Fri.’s Devo - God’s Judgement on His Enemies

Read: Jeremiah 48:1-49:22; 2 Timothy 4:1-22; Psalms 95:1-96:13; Proverbs 26:9-12
God gave Jeremiah a word for all the major nations he was bringing judgment to. The Moabites came from Lot’s oldest daughters incestuous relationship with her father, Lot. The whole history of the Moabites was one of hostility toward Israel and God. Moab was the place where Moses died and the nation that warred against Israel right before they entered the promised land. They worshiped Chemosh, the fish god. One of Solomon’s wives had convinced Solomon to build a temple in Jerusalem to this god.
According to Jeremiah’s word, Moab had remained in her land and never had to go into exile, but that was about to change. The Chaldeans from Babylon were coming who displace people like people pour wine from one jar to another. Chemosh would not be able to save them.
The Ammonites were friendly with the Moabites. The Moabites were more settled in their land and the Ammonites more semitic. The Ammonites came from Lot’s other daughter’s incestrous relationship with her father. They also were enemies of Israel. Their chief city was Rabah mentioned in 49:2 and they worshipped Molech who required human sacrifices. Solomon had an Ammonite wife who he built places of human sacrifice for her and her god. Their son was Rehoboam, the king after Solomon.
God said the Babylonians would judge them for their sins also. They would be destroyed but like Moab, God would one day restore their fortunes and bring them back to their land.
The last people Jeremiah spoke against were the Edomites. The Edomites had refused passage through their land when the Israelites left Egypt with Moses. They had been know for their wisdom. One of Job’s friends was from Teman in Edom. Their capital was Bozrah. God’s wrath toward Edom seems to the greatest. He was doing a total wipe out of them and they would not resurface.
Paul reminds us that Jesus will judge the living and the dead when he appears again. Because of this, we need to be diligently preaching and teaching the truth. We will all appear before God’s throne of judgment. Some will be judged and some rewarded according to their faith. Faith in Jesus is our escape from judgment.
Lord, may we live our lives so that we will be able to say like Paul: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”