Jeremiah 48:8

The Bible says in Jeremiah 48:8-12, “And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the LORD hath spoken.[9] Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.[10] Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.[11], and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: Moab hath been at ease from his youth therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.[12] Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles.” In the judgment against Moab, the phrase from verse 8 that says, “no city shall escape,” tells us how thorough God’s judgment will be. The wheels of God may appear to move slowly, but they move ever so finely. When the hand of God comes against a country in judgment as in the case of Moab, no one will escape. And when the hand of God comes against the world, no one shall escape. Such a judgment came during the time of Noah, and such a judgment will come again in the future during the time of the Great Tribulation. That is one of the reasons that it is called “great tribulation.” Jesus said in Matthew 24:21-22, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.[22] And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.” The description of the Great Tribulation in the book of Revelation begins in such a way to emphasize both its terribleness and its worldwide impact. It says in Revelation 6:3-17, “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.[2] And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.[3] And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.[4] And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.[5] And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.[6] And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.[7] And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.[8] And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.[9] And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:[10] And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?[11] And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.[12] And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;[13] And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.[14] And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.[15] And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;[16] And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:[17] For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”

It says in Jeremiah 48:10, “Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully.” More harm is done to the cause of Christ by those who claim to be the servants of God than by all those who oppose the truth. Every time a pastor or a Christian leader brings shame on his ministry, hundreds and even thousands of lives are touched negatively. Those involved in the work of the Lord should always have the purest of motives. It is a great responsibility to be a preacher, or a pastor, or a Sunday school teacher. Only those who consistently walk close to the Lord should be involved. No wonder that there are such high requirements listed for pastors and deacons in First Timothy 3:1-11, “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.[2] A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;[3] Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;[4] One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;[5] (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)[6] Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.[7] Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.[8] Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;[9] Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.[10] And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.[11] Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.”

In the last part of Jeremiah 48:10 it says, “cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.” The emphasis here is on the fact that this life is a battle, and we are called to be involved in war. You cannot be at ease. You must be prepared and involved in this spiritual warfare. You must. It is a spiritual warfare, and our sword is a spiritual sword. Our sword is the Word of God. What are you involved in that helps spread the Word? Do you use the Word in your daily activities? It says in Ephesians 6:11-18, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.[12] For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.[13] Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.[14] Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;[15] And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;[16] Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.[17] And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:[18] Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”

It says in Jeremiah 48:11, “Moab hath been at ease from his youth.” This is a continuation of the theme from the previous verse, but with a little added meaning. We already know that Moab had been at ease when they should have been involved in war. Now we see that they had been at ease for a very long time: since their youth. God often waits a long time before He brings judgment. Jesus Christ is very patient and very merciful. He wants everyone to repent so that He can forgive them. But the time of judgment must eventually come if people do not repent and turn toward the Lord. Other than at death, we do not know when the judgment might come, so a wise person will repent now while there is time. Another truth that Jeremiah 48:11 teaches us is the fact that it is extremely important what habits people acquire in their youth because that will go a long way in determining the direction that they take for their entire lives, and that will determine their destiny both in this life and in the next. It says in Ecclesiastes 12:1, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.” Jesus had the best life of all human beings and it says about His youth in Luke 2:52, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” And Paul wrote to Timothy in Second Timothy 3:15, “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

In Jeremiah 48:12 God pronounced His judgment upon Jeremiah and said, “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander.” Almost all human beings are influenced by other human beings, especially the younger that you are. I heard a multi-millionaire say recently, “Surround yourself with good people if you want to be a success.” Hat is a very similar concept. One of the responsibilities of Christian parents is to protect their children from bad influences until the children are old enough and wise enough to make their own decisions in that regard. It says in Proverbs 1:10-16, “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.[11] If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:[12] Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:[13] We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:[14] Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:[15] My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:[16] For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.” Choose your friends carefully. The younger that you are in the faith, the more important that this principle is. Once you learn to walk faithfully with the Lord, and are very strong and determined in your service to Christ, then you can be around any kind of people and you will influence them instead of them influencing you. Of course, you must not compromise, and of course, you must not hide the fact that you are a Christian serving the Lord Jesus. If you let your light shine, and if you have some backbone, those who hate God will go away from you because they will want to avoid your influence.

One of the worse things that happens to some people is having a bad influence. Many children are corrupted by older children. It does not take make to corrupt someone and get them started on the wrong path. Just one sentence of teaching evil, or just one incident of doing evil can lead someone to a path that they otherwise would have never considered. That is why Jesus pronounced such a great condemnation of anyone who would cause a child to fall. Jesus said in Mark 9:42, “And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.” If it is true that in a certain sense a really bad things has happened to us when we have bad influences, then the opposite is also true: a really blessed things has happened to us when we have good influences in our lives. Be thankful for whoever has influenced you for good. If you want to follow Jesus, make sure to reject the bad influences and follow the good ones. Paul wrote in First Corinthians 11:1, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”

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