Next in line for God’s Judgement is Moab. The Moabites were descendants of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. It’s also where Ruth, one of Jesus’ ancestors is from. We’ll look at both those stories at the end. As you will see, God had 2 problems with Moab — idolatry and pride. Similarly, the U.S. has those same problems. We’ll look at the uncanny resemblance. Let’s dig in…
Jeremiah 48 – A Message about Moab
This message was given concerning Moab. This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says:
“What sorrow awaits the city of Nebo;
it will soon lie in ruins.
The city of Kiriathaim will be humiliated and captured;
the fortress will be humiliated and broken down.
2 No one will ever brag about Moab again,
for in Heshbon there is a plot to destroy her.
‘Come,’ they say, ‘we will cut her off from being a nation.’
The town of Madmen, too, will be silenced;
the sword will follow you there.
3 Listen to the cries from Horonaim,
cries of devastation and great destruction.
4 All Moab is destroyed.
Her little ones will cry out.
5 Her refugees weep bitterly,
climbing the slope to Luhith.
They cry out in terror,
descending the slope to Horonaim.
6 Flee for your lives!
Hide in the wilderness!
7 Because you have trusted in your wealth and skill,
you will be taken captive.
Your god Chemosh, with his priests and officials,
will be hauled off to distant lands!8 “All the towns will be destroyed,
and no one will escape—
either on the plateaus or in the valleys,
for the Lord has spoken.
9 Oh, that Moab had wings
so she could fly away,
for her towns will be left empty,
with no one living in them.
10 Cursed are those who refuse to do the Lord’s work,
who hold back their swords from shedding blood!11 “From his earliest history, Moab has lived in peace,
never going into exile.
He is like wine that has been allowed to settle.
He has not been poured from flask to flask,
and he is now fragrant and smooth.
12 But the time is coming soon,” says the Lord,
“when I will send men to pour him from his jar.
They will pour him out,
then shatter the jar!
13 At last Moab will be ashamed of his idol Chemosh,
as the people of Israel were ashamed of their gold calf at Bethel.14 “You used to boast, ‘We are heroes,
mighty men of war.’
15 But now Moab and his towns will be destroyed.
His most promising youth are doomed to slaughter,”
says the King, whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
16 “Destruction is coming fast for Moab;
calamity threatens ominously.
17 You friends of Moab,
weep for him and cry!
See how the strong scepter is broken,
how the beautiful staff is shattered!18 “Come down from your glory
and sit in the dust, you people of Dibon,
for those who destroy Moab will shatter Dibon, too.
They will tear down all your towers.
19 You people of Aroer,
stand beside the road and watch.
Shout to those who flee from Moab,
‘What has happened there?’20 “And the reply comes back,
‘Moab lies in ruins, disgraced;
weep and wail!
Tell it by the banks of the Arnon River:
Moab has been destroyed!’
21 Judgment has been poured out on the towns of the plateau—
on Holon and Jahaz and Mephaath,
22 on Dibon and Nebo and Beth-diblathaim,
23 on Kiriathaim and Beth-gamul and Beth-meon,
24 on Kerioth and Bozrah—
all the towns of Moab, far and near.25 “The strength of Moab has ended.
His arm has been broken,” says the Lord.
26 “Let him stagger and fall like a drunkard,
for he has rebelled against the Lord.
Moab will wallow in his own vomit,
ridiculed by all.
27 Did you not ridicule the people of Israel?
Were they caught in the company of thieves
that you should despise them as you do?28 “You people of Moab,
flee from your towns and live in the caves.
Hide like doves that nest
in the clefts of the rocks.
29 We have all heard of the pride of Moab,
for his pride is very great.
We know of his lofty pride,
his arrogance, and his haughty heart.
30 I know about his insolence,”
says the Lord,
“but his boasts are empty—
as empty as his deeds.
31 So now I wail for Moab;
yes, I will mourn for Moab.
My heart is broken for the men of Kir-hareseth.32 “You people of Sibmah, rich in vineyards,
I will weep for you even more than I did for Jazer.
Your spreading vines once reached as far as the Dead Sea,
but the destroyer has stripped you bare!
He has harvested your grapes and summer fruits.
33 Joy and gladness are gone from fruitful Moab.
The presses yield no wine.
No one treads the grapes with shouts of joy.
There is shouting, yes, but not of joy.34 “Instead, their awful cries of terror can be heard from Heshbon clear across to Elealeh and Jahaz; from Zoar all the way to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up now.
35 “I will put an end to Moab,” says the Lord, “for the people offer sacrifices at the pagan shrines and burn incense to their false gods. 36 My heart moans like a flute for Moab and Kir-hareseth, for all their wealth has disappeared. 37 The people shave their heads and beards in mourning. They slash their hands and put on clothes made of burlap. 38 There is crying and sorrow in every Moabite home and on every street. For I have smashed Moab like an old, unwanted jar. 39 How it is shattered! Hear the wailing! See the shame of Moab! It has become an object of ridicule, an example of ruin to all its neighbors.”
40 This is what the Lord says:
“Look! The enemy swoops down like an eagle,
spreading his wings over Moab.
41 Its cities will fall,
and its strongholds will be seized.
Even the mightiest warriors will be in anguish
like a woman in labor.
42 Moab will no longer be a nation,
for it has boasted against the Lord.43 “Terror and traps and snares will be your lot,
O Moab,” says the Lord.
44 “Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap,
and those who escape the trap will step into a snare.
I will see to it that you do not get away,
for the time of your judgment has come,”
says the Lord.
45 “The people flee as far as Heshbon
but are unable to go on.
For a fire comes from Heshbon,
King Sihon’s ancient home,
to devour the entire land
with all its rebellious people.46 “What sorrow awaits you, O people of Moab!
The people of the god Chemosh are destroyed!
Your sons and your daughters
have been taken away as captives.
47 But I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in days to come.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”This is the end of Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning Moab.
Jeremiah 48 NLT
Who Were the Moabites?
The history of the Moabites goes all the way back to the twin, sin cities, Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham’s nephew Lot lived in Sodom with his wife and 2 daughters. You can check out the whole sordid story here. After God allowed Lot and his 2 daughters to escape, it seems his daughters still had the sin city’s influence. They got their dad drunk and, well, the result were 2 babies. The younger daughter named her son “Ammon” and the older one named her son “Moab”.
In spite of that, one thing good came out of Moab — Ruth. She became one of Jesus’ ancestors! Check out that love story here. It’s fascinating how the Bible has shocking and grim stories, as well as beautiful stories of faithfulness and love. All in one book! No wonder it’s the world’s besting selling book EVER!
All in all, the Moabites have been Israel’s enemy for years.
Key Points in Today’s Prophecy
- Verse 2 — “Madmen” does not indicate the advertising geniuses of Madison Avenue. No, the word is translated to “silent”. Total opposite.
- They trusted in wealth and skill. They trusted in their treasures. That’s materialism — a form of idolatry. Having nice stuff is great until the fire, flood, tornado, hurricane, tsunami, earthquake or any “act of God” comes. There’s also, robbery, foreclosure, divorce, debt, inflation, and economic decline. You name it! Stuff, no matter how luxurious, how nice, great and wonderful, won’t last forever. Remember, you also can’t take it with you when you die!
- They boasted against the Lord. Besides having wealth and skill, they boasted about it. They loved to show off. They were prideful. God hates pride.
- Pride exalts a person over God. NOTHING should be exalted over GOD! The truth is that God allows us to work. He equips us with skills and tools to do the job. He enables us with skills and talents. We should thank Him all the time for being our Jehovah Jireh — the God who Provides!
- “Horn” = authority. In Revelation 13, the “beast” that John saw has 10 horns, which represent 10 kings of 10 nations.
How the Mighty Shall Fall!
The United States has had it good. However, our complacency is about to be shaken. We have exalted everything else but God. Yet, when disasters strike, we get the “we shall overcome” attitude, but keep God out of it. We trust in the government for funding and assistance. We’re trusting in the wrong god!
Here are a Few Words of Wisdom…
5 The Lord detests the proud;
Proverbs 16:5 NLT
they will surely be punished.
4 Riches won’t help on the day of judgment,
Proverbs 11:4 NLT
but right living can save you from death.
18 Pride goes before destruction,
Proverbs 16:18 NLT
and haughtiness before a fall.
4 Haughty eyes, a proud heart,
Proverbs 21:4 NLT
and evil actions are all sin.
Got the idea?
I love what Peter tells us to do…
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.
1 Peter 5:5-6 NLT
AT THE RIGHT TIME!
God’s timing is perfect! It may not coincide with OUR timing, but it’s always perfect. In HIS time. Furthermore, we have a reminder of that at the end of this chapter, where God Himself says…
“But I will restore the fortunes of Moab
Jeremiah 48:47 NLT
in days to come.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
“In the days to come.” Those are the “Latter Days”, the “Last Days“, and the distant future. It was way distant for the folks in Jeremiah’s time. Really close for us today.
Friend, God wants you to TRUST HIM, not anything of the world! Jesus told us…
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”
John 14:1-3 NLT
That, friend, is the Rapture! There’s a room for every one of us in Heaven. Jesus is there right now preparing it for each of His “chosen“, His, saved, born-again believers. When it’s all ready, when Father God says so, He’ll come down to the clouds and call us up to where He is. Maranatha! Come, Jesus Come!
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
Invite Jesus into Your Heart and Receive the Gift of Grace, Joy, Peace, and the Confident Hope of Eternal Life…
Revelation Song
My Hope is Built on Nothing Less
Soli Deo Gloria! To God Alone Be the Glory!
Top image by the Society of Biblical Literature from FreeBibleImages.org
