A Message to Moab - Jeremiah 48:11-13
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"The people of Moab have never known trouble.
They are like WINE left to settle;
they have never been poured from one jar to another.
They have not been taken into captivity.
So they TASTE as they did before, and their SMELL has not changed.
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"A time is coming," says the Lord,
"When I will SEND people to pour you from your jars.
and smash her jugs.
The people of Israel trusted that god in the town of Bethel,
and they were ashamed when there was no help.
In the same way Moab will be ashamed of their god Chemosh."
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"The Dregs" in the Wine
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SITUATION Since the Book of Jeremiah is not arranged chronologically, this section of Scripture would historically follow the events of Jeremiah 25. Jeremiah anticipated Nebuchadnezzar's conquest (25:9).
OBSERVATION God not only ruled Judah, but all nations. God doesn't just rule over Christians, but over the whole world.
INSPIRATION You and I are called upon, at times, to announce coming judgment. There is no way that we can be faithful to God and avoid the judgmental aspects of our ministry. We must recognize that sin must be dealt with. It is impossible to be biblical and at the same time sugar-coat the message of the Gospel. The Gospel cuts right into the heart of man and into his sinfulness. As Oswald Chambers has put it, "If there is a no tragedy at the back of human life, no gap between God and man, then the Redemption of Jesus Christ is 'much ado about nothing.''
. . . When you and I are called upon to minister for God, one part of our message has to be to pluck up and to break down, to overthrow and destroy, to announce the coming judgment of God against sin.
Jeremiah's message did not end there. He was also called upon to build and to plant. There was also the message of mercy. Whenever God announces judgment, there is always the great truth that righteousness and peace have met together. There is the merciful aspect of God. Mercy and truth have kissed each other, because those two things come together in the Cross of Jesus Christ.
. . . You and I are called upon, in our ministry in witnessing to others, to make clear the judgment of God against sin and the mercy of God who has provided the way out of that sin. (From Words of Fire, Rivers of Tears by David M. Howard)
APPLICATION Is there someone God wants you to witness to? As he brings people into your life, take time to get to know them. Let them get to know you. As you become friends, ask God to show you the right time to share Christ with them. And let your life portray the truth of what you say.
EXPLORATION God's Power -- Job 38-41; God's Justice and Righteousness -- Romans 3:9-25. Christian Witness--Romans 8:35-39; Ephesians 3:20-21.
The Devotional Bible - Experiencing the Heart of Jesus; Max Lucado General Editor, New Century Version, Thomas Nelson Publishers.
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