I’m so glad we’re together this evening to spend some time looking into God’s Word.   We come together to sit under the influence of God’s Word.   Many people in the world (when I say “in the world”, I’m saying outside of the church), but many people in the world are under the influence of other things.  I can stand in my own front yard, and I can smell this kind of skunky, smokey aroma wafting by.   I’m at the gas station getting gas and people pull up in their car and open their door to get out and a strong smell of skunk wafts out of their car.   So many people in the world are U.I. (under the influence).   We too are U.I., but we’re under the influence of God’s Spirit by reading His Word.   We aren’t being impaired, we’re being built up.   Jude 1:20 But you beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit.

We will be in Lamentations 5 today, but one of the things I want to focus on is the tie-in with being built up in our most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit.

Let’s pray…

Lamentations chapter 5

 New American Standard Bible version 1995

 1 Remember, O LORD, what has befallen us; Look, and see our reproach! 2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, Our houses to aliens. 3 We have become orphans without a father, Our mothers are like widows. 4 We have to pay for our drinking water, Our wood comes [to us] at a price. 5 Our pursuers are at our necks; We are worn out, there is no rest for us. 6 We have submitted to Egypt [and] Assyria to get enough bread. 7 Our fathers sinned, [and] are no more; It is we who have borne their iniquities. 8 Slaves rule over us; There is no one to deliver us from their hand. 9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives Because of the sword in the wilderness. 10 Our skin has become as hot as an oven, Because of the burning heat of famine. 11 They ravished the women in Zion, The virgins in the cities of Judah. 12 Princes were hung by their hands; Elders were not respected. 13 Young men worked at the grinding mill, And youths stumbled under [loads] of wood. 14 Elders are gone from the gate, Young men from their music. 15 The joy of our hearts has ceased; Our dancing has been turned into mourning. 16 The crown has fallen from our head; Woe to us, for we have sinned! 17 Because of this our heart is faint, Because of these things our eyes are dim; 18 Because of Mount Zion which lies desolate, Foxes prowl in it. 19 You, O LORD, rule forever; Your throne is from generation to generation. 20 Why do You forget us forever? Why do You forsake us so long? 21 Restore us to You, O LORD, that we may be restored; Renew our days as of old, 22 Unless You have utterly rejected us [And] are exceedingly angry with us.

This chapter, like the others from this book of Lamentations, is poetic.  We don’t get the full literary effect, since this poetry was written in the Hebrew language.   Each verse in this chapter (in Hebrew), begins with a word starting with the next letter from the Hebrew alphabet.   So the poem is an acrostic in Hebrew.  That’s why there are 22 verses, because the Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters.

Let’s break this down…

Verse 1 “Remember Oh LORD…”   Does Jeremiah truly believe that God needs to be reminded of his nation’s predicament?   Does Jeremiah think God doesn’t see their sad situation?   Of course not!    Is this then just a throwaway statement that Jeremiah is making?   No, I believe there are two reasons for Jeremiah’s statement: 1) I believe this is all about mindset.  Jeremiah is acknowledging that God is right in the middle of their desperate situation with them.   He’s saying, “God this is really bad, but God you are here in the midst of it with us”.

2) This is a reflection on You God.   We’re supposed to be your people.   Everyone is looking at us as representing You, and all these bad things are happening to us (albeit it’s our own fault for ignoring You and Your commandments).

Shouldn’t we be this same way in our lives: 1) know that God is with us in the midst of our trouble (and we will have trouble, we’re promised that by Jesus, whether we bring it on ourselves or not).   I have to get this through my thick skull.   Just because you’re in trouble does not mean God has abandoned you.  2) know that by associating ourselves with Jesus Christ, our lives are a reflection on God.   So often I come away from a situation or something I’ve said, and I have to face palm myself, because I have so poorly represented the LORD.

Verse 2 “Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers…”   An inheritance is something you kind of expect.   It might be a lot or a little, good or bad; it might even be nothing, but normally you kind of have an idea ahead of time what’s coming to you as an inheritance.   Judah had this expectation of blessing and peace because they had been promised that by God.   Let’s look at a few of God’s promises to Israel…

The foundational promise is called the “Abrahamic Covenant”, and it was given in Genesis 12:2-3

[Gen 12:2-3 NASB95] 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

The Land of Canaan was promised to Israel in Genesis 15: 18. 

[Gen 15:18 NASB95] 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:

There is the Mosaic Covenant which is based on Israel’s Obedience to the law in Deuteronomy 28:1-7.

[Deu 28:1-6 NASB95] 1 "Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 "All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God: 3 "Blessed [shall] you [be] in the city, and blessed [shall] you [be] in the country. 4 "Blessed [shall be] the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. 5 "Blessed [shall be] your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 "Blessed [shall] you [be] when you come in, and blessed [shall] you [be] when you go out.

The Davidic Covenant introduces a royal dimension to Israel's blessing, promising an everlasting dynasty through David's lineage. In 2 Samuel 7:16.

[2Sa 7:16 NASB95] 16 "Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever."'"

Lastly, we really get to what Jeremiah is referring to as did Isaiah, in terms of the nation of Israel receiving  future blessings, envisioning a time of restoration and peace. Isaiah 49:6 

[Isa 49:6 NASB95] 6 He says, "It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth."

So Jeremiah is saying, “God you promised us this inheritance; You promised!  And look at the situation we’re in!”

Verse 3 “orphans without a father, Our mothers are like widows”   Oh my goodness!   Their situation was serious.   This is no joke.   People have been killed.   This has been a deadly circumstance.   Okay.  True Jeremiah.   Life is precious.   Death is sobering.   But I want to encourage you.   We know this verse, Shane, and others have quoted this verse a lot, so here it comes again.

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said the same type of thing in his poem “A Psalm of Life”, Life is real! Life is earnest!   And the grave is not its goal;

Also as has been said, the funeral is not the finish line.

Our hope and future is not earthly.  It is heavenly and eternal. We have life that can’t be taken away.

Verse 4-6 4 We have to pay for our drinking water, Our wood comes [to us] at a price. 5 Our pursuers are at our necks; We are worn out, there is no rest for us. 6 We have submitted to Egypt [and] Assyria to get enough bread. 

Just by way of discussing topics from the scripture; I want to go straight to application for us in our day and age.   Israel experienced not only bondage and subjugation, but high prices due to destruction and diminished supply of goods.   This was part of the judgement from God.

This carries through to the end times.  We read in Revelation 6:5-6 (NASB95) 5 When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”

We see high prices and inflation right now in our day and our nation as a sign that we as a nation are under God’s judgement.   The high prices may not be as much because of lack of supply, but because of monetary and financial policies of our government over the course of many administrations.   We have spent beyond our means and devalued our currency by what’s called “Quantitative Easing” I.E. printing money out of thin air, so we all get the joy of paying more for less.  I was born in 1960.   I wanted to compare the value of a  dollar in 1960 to the value of a dollar today in 2026.   For example, gas was around 25 cents a gallon in 1960.   Today, gas is let's say about $4.75 a gallon. So today’s dollar is worth about a nickel compared to 1960.  I see this as a judgement from God on our country for the sins we’ve committed.   The sad thing about sin and judgement, is that everyone suffers.    Oh that our nation would repent, and confess our guilt to God.  Things could be so different on so many fronts.

Verse 7 Our fathers sinned, [and] are no more; It is we who have borne their iniquities.

We’ve talked about this concept before in Jeremiah 31:29-30 “In those days they will not say again,
‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’

30 But everyone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge.

There was this thought that maybe the children would be held responsible for their parents' sin.  In John 9:2 we see the disciples ask about this very thing, “And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” 

What was Jesus answer? John 9:3 Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 

We will each be held responsible for what we’ve done Romans 2:2-6 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 3 But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: 

God’s judgment is so complete that Matthew 12:36 (NASB95) “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.

Here we have meek mild nonjudgmental Jesus again speaking about God’s judgment and how to avoid it 

Matthew 21:43“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. 44“And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

Verses 8-13 Slaves rule over us; There is no one to deliver us from their hand. 9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives Because of the sword in the wilderness. 10 Our skin has become as hot as an oven, Because of the burning heat of famine. 11 They ravished the women in Zion, The virgins in the cities of Judah. 12 Princes were hung by their hands; Elders were not respected. 13 Young men worked at the grinding mill, And youths stumbled under [loads] of wood.

Under the judgement of sin, life is hard.   God did not originally intend for life to be hard, and yet hard work isn’t necessarily a bad thing. 

Genesis 2:15 (NKJV) Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

  You can build muscles through hard work.   You can build skills through hard work.   You can build memories and experiences through hard work.   You can build relationships through hard work (I think of mission trips where we go and do a building project; like in Mexico).

Verses 14-18 14 Elders are gone from the gate, Young men from their music. 15 The joy of our hearts has ceased; Our dancing has been turned into mourning. 16 The crown has fallen from our head; Woe to us, for we have sinned! 17 Because of this our heart is faint, Because of these things our eyes are dim; 18 Because of Mount Zion which lies desolate, Foxes prowl in it. 

Under judgement, stuff is taken away.   You know, when my sons were young, one of the worst punishments I could inflict on them was to take something away.   Okay, video games are gone.

It is because of sin that our physical prowess is stolen (our eyes grow dim).

It is because of sin (again maybe not something we’ve done), but our stuff gets stolen and misused (Mount Zion lies desolate and foxes prowl in it).   Have you ever had something stolen and later on gotten it back and it was all broken and misused.   I attended Christian schools through the ninth grade.   I remember getting things stolen from my locker, gym clothes, books…   and later on finding the items and they were all torn up and destroyed.   That is such a picture of what sin and judgement does.   It steals our rightful possessions.

Verses 19-22 You, O LORD, rule forever; Your throne is from generation to generation. 20 Why do You forget us forever? Why do You forsake us so long? 21 Restore us to You, O LORD, that we may be restored; Renew our days as of old, 22 Unless You have utterly rejected us [And] are exceedingly angry with us.

The things of this world are temporary, 

James 4:14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

but God is sovereign FOREVER.    When everything seems to fall apart (and everything in this world will fall apart), God is still in control.

This chapter is not only poetry, but it is in actuality a prayer.   This is a prayer for restoration and renewal.   You guys know that the word prayer (or pray) just means to ask, request, beseech, beg, plead.

I want to take some time and ask for prayer requests.   Is there something that has been stolen from you that you want to ask God to restore?   Is there something that has grown old that you want to ask God to renew?   Is there something you want to confess where  God has not been on the throne, and you want to ask God to take his rightful place on the throne of your life?

Cody

 As Julie and I returned home from Ivar's in Mukilteo, we noticed a guy sitting in his car parked on our street.  He had the door open and his leg draped out of the door and you could see he was wearing pajamas (wearing pajamas is not out of the ordinary, just an observation).

 When we got home I thought to myself, why don't I grab a Gospel Tract and go give it to that guy in his car, wearing pajamas.   The gospel tract I grabbed was a Lincoln One Trillion dollar tract.   So the "ice-breaker" I used was, "have you gotten one of these before?   It is a gospel tract.   Trivia question; How many zeroes in a trillion?   Are you familiar with the gospel?".

 Suffice it to say, I had a very nice extended conversation with Cody and he said he would consider the Gospel.

 God bless... 

Jeremiah 47-48

Jeremiah 47:1-7 (NASB95) 1 That which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh conquered Gaza. 2 Thus says the LORD: “Behold, waters are going to rise from the north And become an overflowing torrent, And overflow the land and all its fullness, The city and those who live in it; And the men will cry out, And every inhabitant of the land will wail. 3 “Because of the noise of the galloping hoofs of his stallions, The tumult of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels, The fathers have not turned back for their children, Because of the limpness of their hands, 4 On account of the day that is coming To destroy all the Philistines, To cut off from Tyre and Sidon Every ally that is left; For the LORD is going to destroy the Philistines, The remnant of the coastland of Caphtor. 5 “Baldness has come upon Gaza; Ashkelon has been ruined. O remnant of their valley, How long will you gash yourself? 6 “Ah, sword of the LORD, How long will you not be quiet? Withdraw into your sheath; Be at rest and stay still. 7 “How can it be quiet, When the LORD has given it an order? Against Ashkelon and against the seacoast-- There He has assigned it.”

Verse one “concerning (or against) the Philistines“, reminds me of where we started this section of chapters (in 46) which talks about the prophecies from the Lord through Jeremiah “to the nations”. We think of prophecies as being directed to God‘s people, specifically Israel, but even though in a certain sense, God divorced the nations or at least was estranged from the nations (Deut 32:8). God is not done with the nations. It’s not permanent that Israel was specifically the bride of the Lord. Not only that but God used other nations, unrighteous nature nations to prosecute his judgment against Israel, and God is righteous and just to allow those other nations to bring judgment against Israel… Yet God judges them as well. Psalm 89 Verse 14 says righteousness and judgment are the foundation of your throne.

And historically, the context for this prophecy against Philistia was before pharaoh attacked Gaza and according to several sources that I looked up pharaoh Neco sacked Gaza about 609 BC.

Verse 2 and 3 talk about judgment that came from the north against both Judah and Egypt when Babylon invaded and began to rule over that entire region, and it says that the fathers will not look back for their children, lacking courage.  The natural thing to do under normal circumstances would be for the fathers to surround and protect their children but this invasion with the noise and the chaos, and the brutality put such fear into the fathers that they forsook their normal instincts to protect their own kids and ran for their lives.

Then in verses 4 and 5, the Babylonians wouldn’t spare these people of the philistines' coastal territories, and I think if you underline the word “all” there, that’s the key to it. It’s all the philistine territories. And Tyre and Sidon which are the Phoenician cities would not be of any help against this judgment, so this kind of implies there was some sort of an alliance between the philistines and the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon.

Depending on the Bible version that you use, you might see a little different rendering of verse five.   Where it says “the remnant of the valley“, it might read “the remnant of the Anakim”. Particularly the revised standard version and a couple other others.  This difference is due to the NASB using the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible versus the RSV using the Septuagint. So what I’d like to point out is that in certain instances not a lot and not anywhere that would make a substantive difference in our doctrine, but there are certain instances where there are differences between various ancient manuscripts. Specifically, the Masoretic text is a different stream separate from the Septuagint text. The Septuagint happens to be the version of the Bible, the Old Testament that Jesus used whereas the Masoretic text came along later. I just give that to you as context and background.  

Now in verses six and seven, we are given this metaphor about the sword of God’s judgment. And the sword is both spoken to and heard from.   Obviously, this is a figure of speech here a poetic form where this inanimate object the sword is personified.  “Seeing the Lord has given it charge”, in other words, the sword of God‘s judgment is in command. So God‘s judgment was a sure thing it was a given, and it would be accomplished.

I want to do a little bit of a deep dive (or you could call it a rabbit trail) of something for us to think about.  The sword is being used as a metaphor for God‘s judgement.   Elsewhere the sword is symbolic of God’s word. That’s biblical. Ephesians 6:17b says the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12 says for the word of God is living an active and sharper than any two edged sword and piercing as far as the division between the soul and the spirit of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. so God’s word can cut; it is sharp. It’s a scalpel that can do surgery in our lives. Another metaphor for God’s word is that it’s like a mirror, see James chapter 1 verse 23 and 24 for if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror. For once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.  God’s word is like a seed.   First Peter chapter 1 verse 23 says for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable that is through the living and enduring word of God.  Jesus Himself used the metaphor of God’s word being represented by a seed in the parables of the sower, the wheat and the tares, and the mustard seed in Matthew 13.   God’s word is also like milk.  First Peter chapter 2 verse 2 says like newborn babes, long for the milk of the word so that you may grow in respect to salvation.   God’s word is like a lamp.  Psalm 119 verse 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.  God’s word is like a fire.  Jeremiah 23:29 is not my word like a fire, declares the Lord.  Another one where God’s word is like a hammer.  Jeremiah 23:29 again, like a hammer that shatters rock. Lastly, God’s word is like water, Ephesians 5:25-26 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.

My point in all of this is both the importance of God‘s word and the scope of the impact that God‘s word can have on our lives.  God‘s word can have a profound bearing on such a broad set of circumstances and aspects of our lives.

We quote this verse a lot here in this sanctuary, but I think it’s worth remembering 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NASB95) 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Last verse, I’d like to quote that kind of sums it up, Isaiah 55:11 (NASB95) So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

Now onto chapter 48 of Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 48:1-47 (NASB95) 1 Concerning Moab. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Woe to Nebo, for it has been destroyed; Kiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured; The lofty stronghold has been put to shame and shattered. 2 “There is praise for Moab no longer; In Heshbon they have devised calamity against her: ‘Come and let us cut her off from being a nation!’ You too, Madmen, will be silenced; The sword will follow after you. 3 “The sound of an outcry from Horonaim, ‘Devastation and great destruction!’ 4 “Moab is broken, Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress. 5 “For by the ascent of Luhith They will ascend with continual weeping; For at the descent of Horonaim They have heard the anguished cry of destruction. 

Moab was Israel’s neighbor to the east, on the other side of the Jordan. The ancestor of Moab came from the incestuous pairing of Lot and his daughter; after Sodom and Gamora got destroyed Lot’s daughters felt like there was not a man left on earth to be a husband to them so they took it into their own hands to get their dad drunk and get him to lay with them and they conceived. Nobody can say that the Bible is this whitewashed sanitized message. Then Jeremiah mentions the major cities of the nation of Moab that were gonna be overwhelmed by this judgment; Nebo, Kirjathaim, Heshbon, Horonaim and Luhith

Verses 6-9 “Flee, save your lives, That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness. 7 “For because of your trust in your own achievements and treasures, Even you yourself will be captured; And Chemosh will go off into exile Together with his priests and his princes. 8 “A destroyer will come to every city, So that no city will escape; The valley also will be ruined And the plateau will be destroyed, As the LORD has said. 9 “Give wings to Moab, For she will flee away; And her cities will become a desolation, Without inhabitants in them. 

 “Flee, save your lives!” Do you hear the urgency in that statement?

“because of your trust in your own achievements and treasures”, what an expression of complacency and self sufficiency. And I’m speaking to myself here, but I need to constantly guard against independence.  This thought that what I have attained or obtained will get me through. Just by way of a specific example I have a set of accounts; retirement accounts that I live off of now. Almost everything I have in terms of financial ability is on paper so to speak it can all vanish in an instant.   Even what we have that might be a physical asset can be stolen, or burned up.   Beware of the danger of self-sufficency.

“And Chemosh will go off into exile together with his priests and his princes” I thought this was interesting so not only would the people be taken off into exile, but the gods of the people would be included in that.  Like the other gods that were mentioned earlier, Baal and Molech; this god Chemosh was associated with child sacrifice. This deity was also related to fertility. Isn’t it something how people even in our own day and age can be so concerned about, focused on and enamored with fertility and yet at the same time so eager to sacrifice their own children?

Now verses 10-13 “Cursed be the one who does the LORD’S work negligently, And cursed be the one who restrains his sword from blood. 11 “Moab has been at ease since his youth; He has also been undisturbed, like wine on its dregs, And he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, Nor has he gone into exile. Therefore he retains his flavor, And his aroma has not changed. 12 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will send to him those who tip vessels, and they will tip him over, and they will empty his vessels and shatter his jars. 13 “And Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence. 

In talking about the condition and status of the nation of Moab, I just think it’s so interesting that the Lord uses this representation of Moab being like a bottle of wine.  Back in the day when they would make wine, they didn’t have maybe the same standards or the same facilities to be able to strain out the stems and the leaves when they were crushing the grapes to make wine so some of that junk would end up in the bottom of the bottle and it would just settle there.  Then when you were ready to serve the wine, you would pour it from one container into another leaving the dregs in the bottom of the bottle and the wine could go into a decanter from which you could pour it into the cups.  Moab was just a picture of a bunch of junk that had just settled and was there; that needed to be gotten rid of.

Do you see the association of god Chemosh with Israel there in the last part of verse 13.  This is a warning for us to not allow idolatry.

1 Corinthians 10:7 (NASB95) Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY.”

1 Corinthians 10:14 (NASB95) Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

Colossians 3:5 (NASB95) Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

1 John 5:21 (NASB95) Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

Matthew 6:24 (NASB95) “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

Verses 14 through 24, “How can you say, ‘We are mighty warriors, And men valiant for battle’? 15 “Moab has been destroyed and men have gone up to his cities; His choicest young men have also gone down to the slaughter,” Declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. 16 “The disaster of Moab will soon come, And his calamity has swiftly hastened. 17 “Mourn for him, all you who live around him, Even all of you who know his name; Say, ‘How has the mighty scepter been broken, A staff of splendor!’ 18 “Come down from your glory And sit on the parched ground, O daughter dwelling in Dibon, For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you, He has ruined your strongholds. 19 “Stand by the road and keep watch, O inhabitant of Aroer; Ask him who flees and her who escapes And say, ‘What has happened?’ 20 “Moab has been put to shame, for it has been shattered. Wail and cry out; Declare by the Arnon That Moab has been destroyed. 21 “Judgment has also come upon the plain, upon Holon, Jahzah and against Mephaath, 22 against Dibon, Nebo and Beth-diblathaim, 23 against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul and Beth-meon, 24 against Kerioth, Bozrah and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 

This section conveys two main things (I think): 

1. The calamity that’s about to come upon Moab
2. The utter completeness of the judgment that’s about to come upon them

And really one thing this speaks to the fact that there is really no comparison between the local deity of Moab versus the supreme and infinite God of all the Lord.

Verses 25 through 35, “The horn of Moab has been cut off and his arm broken,” declares the LORD. 26 “Make him drunk, for he has become arrogant toward the LORD; so Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock. 27 “Now was not Israel a laughingstock to you? Or was he caught among thieves? For each time you speak about him you shake your head in scorn. 28 “Leave the cities and dwell among the crags, O inhabitants of Moab, And be like a dove that nests Beyond the mouth of the chasm. 29 “We have heard of the pride of Moab--he is very proud-- Of his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance and his self-exaltation. 30 “I know his fury,” declares the LORD, “But it is futile; His idle boasts have accomplished nothing. 31 “Therefore I will wail for Moab, Even for all Moab will I cry out; I will moan for the men of Kir-heres. 32 “More than the weeping for Jazer I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah! Your tendrils stretched across the sea, They reached to the sea of Jazer; Upon your summer fruits and your grape harvest The destroyer has fallen. 33 “So gladness and joy are taken away From the fruitful field, even from the land of Moab. And I have made the wine to cease from the wine presses; No one will tread them with shouting, The shouting will not be shouts of joy. 34 “From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, even to Jahaz they have raised their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate. 35 “I will make an end of Moab,” declares the LORD, “the one who offers sacrifice on the high place and the one who burns incense to his gods. 

The reason for the judgment upon Moab, succinctly, was pride. They thought they were better than Israel (vs 25-28) 

The ultimate result of the judgement was that they would be brought low.  Shane spent most of the message last week speaking on this topic of pride so I don’t wanna spend a lot more time on it but just that there’s a difference between a good and valid pride in maybe something you’ve produced or accomplished or maybe something your kids have accomplished; you can be proud of your kids. But pride and arrogance are contrary to God‘s desire for our character. Conceit is something where I feel like I’m better than the next person.  I can tell you for sure I am no better than anyone else. I might be better off than some who don’t know the Lord and haven’t surrendered to him, but I’m no better than anyone else. Humility says we don’t bring anything to the table.   We don’t contribute anything to our salvation except for the sin that made it necessary.

Ok let’s finish this section of Jeremiah chapter 48; verses 36 through 42 “Therefore My heart wails for Moab like flutes; My heart also wails like flutes for the men of Kir-heres. Therefore they have lost the abundance it produced. 37 “For every head is bald and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands and sackcloth on the loins. 38 “On all the housetops of Moab and in its streets there is lamentation everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable vessel,” declares the LORD. 39 “How shattered it is! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back--he is ashamed! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an object of terror to all around him.” 40 For thus says the LORD: “Behold, one will fly swiftly like an eagle And spread out his wings against Moab. 41 “Kerioth has been captured And the strongholds have been seized, So the hearts of the mighty men of Moab in that day Will be like the heart of a woman in labor. 42 “Moab will be destroyed from being a people Because he has become arrogant toward the LORD. 43 “Terror, pit and snare are coming upon you, O inhabitant of Moab,” declares the LORD. 44 “The one who flees from the terror Will fall into the pit, And the one who climbs up out of the pit Will be caught in the snare; For I shall bring upon her, even upon Moab, The year of their punishment,” declares the LORD. 45 “In the shadow of Heshbon The fugitives stand without strength; For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon And a flame from the midst of Sihon, And it has devoured the forehead of Moab And the scalps of the riotous revelers. 46 “Woe to you, Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished; For your sons have been taken away captive And your daughters into captivity. 47 “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab In the latter days,” declares the LORD. Thus far the judgment on Moab.

This section really is an expression of God’s heart towards the nations.  His heart breaks for those who are alienated and estranged from him.  The section ends with hope but it’s filled with mourning.

I just wanna give you a view into my heart and my life lately, and it’s much along the same lines as something Shane expressed fairly recently. I feel like I’ve been surrounded with death .  Not just physical death but death to relationships . Sometimes we don’t see it coming, but circumstances will hit us and we will be faced with heartbreak and loss and sorrow.  It’s been just over a year since my dad passed away. Julie and I were faced with the loss of our dog recently. I didn’t realize that was going to be so painful. It’s just about the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through. In my own family‘s life, we’ve had some upset and discord recently. That has really brought about deep stress, and I’ve just been distraught over some things that have gone on in my own family. And yet believe it or not coming through all of that, I feel I have hope.   God has really given me peace, because like it says in verse 47 “yet I will restore the fortunes”.  I feel like God has been faithful where I have failed. God has been a comfort where I was in pain.  My prayer for you is that you will depend on the Lord through whatever trials and loss and failure and rejection. You might experience it in your own life. If you’ve gotten to a point where you feel like you just can’t go on; what just kept going through my mind was I’m dying here. You’re killing me. Just know that God himself is the light at the end of that tunnel.

We have eternity with our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ to look forward to:

John 14:2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.