Introduction
So far,
we have studied the background of Amos and the prophecies by Amos against
Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, and Ammon. These prophecies Amos spoke to Israel,
not to the countries being charged and judged by God. God had a purpose for
Israel hearing His charges and judgments against these nations. He wanted them
to know He avenged them against their enemies. God, too, wanted Israel to
recognize their own sins as He charged the surrounding nations.
Damascus,
the capital city of the nation of Aram on the northern border of Israel, battled
Israel and stole Gilead from them. They took part of God’s promised inheritance
to the tribes of Gad, Manasseh, and Reuben. The people of Aram persecuted Israel. Gaza, in the southwestern most nation
in Canaan called Philistia, often raided Israel and took their possessions and people
as spoils of war. They sold the people into slavery, sometimes with the help of
Edom. The people of Philistia harrassed Israel. Tyre and the nation of Phoenicia had a covenant of brotherhood with
Israel because of their relationship with David and Solomon. They broke their
covenant and betrayed Israel by often capturing Israelites and selling them
into slavery with the help of Philistia and Edom. The people of Phoenicia back-stabbed Israel. Edom, blood relatives of
Israel through Esau, harbored anger and jealousy against the Israelites because
of Jacob receiving Esau’s birthright and blessing from his father. Each
generation fed that anger and caused them to take every opportunity for
vengeance. The people of Edom held onto jealousy and anger over Israel's gift of the Promised Land from God. Ammon’s people, too, were blood relatives of Israel. Through Lot and
his youngest daughter, their son, Ben-ammi, became the founder of the nation of
Ammon. The people of Ammon remained discontented with the land upon which they
lived and were not grateful for Israel’s help in defeating King Sihon of the
Amorites. The Ammonites’ greed caused them to want what King Sihon took from
them even though it was not part of God’s provision of land for their people.
Ammon coveted what the Israelites had instead of experiencing contentment and
recognizing the fruitfulness of Israel came from the LORD. Though the Israelites
showed they were allies of Ammon against the Ammorites, the Ammonites bore a grudge
because they wanted the land for themselves. Ammon felt greed and discontent and harmed Israel. The descriptors of each of the nations could hang like plaques beneath the nations' names upon a wall: Gaza-Persecutor; Philistia-Harasser; Phoenicia-Back-Stabber; Edom-Angry; Ammon-Greedy and Discontent.
If you
look on an Old Testament map, you will notice Amos’ prophecies wove a net
around Israel. His first prophecy dealt with people to the north of Israel. The
next prophecy dealt with a nation, Philistia, in the southwest corner of Canaan.
The third prophecy dealt with people in the northwestern corner of Canaan.
Next, Amos crossed over Israel to the southeastern side of Canaan to the nation
of Edom. He wove his rope to the northeastern side when he prophesied against
Ammon. Today, we will understand Amos took the rope back to the middle of the
eastern side of the Jordan to prophesy against Moab. He now has pulled each
side of Israel into one net. The next prophecy will begin to pull it tight so
Israel feels God’s charge and judgment itself.
Today,
we will study Amos 2:1-3. This passage is Amos’ prophecy of God’s charge and
judgment against Moab. We will learn who the people of Moab were and what God’s
charge against them was. Next we will gain an understanding of Moab’s history
and God’s later judgment of them. Beyond this, we will look at the history of the
fulfillment of God’s judgment against them. Finally, just as Amos and God
wanted Israel to hear this prophecy and apply it to themselves and their
relationship with the LORD, we will look at our own hearts and lives to see if
God could judge us of these same things and what we can do about it. Let’s
begin our study.
Who was Moab?
If you
remember from our study on Ammon, Ben-ammi, the founder of the Ammonites came
from the union of Lot and his youngest daughter. After they fled Sodom, Lot’s
daughters thought they were the only people left alive in the world. They assumed
it fell upon them to repopulate the world so they caused Lot to get drunk.
After he was drunk each of the daughter’s lay with him and became pregnant.
Moab was the son of the oldest daughter and Lot. (Genesis 19:30-38) Moab’s name
means “from father.”
God gave
land to both Abraham and Lot. Lot chose the fertile southern area near the
basin of the Dead Sea. In Deuteronomy 2:9, we read of God telling the
Israelites, “Do not harass Moab, nor provoke them to war, for I will not give
you any of their lands as a possession because I have given Ar to the sons of
Lot as a possession.” Lot’s sons possessed the lands from the southern basin of
the Dead Sea to the Ar (Arnon) River on the eastern side of the Dead Sea as God’s
gift to them. This land ranged from being fertile because of the water from the
Jordan, Arnon, and Zered Rivers to being mountainous. It had plateaus of
3000-4500 feet to chasms and valleys at sea level. The tops of the plateaus
were fertile for produce such as corn. The plains and valleys were excellent
places for crops and grazing cattle and sheep. Second Kings 3:4 gives us a hint
of the lands fertility. Moab could give 100,000 lambs a year to Israel along
with the wool from 100,000 rams.
Moab
made a living off the land God gave them. They did not recognize the God of
their ancestors, Lot and Abraham, as the provider of their prosperity. The
people of Moab worshiped false gods. They worshiped Chemosh, Baal of Peor, and
Molech. (Numbers 21:29, Jeremiah 48:7, 13, & 46, 2 Kings 3:27) Chemosh was
their chief god. Molech and Chemosh were two names given to the same deity. Chemosh
demanded human sacrifice as we understand from 2 Kings 3:27 just as Molech did..
King Mesha of Moab sacrificed his firstborn son to gain the god’s favor to
defeat his enemies. The worship of false gods comes about because of fear – the
fear of not appeasing every god that may exist and could become dissatisfied
with people causing them to experience hard times. This belief meant, instead
of hard times being times to grow in reliance upon the loving Yahweh, it was a
time of fear wondering what wrong you committed and how to appease the gods’
anger. Understand, Moab did not differ from the other nations around Israel. They all
worshiped false gods. For this, the LORD was punishing them, too.
The Charge against
Moab
What was
God’s charge against Moab? Was it different from His charge against the other
nations? Amos tells us in Amos 2:1,
“Thus says the LORD, ‘For three transgressions of Moab and for four I will not revoke its punishment because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.’” [NASB]
Would
the king of Moab really desecrate the corpse or bones of a king? Let’s understand
what Amos meant by looking at the Hebrew words and remembering what the
prophetic form meant.
Amos
began his five other prophecies using this same prophetic form – “for three
transgressions and for four I will not revoke its punishment.” Remember, in
biblical numerology, three plus four equals seven and denotes completion. The
Moabites had sinned so much and often without remorse and repentance that their sin
filled them up and God had to act to stop them. Moab had measured sin upon sin
and God’s righteousness could take no more. The loving Father, who was the
Father of Moab’s father, had mercy upon them for hundreds of years. Now His
mercy and love would have to bring about discipline. God had to discipline them
to bring them back to a right relationship with Him. God’s righteousness had to
bring judgment, and He said He would not revoke it.
Now let
us look at the Hebrew words Amos used. The word “transgressions” comes from pesha (peh-shah) and means rebellion against God, other nations, and other people.
Transgressions are sins. The word “burned” comes from the Hebrew word saraph (saw-raf) and it means to burn, possibly
like an undertaker. It meant they burned the body of the dead instead of burying
it respectfully in a tomb. The word “lime” is what we know it to be. It comes
from the burning or cremating of bones into calcium carbonate. The charge God
brought against Moab means they cremated the body of the King of Edom.
Why would
the charge of that sin be significant back in the 800-600 BC era? Consider the
uses of lime. It is used in graves and in the treatment of sewage and waste to
remove impurities. Plaster, mortar, and whitewash contain lime. Besides these, fertilizer
or plant food contains lime to help plants grow. These each are useful things,
but realize Moab burned the bones of a king, the King of Edom, one who received
God’s past blessings. For people of royalty and wealth, their relatives and
servants placed their corpses into hewn-stone tombs to rest with their
ancestors. To burn them into lime, meant disrespect of their title and rank
among people. Consider Israel asked his sons to take his bones into the Promised
Land. Jacob of Arimethea placed Jesus’ body into his own hewn tomb. As in other
places in the Bible, the place and manner of burial was very important. For
Moab to burn the bones of a king, especially one whose ancestor was Abraham, showed
disrespect. The bones of the king would not be gathered to their ancestors or
have part in a resurrection of the dead as the Jews taught. By taking bones out
of a grave or not burying the corpse, the Jews and people of the region
believed the deceased would not find rest and was cursed. Exhuming the bones of
a person profaned the dead person’s memory. By turning the king’s bone to lime,
the King Mesha sneered and denigrated the status of the king by relatively
saying his corpse after death was worthy only for grave, fertilizer, and waste
decomposition use. His actions against the king of Edom showed his contempt for
the king by placing him below even the lowest caste of society.
Why is
that significant? Consider David’s thoughts and actions. While Saul chased
David to kill him because of his jealousy, David had a couple times when he
could have killed Saul. He explained to his army why he did not kill him. David
told his followers to kill Saul would have been killing God’s anointed leader.
Who was he to decide who would be king and make himself greater than God? When
the king of Moab burned the king of Edom’s bones, he took it upon himself to
decide – to judge – the king and display him as being worthless. The king of
Moab disrespected the king of Edom and called him worthless by burning his
bones.
·
Is there someone we know who
shows contempt for other people and disrespects them publicly? The person
defames their reputation in his or her actions and words.
·
Are there times when we do this
to people we know? Possible gossiping about a person or cutting a person down
to size so we feel bigger and better about ourselves and what we are doing?
The History of Moab
What is
the history of Moab? What is the history of this charge by God? Were the
Moabites really this ruthless and disrespectful?
Just like
Ammon and Edom, Moab had a long history before the Israelites arrived in the Canaan
territory. They had a long history of animosity toward Israel, too. Consider
these instances.
1.
Judges
11:15-18 – Joshua asked the kings of Moab and Ammon to allow the Israelites to
pass through their land to get to the Promised Land. The Israelites walked
around Edom and Moab because their kings would not let them enter their
territory. Fear of the numbers of Israelites caused them to shut their borders
to Israel.
2.
Numbers
22-24 and Exodus 15:15 – The chiefs and leaders of Edom and Moab trembled at
the size of the band of Israelites. When the sons of Israel camped in the
plains of Moab beyond the Jordan River opposite Jericho, King Balak of Moab
with Midian sent for the prophet Balaam to cast a curse upon Israel. He refused
three times and blessed them as the LORD told him. At God’s command, Balaam
instead cursed Moab in Numbers 24:17. Fear drove Moab to want to harm Israel.
3.
Number
25:1-3 – Moab’s women seduced the men of Israel while they camped in Moab at
Shittim before crossing the Jordan River. They caused the men of Israel to
worship false Gods and bow down to them. If the Israelites were too big to
defeat, they could make them stray from their mighty God to worship other gods.
Fear led Moab to seduce the Israelites into following other gods.
4.
Judges
3:12-14 – The LORD used Moab under the leadership of King Eglon to punish
Israel for not following Him. They served Eglon for eighteen years. The
Israelites sent tribute to King Eglon for these years because he defeated and
possessed the city of the palm trees. God can use Israel’s enemies to punish
them by allowing their actions against them. He will later punish the enemies
of Israel.
5.
Judges
10:6 – Again the people of Moab, along with of Aram, Ammon, and Philistia, seduced
the Israelites into following their gods – the Baals and Ashteroth. God allowed
the Philistines and Ammonites to capture portions of their tribes for eighteen
years as punishment. God used Israel’s enemies by allowing them to capture
parts of the tribes. He would punish their enemies later.
6.
1
Samuel 14:47 – Moab and the other Canaanite nations plundered Israel so King
Saul attacked these enemies and afflicted punishment on them. Moab was
discontent with what they had and wanted more.
7.
2
Samuel 8:2 & 12, and 1 Chronicles 18:2 – Moab kept attacking Israel so
David battled them. As before, Moab was discontent with what they had from God.
They fought God’s people and He would later punish them.
8.
1
Kings 11:7 – Solomon’s wife influenced him to build and altar for Chemosh, her
god, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. Again the Moabites seduced Israel to
worship other gods. If you cannot beat your enemies, bring them down to your
level or lower, is probably what Moab thought.
9.
2
Kings 3 – King Mesha of Moab paid duties to the king of Israel as a vassal whom
he conquered. When King Ahab of Israel died, Mesha rebelled. King Jehoram of
Israel, King Jehoshaphat of Judah, and the King of Edom went to battle against
the rebelling Moabites. Mesha’s rage caused him to sacrifice his firstborn son
to appeal to his god to help them win the battle. Moab fought the Israelites and
God’s punishment. They practiced human sacrifice, a sacrilege to God.
10. 2 Chronicles 20:1, 10, &
22-23 – Moab, Ammon, and the Meunites came against Judah in the days of King
Jehoshaphat. God set an ambush for these nations and killed them. Moab still
was discontent with their portion of land and wanted to take the Israelites down.
They disrespected the Israelites’ God by throwing themselves against Israel
repeatedly.
11. 2 Kings 24:2 – As punishment for
Israel’s sin, God sent Moab, Ammon, Aram, and Chaldee to destroy Judah. Though
God allowed these nations to go against Israel as punishment from Him, He did
not hold these nations unaccountable for assailing His children. God would judge
them, too.
As
becomes obvious with reading each of these passages, Moab was not a restful
nation. They sought to create discord with both kingdoms of Israel. Moab often
disrespected the Israelite rulers. They feared the numerous Israelites. The
Moabites feared their own false gods. They wanted more land than the LORD
apportioned to them. The Moabites were discontent and disrespectful of the LORD’s
people-Israel, other nations and their leaders. They were disrespectful of
Yahweh, the God of their ancestors. The Moabites were a fractious people.
Despite
this, two instances arose in Moabite history that showed they cared for others.
The first occurred in the story of Ruth and Naomi. After Naomi’s husband and
sons died, Ruth, her Moabite daughter-in-law, moved with her back to Israel.
Ruth cared for Naomi and provided descendants for her family lineage. The
second instance of Moab caring for someone other than themselves occurred when
David took his parents to Moab. He asked the king to let them stay with him
while he tried to survive as King Saul hunted him (1 Samuel 22:2-4).
We need
to concern ourselves with God’s charge against Moab. Most theologians through
the centuries consider the incident when King Mesha burned the bones of the
king of Edom as having occurred after the battle recorded in 2 Kings 3. As a
vassal state of the kingdom of Israel, Mesha rebelled against Israel when King
Ahab died. The kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom joined together to go against
Moab and bring them in line. These three kings sought God’s will through one of
His prophets, Elisha. Elisha told them what God said, and they followed His instruction.
On the morning after the prophecy, the king of Moab saw the water was red and
thought the three kings had fought and killed each other. He ordered his army
to get the spoils of war. When Moab’s army arrived at the camp of the three
kings, the battle became intense and the Moabites fled. Mesha took 700
swordsmen to try to break through to the king of Edom and could not. In his
rage and fear, he returned to his city and burned his firstborn son, the heir
to the throne, as a human sacrifice to his god, Chemosh. This appeal to his god
emboldened the army of Moab so they rallied with a great wrath against the king
of Israel and his allies. The three allied armies returned to their home
countries.
Notice
in 2 Kings 3, King Mesha burned his son as a sacrifice. He did not burn the
king of Edom. God’s charge in Amos 2:1 says he burned the bones of the king of
Edom. Though no written Bible passage exists recording the burning of the kings
bones, historians and theologians through the ages agree on two possibilities. The
one most often cited is that after the kings of Judah and Israel returned to
their lands, the king of Moab followed the king of Edom, who was weaker without
his allies. Mesha then killed the king of Edom and burned his bones. A slight alternative
to this considers Mesha dug up the bones of a previously buried king of Edom
and burned them. The other major line of thought is that 2 Kings 3:27 did not
mean Mesha burned his own son when it said, “he took his oldest son who was to
reign,” but that he took the son of the King of Edom and killed him upon the
walls of his city. This scenario is a stretch, but some Jewish historians
prefer this understanding.
Whichever
scenario is the actual history of God’s charge is not as important as the
reason for God to level this charge against Moab. Ultimately, Moab disrespected
the remains of a king, judged the king and disgraced him by treating his bones
and memory with contempt. He metaphorically made him common, nothing more than
lime that makes fertilizer, cleanses gravesites, and makes common whitewash. Besides
this, Moab disrespected a person of Israel, Esau’s descendant, or Lot’s
descendant if Mesha burned his own son. Just as David knew God would judge him
for killing King Saul, God would judge King Mesha for killing and desecrating
the king of Edom or the future king of Moab. Both were related to Abraham
though only Edom’s king was a direct descendant of Abraham. What judgment would
be fitting punishment for disrespecting a king from the line of Abraham, any
person of Israel, or any human all of whom God considers sacred? God’s wise and
righteous judgment tells us in verses two and three.
·
Have you experienced a person who
mercilessly continued to harass you? Did they do it to make themselves feel
more important or significant in the community or family?
·
Do you catch yourself wanting to
say bad things about a person or cut a person down because he or she thinks too
highly of him or herself or because you feel you are not being noticed?
·
What consequences happen when you
do these types of things? Does it affect you internally? Do you act upon these
impulses? How does that affect you?
Judgment of God
God’s
judgment of Moab for their sin of disrespect and desecrating the dead is similar
to the His judgments on the other nations. Amos stated it in verses two and
three,
“‘So I will send fire upon Moab and it will consume the citadels of Kerioth and Moab will die amid tumult with war cries and the sound of a trumpet. I will also cut off the judge from her midst and slay all her princes with him,’ says the LORD.” [NASB]
As we remember
from Amos’ earlier prophecies, “fire” come from the word ‘esh (aysh) and means the flames of God’s anger either as fire from
heaven or as war from enemies sent or allowed as punishment from God. “Send”
means to stretch out, shoot forth, or let loose. Amos said God’s punishment and
anger would shoot out as fire. He would completely destroy the citadels – the
fortresses and strongholds – of Moab. Amos named Kerioth of Moab to receive
this destruction. As the principal city of Moab, like the other prophecies, it
meant the whole of Moab would receive the wrath of God. God would destroy them.
Jeremiah 48:24 and 41 note Kerioth as being a fortified city containing a
sanctuary for Chemosh. Historians consider Kerioth may be the same as the city
of Ar on the northern border of Moab. God stated through Amos that Moab would
die amid tumult of war cries and the sound of a trumpet. “Die” comes from the
Hebrew word muwth, which means to
perish or be put to death. The people of Moab would experience inner fear as
they heard the war cries of the enemy army approaching. Their insides would
melt in despair at the sound of the trumpet calling the charge of the army
against them. The people who disrespected and appeared to have no fear of other
nations since they often rebelled and battled the surrounding nations would
quiver at the mighty din of the war cries and trumpets, and the crash of
destruction as the walls fell.
Besides
their fall to enemy armies, Amos prophesied God would cut off the judge from
Moab. He would eliminate the leader/governor of their country and they would
have no government. They would be a people lost without a leader. The LORD said
He would slay her princes, too. Remember, princes can mean the king, prince, or
chief. It can mean the priests who lead them to worship false gods, too. God would
remove their government and their religious leaders. Their false gods, as
always, would have no power over them and no influence. The Moabites would be completely
cut off from their gods. They would be lost and wandering.
Given
this understanding of the words Amos used, what do these two verses mean?
Consider this paraphrase. God would send His wrath like a fire upon Moab. It would
destroy their strongholds upon which they counted for safety including the
chief one at Kerioth. God would destroy Moab completely. They would perish
before their time with much confusion and with war cries that made people fear
and put the fear of the LORD in them. The LORD would come like the sound of a
trumpet-suddenly and with deathly certainty. Moab would die in war. God would
cut off their rulers, judges, and priests. Moab would die and no one would remain
to lead the remnant of survivors. There would no longer be a nation of Moab.
·
When a person disrespects or
denigrates another person, how does that make the community see that disrespectful
person? Do they look up to him or her with disdain or with admiration? What
happens to that disrespectful person in the short or long term?
·
Have you disrespected someone and
brought undue scrutiny upon him or her? How did that work out for you? Did you
receive praise? Did you feel good about yourself? Did God prick your
conscience? Later, did you wonder why your relationship with God wasn’t
vibrant?
The Fulfillment of God’s
Judgment against Moab
God’s
servants, the prophets, prophesied against Moab beginning with Amos’
prophecies. Other prophets spoke God’s judgment against them later. These
prophecies include Isaiah 25:10-12, Zephaniah 2:8-9, Jeremiah 9:26, 25:12-38,
and 48:1-47, and Ezekiel 25:8-11. What Moab experienced immediately after Amos’
prophecy was not the total fulfillment of God’s judgment against them. The
later prophecies confirm that. Isaiah said the Moabites would be trodden down.
Zephaniah said they would be like Sodom, a perpetual desolation. Jeremiah said God
would punish the uncircumcised. The LORD would slay them like a great storm,
and Moab would experience shame and brokenness. The LORD offered hope to Moab.
At the end of Jeremiah 48, God told them He would restore the fortune of Moab
in days to come. He would remember His people. Though the people of Moab would be
leaderless, some taken into captivity, and the remnant left to survive in the
desolate places, God would bring them back, He said.
What
happened to Moab in history? Did God’s judgment occur? In reading the annals of
history, we read of empires battling against the nations of Canaan, the middle
and near east, and north Africa. In 738 BC Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria
occupied the provinces east of the Jordan River. The Nimrud inscription of
Tiglath-Pileser III states the Moabite king, Salmanu became a tributary to
Assyria. Sargon II of Assyria mentioned on a clay prism a revolt against him by
Moab joined by Philistia, Judah, and Edom. On the Taylor prism, the Assyrian
account states the king of Moab paid tribute to Sargon.
After
the Neo-Babylonians defeated Assyria, they overtook the previously held vassal
states of Assyria in the middle and near-east. Of these, history tells the story
of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon overtaking Moab, Ammon, Edom, and other small
nations on the eastern side of the Jordan River in 582 BC after Judah fell in
586 BC. By 572 BC, Babylon was in control of the whole region.
After
Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus the Great of the Persian Empire took over ruling the previous
areas of the Babylonian Empire. During the Persian reign, Moab disappeared from
historical records. It became an area overrun by tribes from Arabia. Nehemiah
4:7 notes the Arabians of the region, not the Moabites, were allies of the
Ammonites. Remember, Nehemiah was the man of God used to get the remnant people
of Israel to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem while the others were still in Babylonian
captivity. Even then Nehemiah recognized Moab was no longer a nation.
·
God will judge people for their
sins. Sometimes that judgment and correction comes while we are still alive.
·
Have you felt God’s
judgment/punishment/chastisement on you when you disrespected another person?
·
What did you do when you felt
God’s punishment? Did you run and hide or did you repent and return to a right
relationship with God?
Recap
What was
Moab’s sin according to God’s charge against them? They burned the bones of the
king of Edom. The king of Moab disrespected and desecrated the body of royalty,
one from the line of Abraham, no less. The Moabites continued to rail against authority
and God’s judgment against them throughout their history. They did not receive
correction and punishment with grace, repent, seek forgiveness, and renew a
right relationship with God or other people. The Moabites continued to do what
they wanted, when they wanted, for whatever reason they wanted. They were a
force unto themselves and considered themselves unaccountable to anyone.
·
Do we consider ourselves in this
same way?
·
Do we go about our lives thinking
I want it, I deserve it, I will reach for it, and I will get it no matter what may
be in our way?
·
Do we think the ends justify the
means?
Conclusion
Not even
considering the king of Edom was from the line of Abraham, he was a man created
in God’s image. God does not condone human sacrifice. He judged people of the
Bible for it and for their worship of false gods. God made a commandment and
gave it to the Israelites saying, “Thou shall not murder.” Whether murdering is
causing the death of a person, the defaming of a person’s reputation, or the
disrespecting and desecrating of a person’s body dead or alive, God speaks against
this. To God each human life is sacred.
Jesus
took this one step farther. When the Pharisee asked Him what the greatest
commandment was, He condensed the Ten Commandments given by the Father to the
Israelites into two commandments. He said in Matthew 22:37-40,
“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and foremost commandment. The second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” [NASB]
If you
disrespect or denigrate a person physically or verbally whether dead or alive
you do not love your neighbor. By not loving your neighbor you have broken the
second greatest commandment. When you break any commandment, you show you do
not love God and so break the greatest commandment.
Obedience = Love
How do
you love your neighbor?
·
Speak
kind words.
·
Do
not gossip or cut them down.
·
Do
not disrespect them or seek to harm them even if you disagree with them.
·
Do
acts of goodness and kindness for the person.
Proverbs
25:21-22 spoke about this. It said, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to
eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap burning
coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.” [NASB] Multiple benefits
occur from following this. First, by doing good to your enemy-the one who harms
you or wants to harm you-you stop them in their tracks questioning why you
treat them well when they do not do the same for you. Second, by continually
doing good for the one who wants to harm you or continues to harm you, they
experience the goodness, grace, and mercy of God and may seek it for
themselves. Third, by doing good, you practice it and it becomes habit so you change
for the better and consider more than once before you disrespect or denigrate
another person. Be like Hosea who continued to love his wife, Gomer, though she
was a prostitute. Be like Jesus who continued to love people though they spat
on Him, lashed his body, nailed Him to a cross, and pierced His side.
Ø
By
doing good, and speaking kindness and love to people, the person will see God’s
light of love. That person might change before God judges him or her like He
did the Moabites.
Ø
By
doing good, you will change more into the likeness of Christ. You will pray for
your enemies, turn the other cheek, and share the suffering of other people
while encouraging them.
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” [1 John 4:7, NASB]
v
Where
do you need God’s help to love when someone disrespects and denigrates you?
v
Where
do you need God’s help to love when you disrespect and want to denigrate
someone?
Loving is not always easy, but it is
necessary.
God commands it.
