The impact on Judah of this invading force is going to be catastrophic. Everything the nation has come to take for granted as the evidence of the Lord’s favour towards them is destroyed. Not only their abundant sources of food, harvest,
flocks and herds,
vines and fig trees,
but even their sons and daughters
will be eaten up. The reference to the enemy eating their sons and daughters is not speaking of cannibalism, but rather to the slaughter of the population.1 The fortified cities they trusted in to keep them safe will no longer be a refuge; the enemy will beat these cities down with the sword; they will be overwhelmed, taken over and destroyed by the invading army. Archeological evidence confirms the destruction caused by the Babylonian invasion in 586 BC.2 The profound theological implication of this destruction is that the Lord is finally removing all evidence of his blessing on his people and is pouring out his curse. The false sense of spiritual well-being that the people of Judah had is shattered.
17 They shall eat up your harvest and your food; they shall eat up your sons and your daughters; they shall eat up your flocks and your herds; they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; your fortified cities in which you trust they shall beat down with the sword.”