In Moab, is there a lesson about national arrogance? Let’s begin in Jeremiah 48.
Is this prophecy concerning the kingdom of Moab, east of the Dead Sea, the people descended from Lot’s son, Moab, known for Balak and Balaam, and child sacrifice to the idol Chemosh?
This message was given concerning Moab. This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: (Jer 48:1a NLT)
What specific cities east of the Dead Sea are mentioned?
“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. 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.
Listen to the cries from Horonaim, cries of devastation and great destruction. All Moab is destroyed. Her little ones will cry out. Her refugees weep bitterly, climbing the slope to Luhith. They cry out in terror, descending the slope to Horonaim. (Jer 48:1b-5 NLT)
Does trusting in national achievements and wealth save a country from devastation?
Flee! Save your lives! Be like the juniper bush in the wilderness. For, because you have trusted in your works and in your treasures, you also will be taken. Chemosh will go out into captivity, his priests and his princes together. The destroyer will come on every city, and no city will escape; the valley also will perish, and the plain will be destroyed, as Yahweh has spoken. (Jer 48:6-8 WEB)
What would God say to those who believe He should restrain from punishing a nation for its sins?
Give wings to Moab, and it would fly away because its towns lie in ruins, with no one left in them. Cursed is the one who is halfhearted in doing the Lord’s work. Cursed is the one who restrains the sword from bloodshed. (Jer 48:9-10 CEB)
Did either prosperity or a pagan god aid Moab in surviving a military attack?
Moab, you are like wine left to settle undisturbed, never poured from jar to jar. And so, your nation continues to prosper and improve. But now, I will send enemies to pour out the wine and smash the jars! Then you will be ashamed, because your god Chemosh cannot save you, just as Bethel could not help the Israelites. (Jer 48:11-13 CEV)
If the might and wealth of a nation like Moab could not save them, what about us?
“How do you say, ‘We are heroes and mighty men of war’? 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. The calamity of Moab is near at hand, and his affliction hastens swiftly. 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.’ (Jer 48:14-17 ESV)
If God wants to punish even a glorious nation for gross sins, who is going to stop Him?
Come down from glory; sit on parched ground, resident of the daughter of Dibon, for the destroyer of Moab has come against you; he has destroyed your fortresses. Stand by the highway and look, resident of Aroer! Ask him who is fleeing or her who is escaping: What happened? Moab is put to shame, indeed dismayed. Wail and cry out! Declare by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed. (Jer 48:18-20 HCSB)
Would God judge many cities in our nations today? Do we exalt ourselves against the Lord?
Judgment has come to the plateau: to Holon and Jahzah, and against Mephaath, Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon, against Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the towns in the land of Moab, both far and near. The strength of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken,” declares the Lord.
“Make him drunk for he has exalted himself against the Lord. Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he will be the object of mocking. Wasn’t Israel an object of mocking for you? Wasn’t he treated like a thief, so that whenever you spoke about him you shook your head in contempt? (Jer 48:21-27 ISV)
Did God encourage people to flee their homes, to live in caves for protection?
O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's mouth. (Jer 48:28 KJV)
Is pride a weakness in very rich countries? Does such arrogance really accomplish anything? Will God mourn Moab?
We have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud—Of his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance, and the exaltedness of his heart. I know his fury,” declares Yahweh, “But it is nothing; His idle boasts have accomplished nothing. Therefore I will wail for Moab, Even for all Moab will I cry out; I will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
More than the weeping for Jazer I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah! Your branches stretched across the sea, They reached to the sea of Jazer; Upon your summer fruits and your grape harvest The destroyer has fallen. So gladness and joy are gathered up From the fruitful orchard, even from the land of Moab. And I have made the wine to cease from the wine presses; No one will tread them with shouting, The shouting will not be shouts of joy. (Jer 48:29-33 LSB)
Will God punish a nation worshiping idols, break them like an unwanted vessel, and make them a laughing stock?
From the outcry at Heshbon to Elealeh, to Jahaz they have raised their voice, from Zoar to Horonaim, and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate. And I will put an end to Moab,” declares the Lord, “the one who offers sacrifice on the high place and the one who burns incense to his gods.
“Therefore My heart makes a sound like flutes for Moab; My heart also makes a sound like flutes for the men of Kir-heres. Therefore they have lost the abundance it produced. For every head is shaved bald, and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands, and sackcloth around the waists. On all the housetops of Moab and in its public squares there is mourning everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable vessel,” declares the Lord. “How shattered it is! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back—he is ashamed! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an object of terror to all around him.” (Jer 48:34-39 NASB)
Is God even more specific regarding the sins and punishment of Moab? Does defying the Lord eventually cause a nation’s destruction?
This is what the Lord says: “Look! An eagle is swooping down, spreading its wings over Moab. 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. Moab will be destroyed as a nation because she defied the Lord. Terror and pit and snare await you, you people of Moab,” declares the Lord. “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. (Jer 48:40-44 NIV)
Will God allow the descendants of Moab to return home in the latter days?
“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. Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh [their main idol] perish; For your sons have been taken captive, And your daughters captive. “Yet I will bring back the captives of Moab In the latter days,” says the Lord. Thus far is the judgment of Moab. (Jer 48:45-47 NKJV)
Does God warn against national pride and arrogance? Is there a difference between love of nation and national pride?
And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6 NLT)
In Moab, is there a lesson about national arrogance? You decide!
