Jeremiah 48:1-47 Moab’s Future

God speaks through Jeremiah of Moab’s future. It is one of utter destruction and wailing. Yet, God also promises that He will restore Moab in the latter days.

I had to go back and refresh my memory on the people of Moab. I wasn’t sure where this people came from or their interactions with Israel in the days of the exodus. I found that the people of Moab are descendants from Abraham’s nephew Lot. They came from encounters where Lot’s daughters got their father drunk enough that he had intimate relations with him. Each one took a night with their father and became pregnant. One gave rise to the nation of Moab and the other to the nation of Ammon. They were therefore relatives of Israel.

During Israel’s wandering, they asked permission to go through the territory of Moab but were refused entry. God wouldn’t let them fight to go through because they were “brothers.” Israel also asked Edom if they could go through their territory and were refused. These were even closer relatives as they were the sons of Esau. Both these people would receive judgment for their attitudes.

I also found that Israel’s last brush with idolatry while wandering happened in the plains of Moab; at Poer. The nation that enticed them was Midian and THEY paid dearly for their sin. Their sin was a trap that Baalaam set for Israel when God wouldn’t let him curse them. This encounter was also the event that killed off the last of the generation that left Egypt, except for Caleb, Joshua and Moses. After these deaths, God readied Israel to go in and take the Promised Land.

Let’s get back to Moab’s future, or actually its past for it is no more. God told Moab that ALL their cities would be destroyed. He lists several of the cities but I am NOT well versed in geography. I’m not sure how many of them are identified or even in existence today. That list is a little more than I want to tackle but if you are curious, I encourage you to look them up.

God calls for a “year of their punishment” (verse 44b). I don’t know if this is a literal year or a season. I haven’t found any reference to the length of time Moab was attacked before it fell. God said that those who escaped one danger would be thrown into another and another. The people of Moab were caried off and absorbed into other cultures, as the Philistines were.

As hard as God hits Moab, there is hope in their future. They haven’t recovered as a nation to date but God promised that they would. He ALWAYS keeps His promises. Is it possible that they will rise again as a nation in the end days; the time of the tribulation? Babylon will rise again at that time so it is conceivable that Moab will too.

One important thing I overlooked in Moab’s future is the reason for their fall. God says they fell because of pride. I was looking up their history, using Google, and found mention that they considered themselves better than Israel and Juday. God tells us that their sin is pride, so I will trust His judgment. They started as a people God had separated but they had not been disciplined as Israel and Judah were. Is it possible that they felt they didn’t need refinement because God didn’t send it to them. They are certainly in line to receive it ‘now’.

Their reliance on Chemosh was a major sin to God. This god required sacrifice of children which was and still is abhorrent to God. He would make this people ashamed of their dedication to Chemosh.

We are a people that ‘sacrifice’ unborn children to the god of convenience. We call it abortion. God calls it murder. It is also connected to our pride and selfishness. God will judge this as surely as He has with Moab.

The fact that He will restore Moab means that He can move us past our sin; even the worst sins. God can forgive any sin when we give it to Him. He gives us a new future. One with a promise. And He remembers our past no more. Let Him restore you too.

Father God, thank You for Your faithfulness and love. Thank You that You can bring me back from anywhere. Thank You that You love me enough to call out to me until I come back to You. I KNOW You will bring about judgment and justice. I’m MORE than grateful that Jesus paid the price of my judgment. I don’t deserve it but I’m grateful beyond words for it!