Jeremiah 48, Oracles Against the Nations: A Message for Moab

You will note that the oracle against Moab is much longer than that against Philistia. And unlike Philistia, many reasons are given by Yahweh for Moab’s judgment. Moab was the product of the incestuous relationship of Lot and his oldest daughter (Genesis 19:37). Her son was the beginning of this nation. They were relatives of Israel, but often at odds with Israel, like when Israel sought passage through Moab to get to the promised land of Canaan (Numbers 22). King David’s great grandmother was a Moabite (Ruth 4). Israel had at times subjected Moab (1 Samuel 14; 2 Samuel 8).

48 Concerning Moab:

This is what Yahweh Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

“Woe to Nebo, for it will be ruined. Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured; the stronghold will be disgraced and shattered. ² Moab will be praised no more; in Heshbon people will plot her downfall: ‘Come, let us put an end to that nation.’ You, the people of Madmen, will also be silenced; the sword will pursue you. ³ Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim, cries of great havoc and destruction. ⁴ Moab will be broken; her little ones will cry out. ⁵ They go up the hill to Luhith, weeping bitterly as they go; on the road down to Horonaim anguished cries over the destruction are heard. ⁶ Flee! Run for your lives; become like a bush in the desert. ⁷ Since you trust in your deeds and riches, you too will be taken captive, and Chemosh will go into exile, together with his priests and officials. ⁸ The destroyer will come against every town, and not a town will escape. The valley will be ruined and the plateau destroyed, because Yahweh has spoken. ⁹ Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste; her towns will become desolate, with no one to live in them.

The various towns (Madmen is a town, not a tv show, and its name sounds like the Hebrew ‘must be silenced’) are victims of the coming invasion. Everyone will be running for their lives, fleeing into the wilderness, becoming like desert bushes, alone and forlorn. Their sin is two-fold. They trust in their material wealth and they trust in false gods. Chemosh was Moab’s primary god, a god of war. But he will go into exile with his people. Moab’s ground will be salted to ruin it.

¹⁰ “A curse on anyone who is lax in doing Yahweh’s work! A curse on anyone who keeps their sword from bloodshed!

¹¹ “Moab has been at rest from youth, like wine left on its dregs, not poured from one jar to another—she has not gone into exile. So she tastes as she did, and her aroma is unchanged. ¹² But days are coming,” declares Yahweh, when I will send men who pour from pitchers, and they will pour her out; they will empty her pitchers and smash her jars. ¹³ Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, as Israel was ashamed when they trusted in Bethel.

¹⁴ “How can you say, ‘We are warriors, men valiant in battle’? ¹⁵ Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded; her finest young men will go down in the slaughter,” declares the King, whose name is Yahweh Almighty. ¹⁶ “The fall of Moab is at hand; her calamity will come quickly. ¹⁷ Mourn for her, all who live around her, all who know her fame; say, ‘How broken is the mighty scepter, how broken the glorious staff!’

Moab was famous for its wine and for its valiant warriors. Moab was like consistent wine carefully dealt with, experiencing peace when many around her didn’t, but now she will be poured out violently. Her mighty warriors will be utterly defeated.

¹⁸ “Come down from your glory and sit on the parched ground, you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon, for the one who destroys Moab will come up against you and ruin your fortified cities. ¹⁹ Stand by the road and watch, you who live in Aroer. Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping, ask them, ‘What has happened?’ ²⁰ Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered. Wail and cry out! Announce by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed. ²¹ Judgment has come to the plateau—to Holon, Jahzah and Mephaath, ²² to Dibon, Nebo and Beth Diblathaim, ²³ to Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul and Beth Meon, ²⁴ to Kerioth and Bozrah—to all the towns of Moab, far and near. ²⁵ Moab’s horn is cut off; her arm is broken,” declares Yahweh. ²⁶ “Make her drunk, for she has defied Yahweh. 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 Yahweh, “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; they reached as far as 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.

Moab’s arrogance was legendary. It led her to “defy Yahweh” and scorn Israel when she was being subjected to Babylon. But the irony is that she too will be subjected to Babylon, her boasting amounting to nothing, and all joy will cease in her borders.

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 Yahweh. 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 Yahweh. 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.”

Despite Yahweh’s wrath against Moab, He also has compassion on her. He does not delight in necessary judgment.

⁴⁰ This is what Yahweh says: “Look! An eagle is swooping down, spreading its wings over Moab. ⁴¹ Kerioth 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 Yahweh. ⁴³ Terror and pit and snare await you, you people of Moab,” declares Yahweh. 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 Yahweh.

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 Yahweh.

Here ends the judgment on Moab.

Despite this cataclysmic judgment (a judgment predicted by Balaam all those years ago, Numbers 21:28), a day is coming, the days of the Messiah (“days to come”) when Moab will be restored to her land. As with Israel, in the midst of judgment there is promise.

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Discussion Questions:

1. What country near your own would you consider that you are somewhat related to?
2. Is your country guilty of any of the sins of Moab?
3. Why do you think Yahweh promises restoration to Moab and not to Philistia?