Can anyone explain these verses to me?

[mjb472012]

Then you shall eat the offspring of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you" - Deuteronomy 28:53

“The King asked her, ‘What’s the matter?’ This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him,’ but she had hidden him…The king said, behold, this evil is of the Lord.” - 2 Kings 6:28-29,33

I found these verses on yahoo answers from another user. What’s going on here with these verses? Did God really allow people to eat their own children? If so, why and what were the circumstances behind this?
I tried looking up these verses in my catholic bible commentary, but it skips around these verses.

 

[GEddie]

Then you shall eat the offspring of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you" - Deuteronomy 28:53

“The King asked her, ‘What’s the matter?’ This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him,’ but she had hidden him…The king said, behold, this evil is of the Lord.” - 2 Kings 6:28-29,33

I found these verses on yahoo answers from another user. What’s going on here with these verses? Did God really allow people to eat their own children? If so, why and what were the circumstances behind this?
I tried looking up these verses in my catholic bible commentary, but it skips around these verses.

He did not “allow” it, except in the sense that they had their human free will and He did not stop them.

As the Israelite kingdoms fell further into sin, the land became less productive. Famines increased in number and intensity, as did foreign attacks. The event described took place during a drought that coincided with an attack by Assyria, if memory serves.

The verse in Deuteronomy describes what will happen if they fall into sin. They did, and it happened.

Blessed Advent and ICXC NIKA

 

[Julia_Mae]

Then you shall eat the offspring of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you" - Deuteronomy 28:53

“The King asked her, ‘What’s the matter?’ This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him,’ but she had hidden him…The king said, behold, this evil is of the Lord.” - 2 Kings 6:28-29,33

Here’s the 2 Kings in context:

Because of the siege the famine in Samaria was so severe that a donkey’s head sold for eighty pieces of silver, and a fourth of a kab of “dove droppings”* for five pieces of silver.
26
b One day, as the king of Israel was walking on the city wall, a woman cried out to him, “Save us, my lord king!”
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He replied, “If the LORD does not save you, where could I find means to save you? On the threshing floor? In the wine press?”
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Then the king asked her, “What is your trouble?” She replied: “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son that we may eat him today; then tomorrow we will eat my son.’
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So we boiled my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘Now give up your son that we may eat him.’ But she hid her son.”
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When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his garments. And as he was walking on the wall, the people saw that he was wearing sackcloth underneath, next to his skin.
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The king exclaimed, “May God do thus to me, and more, if the head of Elisha, son of Shaphat, stays on him today!”

If your question is: Did God really allow people to eat their own children? The answer is freewill is sacrosanct, God “allows” us our choices.

If this is your question, what were the circumstances behind this?, reading the verses in context should answer your question.