My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,
    have given your pledge for a stranger,
2 if you are snared in the words of your mouth,
    caught in the words of your mouth,
3 then do this, my son, and save yourself,
    for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:
    go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor.
4 Give your eyes no sleep
    and your eyelids no slumber;
5 save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
    like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
 
6 Go to the ant, O sluggard;
    consider her ways, and be wise.
7 Without having any chief,
    officer, or ruler,
8 she prepares her bread in summer
    and gathers her food in harvest.
9 How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
    When will you arise from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest,
11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.
 
12 A worthless person, a wicked man,
    goes about with crooked speech,
13 winks with his eyes, signals with his feet,
    points with his finger,
14 with perverted heart devises evil,
    continually sowing discord;
15 therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
    in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.
 
16 There are six things that the Lord hates,
    seven that are an abomination to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
    and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked plans,
    feet that make haste to run to evil,
19 a false witness who breathes out lies,
    and one who sows discord among brothers.
Warnings Against Adultery20 My son, keep your father's commandment,
    and forsake not your mother's teaching.
21 Bind them on your heart always;
    tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk, they will lead you;
    when you lie down, they will watch over you;
    and when you awake, they will talk with you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
    and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
24 to preserve you from the evil woman,
    from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
    and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;
26 for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread,
    but a married woman hunts down a precious life.
27 Can a man carry fire next to his chest
    and his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can one walk on hot coals
    and his feet not be scorched?
29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife;
    none who touches her will go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
    to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
31 but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold;
    he will give all the goods of his house.
32 He who commits adultery lacks sense;
    he who does it destroys himself.
33 He will get wounds and dishonor,
    and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy makes a man furious,
    and he will not spare when he takes revenge.
35 He will accept no compensation;
    he will refuse though you multiply gifts.
 
Meditation
The way of wisdom has potential pitfalls, places where hearts wander and feet slip in the pilgrim journey. Christians possess the promised Spirit who “guides us in all truth” (John 16:13), strengthening our steps and guarding our hearts. Fruitful footing in the way of wisdom necessitates we follow God’s Spirit to obey God’s truth and pay attention to potential pitfalls.
 
Godly wisdom will give certainty in our footing. We trust God’s ways as the lamp and light to our steps, guiding us from dawn to dusk (22-23). This Godly wisdom keeps our hearts and minds from wandering in the ways of the wicked.
 
Potential pitfalls include:
            -Compromising integrity (1-5). Wisdom understands the urgency of walking the talk, not saying one thing and doing another.
 
            -Sitting as a sluggard (6-11). Like the ant, wisdom uses God’s gifts in HIS work today to prepare for tomorrow.
 
            -Stumbling in one of the seven abominations (12-19). Wisdom loves what God loves and hates what God hates. If you are not aware of what God hates you will fall. Watch for the pits of division, arrogance, lies, injustice, wicked plans, feet hasty to do wrong to people and places.
 
            -Adultery (20-35). You cannot carry fire in your arms and not burn your clothes. Likewise, you cannot give a foothold to lust in your heart without torching your life.
 
Jesus is the ultimate way of wisdom. To love Him and His word from our hearts will guarantee we sustain sure footing and avoid potential pitfalls in our pilgrim journey on the way of wisdom.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you about the concrete confidence in God’s way of wisdom in 22-23?
 
-Which pitfalls do you identify with, and why?
 
-How does God’s Spirit empower you to trust God’s word so you can walk in God’s ways? Are you taking advantage of this gift of grace? If you are not a believer then you do not have God’s Spirit. If you are- TURN TO HIM and trust Him to lead you in truth.
 
Key Verse
22 When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. 23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

Concerning the Ammonites.
Thus says the Lord:
“Has Israel no sons?
    Has he no heir?
Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad,
    and his people settled in its cities?
2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
    declares the Lord,
when I will cause the battle cry to be heard
    against Rabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate mound,
    and its villages shall be burned with fire;
then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
    says the Lord.
3 “Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
    Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth,
    lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!
For Milcom shall go into exile,
    with his priests and his officials.
4 Why do you boast of your valleys,
    O faithless daughter,
who trusted in her treasures, saying,
    ‘Who will come against me?’
5 Behold, I will bring terror upon you,
    declares the Lord God of hosts,
    from all who are around you,
and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him,
    with none to gather the fugitives.
6 “But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the Lord.”
Judgment on Edom7 Concerning Edom.
Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Is wisdom no more in Teman?
    Has counsel perished from the prudent?
    Has their wisdom vanished?
8 Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths,
    O inhabitants of Dedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
    the time when I punish him.
9 If grape gatherers came to you,
    would they not leave gleanings?
If thieves came by night,
    would they not destroy only enough for themselves?
10 But I have stripped Esau bare;
    I have uncovered his hiding places,
    and he is not able to conceal himself.
His children are destroyed, and his brothers,
    and his neighbors; and he is no more.
11 Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive;
    and let your widows trust in me.”
12 For thus says the Lord: “If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, will you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink. 13 For I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.”
14 I have heard a message from the Lord,
    and an envoy has been sent among the nations:
“Gather yourselves together and come against her,
    and rise up for battle!
15 For behold, I will make you small among the nations,
    despised among mankind.
16 The horror you inspire has deceived you,
    and the pride of your heart,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,
    who hold the height of the hill.
Though you make your nest as high as the eagle's,
    I will bring you down from there,
declares the Lord.
17 “Edom shall become a horror. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters.18 As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities were overthrown, says the Lord, no man shall dwell there, no man shall sojourn in her. 19 Behold, like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him[d] run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me? 20 Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of Teman: Even the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 21 At the sound of their fall the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold, one shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart of a woman in her birth pains.”
Judgment on Damascus23 Concerning Damascus:
“Hamath and Arpad are confounded,
    for they have heard bad news;
they melt in fear,
    they are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus has become feeble, she turned to flee,
    and panic seized her;
anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her,
    as of a woman in labor.
25 How is the famous city not forsaken,
    the city of my joy?
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares,
    and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day,
declares the Lord of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus,
    and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.”
Judgment on Kedar and Hazor28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down.
Thus says the Lord:
“Rise up, advance against Kedar!
    Destroy the people of the east!
29 Their tents and their flocks shall be taken,
    their curtains and all their goods;
their camels shall be led away from them,
    and men shall cry to them: ‘Terror on every side!’
30 Flee, wander far away, dwell in the depths,
    O inhabitants of Hazor!
declares the Lord.
For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
    has made a plan against you
    and formed a purpose against you.
31 “Rise up, advance against a nation at ease,
    that dwells securely,
declares the Lord,
that has no gates or bars,
    that dwells alone.
32 Their camels shall become plunder,
    their herds of livestock a spoil.
I will scatter to every wind
    those who cut the corners of their hair,
and I will bring their calamity
    from every side of them,
declares the Lord.
33 Hazor shall become a haunt of jackals,
    an everlasting waste;
no man shall dwell there;
    no man shall sojourn in her.”
Judgment on Elam34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.
35 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. 36 And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of Elam shall not come. 37 I will terrify Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, declares the Lord. I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, 38 and I will set my throne in Elam and destroy their king and officials, declares the Lord.
39 “But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the Lord.”

Meditation
God’s just judgement against sin, evil, injustice, and all who reject His love is not the end of the story, but it is a major part of it. God is love and He shows His love in this, that while we were still sinners Christ died for us (Romans 8:5-8).
 
God’s steadfast love offers security. The work of Jesus is finished so nothing can separate us from God’s love! People who look to the good things of this world for the eternal security only God can give eventually find only personal despair and destruction.
 
Amnon, Edom, Damascus, Hazor, and Elam are all nations in the scope of God’s judgement. All of them believed the illusion of security outside of turning to trust the Lord. They had “pride of heart” and lived in the heights of the hills, like eagles who make their nest on high (16). The pride of the people will lead to their judgement unless they humble themselves to find security in the Lord’s mercy.
 
“I will restore” (6, 39) is the repeated promise marking the beginning and the end of these judgement oracles. All who look to the Lord for security will experience salvation and restoration. Jesus died so we can live, but when we reject His work we will meet the just judgement our sin deserves. Grace invites us to the cross where God’s judgement is satisfied and His love is magnified.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Why is it difficult to read judgement oracle after judgement oracle? What does this say about God’s holiness and the power of the cross where He took the judgement we deserve?
 
-Where do you look for security outside of the saving work of Jesus- your own good works, control, reputation, material possessions, status in society, intellect, family pedigree…?
 
-Who do you know that needs to humble themselves and turn to the cross for security in salvation? Pray for them and ask the Spirit to give you a Divine appointment to speak with them about the hope of the gospel.
 
Key Verse
16 The horror you inspire has deceived you, and the pride of your heart, you who live in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill. Though you make your nest as high as the eagle's, I will bring you down from there, declares the Lord.

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant,2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success[a] wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua Assumes Command10 And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, 11 “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’”
12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, 13 “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, 15 until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.”
16 And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses! 18 Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”
 
Meditation
The promises God keeps are the blessings He wants His people to enjoy. God is faithful and at the direction of His word we can fruitfully feast on His promises. Courage to believe God’s word and walk in His way is the vehicle to feast on His promises.
 
Joshua 1 is dominated by direct speech: God gives direction to Joshua (1-9), including a commissioning and promise of His presence and power. Joshua speaks with the people (10-18), establishing the continuity with Moses in leadership and the continuing mission of God’s purposes. God invites His people into His promised blessing. His people must listen and obey.
 
Courage is necessary to trust God’s commission and feast on His covenant blessings. “Be strong and courageous” is repeated to Joshua from God (6,9) and through Joshua to the people (18). Moses had commissioned Joshua with the same charge (Deuteronomy 31:6, 7) and Paul uses the same language for the church (1 Corinthians 16:13). David mediates the same message, too! “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage!” (Psalm 27:14)
 
Jesus is the fulfillment of all God’s promises, the Word made flesh, and the Way for believers to walk in courage, feasting on God’s promises, to live fruitfully in the fullness of life, trusting God’s word, even meditating on it day and night (8).
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you about God’s word to Joshua and Joshua’s word to the people as they prepare to enter the promised land of the Lord?
 
-What keeps your heart from having courage to believe God’s word and walk in God’s promises? Why?
 
-Jesus finished the work of atoning for sin so we can walk into the promises of God by faith. How is Jesus inviting you to feast on the fullness of God’s promises? Where do you need to listen and obey?
 
Key Verse
6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

My son, be attentive to my wisdom;
    incline your ear to my understanding,
2 that you may keep discretion,
    and your lips may guard knowledge.
3 For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey,
    and her speech is smoother than oil,
4 but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
    sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
    her steps follow the path to Sheol;
6 she does not ponder the path of life;
    her ways wander, and she does not know it.
 
7 And now, O sons, listen to me,
    and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Keep your way far from her,
    and do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you give your honor to others
    and your years to the merciless,
10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength,
    and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,
11 and at the end of your life you groan,
    when your flesh and body are consumed,
12 and you say, “How I hated discipline,
    and my heart despised reproof!
13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers
    or incline my ear to my instructors.
14 I am at the brink of utter ruin
    in the assembled congregation.”
 
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
    flowing water from your own well.
16 Should your springs be scattered abroad,
    streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be for yourself alone,
    and not for strangers with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed,
    and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
19     a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;
    be intoxicated always in her love.
20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman
    and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?
21 For a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord,
    and he ponders all his paths.
22 The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him,
    and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
23 He dies for lack of discipline,
    and because of his great folly he is led astray.
 
 
Meditation
God’s steadfast love wants to strengthen the foundation for marriage through true wisdom, the applied knowledge of how to walk God’s path to live profitably in God’s design for the most intimate relationship of life.
 
The greatest enemy to a good foundation for marriage is infidelity, a heart devastated by unbridled lust. Jesus teaches disciples to avoid lust at all costs, to the extent of poking out eyes or chopping off hands (Matthew 5:27-30). Paul teaches to flee any sort of sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18). Lust, adultery, pornography … all lead to heartache and are tremendously hazardous for life and devastating for marriage.
 
Wisdom sees the corruption under the surface of seduction (1-6), the casualties from the pride of infidelity (7-13), and holds out the crowning joy of lasting delight in a faithful marriage (in opposition to a catastrophic alternative 14-23).  Holding wisdom in your heart while killing the temptations to lust (7-8) will launch you on a path of rejoicing in the blessed fountain of life the Lord provides through marriage (18-19).
 
2 Timothy 2:22 encourages believers to, “flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” The individual battle is strengthened by community. More powerfully, the Lord gives believers His Spirit to put to death the deeds of the flesh (Romans 8:13). God’s grace cleanses us and God’s steadfast love empowers us to move from corruption and casualties of lust to the crowning joy of a delightful marriage.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from the passage’s wisdom for marriage?
 
-Where do you identify with the casualties from the pride of infidelity because you did not pay attention to the warnings of the corruption of lust?
 
-Jesus promises power to kill lust and power for a delightful marriage.  Ask Jesus for forgiveness and for Him to fortify you for faithfulness and fidelity of mind and heart.
 
Key Verse
18 Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth,

Concerning Moab.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
“Woe to Nebo, for it is laid waste!
    Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken;
the fortress is put to shame and broken down;
2     the renown of Moab is no more.
In Heshbon they planned disaster against her:
    ‘Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!’
You also, O Madmen, shall be brought to silence;
    the sword shall pursue you.
3 “A voice! A cry from Horonaim,
    ‘Desolation and great destruction!’
4 Moab is destroyed;
    her little ones have made a cry.
5 For at the ascent of Luhith
    they go up weeping;
for at the descent of Horonaim
    they have heard the distressed cry of destruction.
6 Flee! Save yourselves!
    You will be like a juniper in the desert!
7 For, because you trusted in your works and your treasures,
    you also shall be taken;
and Chemosh shall go into exile
    with his priests and his officials.
8 The destroyer shall come upon every city,
    and no city shall escape;
the valley shall perish,
    and the plain shall be destroyed,
    as the Lord has spoken.
9 “Give wings to Moab,
    for she would fly away;
her cities shall become a desolation,
    with no inhabitant in them.
10 “Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.
11 “Moab has been at ease from his youth
    and has settled on his dregs;
he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
    nor has he gone into exile;
so his taste remains in him,
    and his scent is not changed.
12 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I shall send to him pourers who will pour him, and empty his vessels and break his jars in pieces. 13 Then Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.
14 “How do you say, ‘We are heroes
    and mighty men of war’?
15 The destroyer of Moab and his cities has come up,
    and the choicest of his young men have gone down to slaughter,
    declares the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16 The calamity of Moab is near at hand,
    and his affliction hastens swiftly.
17 Grieve for him, all you who are around him,
    and all who know his name;
say, ‘How the mighty scepter is broken,
    the glorious staff.’
18 “Come down from your glory,
    and sit on the parched ground,
    O inhabitant of Dibon!
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;
    he has destroyed your strongholds.
19 Stand by the way and watch,
    O inhabitant of Aroer!
Ask him who flees and her who escapes;
    say, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is put to shame, for it is broken;
    wail and cry!
Tell it beside the Arnon,
    that Moab is laid waste.
21 “Judgment has come upon the tableland, upon Holon, and Jahzah, and Mephaath, 22 and Dibon, and Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 and Kiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,24 and Kerioth, and Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, declares the Lord.
26 “Make him drunk, because he magnified himself against the Lord, so that Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he too shall be held in derision. 27 Was not Israel a derision to you? Was he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him you wagged your head?
28 “Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock,
    O inhabitants of Moab!
Be like the dove that nests
    in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.
29 We have heard of the pride of Moab--
    he is very proud--
of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance,
    and the haughtiness of his heart.
30 I know his insolence, declares the Lord;
    his boasts are false,
    his deeds are false.
31 Therefore I wail for Moab;
    I cry out for all Moab;
    for the men of Kir-hareseth I mourn.
32 More than for Jazer I weep for you,
    O vine of Sibmah!
Your branches passed over the sea,
    reached to the Sea of Jazer;
on your summer fruits and your grapes
    the destroyer has fallen.
33 Gladness and joy have been taken away
    from the fruitful land of Moab;
I have made the wine cease from the winepresses;
    no one treads them with shouts of joy;
    the shouting is not the shout of joy.
34 “From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become desolate.35 And I will bring to an end in Moab, declares the Lord, him who offers sacrifice in the high place and makes offerings to his god.36 Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of Kir-hareseth. Therefore the riches they gained have perished.
37 “For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. On all the hands are gashes, and around the waist is sackcloth. 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation, for I have broken Moab like a vessel for which no one cares, declares the Lord. 39 How it is broken! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab has become a derision and a horror to all that are around him.”
40 For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, one shall fly swiftly like an eagle
    and spread his wings against Moab;
41 the cities shall be taken
    and the strongholds seized.
The heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day
    like the heart of a woman in her birth pains;
42 Moab shall be destroyed and be no longer a people,
    because he magnified himself against the Lord.
43 Terror, pit, and snare
    are before you, O inhabitant of Moab!
declares the Lord.
44 He who flees from the terror
    shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
    shall be caught in the snare.
For I will bring these things upon Moab,
    the year of their punishment,
declares the Lord.
45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
    fugitives stop without strength,
for fire came out from Heshbon,
    flame from the house of Sihon;
it has destroyed the forehead of Moab,
    the crown of the sons of tumult.
46 Woe to you, O Moab!
    The people of Chemosh are undone,
for your sons have been taken captive,
    and your daughters into captivity.
47 Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
    in the latter days, declares the Lord.”
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.
 
Meditation
God’s marvelous mercy is magnified when we are honest with His just judgement. This is why the Apostles are quick to teach the early church the depth of sin, inability to justify themselves, the just penalty of death for our sin, and the satisfaction the work of Jesus brings by dying in our place on the cross (Remember Romans 3).
 
Moab was a close neighbor of Israel, each knowing the other’s people, politics, and places (twenty specific towns are named in the judgement!). David’s great grandmother, Ruth, came from Moab and the familiarity is why Moab features prominently in the minor prophets.
 
The pride of Moab is the reason they are the target for judgement. Moab “magnified themselves against the Lord” (42) by trusting false gods (7, 13), military boasting (14), fame (17), and national arrogance (29-30). Pride comes before the fall. God’s judgement comes against all who posture themselves pridefully before Him.
 
In astounding revelation, we see God revealing His heart by weeping over the judgement. Three times God speaks of His own mourning (31, 32, 26) as Jeremiah calls others to mourn, too. Truly, God loves the world! And in an amazing turn of providence, God promises mercy for Moab (47). The pride of Moab magnifying themselves before God leads to the ruin of judgement. The mercy of God is magnified in His promise to “restore the fortunes of Moab in the latter days” (47). God’s marvelous mercy is magnified through this honest revelation of His judgement, powerfully pointing to the cross.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you about the character of God, His justice to punish sin, His lament, or His mercy revealed?
 
-Where do you stand pridefully against the Lord, identifying with the description of Moab above?
 
-How does God’s mercy move you to be transformed (as Romans 12:1-2 invites us to do), responding to His work by living life as a living sacrifice?
 
Key Verse
47 Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the latter days, declares the Lord.” Thus far is the judgment on Moab.

The people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and made him king in his father's place in Jerusalem. 2 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3 Then the king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 4 And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him to Egypt.
5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. 6 Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried part of the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon and put them in his palace in Babylon. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and the abominations that he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.
9 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 10 In the spring of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, with the precious vessels of the house of the Lord, and made his brother Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.
11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord.13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the Lord that he had made holy in Jerusalem.
15 The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.
Jerusalem Captured and Burned17 Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand. 18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. 19 And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. 20 He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.
The Proclamation of Cyrus22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:23 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up.’”
 
Meditation
God’s sovereign grace relentlessly communicates that our sin is never the end of the story. For His glory, God is redeeming all He allows.
 
Today’s reading crystalizes two key themes of 2 Chronicles: God is faithful to keep His word and God is sovereign over history.  The historical snapshot (four empires, five kings, and almost 100 years summarized in 23 verses!) reinforces these realities. God used kings and empires as pawns to fulfill His word and do His work: “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred the Spirit of Cyrus…” (22). God is faithful to His word. God is sovereign over all His-story.
 
Embedded within the rapid historical overview are seeds of hope: The sin and rebellion against God at the epicenter of exile is not the end of the story. God faithfully sent prophets. The people continuously rejected God’s word, “despising” and “scoffing” at His messengers (15-16). Yet God returns them from exile where He sent them and promises restored presence through rebuilding the temple. God does not remove His steadfast love from rebellious people. As a loving Father, God disciplines the people He loves and delights in restoration of relationship.
 
Jesus is the true temple (John 2:19) and the fulness of restored relationship between God and humanity. Sin is not the end of the story because Jesus came to pay the penalty for our sin, going into exile so believers can be welcomed home to begin again.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially how the sin and rebellion of Judah was not the end of the story?
 
-How do you identify with the people who continuously rejected God’s word, even scoffing and mocking His prophets?
 
-God’s sovereign grace must move us to repentance and restoration of relationship. How does the work of Jesus, who went into exile on the cross so we can be welcomed to the Father’s love, compel you to repent from sin? What does repentance look like?
 
Key Verse
15 The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.