July 23

Jeremiah 48
Through the end of Jeremiah 51, Jeremiah brings prophecies of the Lord against the enemies of Israel. Now that the Lord has dealt with His people (judgment begins with the household of God. 1 Pt 4:7), He is dealing with the nations who have dealt ill with His people. Moab, descendants of Lot, had a long standing history of enmity with Israel. As early their journey to the east side of the Jordan, the king of Moab hired Balaam to prophesy against Israel. When they couldn’t curse Israel, Balaam advised the king to get the young women of Moab to seduce the young men of Israel. The intermarriage would open the door to sharing the same gods and ultimately bring a curse upon Israel. It almost worked. Centuries ill will existed between them. David’s grandmother, Ruth, was a converted Moabitess.
Beside their enmity with Israel, what did the Lord have against Moab? He says this, “Because you have trusted in your works and your treasures, You also shall be taken. And Chemosh shall go forth into captivity.” They trusted in their works and treasures and worshiped Chemosh. Who is Chemosh?
Chemosh (Judg. 11:24; 2 King. 23:13) was the national god of the Moabites. This deity was apparently compounded with Athtar, the Venus star, and so is thought to be a pagan god associated with the heavenly bodies. Chemosh has been identified with Baal of Peor, Baal-Zebub, Mars, and Saturn, as the star of ill-omen. Dibon (Num. 21:30), a town in Moab north of the River Arnon, was the chief seat of its worship.
Like Molech, Chemosh was worshiped by the sacrifice of children as burnt offerings, but scholars believe it is incorrect to identify Chemosh directly with Molech. Solomon sanctified Chemosh as a part of his tolerance of pagan gods (1 Kin. 11:7), but Josiah abolished its worship (2 Kin. 23:13). Human sacrifice was made to Chemosh, according to 2 Kings 3:27, which reports that Mesha, king of Moab, offered his oldest son as a burnt offering on the wall of Kir Hareseth, the ancient capital of Moab.
Wow, sounds like the present day United States. We trust in our works and treasures, and we worship a sexual god that calls for the abortion of our children. It would be easy to rant and rave about abortion at this point, but notice what is mentioned first. They trusted in their works and treasures. What we trust in ultimately defines what we worship and what we do. Is there any hint in our churches that we worship our works and treasures? As I read books like Radical and Radical Together, both by David Platt, I am becoming more convinced that the reason that the American church is so anemic is because we trust in our works and our treasures, not the Lord’s. Because the Lord is longsuffering, He took 800 years before the final death blow came to Moab. Why did He take so long? I believe that He was waiting for Moab to repent. He does not desire that any should perish, but He will not wait forever. How long will the Lord wait upon a church before he removes its lamp? I don’t know, but why do I even ask the question? Shouldn’t want to forsake everything for this glorious God who gave His own Son to save us? Lord, pour your grace upon me and your church that we might forsake trusting in our own works and treasures and trust only in You! Help Lord! You are merciful, longsuffering and full of grace, but You will not strive with us forever. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john