________________________ VANTAGE POINT: JEREMIAH INTRODUCTION • In the remaining chapters, God is judging the nations • Really, He is judging the gods of those nations… the idols, the demons that the nations are ruled by Chapter 48 God judges the Moabites • Moab was the result of incest • You remember that Lot’s daughters got Lot drunk and slept with him • Lot’s oldest daughter gave birth to Moab The god of the Moabites was Chemosh • The worship of Chemosh was introduced to Judah by Solomon • Solomon’s decision made the worship of Chemosh a part of the religious life of Israel for 400 years • The translation of Chemosh was destroyer or subdue and the worship of Chemosh included adultery, prostitution and incest • It also included infant sacrifice and for this the Lord is judging Moab Jeremiah 48:6–8 (NKJV) 6 “Flee, save your lives! And be like the juniper in the wilderness. 7 For because you have trusted in your works and your treasures, You also shall be taken. And Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, His priests and his princes together. 8 And the plunderer shall come against every city; No one shall escape. The valley also shall perish, And the plain shall be destroyed, As the LORD has spoken. • In 582 Nebuchadnezzar’s army invaded Moab • The reason for this judgment was Moab’s pride • They trusted in their works, their treasures, the geography of the land • But mostly they trusted in their god Chemosh to protect them In vs. 11 we get a sense that they were self-sufficient and secure in their own strength Jeremiah 48:11 (NKJV) 11 “Moab has been at ease from his youth; He has settled on his dregs, And has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, Nor has he gone into captivity. Therefore his taste remained in him, And his scent has not changed. Jeremiah © 2014 Holland Davis ________________________ VANTAGE POINT: JEREMIAH • Because they were so comfortable and self-sufficient, they weren’t prepared for what would come next Jeremiah 48:13–16 (NKJV) 13 Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, As the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence. 14 “How can you say, ‘We are mighty And strong men for the war’? 15 Moab is plundered and gone up from her cities; Her chosen young men have gone down to the slaughter,” says the 16 King, Whose name is the LORD of hosts. “The calamity of Moab is near at hand, And his affliction comes quickly. The Moabites were no match for the Babylonians • In Vs. 25 we are told that Moab’s horn was cut off and her arm broken • Both symbols of strength meaning Moab had no strength • In Vs. 26 they are compared to a drunk that is wallowing in their vomit • In Vs. 28 we are told that not even their mountain top that provided a natural fortress could stop the attack • We also see in vs. 28 that the symbol of a dove is used to describe Moab In Vs. 40 Babylon is described as an eagle and a dove is no match for an eagle But here is the amazing thing… Jeremiah weeps for Moab Jeremiah 48:31–33 (NKJV) 31 Therefore I will wail for Moab, And I will cry out for all Moab; I will mourn for the men of Kir Heres. 32 O vine of Sibmah! I will weep for you with the weeping of Jazer. Your plants have gone over the sea, They reach to the sea of Jazer. The plunderer has fallen on your summer fruit and your vintage. 33 Joy and gladness are taken From the plentiful field And from the land of Moab; I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses; No one will tread with joyous shouting— Not joyous shouting! I think we forget that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked Jeremiah 48:38 (NKJV) 38 For I have broken Moab like a vessel in which is no pleasure,” says the LORD. God doesn’t want anyone to perish, He wants all to live • So His promise to Moab is in the future Kingdom Age, when Christ is ruling and reigning on earth… God will restore Moab Jeremiah © 2014 Holland Davis ________________________ VANTAGE POINT: JEREMIAH Jeremiah 48:47 (NKJV) 47 “Yet I will bring back the captives of Moab In the latter days,” says the LORD. Thus far is the judgment of Moab. Chapter 49 describes God’s judgment against Ammon • Like the Moabites, the Ammonites were the product of Lot’s incest with his youngest daughter • The Ammonites moved into Israel’s territory when Assyria took the Northern Kingdom captive in 722 B.C. • It’s no different than the Palestinians moving into Israel’s territory while Israel was scattered The god of the Ammonites is addressed in Jeremiah 49:1 Jeremiah 49:1 (NKJV) 49 Against the Ammonites. Thus says the LORD: “Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then does Milcom inherit Gad, And his people dwell in its cities? The chief god of the Ammonites was Molech… referred to as Milcom • Molech means “king” and He was also one of the Canaanite gods and Israel was told not to sacrifice their children to Molech in Leviticus 18:21 • However, it was in the valley of Hinnon next to Jerusalem that Solomon built a temple to Molech and archaeologists have uncovered mass graves containing the bones of children throughout the valley of Hinnon Jeremiah 49:3–6 (NKJV) 3 “Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is plundered! Cry, you daughters of Rabbah, Gird yourselves with sackcloth! Lament and run to and fro by the walls; For Milcom shall go into captivity With his priests and his princes together. 4 Why do you boast in the valleys, Your flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? Who trusted in her treasures, saying, ‘Who will come against 5 me?’ Behold, I will bring fear upon you,” Says the Lord GOD of hosts, “From all those who are around you; You shall be driven out, everyone headlong, And no one will gather those who wander off. 6 But afterward I will bring back The captives of the people of Ammon,” says the LORD. • The Ammonites would boast that their god was stronger than the God of Israel, but God promised judgment would come Jeremiah © 2014 Holland Davis ________________________ VANTAGE POINT: JEREMIAH • Nothing they trusted in could prevent the invasion • But again we see the goodness of God in vs. 6 where God promises to restore the Ammonites when He restores Israel in the future kingdom In Vs. 7-22 God judges Edom • The Edomites were descendents of Esau • You remember that Esau sold his birthright to Jacob which caused hard feelings between the Jews and the Edomites • It was a Jewish Hatfield and McCoy type situation • The reason why God was judging Edom was their pride and rebellion against the Lord • They had cities like Petra, which they thought was impossible to invade • But God says they would be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah Jeremiah 49:14–18 (NKJV) 14 I have heard a message from the LORD, And an ambassador has been sent to the nations: “Gather together, come against her, And rise up to battle! 15 “For indeed, I will make you small among nations, Despised among men. 16 Your fierceness has deceived you, The pride of your heart, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Who hold the height of the hill! Though you make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down 17 from there,” says the LORD. “Edom also shall be an astonishment; Everyone who goes by it will be astonished And will hiss at all its plagues. 18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah And their neighbors,” says the LORD, “No one shall remain there, Nor shall a son of man dwell in it. • In Vs 19 we read that Nebuchadnezzar will come upon Edom like a lion jumping out of the thick bushes around the Jordan River • No one will be able to withstand him Jeremiah 49:21–22 (NKJV) 21 The earth shakes at the noise of their fall; At the cry its noise is heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold, He shall come up and fly like the eagle, And spread His wings over Bozrah; The heart of the mighty men of Edom in that day shall be Like the heart of a woman in birth pangs. The people of Edom were known for their great wisdom • They took pride in their ability to devise plans to solve problems Jeremiah © 2014 Holland Davis ________________________ VANTAGE POINT: JEREMIAH • But God says, they won’t be able to devise a plan that will save them from the Babylonian Invasion • The Bible teaches that pride goes before a fall • That when we rely upon our own strength, we are headed for disaster • But the prophet Micah tells us that this is what the Lord requires, to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly before our God • Edom’s pride led to their downfall But, God shows compassion for the widows and the orphans Jeremiah 49:11 (NKJV) 11 Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; And let your widows trust in Me.” In Vs. 23-27, God says He will judge Damascus • The message is short, but powerful • Damascus is the capital of Syria and they are guilty of crimes against humanity and their brutality to His people • When you look at the problems in Syria today, you see the same brutality against their own people Jeremiah 49:27 (NKJV) 27 “I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, And it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.” • Hadad is the god of storm, one of the key Syrian gods • Again, remember that as God is judging these nations He is actually judging the gods of the nations In Vs.