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Daily Devotions

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 
Day 
Day 499

"The calamity of Moab is near"

Text: Jeremiah 48:16

THE DESTRUCTION OF MOAB

It was not easy for Moab to accept that it can be destroyed! They had never experienced such defeat! The destruction of the nation was truly a calamity!

“The calamity of Moab is near at hand,
And his affliction comes quickly.
Bemoan him, all you who are around him;
And all you who know his name,
Say, ‘How the strong staff is broken,
The beautiful rod!'”
Jeremiah 48:16-17

1. “The calamity of Moab is near at hand, and his affliction comes quickly”

a) The destruction of the nation was called “a calamity”.

b) This may also be described as an “affliction” that would end the life of the nation.

i) It was near at hand.

ii) It was coming very quickly.

2. “Bemoan him, all you who are around him; and all you who know his name, say,
‘How the strong staff is broken, the beautiful rod'”

a) The moaning of the people:

i) The moans of people afflicted by war are pitiful indeed.

ii) They are often deep and also very personal when loved ones die in war.

b) Moaning for the king:

i) In ancient nations, people mourn personally when their rulers die.

ii) They feel the sense of great personal loss.

c) Reference to the king:

i) Kings often had sceptres.

ii) These are often beautifully crafted things.

d) Different names for the sceptre:

i) “The strong staff”

ii) “The beautiful rod”

e) The breaking of the sceptre.

i) Sometimes it is confiscated by the conquerors.

ii) Sometimes it is destroyed (“broken”)

iii) The breaking of the sceptre is symbolic.
The king is no longer the ruler!

iv) This was a part of the calamity that Moab would experience.