Jeremiah 48:1-28 - Judgement has come to the plateau

48:1-13

Moab was a nation that originated from Lot, being one of the sons of the incestuous relationship with one of his daughters. Genesis 19 contains the details. Moab had suffered at the hands of the Assyrians, but would suffer complete desolation at the hands of the Babylonians, about five years after the fall of Jerusalem. She had mocked Jerusalem in the past. We get a particularly graphic account, painting a picture of the emotions and mayhem that would follow.

Verse 10 stresses the certainty of the destruction. The attacking nations were doing the Lord’s work, and they are commanded not to be in anyway lax in doing this work. There would be no escape for Moab. She had been at rest and at ease, but those days would soon be over.

48:14-28

The certainty of the judgement continues to be stressed, and inescapability of it. Moab may have thought that it could fight against it, but God tells them this would be futile. The pride of Moab is one of the primary reasons for her coming downfall, and the surrounding nations are urged to take note, to see what happens and learn from it.

One might wonder “why do we get these long lurid passages in the Bible about destruction?” Part of the reason is so that we get the idea about the certainty of judgement. Likewise, all of mankind will face the judgement of God. Our nature is to reject the idea, or at least sweep it under the carpet. We don’t want to think about it. But if we are to have a proper view of life we need to think about it.