Children Thirsty and Asking for Bread Lamentations 4:4

As Jeremiah described the conditions for the people of the city of Jerusalem, he included the destruction of the city and its sanctuary, its priests and rulers, and the mothers who ignored their children as ostriches in the wilderness. In chapter four and verse four of Lamentations, Jeremiah tells us the behavior of those children who were scattered throughout the city. We read:

The tongue of the sucking child cleaves to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man break it unto them.

The verse begins, “The tongue of the sucking child cleaves to the roof of his mouth for thirst:” As horrific as the task may be, when we use our imaginations to see “the tongue of the sucking child cleaves to the roof of his mouth for thirst” we see the epitome of human degradation. The mothers of Jerusalem were starved themselves and had no milk to provide, so in their abandonment, these children had no one to fend for them. Provision is quite capably sought by adults, but a dependent child requires aid. There was none for them. Their thirst was real, and their desire for moisture was required, yet no one provided their sustenance.

The verse goes on to say, “the young children ask bread, and no man break it unto them.” Not only were these children thirsty, but they were hungry as well. There was no bread, no food, and if there was, the starving adults would surely have devoured it. We read earlier where the mothers were so desperate they were eating their premature babies. No doubt this was one of the most dreadful scenes Jeremiah observed.

As we think about the conditions within this verse, we may be inclined to think upon our own. Are we filled with abundance and not thankful? Do we indulge in non-necessities without regard to our fellowman? What if the children mentioned by Jeremiah were our own children or grandchildren? Would it make a difference in how we thought of them? We should keep in mind as we read these horrors that God Almighty forewarned the people of Jerusalem of this sort of devastation. He told them through His prophets that lest they turn from their wicked ways, the eventual outcome would be upon not only them but their prodigy. Can we hear through the awful and disgusting circumstances of the children of Jerusalem a pleading from Jesus who desired that “all come to repentance”? Perhaps our prayer should be, “Lord Jesus, help us always to turn to you so these devastations never be upon us or our offspring”.

Next time we will see what happened to those who cared for the children, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

 

Until tomorrow...there is more...

 

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