse than Sodom's. In chapter four and verse nine, Jeremiah gives a comparison to the manner in which these people perish where he wrote:

They that are slain with the sword are better than they that are slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.

The verse begins, “They that are slain with the sword are better than they that are slain with hunger:” As Jeremiah continued his description of the devastation before his eyes, he compares “They that are slain” or “fatally wounded or pierced” with “they that are slain with hunger” or “famine”. We may imagine the immediacy of death because a person was pierced with a sword versus the slow painful death of one who suffers from hunger.

The verse goes on to say, “for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.” Jeremiah said “these pine away” which means “to flow or flow away” and refers to the slow ebbing away of life. He said they were “stricken” or “pierced or thrust through” while in “want” or “desire” for the fruits of the field they once knew. Their lives were slowly deteriorating because of lack of food, and this slow death was much worse than being thrust through with a sword.

There are not many of us who have faced being pierced through with a sword or famished to the point of a slow death by being hungry, but we may be able to relate to this verse in other ways. Sometimes we have people or circumstances removed from our lives quickly, and other times it takes a long process. The horror for Judah and Jerusalem was to be involved in this slow diminishing, and delays often affect us as well. While we ponder these things let us remember that God Almighty desired that these words be written for our benefit, and when times of slow degeneration come, we may trust in Him and His Divine providence and sovereignty. Though we may think a more expeditious answer would be of greater benefit, we must not forget that He is always in control.

Next time see how hunger affected the women of Jerusalem, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

 

Until tomorrow...there is more...

 

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