How to interpret the words "Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place..."
Jeremiah 7:20 in various translations:
King James Version "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched."
New International Version "Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place-on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land-and it will burn and not be quenched."
English Standard Version "Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched."
New American Standard Bible "Therefore this is what the Lord God says: Behold, My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on human and animal life, and on the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and not be quenched."
These words were written before Babylon invaded Judea. In the earlier and later verses of the Book of Jeremiah, God repeatedly calls out for the people of Israel to come to their senses. This one, however, does not listen to the prophet's voice. What follows is the defeat of the land of Judah.
What is the anger and fury of the Lord
This is a righteousness that will not be undone unless evil people come to their senses. The Israelites at that time sacrificed to other gods, their sons and daughters (read verse 31 of this chapter), their hearts were cruel, there was no love in them. The entire nation was internally destroyed, the souls of such people will be destroyed anyway during the Last Judgment. Was God going to watch His chosen people continue to sink into a moral quagmire? He withdrew His protection and delivered them into the hands of the Babylonians.
We don't always read the words written in the Old Testament the way we should. Many people perceive God's wrath or God's vindictiveness in a human way. What is vindictiveness and anger in humans is not the same in God. God's anger is concern for the future of the people He loves. The malicious and spiritually blind will not understand this anyway.
In the Book of Psalms 141.5 David writes: "Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities." David considers chastisement an act of grace. There are many more such texts, including in the New Testament, although there they mainly deal with situations in which the believer will suffer because of his love for God, because evil people will cause him pain because of it. In the title verse, the suffering is caused by the sinful life of the one it affects, but is meant to help him repent.
Answer the questions:
If your child is kidnapped and burned alive in sacrifice to the gods, will you stand idly by?
If your children burn other children, will you stand idly by?
If your children murder, rape and rob other children, will you stand idly by?
If these children grow up and continue to do the same thing, will you stand idly by?
If you keep admonishing them and they still have no respect for you, will you stand idly by?
In the above cases, one should pray to God for help. To whom should God pray? To Himself? So why would the Lord continue to watch what His children, whom He loves, are doing. For the sake of the next generations, He sent the Babylonians against them. The warnings sent by God did not reach them, they rejected them, there remained one last opportunity to mend their hearts. Slavery in Babylon. Judea was conquered and its inhabitants taken captive. This helped, because after some time they converted. It took 70 years for them to turn their hearts to God and their insides were at least somewhat cleansed of dirt.
Why wrath was poured out on animals, trees and fruits of the earth
About why animals suffer can be found in the topic: Why Animals Suffer, the article Why We Suffer and Why Young Children Die may also be helpful.
God's wrath was poured out directly on the demoralized Judeans, but as we know, animals also lived among them, trees and agricultural crops grew. The destruction that will come upon the inhabitants will certainly affect the animals as well. This is a consequence of their sins. In this case, the anger directed at animals and nature is that the Babylonians, in attacking the lands of Judea, will also destroy vegetation and loot or kill animals. The anger was not directed at them, but they too will suffer the consequences of the attack.
Babylon, when it invaded Judea, cut down many trees to build siege machines, carts or at least erect the temporary structures needed during sieges. It is estimated that there were a minimum of 46 fortified cities in Judea and plenty of small settlements or villages that were conquered. Forests were also cut down so that local society would decline.
Thousands of warriors had to eat something. Food was brought from far away, as well as from the surrounding areas. What the Jews had sown was seized by the enemy. The land was destroyed.
Forest animals as well as domestic animals were killed so that the army could feed itself. When such a huge number of troops are stationed in an area, the demand for meat increases, so more animals were killed. And although they were not to blame, the destruction reached them as well.
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