MAN SINS, JUDGMENT COMES, SALVATION IS HERE

Judgment on Moab

1 Concerning Moab.

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:

“Woe to Nebo, for it is laid waste!
    Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken;
the fortress is put to shame and broken down;
2     the renown of Moab is no more.
In Heshbon they planned disaster against her:
    ‘Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!’
You also, O Madmen, shall be brought to silence;
    the sword shall pursue you.

3 A voice! A cry from Horonaim,
    ‘Desolation and great destruction!’
4 Moab is destroyed;
    her little ones have made a cry.
5 For at the ascent of Luhith
    they go up weeping;^{1

48:5
Hebrew weeping goes up with weeping}
for at the descent of Horonaim
    they have heard the distressed cry^{2

48:5
Septuagint (compare Isaiah 15:5) heard the cry} of destruction.
6 Flee! Save yourselves!
    You will be like a juniper in the desert!
7 For, because you trusted in your works and your treasures,
    you also shall be taken;
and Chemosh shall go into exile
    with his priests and his officials.
8 The destroyer shall come upon every city,
    and no city shall escape;
the valley shall perish,
    and the plain shall be destroyed,
    as the LORD has spoken.

9 Give wings to Moab,
for she would fly away;
her cities shall become a desolation,
with no inhabitant in them.

10 Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.

11 Moab has been at ease from his youth
    and has settled on his dregs;
he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
    nor has he gone into exile;
so his taste remains in him,
    and his scent is not changed.

12 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I shall send to him pourers who will pour him, and empty his vessels and break his^{3

48:12
Septuagint, Aquila; Hebrew their} jars in pieces. 13 Then Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.

14 How do you say, ‘We are heroes
    and mighty men of war’?
15 The destroyer of Moab and his cities has come up,
    and the choicest of his young men have gone down to slaughter,
    declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
16 The calamity of Moab is near at hand,
    and his affliction hastens swiftly.
17 Grieve for him, all you who are around him,
    and all who know his name;
say, ‘How the mighty scepter is broken,
    the glorious staff.’

18 Come down from your glory,
    and sit on the parched ground,
    O inhabitant of Dibon!
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;
    he has destroyed your strongholds.
19 Stand by the way and watch,
    O inhabitant of Aroer!
Ask him who flees and her who escapes;
    say, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is put to shame, for it is broken;
    wail and cry!
Tell it beside the Arnon,
    that Moab is laid waste.

21 Judgment has come upon the tableland, upon Holon, and Jahzah, and Mephaath, 22 and Dibon, and Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 and Kiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon, 24 and Kerioth, and Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, declares the LORD.

26 Make him drunk, because he magnified himself against the LORD, so that Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he too shall be held in derision. 27 Was not Israel a derision to you? Was he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him you wagged your head?

28 Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock,
    O inhabitants of Moab!
Be like the dove that nests
    in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.
29 We have heard of the pride of Moab—
    he is very proud—
of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance,
    and the haughtiness of his heart.
30 I know his insolence, declares the LORD;
    his boasts are false,
    his deeds are false.
31 Therefore I wail for Moab;
    I cry out for all Moab;
    for the men of Kir-hareseth I mourn.
32 More than for Jazer I weep for you,
    O vine of Sibmah!
Your branches passed over the sea,
    reached to the Sea of Jazer;
on your summer fruits and your grapes
    the destroyer has fallen.
33 Gladness and joy have been taken away
    from the fruitful land of Moab;
I have made the wine cease from the winepresses;
    no one treads them with shouts of joy;
    the shouting is not the shout of joy.

34 From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become desolate. 35 And I will bring to an end in Moab, declares the LORD, him who offers sacrifice in the high place and makes offerings to his god. 36 Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of Kir-hareseth. Therefore the riches they gained have perished.

37 For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. On all the hands are gashes, and around the waist is sackcloth. 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation, for I have broken Moab like a vessel for which no one cares, declares the LORD. 39 How it is broken! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab has become a derision and a horror to all that are around him.”

40 For thus says the LORD:
“Behold, one shall fly swiftly like an eagle
    and spread his wings against Moab;
41 the cities shall be taken
    and the strongholds seized.
The heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day
    like the heart of a woman in her birth pains;
42 Moab shall be destroyed and be no longer a people,
    because he magnified himself against the LORD.
43 Terror, pit, and snare
    are before you, O inhabitant of Moab!
    declares the LORD.
44 He who flees from the terror
    shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
    shall be caught in the snare.
For I will bring these things upon Moab,
    the year of their punishment,
    declares the LORD.

45 In the shadow of Heshbon
    fugitives stop without strength,
for fire came out from Heshbon,
    flame from the house of Sihon;
it has destroyed the forehead of Moab,
    the crown of the sons of tumult.
46 Woe to you, O Moab!
    The people of Chemosh are undone,
for your sons have been taken captive,
    and your daughters into captivity.
47 Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
    in the latter days, declares the LORD.”
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.

Footnotes

[1] 48:5 Hebrew weeping goes up with weeping
[2] 48:5 Septuagint (compare Isaiah 15:5) heard the cry
[3] 48:12 Septuagint, Aquila; Hebrew their

My preference is always to focus on redemption, but my "tell-it-like-it-is" husband reinforced that judgment was all over this passage. God was fed up with these people, and His judgment is real.

In recent chapters we have seen Jeremiah addressing nations related to Israel. History records the rise and fall of many of them. But this address to the nations can be understood as symbolizing sin at work within us today.

A brief history and review: Moab and Ammon were the sons of Lot by his daughters. In the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19), after Lot and his daughters fled from the city, we are told that the daughters got their father drunk to lie with him and conceive by him. From this they produced two sons, Moab and Ammon, who settled in the present land of Jordan. Moab to the east of the Dead Sea, and Ammon north of Moab.

Moab had become complacent, replacing God with their own gods. Their pride had increased with their prosperity. Isaiah 16:6a records, "We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride." Pride also traps us. Positions, relationships, houses, cars, even our place of worship can become objects for our worship. We replace God while seeking greater personal comforts.

We also see God grieve, wail, weep, and cry out. His heart is heavy even as judgment is announced. Then in Jeremiah 48:47 we find, "Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab." We know God is perfect, and we are not, but there is provision. Christ's death on the cross has bridged the chasm between God and man.

"But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him. And by His scourging we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5) "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

Embrace this good news and have new life in Him!

1. Where is your trust? (Look at your check book and schedule for clues.)

2. Do you get comfortable with the spiritual status quo?

3. How often do you evaluate your pride level? How do you do it? (Look up 2 Chronicles 32:24-26, Psalm 10:4, Proverbs 11:2, Ezekiel 16:49-50, and 1 John 2:16.)

WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY

JEREMIAH 45-49 (JUNE 6-10)

Read Jeremiah 45.

What does it say that Baruch did for Jeremiah in verse 1? Go back and read Jeremiah 36 to read about the actual events.

Baruch did not have a computer to type out the words Jeremiah spoke. Baruch had to write them all by hand. How long do you think it took him? How do you think he felt when he found out the scrolls had been burned? Then, what did Jeremiah have him do?

After all of his writing, the people did not repent! How does it say Baruch felt in Jeremiah 45:3? What does the Lord say in response to his complaining? Look at verse 5, what does it say Baruch was seeking?

What does it mean to "[seek] great things for yourself?" Are you ever tempted to do things so you get the glory or recognition? For whose glory should you do all things? (See Colossians 3:23)

ACTIVITY: As a family, think of someone in your neighborhood whom you can serve. Be creative, intentional, and sacrificial (i.e. mow their lawn, bring them their paper each morning, bring them breakfast, clean their pool, etc.) When they ask you WHY you are doing it, take the time to sit with them and talk about what Christ has done for you. Remember to give God the glory!