Sin’s Captivity of Arrogant Pride

Jeremiah 48:26-47

26 "Make him drunk,
Because he exalted himself against the LORD.
Moab shall wallow in his vomit,
And he shall also be in derision.

27 For was not Israel a derision to you?
Was he found among thieves?
For whenever you speak of him,
You shake your head in scorn.
28 You who dwell in Moab,
Leave the cities and dwell in the rock,
And be like the dove which makes her nest
In the sides of the cave's mouth.

29 "We have heard the pride of Moab
(He is exceedingly proud),
Of his loftiness and arrogance and pride,
And of the haughtiness of his heart."

30 "I know his wrath," says the LORD,
"But it is not right;
His lies have made nothing right.
31 Therefore I will wail for Moab,
And I will cry out for all Moab;
I will mourn for the men of Kir Heres.

32 O vine of Sibmah! I will weep for you with the weeping of Jazer.
Your plants have gone over the sea,
They reach to the sea of Jazer.
The plunderer has fallen on your summer fruit and your vintage.

33 Joy and gladness are taken
From the plentiful field
And from the land of Moab;
I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses;
No one will tread with joyous shouting—
Not joyous shouting!

34 "From the cry of Heshbon to Elealeh and to Jahaz
They have uttered their voice,
From Zoar to Horonaim,
Like a three-year-old heifer;
For the waters of Nimrim also shall be desolate.

35 "Moreover," says the LORD,
"I will cause to cease in Moab
The one who offers sacrifices in the high places
And burns incense to his gods.
36 Therefore My heart shall wail like flutes for Moab,
And like flutes My heart shall wail
For the men of Kir Heres.
Therefore the riches they have acquired have perished.

37 "For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped;
On all the hands shall be cuts, and on the loins sackcloth—
38 A general lamentation
On all the housetops of Moab,
And in its streets;
For I have broken Moab like a vessel in which is no pleasure," says the LORD.

39 "They shall wail:
'How she is broken down!
How Moab has turned her back with shame!'
So Moab shall be a derision
And a dismay to all those about her."

40 For thus says the LORD:
"Behold, one shall fly like an eagle,
And spread his wings over Moab.
41 Kerioth is taken,
And the strongholds are surprised;
The mighty men's hearts in Moab on that day shall be
Like the heart of a woman in birth pangs.

42 And Moab shall be destroyed as a people,
Because he exalted himself against the LORD.
43 Fear and the pit and the snare shall be upon you,
O inhabitant of Moab," says the LORD.

44 "He who flees from the fear shall fall into the pit,
And he who gets out of the pit shall be caught in the snare.
For upon Moab, upon it I will bring
The year of their punishment," says the LORD.

45 "Those who fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon
Because of exhaustion.
But a fire shall come out of Heshbon,
A flame from the midst of Sihon,
And shall devour the brow of Moab,
The crown of the head of the sons of tumult.

46 Woe to you, O Moab!
The people of Chemosh perish;
For your sons have been taken captive,
And your daughters captive.

47 "Yet I will bring back the captives of Moab
In the latter days," says the LORD.
Thus far is the judgment of Moab.

The judgment of Moab included rescue from captivity to their sin as well.  They lifted themselves above God in their pride and worshiped false gods of man’s imagination, carved into their desired image of what they wanted to worship.  They looked down on and hated the people whom the LORD had chosen with a high minded heart full of pride and haughty arrogance with unrighteous anger that made nothing right.  God gave them their due punishment of unfruitfulness and took away their shouts of joy because they were unfounded and undeserved.  He would stop them from worshiping false gods on the high places with sacrifices and incense while mourning for them because they did not know or worship Him instead.  He had no pleasure in them for their actions and thoughts and broke them down in love to their shame to see their sorry state.  This He still does to “blast our gourds and lay us low” as John Newton wrote in his hymn, ‘I asked the Lord that I might grow.’  The Lord breaks us down to look up in repentance through faith to obtain mercy and grace and restore us with reconciling love.  Moab was made a derision and a byword of shame to look down on for her sin, but God in Christ give us reconciliation and honor in Christ’s righteousness.  Moab was destroyed as a people for their pride which is due to any nation which continues to turn away from Him in the pride of nationalism or narcissistic self-satisfaction.  Like Moab, we can only exhaust ourselves in running from accountability to Him and only run into the bondage of captivity to sin.  And just as Moab served their main false and lifeless god of no power whatsoever and face the consequences, so those running after their own handcrafted things of worship will only be led astray into captivity.  This is sin’s captivity of arrogant pride.  There is hope, however, just as there was for Moab.  The Lord promises to lead a remnant out of captivity to sin and death in time just as for all from out of every nation through His Son (Galatians 4:4-5) who is the fulfillment of His promises.