March 8
Deuteronomy
27:25–Deuteronomy 29:15
CANNIBALISM
Deuteronomy
28:53
"And thou shalt
eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons
and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given
thee . . ."
This is an awful verse
to contemplate. What can we learn from it? Cannibalism
was a fact of life during the period when the children
of Israel were in rebellion against their God, and when
they were in captivity either in Assyria or Babylon. The
hunger was so intense that they ate their own people! It
is repulsive to us as we think of it. Who has ever been
that hungry that they ate their own?
We all remember the
Donner Party. A man by the name of George Donner, with
his brother Jacob, headed-up a train of twenty wagons
heading on a new route to California. It was in April of
1846. Because of difficulties, they were not able to
leave their camp by a lake in the eastern Sierras. It
was October 31st. Snow came. The pass was
blocked. Donner’s group camped at Alder Creek. Seven
made it across the Sierra on snow shoes. Needless to say
40 of the 87 people survived. How? Starvation and death
had been averted because of cannibalism.
I have other stories
of cannibalism. Who can forget Jeffrey Dahmer and
his enticing men, killing them, and eating their body
parts. I recall in my recent lifetime of hearing of an
airplane crash. Can’t remember where-- perhaps in
Brazil. Some died in the crash. Others lived. When
rescued, the living were in excellent health. Finally
they confessed that they ate the frozen flesh of their
dead. What would we have done?
It has been said that
some people in some countries feel that eating their
dead means that the deceased person lives on. Many feel
such "eating" is a way to honor their dead. Some kings
ate their sons so their own lives and thrones would be
protected.
During the time of
Columbus, it was discovered that Indian tribes called
the Carib, in the West Indies ate other human beings. In
fact, the word "cannibal" comes from the
mispronunciation of their name, "Carib." Ancient
historians, along with Marco Polo in the 1200's, spoke
of man-eating people who lived northeast of the Caspian
Sea. That area is now called RUSSIA.
Sometimes the American
Indians ate their prisoners of war. The heart of a
brave man was considered a delicacy. The Aztecs of
Mexico consumed parts of human victims who had been
sacrificed to their war god. Eastern South America,
western and central Africa, New Guinea, the Fiji
Islands, Australia, and New Zealand prevailed with
Cannibalism during a time in history. Mostly this
practice was a religious rite.
I read in the
Courier-Post (June 4, 2007), that the rebels who
followed Liberian leader and former president, Charles
Taylor "were known for eating the hearts of their
slain enemies. They decorated check-points with human
entrails," etc., etc.
All of this
cannibalism, found among the Israelites, was a result of
their disbelief and their disobedience to the true God.
In this same Chapter 28, Moses told them of God’s
blessings to come IF they obeyed Him. Verse 4 says:
BLESSED SHALL BE THE FRUIT OF THY BODY. . ., but if
they did not follow the LORD God, His curses, that were
proclaimed in that same chapter, would be upon them:
CURSED SHALL BE THE FRUIT OF THY BODY. . ." Let us
learn from the Israelites unbelief! (ysw)
"THE LORD OUR
GOD GOETH BEFORE YOU
AND WILL FIGHT
FOR YOU!"
Believe it!
Trust Him in the
impasse and the impossible. (GGS)
(Deuteronomy
1:30)
