This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. – Jeremiah 22:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 9, 2014): Jeremiah 22

In November 1937, Prince Yasuhiko Asaka took control of the Japanese forces in China. He was placed in temporary command because of the illness of General Iwane Matsui. Because of the change in leadership, it was Asaka that was in command of the Japanese forces as they entered into the Capital of the Republic of China – Nanking (now Nanjing) in early December of 1937. The Chinese had made the decision not to defend Nanking after the fall of Shanghai because they felt the city was not in place where the defense of the capital made any logical sense. No matter what the Chinese Army did, there was no eventual reality where the city did not fall to the approaching Japanese forces. But what happened in Nanking in late 1937 and early 1938 was unthinkable.

The event has been called the “Massacre of Nanking” or the “Rape of Nanking.” The reason for the massacre was complex. The Japanese had been moving too fast. The supply line behind them had not been secured and there were no reserve forces to be brought up to the front of the battle. And in the midst of all of this Prince Asaka allegedly issues the order to “kill the captives.” Whether or not it was really Asaka that issued the order, we will probably never know. But the whole world watched what happened over a six week time after the order was given. Estimates vary. But more than 200,000 civilians were killed, and 20,000 women ranging in age from children to the elderly were raped as well as the military personnel that were executed. All together, the death toll in Nanking was over 300,000 people. And there is no way to justify the events.

Jeremiah brings his people the word coming from God. Do what is just and right. Avoid the killing of the innocent, rescue the oppressed and be concerned for the vulnerable. Even the foreigner was given the protection of God. Our reality is that we are close to the character of God when we engage in these things. In a massacre like happened in Nanking, the will of God is never accomplished.

Because he was a member of the royal family, Prince Asaka was immune from punishment. Later in life he would convert to Roman Catholicism – making him the first person of the imperial family to do so. General Iwane Matsui was not so lucky. In reviewing the aftermath of the Battle for Nanking, Matsui said to an aid "I now realize that we have unknowingly wrought a most grievous effect on this city. When I think of the feelings and sentiments of many of my Chinese friends who have fled from Nanking and of the future of the two countries, I cannot but feel depressed. I am very lonely and can never get in a mood to rejoice about this victory." General Matsui was found guilty of war crimes. His trial concluded with the judgment that Matsui knew what was happening in Nanking and failed to do anything to stop it. He was executed on December 23, 1948 at the age of 70 for his failure to protect the innocent.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 23