DIVINE GRIEF
Opening Prayer
Sovereign Lord, my heart’s desire is to draw closer to you. Help me to hear and apply what you would say to me in your Word today.
Read JEREMIAH 48:26-47
“Make her drunk,
for she has defied the Lord.
Let Moab wallow in her vomit;
let her be an object of ridicule.
27 Was not Israel the object of your ridicule?
Was she caught among thieves,
that you shake your head in scorn
whenever you speak of her?
28 Abandon your towns and dwell among the rocks,
you who live in Moab.
Be like a dove that makes its nest
at the mouth of a cave.
29 “We have heard of Moab’s pride—
how great is her arrogance!—
of her insolence, her pride, her conceit
and the haughtiness of her heart.
30 I know her insolence but it is futile,”
declares the Lord,
“and her boasts accomplish nothing.
31 Therefore I wail over Moab,
for all Moab I cry out,
I moan for the people of Kir Hareseth.
32 I weep for you, as Jazer weeps,
you vines of Sibmah.
Your branches spread as far as the sea[a];
they reached as far as[b] Jazer.
The destroyer has fallen
on your ripened fruit and grapes.
33 Joy and gladness are gone
from the orchards and fields of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wine from the presses;
no one treads them with shouts of joy.
Although there are shouts,
they are not shouts of joy.
34 “The sound of their cry rises
from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz,
from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah,
for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.
35 In Moab I will put an end
to those who make offerings on the high places
and burn incense to their gods,”
declares the Lord.
36 “So my heart laments for Moab like the music of a pipe;
it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth.
The wealth they acquired is gone.
37 Every head is shaved
and every beard cut off;
every hand is slashed
and every waist is covered with sackcloth.
38 On all the roofs in Moab
and in the public squares
there is nothing but mourning,
for I have broken Moab
like a jar that no one wants,”
declares the Lord.
39 “How shattered she is! How they wail!
How Moab turns her back in shame!
Moab has become an object of ridicule,
an object of horror to all those around her.”
40 This is what the Lord says:
“Look! An eagle is swooping down,
spreading its wings over Moab.
41 Kerioth[c] 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.
42 Moab will be destroyed as a nation
because she defied the Lord.
43 Terror and pit and snare await you,
you people of Moab,”
declares the Lord.
44 “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.
45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
the fugitives stand helpless,
for a fire has gone out from Heshbon,
a blaze from the midst of Sihon;
it burns the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls of the noisy boasters.
46 Woe to you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh are destroyed;
your sons are taken into exile
and your daughters into captivity.
47 “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in days to come,”
declares the Lord.
Here ends the judgment on Moab.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 48:32 Probably the Dead Sea
- Jeremiah 48:32 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts as far as the Sea of
- Jeremiah 48:41 Or The cities
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Your loving heavenly Father welcomes your prayers, both your thanksgiving and praise, and your concerns and struggles.What is God like? There are many places we can go in search of answers to that all-important question. In the 500s BC, God’s actions, the prophets, and their interpretation of events, gave foundational insight: insight that we gain from, too.
So, what can we glean from today’s passage? Moab lies desolate, food production has stopped, the whole land echoes with the sound of weeping, and all this at God’s instigation: ‘I have stopped the flow of wine’ (v 33); ‘I will put an end to those who make offerings’ (v 35); ‘I have broken Moab…’ (v 38). From this, we see God is holy and is angered by sin—especially idolatry. God is powerful and fearful. But there are other qualities shown here too, which prevent us from mischaracterizing him as cruel, sadistic, or cold.
Ezekiel tells us that God gets no pleasure from the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23), but here it goes much further than neutrality—the enactment of his righteous judgment causes him profound pain: ‘I wail … I cry out … I moan … I weep for you … my heart laments …’ (vs 31,32,36).
In Jesus, God has revealed to us his true nature, the fullness of himself in human form. And his crucifixion is the ultimate picture of God’s own suffering in the judgment of our sin (Isaiah 53:4-6).
Apply
In what ways do you see God at work in your life that help you know who he is?
Closing prayer
Thank you, Father, that I can have peace with you through the blood of Jesus, shed on the cross for me. (Colossians 1:20)
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