Deu 28:49 | KingComments | STEP | In the previous bundles of plagues, the curse has been placed on all sides and terrains of life. Love for his people leads Moses to paint an even more terrifying picture, so that the people will remain obedient to God’s commandments. The LORD has given His people blessing in abundance. This can only be a reason to serve Him with “joy and a glad heart” ( ). If that does not happen, it is the coarsest form of ingratitude. God cannot but surrender His people to the cruelest oppression. When we think of “a people from afar” ( ) we can think of the Assyrians, the Babylonians, or Chaldeans, and the Romans. All three have done much harm to Jerusalem. In these verses it seems to be more about the oppression by the Romans – tellingly they have an eagle ( ) in their banner! – while the previous verses more describe the Chaldean as an enemy. deal with the siege of Jerusalem and describe bewildering, unreal scenes. Distinguished, spoiled women of Jerusalem who have let themselves be carries in better times – “who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground”–, will lose any natural love for their children and turn into monsters with inhuman, beastly behavior. In their indescribable distress, they do not resort to God, but to the lowest conceivable: eating their own children ( ; ). To this deep depravity leads the disobedience to God.

‏ Deuteronomy 28:49

Among the Cruelest Enemies

In the previous bundles of plagues, the curse has been placed on all sides and terrains of life. Love for his people leads Moses to paint an even more terrifying picture, so that the people will remain obedient to God’s commandments.

The LORD has given His people blessing in abundance. This can only be a reason to serve Him with “joy and a glad heart” (Deu 28:47). If that does not happen, it is the coarsest form of ingratitude. God cannot but surrender His people to the cruelest oppression.

When we think of “a people from afar” (Deu 28:49) we can think of the Assyrians, the Babylonians, or Chaldeans, and the Romans. All three have done much harm to Jerusalem. In these verses it seems to be more about the oppression by the Romans – tellingly they have an eagle (Deu 28:49) in their banner! – while the previous verses more describe the Chaldean as an enemy.

Deu 28:52-57 deal with the siege of Jerusalem and describe bewildering, unreal scenes. Distinguished, spoiled women of Jerusalem who have let themselves be carries in better times – “who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground”–, will lose any natural love for their children and turn into monsters with inhuman, beastly behavior. In their indescribable distress, they do not resort to God, but to the lowest conceivable: eating their own children (Lam 4:10; 2Kgs 6:28-29). To this deep depravity leads the disobedience to God.