Moab

Moab was one of the 3 nations that bordered the nation of Israel; the other two were Edom and Ammon. Israel was always being attacked by these three nations. Moab and Ammon were descended from Lot through his daughters. This is a sordid past but God LOVES sinners and includes them in His family tree. (Fun fact: Ruth was from Moab). You may remember Lot was descended from Esau.

Edomites lived in the caves of Petra Jordan. They were destroyed as prophesied by Isaiah. The only thing that remains of them is rock. Petra is the ancient Greek word for rock. If you ever visit Petra plan to do a lot of walking or ride a camel. You will definitely get more than 10,000 steps in that day! There are no Edomites there because they were completely destroyed and some Bedouins moved in but when Petra was declared a historical site they were moved outside Petra. The day I visited Petra there was a movie crew filming a movie with actors in an old car. There are no artifacts at Petra just rock because everything was destroyed.

Ammon is the modern day Hashemite kingdom of Jordan. They claim to be very western friendly and you can find lots of western things there like movies and music but most of its bootlegged. Westerners are treated with a superficial respect, but it’s fake. I spent two years there and never made a real genuine friend. I made lots of fake ones though. Jordan has a lot of positive qualities, but it also has a dark side which I won’t get into at this time.

Back to Moab. God loves Moab. It had access to the truth about the one true God, but it never took hold. It kind of resembles us today. We know the truth, we have access to the truth, we’re surrounded by the truth but we never embrace it.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

So Israel was walking distance to the land where they could earn truth. Instead they took another path: idolatry. Chapters 14 and 15 of Isaiah speak of God’s judgment against Moab.

God is a jealous God; he wants all of you. He doesn’t want you to chase after false gods like the Moabites did.

Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth.

Isaiah 16:11

God loves the people in Jordan and so should we. I repent; God forgive me for not praying for them. They are glued to a false image of God. Unstick them from this idol worship. In verse 12 it says they pray, but it doesn’t do any good.

And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.

Isaiah 16:12

You can be sincere in your faith, but be sincerely wrong. If Mohammed were a righteous man, his words would carry weight. But murder and sex with a 9 year old disqualified him from being regarded as a true prophet of the living God. Being an unrepentant murderer and pedophile makes one unfit for God’s service. True prophets are holy men who lead holy lives. False prophets have a form of godliness but they deny the power of the true living God.

Again, I say God’s love for Moab is great. We cannot fathom the love of God. It reaches farther and deeper than our human comprehension. It culminated on the cross where God Himself died for our sins. The debt was paid with precious blood which wipes away the sin of anyone who asks for it.

Dear reader trust in Jesus today!