Jeremiah 48:11 - Moab has been at rest from youth, like wine left on its dregs, not poured from one jar to another - she has not gone into exile. So she tastes as she did, and her aroma is unchanged.
This verse caught my attention today. Am I like Moab? I'll be honest, given the choice, I would rather enjoy a relaxing day with minimal activity as opposed to a day of going from place to place. I like rest, but too much rest is not good either.
As the verse states Moab has been at rest like wine left on its dregs. I'm no expert on making wine, but my understanding is that you need to let the wine rest only for a period of time on its dregs in order to heighten its strength and flavour.
They say that wine gets better with age. A way to improve a wines flavour and to clarify it, is to pour the wine from one vessel into another. In doing so, this will also reduce the wines bitterness.
This process of wine making lead me to compare it to our Christian walk. God needs to be our foundation (our dreg). We do need to take time to "rest" with Him. We need to read the Bible, pray, listen and obey Him. It is God alone that gives us our strength. By resting in Him, we will give off a flavour and aroma that is good and pleasing to Him.
But what good is our aroma and flavour if we never pop our cork and crack ourselves open? We should not be lax about doing God's work. By going out of our zone, we will expose ourselves to other elements that will cause us to trust in God and this allows us to grow and mature even further. By staying in our own "vessel" this further growth cannot happen.
This is one of the reasons why the Moabites were in the situation they were. They remained at rest. They retained their old sinful ways, pride, and wickedness. They did not challenge themselves to go outside of their comfort zones, they did not want to offend others, they became idle, and ultimately laid to waste (vs 9).
Have I changed? Has my aroma or flavour been transformed? Have I been "salted" the proper amount becoming seasoned to show God's love to others, or am I like the Moabites who became stagnant and "salted" too much, and ended up unproductive?
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: 2 Kings 23:31-35, 2 Chronicles 36:1-4, 2 Kings 23:36-37, 2 Chronicles 36:5, Jeremiah 22:1-23, Jeremiah 26
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1 comment:
Great thoughts on that verse Conrad! I particularly liked the point that, as important as it is for us to practice spiritual disciplines, we need to put feet on our faith in order to make a difference to those around us.
Josiah going into battle against the Egyptians - when it wasn't even his fight, and without asking God first - is a great reminder that we can never just go ahead and do what we think best before taking it to God in prayer.
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