JEREMIAH 48-492010 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Jeremiah 48-49

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2010.

Well, this morning we'll be looking at, it's not morning, this evening we'll be looking at Jeremiah chapter 48 as well as chapter 49 and we'll be moving a little bit quickly. You know, Larry was talking about the book of Numbers and all of the judgment that was happening there and he has the luxury of picking and speaking from Psalms instead of that, but I don't have that luxury. We go verse by verse, chapter by chapter and tonight is all about judgment.

Are you ready to talk about judgment? It's really about God's judgment on nations surrounding the nation of Judah. We saw it last week as well, and we'll see it in the next week or two as we continue on in the book of Jeremiah. And so we're going to move a little bit quickly, looking at the different nations that God is pronouncing judgment upon, touching on a little bit of details about those nations that we can learn a little bit about who God is.

You know, as we look at the subject of judgment, sometimes people can get uncomfortable because sometimes

Well, sometimes we have the misconception that God is angry, that he talks so much about judgment because it's one of his favorite subjects, and he likes to pour out judgment upon people and things like that. But as we look at these things, we need to understand a couple of things. First of all, God brings judgment, and it's something that you and I as believers in Jesus Christ should rejoice in.

It's something that we should find comfort in, that God is holy and just and righteous, and He does not allow injustice. It would not be right for God to be unjust. We would not be satisfied with a God that was unjust. We would be really upset, and we would not be able to trust a God that is unjust.

But as we look at these nations that God is pronouncing judgment upon, we can understand and be reminded that God is righteous and just. And what He does is right and He does not allow nations that rebel against Him to go unpunished. Another thing that we can remember is that God is bigger than nations. He's bigger than kingdoms. He...

full authority. He rules on high. He is sovereign and He is on the throne. And so we can trust that big or small, God is in control and He can handle the injustices that we see, the difficulties or the wrongs that are done by nations or by criminals or by

by societies or by nationalities, God is able to take care of those. He does not let them slide. They don't get away with it. Justice will be done. Also, as we look at the subject of judgment, we can rest assured that

that Christ received our full judgment, the payment and the penalty that we deserved for us upon the cross. And that's very clearly taught throughout the scriptures. And so we don't have to be concerned that God is out to get us. We need to know that God does not enjoy judgment, but he does bring judgment because he is righteous God.

And it's something that causes us to rest and trust in a righteous and holy and perfect God who does not allow injustice. So we start out looking at the nation of Moab. Chapter 48 verses 1 through 5 says this. Against Moab.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Woe to Nebo, for it is plundered. Kirjathim is shamed and taken. The high stronghold is shamed and dismayed. No more praise of Moab. In Heshbon they have devised evil against her. Come and let us cut her off as a nation. You also shall be cut down, O madmen. The sword shall pursue you. A voice of crying shall be from Horonim.

Plundering in great destruction, Moab is destroyed. Her little ones have caused a cry to be heard. For the ascent of Luhith, they ascend with continual weeping. For in the descent of Horonim, the enemies have heard a cry of destruction."

Here as we begin to look at the nation of Moab, God is pronouncing judgment upon it. And the whole chapter is devoted to this judgment that is coming upon the nation of Moab.

Now, as we look at the situation here, what is going on, we don't know all of the details about why Moab is being judged. We don't have a full account of all of their sin and iniquity and rebellion against God. God mentions a couple of things that we'll point out as we go through the chapter. But what we can do is we can trust and know that God, again, is right and just and that He is not bringing judgment upon them for no reason.

If you remember back in Genesis, God was promising Abraham that his descendants would go into Egypt for 400 years and then come back and inhabit the land of Canaan. And God told him,

that they were going to come back and conquer the land, but it was going to be this time, this season for 400 years, and God explains to Abraham that it's because the sin of the Amorites was not yet complete. God was explaining to Abraham that the children of Israel would come back at a certain time to allow the corruption of the Amorites, where

they were going to come in and inhabit the land would be complete. God was giving them time to repent. He was giving them time to turn back. He was giving them time, but they would refuse. And so God was waiting until the sin was complete, until the time was right, until judgment was complete.

He's not judging prematurely. He's not judging for no reason. He's given them time to repent. He's spoken to them and sent them messengers. He's called them to himself. And they have persisted in rebellion. And so now God is pronouncing judgment to them.

or upon Moab. And so he mentions a few of their cities, Nebo and Kirjathim. We don't know all of the cities that he mentions exactly where they're at, but we do know the general area of Moab. And I wanted to give you a little bit of a visual so that you could kind of have some perspective as we look at these things. I apologize for those...

I don't know if you guys can see better, but I want to walk through just a couple maps real quickly for you to give you a little bit of idea of the geography that we're talking about here. Over here on the left side of the screen where it says Jordan River and Jerusalem, this is the area of Israel. This is the Sea of Galilee up here. This is the Dead Sea down here.

And the current borders of the nation extend down to the Sinai Peninsula down here and go up alongside the Jordan River and come like this area here.

Now, for a little bit of perspective, the square footage or square miles of the current boundaries of the nation of Jerusalem, I'm sorry, the nation of Israel, are roughly the same. It's roughly the same size as the county of San Bernardino. So this area here, it's not the same shape, but it's about the same amount of space as the county of San Bernardino. So it's not...

like we're talking about or like we might think of, but it's pretty small. Israel is a very small piece of land in comparison to the rest of the world.

This is a map of the Babylonian Empire as extended by King Nebuchadnezzar. And so Babylon, the capital is over here, and Babylon, as we talked about last week, would come up the Euphrates River, this river right here, all the way up to the northern part here,

And then they would come south into the land of Israel and the surrounding nations that were around it. If you remember, Clark Kamesh is up here. This is where Egypt came and met Babylon. We dealt with that last week. And Egypt was defeated. Going back a little bit further in history, here's the city called Ur.

That's where Abraham was from. Remember, God told him to leave, and so he left. And then he camped out in Haran for a time with his dad. He followed the same route. They went up the Euphrates River, camped out in Haran for a little bit, and then Abraham left his family and came down into the Promised Land. So Egypt was down here. We dealt with them last week about the judgment that God had pronounced upon them. But the other nations around...

We're also going to be judged, and that's what we're dealing with this evening. This is a map of the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah when the nation was divided, when it was split into two. The top part here, the lighter portion, is the nation of Israel. They were conquered about 150 years before the kingdom of Judah by a different nation, by the kingdom of Assyria. The nation of Judah was conquered a little bit later,

That's where Jeremiah was. That's who he was ministering to for the most part. And towards the end, really the only stronghold for the nation of Judah was just reduced to one city, the city of Jerusalem.

Here is a map of the kingdom of Israel in its strongest point when Solomon was on the throne. So you see here is the Sea of Galilee, the Red Sea, it goes all the way down here. Again, similar to the boundaries that are current for the nation of Israel. But then...

Solomon extended it way up all the way to the Euphrates River, and it was a lot larger. Now I'm going to be using this map to kind of show the areas that God is dealing with this evening with the surrounding nations and those that he's pronouncing judgment upon. And so the first group that we're looking at is the nation of Moab. They inhabited this area here after Solomon...

the kingdom of Israel declined. They didn't have the power and strength anymore. And so the kingdom of Moab inhabited that area. They were very strong in that area. They inhabited it for a long time. And it's to that region that God is directing these pronouncements of judgment. And so having the understanding of where they're at, look at verse 6.

He says, flee, save your lives and be like the juniper in the wilderness. 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.

And the plunderers 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. Give wings to Moab that she may flee and get away. For her cities shall be desolate without any to dwell in them. Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord deceitfully. And cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood.

And so as we continue on in chapter 48, God is telling the nation of Moab to flee for their lives. Chances are they're not going to listen to God because they've refused to listen to God thus far. But he's giving them an opportunity to flee because this area is going to be destroyed. This area is going to be attacked. He says, get out of there. Flee, run, because destruction is coming.

And here we have a little bit of insight about why God is bringing this destruction upon Moab. In verse 7 he says, "...for because you have trusted in your works and your treasures."

One of the reasons that God is bringing judgment upon Moab is because they've trusted in their own works. They've trusted in their righteousness, in their goodness. They've trusted in their ability to do good in order to save them.

Instead of trusting in God and turning to God, they're trusting in themselves. It's kind of like, you know, if you were to base your salvation upon whether or not you had more good deeds than you did bad deeds. That's kind of the system that they were working on and thinking about and trusting in. And anybody who puts their trust in their own works, they're going to experience the judgment of God.

Because our righteousness is as filthy rags. The Bible makes it very clear. Our righteousness doesn't compare. It doesn't come close to the righteousness of God. We cannot trust in our works, nor can we trust in our treasures. Moab trusted in their treasures. They trusted in their riches. They trusted in their wealth. They trusted in their finances.

They said, look, we don't have to worry, we don't have to be distressed, we don't have to pay attention to those things because look, we're well off, we're taken care of and they trusted falsely in their own riches and ability to provide for themselves.

I think this is something that we ought to pay attention to. It's something our nation ought to pay attention to. That we must not trust in our works and in our treasures because trusting in those things brings upon us the judgment of God.

He says there in verse 7, You shall also be taken and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity. Chemosh was the god that the Moabites worshipped. It was an idol, a form of idolatry that they were practicing. And so God was judging their god, the one that they worshipped, the one that they trusted in and was saying this god was going into captivity. This god would not be able to abide.

And so he says the plunder is going to come. It's going to attack every city. No one is going to escape. Everything is going to be destroyed. This is the work of God. God gives a little side note to those who are doing his work in verse 10. He says...

And so God says if they do it deceitfully, they'll be cursed. Right?

We see this with Babylon and we'll deal with this more in detail next week as we look at the judgment that God pronounces upon Babylon. But he says, Cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood. Those who withhold the sword are disobeying God because God's instruction, God's command is for this judgment to be brought upon the nation of Moab. Verse 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. Therefore behold the days are coming, says the Lord, that I shall send him wine workers who will tip him over and empty his vessels and break the bottles. Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidants.

How can you say we are mighty and strong men for the war? Moab is plundered and gone up from her cities. Her chosen young men have gone down to the slaughter, says the king, whose name is the Lord of hosts. The calamity of Moab is near at hand, and his affliction comes quickly. Bemoan him, all you who are around him, and all you who know his name. Say, how the strong staff is broken, the beautiful rod.

God continues to pronounce the judgment upon Moab, calling nations around them to bemoan them, asking them, hey, how can you say that you're strong when, look, you are being destroyed, you're being wiped out? How can you continue to trust in your own strength?

He also gives us another indication of really the problem and one of the reasons that Moab is being judged. He says in verse 11 that Moab has been at ease from his youth. And there he goes on to give really a parallel between the nation of Moab and the process of making wine.

What they would do to make wine in those days, of course, first they would gather the grapes from the vineyard. They would stomp them and then they would take the juice from those grapes and place them into bottles or skins, sealing them up and allowing them to ferment.

During this time as the grape juice was fermenting, there would develop this sediment or it's also known as dregs here that would settle to the bottom of the bottle or the skin that the wine was fermenting in.

And after 40 days, they would take it out of its container and they would pour this juice that was fermenting into another container in order to separate it from those dregs that were being produced at the bottom of the container.

If they allowed the wine to remain inside the dregs or the dregs to remain in the wine, then the wine would become spoiled. And so it was a process that they had to do. They had to switch it out and move it from container to container in the fermenting process in order to allow it to be good and not spoiled.

And so what he's saying about Moab is Moab has been at ease from his youth and settled on his dregs. He's not been emptied from vessel to vessel. He hasn't been moved. And so those things that have developed that have spoiling capacity within them are left there. I think this is an interesting picture, a good visual for us because Moab,

You know, sometimes when we have been at ease for a long time, there develops those things in us that, well, God wants to deal with.

And so what he does is he turns our life upside down. You ever have that happen to you? Your life just gets turned upside down. And it's as if God is pouring out the wine from the bottle to separate us from those dregs that are being produced from our life of ease, where we don't really rely upon the Lord or we're not seeking the Lord or we're not allowing God to work in those areas. And so there develops these issues that God needs to deal with.

And so it's good for us from time to time to have our lives turned upside down to separate from us those dregs or those things that would spoil us. You can kind of...

Take it over to the book of James where he says, consider it all joy when you face trials and temptations, various trials, all of those difficulties, because you know that God's doing that work. He's doing that separation. He's doing that completing work within us and keeping us from being spoiled.

But Moab has been living a life of ease. They've been comfortable. They've not been afflicted. They've not been challenged to turn back to God. And so they've just been spoiled upon their iniquities and their ways that are contrary to the things of God. And so God says, well, I'm going to separate you from the dregs. I'm going to turn the bottle over and bring this calamity upon you. Verse 18.

O daughter inhabiting Divan, come down from your glory and sit in thirst. For the plunderer of Moab has come against you. He has destroyed your strongholds.

O inhabitant of Ur, stand by the way and watch. Ask him who flees and her who escapes. Say, what has happened? Moab is shamed, for he is broken down. Wail and cry. Tell it in Arnon that Moab is plundered. And judgment has come on the plain country, on Holon and Jaza, on Mephthah, on Dibon and Nebo and Beth Diblehim.

On Kirjathim and Beth Gamul and Beth Meon, on Kiriath and Basra, all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near, the horn of Moab is cut off and his arm is broken, says the Lord.

And so as God continues to pronounce this judgment upon Moab, He says and describes this scene where people are leaving and He says to the surrounding areas, ask them what's happened. Let them tell you, let them pronounce. Part of their judgment is that humiliation or that humbling that takes effect as they admit, as they confess, we've been defeated, we've been destroyed, we've been broken.

He says, judgment has come upon all of these cities, understanding that it's complete, making sure that we understand God's not talking about a little bit here, a little bit there, but he's talking about a complete judgment upon the nation of Moab. God is in control and he knows the details. And he specifies those details so that we can see that he really is on the throne. These things do take place just as God foretells.

The horn of Moab is cut off. The horn was the symbol of strength or authority. The once strong Moab has been cut down. The things that they once relied upon, the things that once were their strength, have been removed. Their arm is broken, says the Lord. And so now they have been judged. They've been destroyed, God says. Verse 26. They came drunk.

Because he exalted himself against the Lord. You see there another indication of why the judgment had come. Moab shall wallow in his vomit and he shall also be in derision. For was not Israel a derision to you? Was he found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him, you shake your head in scorn.

Verse 2.

Here we find that Moab, one of the issues that was facing Moab, one of the issues that was within Moab that was bringing this judgment upon them was their pride. He says in verse 26, "...because he has exalted himself against the Lord."

He's exalted himself against the Lord. There in verse 29, we've heard of the pride. He's exceedingly proud, loftiness and arrogance and the haughtiness of his heart. He was full of himself or Moab was full of itself. They were relying upon themselves. And so they exalted themselves against the Lord.

I think that's important to note and to recognize. The danger, the issue that really is deserving of judgment is pride. Their reliance upon themselves, their refusal to listen to God.

Their insistence on doing it their way, on focusing on what they wanted to focus on, on fulfilling and obeying what they wanted to fulfill and obey, refusing to hear from God. They exalted themselves against the Lord. I think that's an interesting phrase and it's repeated a little bit later. But I think it's interesting because you really cannot exalt yourself

without exalting yourself against the Lord. You cannot exalt yourself without exalting yourself against the Lord. Any exaltation of self is automatically against the Lord. He is exalted. We are to humble ourselves. Anytime we exalt ourselves, it's against God. It's contrary to His will and His plan.

Anytime we are exalting ourselves, it's the evidence of the pride and loftiness and arrogance and haughtiness of our hearts. Something we need to consider as we seek to exalt ourselves. It's the manifestation of the pride that we have. We need to repent and humble ourselves because pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before the fall.

He points out in verse 27 that Israel was a derision to them. They exalted themselves and they looked down scornfully upon Israel.

They shake their head in scorn over the nation of Israel. They enjoyed watching Israel be inflicted and judged and destroyed and attacked. They had this hatred, this scorn for the nation.

And so God said, it's going to be done to you then. You're going to be held in derision as you held my people in derision. God judges nations by how they treat Israel. And that's something very important to consider as you look at the world around us, the political situation that faces the world. God judges nations by how they treat Israel. It's something that nations need to pay attention to. Verse 30.

I know his wrath, says the Lord, but it is not right. His lies have made nothing right. Therefore I will wail for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab. I will mourn for the men of Kir Heris. O vine of Sidma, 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.

Here we understand that God does not enjoy judgment. He says He knows the wrath of Moab. He knows about their lies. And in their attempts, they've not made anything right.

And so God says, "I will for Moab." God does not, you know, get excited about and kind of giddy and giggling whenever He's inflicting judgment or pouring out judgment upon a people or a person or a nation. He does it woefully. He does it with sorrow. He must, it's part of His character and nature that He is righteous and holy and just. It's also part of His love. As a loving God, He must do what is right.

But he does not enjoy what it does to those whom he has created, those he loves so dearly. The judgment being poured out is not something that he's excited about. And so we see this sorrow, this weeping that God describes here as this judgment is being poured out. Verse 34. From the cry of Heshbon to Eleah...

And to Jehaz, they have uttered their voice from Zor to Horonim, like a three-year-old heifer, for the waters of Nimrim also shall be desolate. Moreover, says the Lord, I will cause to cease in Moab the one who offers sacrifices in the high places and burns incense to his gods. Therefore, my heart shall wail like flutes for Moab, like flutes my heart shall wail for the men of Kir HaRez.

Therefore the riches they have acquired have perished. Verse 37. For every head shall be bald and every beard clipped.

And on all the hands shall be cuts and on the loins sackcloth. A general lamentation on all the housetops of Moab and in its streets. For I have broken Moab like a vessel in which there is no pleasure, says the Lord. They shall wail how she is broken down, how Moab has turned her back with shame. So Moab shall be a derision and a dismay to all those about her. Here again, as God continues preaching,

Declaring and pronouncing the judgment that is going to come upon them. We find another indication of their issues and what was bringing the judgment of God upon them. He refers to in verse 35, "...the one who offers sacrifices in the high places."

He also talks about in verse 37 how the head shall be bald and every beard clipped, the hands shall be cut and the loins will be covered with sackcloth. These are all issues and characteristics of idolatry and pagan worship. It was false worship. They were worshiping other gods.

And that was ultimately part of what brought them this judgment that they deserved. They were not worshipping God. They had the opportunity to worship God. You see, they're right across the sea from Jerusalem. They were in close proximity. They knew of God. God was speaking to them, but they were refusing to.

to worship Him, to obey Him. And so God says that there's going to be weeping and wailing and moaning. There's going to be a derision and a dismay, again, because of the rebellion against Him. Verse 40, For thus says the Lord, Behold, one shall fly like an eagle and spread his wings over Moab.

There it is again.

Verse 43, Fear and the pit and the snare shall be upon you, O inhabitant of Moab, says the Lord. He who flees from the fear shall fall into the pit. He who gets out of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For upon Moab, upon it, I will bring the year of their punishment, says the Lord. So here, continuing on, God says their strength is going to be broken. Their strongholds are going to be surprised.

They're going to be taken aback that this judgment is actually fulfilled, thinking that they'll be able to withstand relying upon themselves. God says they're going to be destroyed as a people because they have exalted himself against the Lord.

They exalted themselves against God. They looked up to themselves. They had a high view of themselves. Instead of humbling themselves and listening to and responding to God, they exalted themselves against the Lord. Verse 45.

Those who fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of exhaustion. But a fire shall come out of Heshbon, a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the brow of Moab, the crown of the head of the sons of Tumult. Woe to you, O Moab, the people of Chemosh perish, for your sons have been taken captive and your daughters captive. Yet I will bring back the captives of Moab in the latter days, says the Lord. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.

So as we wrap up the judgment here, God gives a little bit of indication here that as people try to escape, they're not going to be able to. We saw that back in verse 44. He who flees from the fear. So you hear the judgment that's coming. The nation's coming against you. And so you start to run. He says those who flee from the fear will fall into the pit.

And then the one who escapes out of the pit, they're going to fall into the snare. And then there's going to be some who go under the shadow of Heshbon, which is a city farther north.

And those who make it that far, he says, a fire will come out of Heshbon and shall devour the brow of Moab. And so those who try to escape this judgment of God will not succeed. They will be taken captive. They will be destroyed. And they will not escape the judgment of God.

Now God gives a glimmer of hope there in verse 47. He says, yet in the last days, in the latter days, he's going to bring back the people of Moab and establish them again. And so there's going to be judgment. God's going to deal with them, but he's also going to give them another chance. He's going to bring them back into their own nation or their own territory.

And that is the judgment upon Moab. Next, as we move on to chapter 49, we find the judgment that God has pronounced against Ammon. Verse 1 of chapter 49.

Verse 2,

Verse 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. Why do you boast in the valleys? Your flowing valley, O backsliding daughter, who trusted in her treasure, saying, Who will come against me?

Verse 6, So on the screen, the next verse,

people that God deals with is the Ammonites, the people who are just across the Jordan River from the nation of Judah.

Now, this territory was originally given to the tribe of Gad. If you remember when the children of Israel were going into the promised land and a couple of the tribes said, hey, we don't want to go over there. Like, we'll go fight with you, but we want this land here. We really like it. It's good for us. And that was Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh. Oh yeah, it was Reuben.

Yeah, Reuben and Gad and Manasseh stayed on the west or the east side of the Jordan River. And this was the area that was given to Gad. You can see here, Rabbah is the city and it's mentioned, God says that destruction is coming against it. And so these people came and conquered Reuben.

the tribe of Gad in order to take this territory. They came in, they conquered the territory, they set themselves up, lived in the cities of Gad as part of the nation of Israel that had been established.

And so God is directing this message to them. It's a message of judgment. And he says that the days are coming that there's going to be an alarm of war. They're going to hear the battle cries. They're going to hear the judgment that's coming upon them. He says that the city, Rava, their capital, their kind of main city, is going to be a desolate mound. It's going to be just completely destroyed. It's not going to be inhabited.

And so he calls again the surrounding areas to wail, to lament because of this judgment. He asked them in verse 4, why did they boast? Again, we see the pride of this nation, of the people of Ammon. He says that they are backsliding. He says, you're flowing valley, you're backsliding daughter. And notice again, who trusted in her treasures, saying, who will come against me?

And so, similar to the nation of Moab, the people of Ammon were proud. They were trusting in their treasures. They were thinking, who can come against us? They were full of themselves.

And that brought upon them the judgment of God. And so God says, you're going to be driven out. You're going to be pushed out headlong. You're going to be pushed out of there very quickly. And you're going to be fleeing for your life. But again, in verse 6, he gives this glimmer of hope. He says, afterwards, after a time, I'm going to bring you back. So there's going to be those who are taken captive, who are later on set free and allowed to return to their land.

As we continue in chapter 49, we find now God pronouncing judgment upon the nation of Edom.

Edom was down farther south. So just underneath the Dead Sea, around in that area was the nation of Edom. These were the descendants of Esau. And so God spends a little bit extra time dealing with Edom compared to some of the other nations in chapter 49. And his judgment upon them is a little bit extra severe or fierce because they were descendants of Abraham.

Remember, Abraham had Isaac. Isaac had Jacob and Esau. They were descendants of Abraham. Jacob becomes the nation of Israel. Edom is Esau's descendants, but they were rebelling against God just like all of the other nations. And so here's what God has to say towards them in verse 7. He says, Thus says the Lord of hosts,

Is wisdom no more in Timon? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished? Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Dida. For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will punish him. If grape-gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? If thieves by night, would they not destroy until they have enough?

Verse 11. Verse 12.

Verse 14. Verse 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. And so now as we see this judgment against Edom, it continues on in the following verses, but we'll stop there for now. He says, look, is there no more wisdom? Is there no more prudence there? Have you guys lost all insight and wisdom? He calls them to flee.

He says,

If a robber was going to come, a thief was going to come, they would take what they can carry or as much as they can get, but they leave some things behind because some things they just don't want or are not valuable to them. But God says, in contrast to those two examples, He says, I have made Esau bare there in verse 10.

So God's saying, look, there's not going to be, you know, grapes left. There's not going to be a few things. It's going to be laid bare. The judgment upon Esau, the judgment upon Edom is going to be severe.

Now he tells them there's going to be fatherless children. God says, leave them to me. Let them trust in me. I will take care of them. He says, let your widows trust in me. There's going to be fatherless children. There's going to be widows as a result of this judgment. God says, it's an opportunity. It's a chance for them to trust in me because this judgment is going to come. He says, look, those who...

whose judgment was not to drink the cup, have drunk. He's referring to the surrounding nations that were mocking and laughing at Israel as they were being judged and punished and they were enjoying watching them be afflicted. But here was this close relative

Watching their brethren be afflicted and be judged. And they scorned them. They enjoyed it. And we see that elsewhere among the scriptures as well. And so he says, you're not going to go unpunished. But surely you're going to drink of it. You're going to experience the same type of judgment. And so God says, the message has gone out. All the nations gather up. Come against her. Rise up to battle. He's calling them to bring this judgment upon Edom. Verse 15 says,

Verse 2.

Verse 1.

But I will suddenly make him run away from her. And who is a chosen man that I may appoint over her? For who is like me? Who will arraign me? And who is that shepherd who will withstand me? Here God says, I'm going to make you small among the nations. You're going to be despised. And again, we have an indication of why. And it's very similar to what we've already seen. The pride of their heart. He says, your fierceness has deceived you.

They were trusting not in their strength or riches or treasures. They were trusting in their fierceness. Their fierceness has deceived them. They were thinking, listen, we're so fierce. We're so strong. Nobody's going to mess with us. They were full of themselves. Thinking, hey...

Nobody's going to touch us. Nobody's going to come against us because everybody knows how fierce we are. It's kind of like, you know, kind of hood mentality, right? Like, you're not going to mess... You know if you mess with me, you're messing with trouble. You're messing with my whole family if you mess with me. That was kind of their idea, their mentality, you know? They're fierce. You're not going to touch us because we're strong, we're fierce, we're warriors. And they were full of themselves. They were dwelling in the clefts of the rock. They were...

full of how strong they were. Look at how we can survive up here. Look how we can have these strong and difficult places to get to. Nobody is going to conquer us. Nobody is going to come against us. But God says, no, you're going to be in astonishment. Everyone who goes by is going to be astonished. And He compares it pretty, I think it's pretty surprisingly, to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. Just as that judgment came out and everybody was like astonished and amazed. Look at this judgment of God.

God says the same is going to be true of the nation of Edom. Verse 20. Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord that he has taken against Edom and his purposes that he has proposed against the inhabitants of Timon. Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out

Surely he shall make their dwelling places desolate with them. The earth shakes at the noise of their fall. At the cry, its noise is heard at the Red Sea. Behold, he shall come up and fly like the eagle and spread his wings over Basra. The hearts of the mighty men of Edom in that day shall be like the hearts of a woman in birth pains.

And so the judgment is going to be complete. The earth is going to shake at their fall. He's going to fly like an eagle and spread his wings over Basra. They're going to be fully covered and

And that is the judgment against Edom. Notice that there's no promise of, well, and then later on you're going to be restored. I'm going to bring you back. No, they're demolished. They're completely obliterated as a nation. They become assimilated into the nations around them after they are conquered. Verse 23. Now we see the judgment upon Damascus. Against Damascus,

Hamath and Arpeth are shamed for they have heard bad news. They are faint-hearted. There is trouble on the sea. It cannot be quiet.

Damascus has grown feeble. She turns to flee and fear has seized her. Anguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in labor. Why is the city of praise not deserted, the city of my joy? Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, says the Lord of hosts. I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus and it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.

The city of Damascus was up north of the nation of Israel. It was the capital of the nation known as Syria. The city of Damascus was the main city or the capital of Syria. And so God pronounces this judgment upon Damascus.

And says that they're going to be shamed. They're going to be faint-hearted because of the trouble that is coming. Fear is going to seize them. Similar language to what we've seen in the previous judgments on the other nations. God says he's going to put a fire on the wall of Damascus and it's going to consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad. Ben-Hadad was the ruler, kind of like Pharaoh. You know, the king of Egypt was called Pharaoh.

The king of Syria was called Ben-Hadad. That was the title of the king. And so his palaces, the king's palaces, were going to become consumed and destroyed. And so the nation was going to be demolished. Quick and short pronouncement of judgment upon Damascus.

Now as we move on in verses 28 through 33, we find judgment against Kedar and against Hazor. Kedar and Hazor, if you look on the screen here, that is no actual reference to geography. It's just an indication that they were somewhere in the desert. There's not a specific location that is known where Kedar and Hazor were, but they were inhabitants of the desert of Arabia.

And so we pick it up in verse 28.

Their tents and their flocks they shall take away. They shall take for themselves their curtains, all their vessels and their camels, and they shall cry out to them, fear is on every side. Flee, get far away, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Hazor, says the Lord. For Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has taken counsel against you and has conceived a plan against you.

Verse 1.

Here, as we continue on, the judgment against Kedar and Hazor. We see in verse 29 that they are nomadic type people. That's where they dwelt. They're in the desert. They didn't necessarily have established cities, but they kind of moved from place to place. And so they had their tents, their flocks. They were farmers like Bedouins.

God says that they dwell securely in verse 31 with neither gates nor bars. They kind of trusted in themselves and their isolation, their ability to last out there in the wilderness. And King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was going to conquer them. They were going to be judged as well like many of the other nations that we have seen. Finally, we have the judgment on Elam. Elam was in a far different location.

We're looking again at the... Something happened, Mike, sorry. Just next slide. All right, so Elam was over east of Babylon. So if you see here, Babylon was kind of far to the east across the desert. Just past Babylon was an area known as Elam. And this is where God is dealing with next. He says in verse 34...

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the foremost of their might. Against Elam I will bring the four winds from the four corners of heaven and scatter them toward all those winds. There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go.

I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them. My fierce anger, says the Lord, and I will send the sword after them until I have consumed them. I will set my throne in Elam and will destroy from there the king and the princes, says the Lord. But it shall come to pass in the latter days I will bring back the captives of Elam, says the Lord."

And so this judgment upon Elam, we don't know much about why or what caused this judgment, why they were going to experience this judgment. God doesn't give us that much indication, but we know that they are going to be judged. They're going to be scattered. He said that the four quarters, the winds are going to come and they're going to be scattered and there'll be no nations where

where the outcasts of Elam will not go. And so they're going to be spread out between all of the nations as a result of this judgment and disaster that was brought upon them. But God gives the glimmer of hope in verse 39. In the latter days, he's going to bring them back. And so he's going to give them another chance.

Here in chapter 48 and 49, we see the judgment of God upon many different nations, upon those that have rebelled against God and refused. I think looking at Moab, we can see the characteristics that are common throughout the rest of them in their pride, in their exalting of themselves, in trusting in their own works and their riches, trusting in false gods. And it's an indication for us or a reminder for us

not to be the same way. It's a reminder for us as a nation and as individuals to humble ourselves, to repent, to respond to God and to listen to Him, not to exalt ourselves against Him. As we look at these things, I want to encourage you to not be discouraged by the judgment of God, but to rejoice.

That God is just. That He brings justice. That injustice is not allowed to prevail. But God will do what's right. He will bring justice. And we have the advantage. We have the wonderful and glorious opportunity to have the judgment that's due us be included with Christ in His crucifixion.

And so we don't need to fear the judgment of God. There's no more judgment that's due. We come to God through Jesus Christ on the basis of grace and mercy because that's how God told us to come. And so this evening, I want to encourage you. I want to remind you. Yes, God does bring judgment and that's a good thing. It's why we can trust Him. It's why we can rely upon Him. It's why we can completely, fully surrender ourselves to Him.

Because the judgment was fully paid for us upon Jesus Christ. He took it on our behalf. And so we can come to God knowing that justice has been served. Justice has been done. And as we look at all of the injustice around us and all the injustice done to us, we can trust and know it's in God's hands. We don't have to take care of it ourselves. God will take care of it. He will not allow it to last. He gives people opportunity to repent. He gives nations opportunity to repent.

But they will not get away. And if they continue to rebel, God will bring the judgment upon them that is due. And I think for us as a nation, it's something that we need to seriously consider and lift to the Lord in prayer. Because as you look at some of these things, exalting ourselves, trusting in our works, trusting in our riches, scorning the nation of Israel, it's kind of the one where we're holding out so far, but kind of

wavering on as well as a nation. It's something that we should seriously consider and lift before the Lord that we would turn back as a nation to the Lord and surrender to Him. The worship team is going to come up and close us in a few songs and as they do, I encourage you to allow God to speak to your heart even further.

about humbling yourself before him, trusting in him, and responding to his word instead of exalting yourself and refusing to listen to what he's called us to do. Let's worship the Lord together. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.