Deuteronomy chapter 28

vs 51

Sounds like an army of goats. They just eat everything.

vs 52

That's more like an army.

vs 53

That is the reality of seige warfare. It is all about time. The army sits outside the walls and starves, the people sit inside the walls and starve. Whoever breaks first. Very occasionally you can pull down a wall or something. But it's more usually a hopeless waiting game.

You would think that people would surrender before they started eating their own babies. Perhaps the message is that Israel will be too proud, or they know that surrendering will only mean that their babies get eaten (or taken away) anyway.

vs 54

Hunger does that to people, I suppose. And the stress of the seige.

vs 55

I guess if one of your other kids dies because you don't feed them your baby, then you can always eat them too? It is such a gruesome picture, one that we wouldn't even believe in modern times. But it is described here with such matter-of-factness that it might have been a possible reality to these people.

vs 56-57

Same again, but now including the afterbirth. I suppose the idea of the most gentle of women doing the same as the most sensitive of men is just bringing about an utter degridation of that society and culture. This is a picture of total depravity brought about by rebellion against God and the suffering of the consequences.

vs 58

Interestingly, the words "written in this book" are appearing in a speech by Moses. I'm not sure what to do with that. Joshua is probably there taking notes, and perhaps Moses is making it clear that everything he has said will be in a book that they will be taking with them into the promised land, since he won't be going in with them.

vs 59

A fair summary of what has been promised if the people don't follow God's laws and bring him glory.

vs 60

I'm guessing this is in reference to the plagues, but it could also just be a reference to the various diseases that from time to time ravaged Egypt more generally. After all, the Israelites wouldn't have much experience of what it was like outside Egypt. The fact is that God will protect them from regular diseases, but also from calamitous ones that come from curses, if they are obedient.