Moab’s pride
Jeremiah 48:1-47 (JDV)
Jeremiah 48:1 About Moab, this is what Yahveh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Tragedy to Nebo, because it is about to be destroyed; Kiriathaim will be put to shame; it will be taken captive. The fortress will be put to shame and dismayed!
Jeremiah 48:2 There is no longer praise for Moab; they plan harm against her in Heshbon: Come, let’s cut her off from nationhood. Also, Madmen, you will be silenced; the sword will follow you.
Jeremiah 48:3 A voice cries out from Horonaim, “devastation and a crushing blow!”
Jeremiah 48:4 Moab will be shattered; her little ones will cry out.
Jeremiah 48:5 For on the Ascent to Luhith they will be weeping continually, and on the descent to Horonaim will be heard cries of distress over the destruction:
Jeremiah 48:6 Flee! Save your lives! Be like a juniper bush in the open country.
Jeremiah 48:7 Because you trust in your works and treasures, you will be captured also. Chemosh will go into exile with his priests and officials.
Jeremiah 48:8 The destroyer will move against every town; not one town will escape. The valley will perish, and the plain will be annihilated, as Yahveh has said.
Jeremiah 48:9 Make Moab a salt marsh, for she will run away; her towns will become a desolation, without inhabitant.
Jeremiah 48:10 The one who does Yahveh’s business deceitfully is cursed, and the one who withholds his sword from bloodshed is cursed.
Jeremiah 48:11 Moab has been left quiet since his youth, settled like wine on its dregs. He hasn’t been poured from one container to another or gone into exile. So his taste has remained the same, and his aroma hasn’t changed.
Jeremiah 48:12 Therefore look, the days are coming – this is what Yahveh declares – when I will send cellarmen to him, who will pour him out. They will empty his containers and smash his jars.
Jeremiah 48:13 Moab will be put to shame because of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was put to shame because of Bethel that they trusted in.
Jeremiah 48:14 How can you say, “We are warriors– valiant men for battle”?
Jeremiah 48:15 The destroyer of Moab and its towns has come up, and the best of its young men have gone down to slaughter. This is the King’s declaration; Yahveh of Armies is his name.
Jeremiah 48:16 Moab’s calamity is near at hand; his disaster is rushing swiftly.
Jeremiah 48:17 Mourn for him, all you surrounding nations, everyone who knows his name. Say, “How the mighty scepter is shattered, the glorious staff!”
Jeremiah 48:18 Come down from glory; sit on parched ground, resident of the daughter of Dibon, because the destroyer of Moab has come against you; he has destroyed your fortresses.
Jeremiah 48:19 Stand by the highway and watch, resident of Aroer! Ask him who is fleeing or her who is escaping, “What happened?”
Jeremiah 48:20 Moab is put to shame, indeed dismayed. Wail and cry out! Declare by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed.
Jeremiah 48:21 “Judgment has come to the land of the plateau – to Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath,
Jeremiah 48:22 Dibon, Nebo, Beth-diblathaim,
Jeremiah 48:23 Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, Beth-meon,
Jeremiah 48:24 Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the towns of the land of Moab, those far and near.
Jeremiah 48:25 Moab’s horn is chopped off; his arm is shattered.” This is what Yahveh declares.
Jeremiah 48:26 “Make him drunk, because he has exalted himself against Yahveh. Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock.
Jeremiah 48:27 Wasn’t Israel a laughingstock to you? Was he ever found among thieves? You see, whenever you speak of him you shake your head.”
Jeremiah 48:28 Abandon the towns! Live in the cliffs, residents of Moab! Be like a dove that nests inside the mouth of a cave.
Jeremiah 48:29 We have heard of Moab’s pride, great pride, indeed – his insolence, arrogance, pride, and haughty heart.
Jeremiah 48:30 I know his outburst. This is what Yahveh declares. It is empty. His boast is empty.
Jeremiah 48:31 Therefore, I will wail over Moab. I will cry out for Moab, all of it; he will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
Jeremiah 48:32 I will weep for you, vine of Sibmah, with more than the weeping for Jazer. Your tendrils have extended to the sea; they have reached to the sea and to Jazer. The destroyer has fallen on your summer fruit and grape harvest.
Jeremiah 48:33 Gladness and celebration are taken from the fertile field and from the land of Moab. I have stopped the flow of wine from the winepresses; no one will tread with shouts of joy. The shouting is not a shout of joy.
Jeremiah 48:34 “There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they make their voices heard as far as Jahaz – from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah – because even the Waters of Nimrim have become desolate.
Jeremiah 48:35 In Moab, I will stop” – This is what Yahveh declares – “the one who offers sacrifices on the high place and burns incense to his gods.
Jeremiah 48:36 Therefore, my heart moans like flutes for Moab, and my heart moans like flutes for the people of Kir-heres. And therefore, the wealth he has gained has perished.
Jeremiah 48:37 Indeed, every head is bald and every beard is chopped short. On every hand is a gash and sackcloth around the waist.
Jeremiah 48:38 On all the rooftops of Moab and in her public squares, everyone is mourning because I have shattered Moab like a jar no one wants.” this is what Yahveh declares.
Jeremiah 48:39 “How broken it is! They wail! How Moab has turned his back! He is ashamed. Moab will become a laughingstock and a shock to all those around him.”
Jeremiah 48:40 You see, this is what Yahveh says: Notice! He will swoop down like an eagle and spread his wings against Moab.
Jeremiah 48:41 The towns have been captured, and the strongholds seized. In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman with contractions.
Jeremiah 48:42 Moab will be destroyed as a people because he has exalted himself against Yahveh.
Jeremiah 48:43 Panic, pit, and trap await you, resident of Moab. this is what Yahveh declares.
Jeremiah 48:44 He who flees from the panic will fall in the pit, and he who climbs from the pit will be captured in the trap, because I will bring against Moab the year of their punishment. This is what Yahveh declares.
Jeremiah 48:45 Those who flee will stand exhausted in Heshbon’s shadow because fire has come out from Heshbon and a flame from within Sihon. It will devour Moab’s forehead and the skull of the noisemakers.
Jeremiah 48:46 Tragedy to you, Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished because your sons have been taken captive and your daughters have gone into captivity.
Jeremiah 48:47 Yet, I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the last days. this is what Yahveh declares. The judgment on Moab ends here.
Moab’s pride
Moab’s judgment will humble it, and the nation will be destroyed and will no longer be a people. The reason is pride. Moab magnified himself against Yahveh. Just because you are winning does not mean that you are a winner. Real success is lasting success, and that only comes to those who fear and love Yahveh. The Moabites have learned that lesson. Have we?
Lord, we renounce our successes and acclaims. We trust in you, and seek your kingdom and righteousness. We will not magnify ourselves against you.
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