Judgment on Moab

Jeremiah 48:1-25 

1 Against Moab.
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
"Woe to Nebo!
For it is plundered,
Kirjathaim is shamed and taken;
The high stronghold is shamed and dismayed—

2 No more praise of Moab.
In Heshbon they have devised evil against her:
'Come, and let us cut her off as a nation.'
You also shall be cut down, O Madmen!
The sword shall pursue you;

3 A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim:
'Plundering and great destruction!'

4 "Moab is destroyed;
Her little ones have caused a cry to be heard;
5 For in the Ascent of Luhith they ascend with continual weeping;
For in the descent of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.

6 "Flee, save your lives!
And be like the juniper in the wilderness.
7 For because you have trusted in your works and your treasures,
You also shall be taken.
And Chemosh shall go forth into captivity,
His priests and his princes together.

8 And the plunderer shall come against every city;
No one shall escape.
The valley also shall perish,
And the plain shall be destroyed,
As the LORD has spoken.

9 "Give wings to Moab,
That she may flee and get away;
For her cities shall be desolate,
Without any to dwell in them.

10 Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD deceitfully,
And cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood.

11 "Moab has been at ease from his youth;
He has settled on his dregs,
And has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
Nor has he gone into captivity.
Therefore his taste remained in him,
And his scent has not changed.

12 "Therefore behold, the days are coming," says the LORD,
"That I shall send him wine-workers
Who will tip him over
And empty his vessels
And break the bottles.

13 Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh,
As the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.

14 "How can you say, We are mighty
And strong men for the war'?
15 Moab is plundered and gone up from her cities;
Her chosen young men have gone down to the slaughter," says the King,
Whose name is the LORD of hosts.

16 "The calamity of Moab is near at hand,
And his affliction comes quickly.
17 Bemoan him, all you who are around him;
And all you who know his name,
Say, How the strong staff is broken,
The beautiful rod!'

18 "O daughter inhabiting Dibon,
Come down from your glory,
And sit in thirst;
For the plunderer of Moab has come against you,
He has destroyed your strongholds.

19 O inhabitant of Aroer,
Stand by the way and watch;
Ask him who flees
And her who escapes;
Say, 'What has happened?'

20 Moab is shamed, for he is broken down.
Wail and cry!
Tell it in Arnon, that Moab is plundered.
21 "And judgment has come on the plain country:
On Holon and Jahzah and Mephaath,
22 On Dibon and Nebo and Beth Diblathaim,
23 On Kirjathaim and Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,
24 On Kerioth and Bozrah,
On all the cities of the land of Moab,
Far or near.

25 The horn of Moab is cut off,
And his arm is broken," says the LORD.

Moab was judged for their idols and for being the enemy of God’s people.  Their cities were plundered and great shame covered their former pride in their ungodliness and lifeless idols which they had worshiped and put above the living God of Israel.  Their just punishment was the sword of destruction and constant tears of loss and sadness in their divine sentence.  Because they had trusted in their works and treasures, they were to be taken away from even what little they had to rely on, much as even now the ungodly who reject Christ seek their own objects of worship like dead saints and statues and their supposed good works to earn divine favor.  They refuse God’s Son and divine favor of His grace by refusing to repent and trust God’s work and worship Him alone.  Like Moab with Chemosh the subduer, they go willingly in subjection to an idol of their own imagination into the captivity (Revelation 13:10) of sin rather than be a slave to righteousness.  Nobody will escape God’s just sentence, and those who do God’s work deceitfully are cursed for not dealing with evil, a proverb good for us as well as the Moabites.  Moab’s ease and plenty would be taken away as Titus 3:3 reminds us of the end we also all faced when we used to be deceived and living sinfully apart from Jesus Christ.  Moab would be ashamed of their false god as those in cults and false religions will always be when they face the Lord after death when they are brought down from their own glory into divine accountability.  All will be permanently cut off from grace after death; there is no second chance to find salvation after we are buried as some erroneously would have us believe (Hebrews 9:27-28).  May we learn from the sin of nations like Moab and serve the living God instead of our ineffective and feeble works (Romans 3:23) and false idols to reject His honor and glory in who we live for.  Amen.