The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own
children: they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
–Lamentations 4:10
This verse caught my eye today. I want to figure out what it
means. The book of Lamentations is about the punishment of Israel because of
sin. Obviously it wasn't just the men that were sinning, the women played a
part in it too. But what does this verse mean. I’m quite sure they weren't eating their
children.
If I replace some of the words with the definitions in the notations
it might make more sense. “The hands of the compassionate women have boiled
their own children: they were their food in the destruction of the daughter of
my people. “
That doesn't help.
Let’s check out some of the cross-references.
Behold, O Lord, and consider to whom thou hast done this.
Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? Shall the priest
and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord? -Lamentations 2:20
No! They’re not eating their children, I just know it.
The word meat is used throughout the bible for nourishment.
A woman can be nourished by her children in ways other than actually eating
them. That sounds like a good thing. But think of all the women who have a baby
because they want to be loved. What happens to that baby when it grows up?
Another cross-reference:
And toward her young one that cometh out from between her
feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for
want of all things secretly in the siege and straightness, wherewith thine
enemy shall distress thee in thy gates. -Deuteronomy 28:57
During a time of trouble she is wanting of things, secretly.
I know I've been there before, in many ways I’m there right now. In our society
women are taught to put their children first in everything. Most times even
ahead of their husbands. It is makes sense that the woman would look to her
children to be fulfilled. A child is not meant to fill our needs, God is. We
are meant to fill our child’s needs, but not to make them sodden.
Dictionary.com defines sodden as
1.
Soaked with liquid or moisture; saturated.
2.
Heavy, lumpy, or soggy, as food that is poorly
cooked.
3.
Having a soaked appearance.
4.
Bloated, as the face.
5.
Expressionless, dull, or stupid, especially from
drunkenness.
6.
Lacking spirit or alertness; inert; torpid;
listless.
7.
Archaic, boiled.
I've seen children who are soaked in everything, with
everything they need handed to them. They often do look expressionless and
dull. What do they have to strive for? I’m sure that raising children like that
can lead to the fall of a nation.
So it is possible that this verse is about cannibalism, but
in so many ways it applies to our lives today.
