On October 13, 1972, a rugby team from Uruguay was flying over the Andes Mountains to a match in Santiago, Chile. The plane was carrying 5 crew members and 40 passengers, including some of the team’s family members and friends. The flight encountered dangerous weather conditions with heavy cloud cover and poor visibility. The pilots lost their bearings and the aircraft crashed in an extremely remote and inaccessible part of the Andes. Some were killed in the crash, yet 29 somehow survived the initial impact. The stranded party believed they will soon be rescued but as the days and then weeks went by their hopes began to fade. They had only a meager amount of food which was quickly consumed. The survivors huddled together within the plane’s broken fuselage in order to shelter themselves from the bitterly cold temperatures and driving snow.
Tormented by gnawing hunger, the group began to contemplate the unthinkable. If they have any hope of survival, they had to eat the bodies of their dead relatives and friends. The poor band eventually realized that they could not depend on anyone coming to rescue them. On December 12, nearly 2 full months after the crash, two of the men with the most remaining strength – Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa – were chosen to make a desperate attempt to hike out of the mountains and find help. Nando and Roberto trekked west through the mountains towards Chile, not even knowing how far they needed to go. Starving and exhausted, they somehow traversed 80 miles of rugged mountainous terrain over the course of 8 days. Nando and Roberto rejoiced when they finally encountered a man on horseback who notified the authorities. Guided by Nando, rescue helicopters were sent to find those who remained at the crash site. Including Nando and Roberto, there were only 16 who come out of the mountains alive, 72 days after the plane went down.
This remarkable story of human endurance was recounted by British author Piers Paul Read in his book Alive, published in 1974. It’s difficult to even image the ordeal these men had to endure. I shudder just thinking about it.
The book of Jeremiah portrays for us an even more distressing scenario. The entire nation of Judah was facing disaster. But unlike the Uruguayan rugby team, it was a disaster of their own making. Because of their rebellion and wickedness, the Jews had lost the love and blessing of their God. The LORD had instead determined to bring about their destruction.
Jeremiah 19 recounts for us an especially memorable moment in the prophet’s life. The LORD first commanded Jeremiah to purchase a clay jar. With the jar in hand, Jeremiah was instructed to go out into the Valley of Ben Hinnom, taking with him the leaders of the Jewish people. The Valley of Ben Hinnom – also referred to as Topheth – is an important landmark throughout the scriptures. This valley runs along the western and southern sides of the city of Jerusalem. The location became closely associated with the idolatry and wickedness of Israel because within the Valley of Ben Hinnom, the people of Jerusalem had built alters where they brought sacrifices to the pagan god Baal. Even more startling, they even sacrificed their own children there.
The detestable conduct of the Jews infuriated God, who sent a scathing message to them through Jeremiah. “Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.” (Jeremiah 19:3) When we hear a tale of horror and woe like that of the Uruguayan rugby team, we might say it makes us shudder or that it sends a shiver down our spine or that it makes the hair on the back of our neck stand up. The ancient Jews had their own way of saying the exact same thing. When they heard news that filled them with a sense of dread, they said it made their ears tingle.
Jeremiah makes it very clear what Israel had done to bring God’s wrath upon themselves. “They have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned sacrifices in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal – something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.” (Jeremiah 19:4-5)
All throughout the scriptures, we see that worship is the most central human activity. Human beings who worship the one true God – ascribing to him all wisdom and goodness – will be remade in his image. They will become the healthy, flourishing creatures that God intended. On the other hand, those who fail to worship the one true God and instead engage in idolatry will inevitably corrupt themselves. For Israel, this corruption most notably manifested itself in the horrifying practice of child sacrifice. However, the book of Jeremiah recounts many other evil things that the people of Israel had done.
Injustice: “Their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, they do not defend the rights of the poor.” (Jeremiah 5:27-28)
Sexual Immorality: “They committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.” (Jeremiah 5:7)
Greed/deceit, “From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.” (Jeremiah 6:13)
This list is obviously far from exhaustive. But the take home point should be clear: the Israelites’ conduct – their wickedness and degeneracy – caused them to lose God’s love and instead made themselves detestable in his sight.
Jeremiah then explicitly declares the consequences of Israel’s iniquity. “So beware, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. In this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who seek their lives, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. I will devastate this city and make it an object of scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds.” (Jeremiah 19:7-8)
Next comes this horrifying statement: “I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters and they will eat one another’s flesh during the stress of the siege imposed on them by the enemies who seek their lives.” (Jeremiah 19:9)
Jeremiah concludes his diatribe by smashing his clay jar before the Jewish leaders as a dramatic prophetic symbol of God’s impending judgment upon them.
The magnitude of the consequences could hardly have been more severe. Like the poor Uruguayan rugby team trapped high in the Andes Mountains, the people of Judah would face the most desperate circumstances. King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian armies would invade their land and surround the city of Jerusalem. It’s sobering to reflect on the fact that these events really did come to pass during the reign of Zedekiah when the Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem for 19 months. The people of Judah and Jerusalem were indeed cut down by the sword and wasted away from famine. They became so desperate that they actually descended, not just to ordinary cannibalism, but to the consumption of their own children.
The book of Lamentations was likely written by Jeremiah after the final destruction of Jerusalem. There he asks in anguish, “Look, O LORD, and consider: Whom have you ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the children they have cared for?” (Lamentations 2:20) Later, he mourns, “With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed.” (Lamentations 4:10)
Now despite what you might be thinking, I take no pleasure in writing about the macabre. The reality is just the opposite. In fact, I’ve sometimes wondered if I should cut out some of the more disturbing material. Jeremiah himself felt the same way: “I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long.’ (Jeremiah 20:7-8)
But the prophet’s next utterance convince me that avoidance is not the path of wisdom. “But if I say, ‘I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.” (Jeremiah 20:9)
Jeremiah words are just as much God’s revelation to us as any other part of the Bible. His story reminds us that God hates seeing evil destroy his good creation. Human beings who persist in embracing wickedness must know that God will certainly bring his awful anger down upon them – in this life or the next. It’s a message which is sorely needed in a world which too often fails to comprehend the seriousness of sin.
True, Jeremiah has a few magnificent passages that fill us with hope. But the large majority of this book recounts the disturbing warnings and shockingly distressing events of Jeremiah’s life. If you want to become someone who truly knows God’s word, you can’t just cherry-pick a few verses that make you feel warm and fuzzy. To do so risks becoming a huge exercise in self-deception. You will end up falsely convincing yourself that “there’s nothing you can do to make God love you less” or “Christianity has nothing to do with our behavior.”
So I encourage you to read the book of Jeremiah – the whole thing. For you cannot truly understand those soaring, hope-filled verses about God’s love, forgiveness and redemption without first working through the dark and dreadful words about God’s anger.
