Jeremiah 48
COMMENTARY:
: 7 For because you have trusted in your works and in your treasures, you shall also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together. (982 “trusted” [batach] means to be confident, unsuspecting, to cause to rely, to have a strong confidence or reliance upon someone or something, or lead to believe.)
DEVOTION: Those who are not followers of the LORD trust in someone or something other than the LORD. This is a false trust because whatever they trust in will let them down.
Here we find that this nation that has hurt the children of Israel was trusting or relying on something other then the LORD. Their false gods or false trust was not going to help them in a time of trouble that was coming.
Too often even those who claim to be followers of the LORD start relying on other things like their health or money or other people instead of putting their full confidence in the LORD and turning to HIM every day.
This nation was not one that knew the LORD but they probably heard about the God of the children of Israel but didn’t think to find out more or to ask what the difference was between their false gods and the genuine God of Israel.
Today we find that there are people who even go to a Bible believing church but they still trust in themselves or someone else besides the LORD. It is sad but true. As you talk with them you gather that they are trusting in their money or influence to help them in the future instead of the LORD alone.
We all have to ask ourselves the question: Who are we trusting in to help us through all the difficult times we have in this life? Where are we going to spend eternity after we die?
CHALLENGE: Are you asking the right questions regarding your daily life and your relationship to Jesus Christ? If this has not entered your thinking then you need to start thinking these thoughts before it is too late!
: 11 Moab hath been at ease form his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed. (8105 “lees” [shemer] means dregs, to lead a quiet and tranquil life, aged wine or settlings.)
DEVOTION: Here we have a group of people who are descendants of Lot that have never gone into captivity. If you remember that they continually fought against the children of Israel which meant that they were magnifying themselves against the LORD.
They had lived at ease for so long that they thought no one or nothing could touch them. They were like wine that had never been moved from one container to another.
In the making of wine the grapes were crushed and placed in containers. They were to sit in those containers for just the right amount of time for all the refuse or sediment or dreg to settle on the bottom. Once this took place they were to be moved to another container before the refuse at the bottom took the sweetness of the wine away and turned it into a syrupy taste. This process took about forty days for the wine to ferment.
The children of Moab had settled on their sediment for too long. They were syrupy. They didn’t taste good in the mouth of the LORD because of their dependence on the false god Chemosh.
They apparently knew who the LORD was but didn’t honor HIM. Their rebellion brought judgment.
We can follow the example of the Moabites by magnifying ourselves over the LORD. We can tend to think that we can do without the LORD. We settle for living a life that is opposite of the way the LORD wants us to live. If we settle on the dregs HE has to judge us for our rebellion.
CHALLENGE: Continual growth in the LORD is necessary. We can’t settle on our past accomplishments. We have to move forward. There is no retirement age with the LORD. HE can stir us up at any age.
: 29 We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart. (1347 “pride” [ga’own] means exaltation, arrogance, majesty, pomp, or swelling.)
DEVOTION: The children of Moab were descendants of Lot. They were cousins to Israel but they were the enemy of Israel. Abraham brought his brother’s son Lot with him to the Promised Land. Lot picked the best of the land which was near the city of Sodom. God destroyed the cities of the plain including Sodom. Lot and his two daughters fled into a cave. One of the daughters had a son by Lot named Moab.
Two nations came of those descendants of Lot. Now we have one of these nations worshiping false gods in this chapter. They are also full of arrogance toward the ONE TRUE GOD. They depended on their works and wealth. They thought they could mistreat Israel and God would do nothing about it. They were mistreating their own relatives. God judged them for their relationship to Israel and HIMSELF.
One of the problems with every individual that comes into this world is that they can get an exalted opinion of themselves. Some people fight this opinion but others keep it all of their lives.
At the end of the chapter the LORD promises that HE will bring back the captivity of Moab in the latter days. They will be around for the end times. It is thought this is going to happen during the Millennial reign of Christ.
However, the LORD is telling Jeremiah that in the present they are going into captivity.
HE gives many reasons in this chapter but this verse seems to sum it up. They are full of themselves. They are arrogant. They are haughty. They are full of pomp. They are lofty.
When we look at the church today, do we see some of these tracts? When we look at some Christians, do we see some of these tracts?
We are to have a learning attitude. We need to be willing to listen to the LORD. If we think that we can do something ourselves, we are sadly mistaken. We have to be totally dependent on the LORD. HE is able to give us strength to face any challenge that comes our way. Praise HIS name.
CHALLENGE: Dependence is necessary for proper growth in the LORD. Our attitude affects our relationship to the LORD. Strive for the right attitude in our service to the KING!
: 42 And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he has magnified himself against the LORD. (1431 “magnified” [gadal] means greater, stronger, more important, boast, lifted high, to speak arrogantly, to speak proudly, or to act arrogantly.)
DEVOTION: The Bible teaches that pride comes before the fall. Here is a nation that has given the children of Israel a hard time most of their existence. They were near relatives as Lot was the founder of the race through his daughter. They have been fighting almost from the beginning. When the children of Israel came out of Egypt they gave them a hard time.
Now the children of Israel are being judged for their sin. They are going into captivity. The nation of Moab thought that they were safe but the LORD sent Jeremiah to inform them that HE was going to judge them at the same time.
However, they didn’t believe Jeremiah’s warning. They thought that they could be arrogant and the LORD was not going to deal with them. They were wrong. This is true of any nation that tries to be arrogant or boast that they don’t need the God of the Bible. We have many leaders in our nation who are thinking this thought. It is wrong thinking. Once we leave God out of our daily lives HE will show us that HE is still the creator of the world.
One day our nation is going to have to hear the judgment of God because of all that is happening in our nation. We have shed too much innocent blood in the form of babies that have been used for personal gain rather than loved by parents.
Judgment is the only way that some people will believe that there is a Creator of our world that needs to be worshiped by all. HE is longsuffering but don’t look at it as if HE doesn’t exist. HE does.
CHALLENGE: We as a group of believers need to show the world that we are genuine believers in what the Bible teaches before it is too late!!! We don’t want to see HIS wrath on our nation!!
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verses 1, 8, 10, 12, 15, 25, 26, 30, 35, 38, 40, 42-44, 47
LORD of hostsverses 1, 15
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign, Plural name)verse 1
God of Israelverse 1
Judgment of God on Moabverses 1-47
Lord has spokenverse 8
Work of the LORDverse 10
I will send to him (Moab) wanderersverse 12
Kingverse 15
Spoiler of Moab verse 18
I will weep for you with the weeping of Jazerverse 32
I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses none shall tread with shoutingverse 33
I will cause to cease in Moab – him that offers
in the high places, and him that burns
incense to his godsverse 35
I have broke Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasureverse 38
Behold (Moab) shall fly as an eagle and spread his wings over Moabverse 40
I will bring upon Moab, the year of their visitationverse 44
I will bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter daysverse 47
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Moab (descendants of Lot)verses 1-47
Wings to Moab
Settled on his lees
Shall be ashamed of Chemosh
Is spoiled
His chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter
Calamity of Moab his affliction hastens fast
Bemoaned
Wallow in his vomit
Shall be in derision
Leave the cities and dwell in the rock
Be like the dove that makes her nest in the sides of the hole’s mouth
His loftiness
His arrogancy
His pride
Haughtiness of his heart
His wrath
His lies
Joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field
Is in derision and a dismaying to all
Shall be destroyed form being a people
Devour the corners of Moab and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones
Judgment of Moab
City of Neboverses 1, 22
Kiriathaimverse 1
Misgahverse 1
Heshbonverses 2, 34, 45
shadow of
Madmenverse 2
Horonaimverse 3
Little ones have caused a cry to be heardverse 4
Luhithverse 5
Horonaimverse 5
Enemiesverse 5
Chemothverses 7, 46
Priests of Chemothverse 7
Princesverse 7
Spoilerverse 8
Perishverse 8
Cursedverse 10
Dibonverses 18, 22
Aroerverse 19
Arnonverse 20
Holonverse 21
Jahazahverse 21
Mephaathverse 21
Beth-meonverse 23
Keriothverses 24, 41
Bozrahverse 24
Cities of the land of Moab -far and nearverse 24
Horn of Moabverse 25
Pride of Moabverse 29
Kir-heresverse 31
Vine of Sibmahverse 32
Elealehverse 34
Jahazverse 34
Zoarverse 34
Horonaimverse 34
Kir-heresverse 36
Riches shall perishverse 36
Every head shall be baldverse 37
Every beard clippedverse 37
Lamentation on all the housetops of Moabverse 38
Flame from the midst of Sihonverse 45
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Result of sin: spoiled, confounded, dismayedverse 1
Evilverse 2
Madmanverse 2
Trusted in worksverse 7
Trusted in treasuresverses 7, 36
Worshiped false god: Chemoshverses 7, 13, 35, 46
Work of the LORD deceitfullyverse 10
Settled on leesverse 11
Israel worshiping golden calf: Beth-elverse 13
Confidence in false godsverses 13, 35
Drunkenverse 26
Magnified themselves against the LORDverses 26, 42
Thievesverse 27
Prideverse 29
Loftinessverse 29
Arrogancyverse 29
Haughtinessverse 29
Liesverse 30
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins
Joyverses 27, 33
Gladnessverse 33
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Israelverses 1, 13, 27
Shall be ashamed of Bethel their confidenceverse 13
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Latter daysverse 47
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