Read Jeremiah 48
A Message About Moab
48 Concerning Moab:
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured;
the stronghold will be disgraced and shattered.
2 Moab will be praised no more;
in Heshbon people will plot her downfall:
‘Come, let us put an end to that nation.’
You, the people of Madmen, will also be silenced;
the sword will pursue you.
3 Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim,
cries of great havoc and destruction.
4 Moab will be broken;
her little ones will cry out.
5 They go up the hill to Luhith,
weeping bitterly as they go;
on the road down to Horonaim
anguished cries over the destruction are heard.
6 Flee! Run for your lives;
become like a bush in the desert.
7 Since you trust in your deeds and riches,
you too will be taken captive,
and Chemosh will go into exile,
together with his priests and officials.
8 The destroyer will come against every town,
and not a town will escape.
The valley will be ruined
and the plateau destroyed,
because the Lord has spoken.
9 Put salt on Moab,
for she will be laid waste;
her towns will become desolate,
with no one to live in them.
A curse on anyone who keeps their sword from bloodshed!
like wine left on its dregs,
not poured from one jar to another—
she has not gone into exile.
So she tastes as she did,
and her aroma is unchanged.
12 But days are coming,”
declares the Lord,
“when I will send men who pour from pitchers,
and they will pour her out;
they will empty her pitchers
and smash her jars.
13 Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh,
as Israel was ashamed
when they trusted in Bethel.
men valiant in battle’?
15 Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded;
her finest young men will go down in the slaughter,”
declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.
16 “The fall of Moab is at hand;
her calamity will come quickly.
17 Mourn for her, all who live around her,
all who know her fame;
say, ‘How broken is the mighty scepter,
how broken the glorious staff!’
and sit on the parched ground,
you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon,
for the one who destroys Moab
will come up against you
and ruin your fortified cities.
19 Stand by the road and watch,
you who live in Aroer.
Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping,
ask them, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered.
Wail and cry out!
Announce by the Arnon
that Moab is destroyed.
21 Judgment has come to the plateau—
to Holon, Jahzah and Mephaath,
22 to Dibon, Nebo and Beth Diblathaim,
23 to Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,
24 to Kerioth and Bozrah—
to all the towns of Moab, far and near.
25 Moab’s horn is cut off;
her arm is broken,”
declares the Lord.
for she has defied the Lord.
Let Moab wallow in her vomit;
let her be an object of ridicule.
27 Was not Israel the object of your ridicule?
Was she caught among thieves,
that you shake your head in scorn
whenever you speak of her?
28 Abandon your towns and dwell among the rocks,
you who live in Moab.
Be like a dove that makes its nest
at the mouth of a cave.
how great is her arrogance!—
of her insolence, her pride, her conceit
and the haughtiness of her heart.
30 I know her insolence but it is futile,”
declares the Lord,
“and her boasts accomplish nothing.
31 Therefore I wail over Moab,
for all Moab I cry out,
I moan for the people of Kir Hareseth.
32 I weep for you, as Jazer weeps,
you vines of Sibmah.
Your branches spread as far as the sea;
they reached as far as Jazer.
The destroyer has fallen
on your ripened fruit and grapes.
33 Joy and gladness are gone
from the orchards and fields of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wine from the presses;
no one treads them with shouts of joy.
Although there are shouts,
they are not shouts of joy.
from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz,
from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah,
for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.
35 In Moab I will put an end
to those who make offerings on the high places
and burn incense to their gods,”
declares the Lord.
36 “So my heart laments for Moab like the music of a pipe;
it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth.
The wealth they acquired is gone.
37 Every head is shaved
and every beard cut off;
every hand is slashed
and every waist is covered with sackcloth.
38 On all the roofs in Moab
and in the public squares
there is nothing but mourning,
for I have broken Moab
like a jar that no one wants,”
declares the Lord.
39 “How shattered she is! How they wail!
How Moab turns her back in shame!
Moab has become an object of ridicule,
an object of horror to all those around her.”
spreading its wings over Moab.
41 Kerioth will be captured
and the strongholds taken.
In that day the hearts of Moab’s warriors
will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
42 Moab will be destroyed as a nation
because she defied the Lord.
43 Terror and pit and snare await you,
you people of Moab,”
declares the Lord.
44 “Whoever flees from the terror
will fall into a pit,
whoever climbs out of the pit
will be caught in a snare;
for I will bring on Moab
the year of her punishment,”
declares the Lord.
the fugitives stand helpless,
for a fire has gone out from Heshbon,
a blaze from the midst of Sihon;
it burns the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls of the noisy boasters.
46 Woe to you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh are destroyed;
your sons are taken into exile
and your daughters into captivity.
in days to come,”
declares the Lord.
Go Deeper
In this chapter we read of God’s judgment on the people of Moab for their trust in themselves and their god Chemosh (v. 7).
The people of Israel have a storied history with the Moabites, their cousins to the east of the Dead Sea. We first see the Moabites mentioned in Genesis 19. Abraham’s cousin Lot escaped God’s judgment on Sodom. Lot’s daughters got their father drunk and conceived two children respectively, Moab and Ben-ammi. These boys would be the descendants of the Moabites and the Ammonites. In Number 21, while in the wilderness, the Israelites camped in the plains of Moab. King Balak summons Balaam to curse the nation of Israel. God doesn’t allow this to happen, but instead speaks a curse over Moab through Balaam (Numbers 24:17). This chapter in Jeremiah shows us that Balaam’s prophecy against Moab will come to fruition.
The reasons for this judgment are still applicable to us today. We see in verse 7 that they trusted in their “own works and treasures”. It says in verse 29 that the Moabites exhibited great pride and haughtiness. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall”. God has gifted us with wisdom to avoid the same pitfalls as those that have gone before us. We are so easily tempted to do the things that lead to death. Some of us tend to take pride in our cars, clothes, or our children. Others of us in our job title, neighborhood, or our abilities. Tim Keller once said, “Idolatry happens when we take good things and make them ultimate.”
These same sins of pride and self reliance can take us out just as it did to Moab and we can become a “horror to all that are around him” (v. 39). The antidote to this is to humbly come before Jesus and ask Him to reveal any sin that is within us, confess those things, and repent.
Amidst all of the judgment to come to Moab, God’s mercy is still evident. In verse 47, He promises that He will restore the fortunes of Moab. He offers us the same grace and mercy. While we were still sinners Christ died for us and because of that we have newness in life and can live in a right relationship with God.
Questions
- How do you trust in your own works and treasure?
- What sins do you need to confess to your community?
- What did you learn about God in today’s passage?
Keep Digging
What is the significance of Moab in the Bible? Check out this article from GotQuestions.org!
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4 thoughts on “Jeremiah 48”
I noted 6 specific sins recorded of the Moabites:
•pride (an excessive love of one’s own excellence)
•arrogance (being proud of self and insulting others)
•insolence (egotistical with a superior attitude)
•conceit (exaggerated opinion of one’s worth)
•haughtiness (considering oneself above God and others)
•defiance (resisting & disobeying to what is right)
The Moabites followed the god Chemosh, one of the most heinous of gods whose worship included the cringeworthy practice of child sacrifice. Pondering & meditating on this chapter makes me wonder if America is all that far removed from Moab? May God break our hearts for what breaks his.
Amen
Unfortunately so true
Complacency. Complacency – a feeling of calm satisfaction with your own abilities or situation that prevents you from trying harder. Cambridge Dictionary
God is so patient with these folks and with us. This should bring us to our knees and compel us to totally surrender. Enter complacency. When God ask/tells us to do something but we are satisfied with where we are and what we are doing, we refuse. My cry for today is to worship the Creator, today, and to be content for these minutes to do His will. Yesterday is over, and tomorrow is not promised,, but right now is the time to be all in. Be the Christ that people can see. Walk the walk and speak His words that as you have rested in Him, He will give you.
God thank You for being able to take refuge in You. Thank You for sheltering in Your wings, so that I can be recharged for this day. God I am uncertain in most all things, but one thing I am certain about is You. Thank You that I will do the task set before me today, with joy and gladness. I know You are fighting battles for me that I do not know about and fighting also for the ones I do know. I am thankful for Your refuge. Stop, be still, be quiet, listen to hear, obey in love to do in these minutes of this day for Your glory, honor, and joy in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!
Thanks for the insights in “Go Deeper” as well as the comments in “Thoughts On . . .”. Very helpful when I’m trying to figure out some of these chapters and their applicability to current life!
I will reflect on this today:
7 “Since you trust in your deeds and riches,
you too will be taken captive,“