21 “Judgment has also come upon the plain, upon Holon, Jahzah and against Mephaath, 22 against Dibon, Nebo and Beth-diblathaim, 23 against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul and Beth-meon, 24 against Kerioth, Bozrah and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 The horn of Moab has been cut off and his arm broken,” declares the Lord. 26 “Make him drunk, for he has [o]become arrogant toward the Lord; so Moab will [p]wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock. 27 Now was not Israel a laughingstock to you? Or was he [q]caught among thieves? For each time you speak about him you shake your head in scorn.
28 “Leave the cities and dwell among the crags,
O inhabitants of Moab,
And be like a dove that nests
Beyond the mouth of the chasm.
29 “We have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud—
Of his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance and [r]his self-exaltation.
30 “I know his fury,” declares the Lord,
“But it is futile;
His idle boasts have accomplished nothing.
31 “Therefore I will wail for Moab,
Even for all Moab will I cry out;
[s]I will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
32 “More than the weeping for Jazer
I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah!
Your tendrils stretched across the sea,
They reached to the sea of Jazer;
Upon your summer fruits and your grape harvest
The destroyer has fallen.
33 “So gladness and joy are taken away
From the fruitful field, even from the land of Moab.
And I have made the wine to cease from the wine presses;
No one will tread them with shouting,
The shouting will not be shouts of joy.
The word against Moab continues, and here God specifically points out their pride. This isn’t just any pride, but they have “become arrogant toward the Lord…” (v. 26) It goes to such a level that God says, “I know his fury, but it is futile; his idle boasts have accomplished nothing.” That’s some extreme pride, and so the reaction of God is all the more shocking.
You can just about picture them, shaking their fists at the heavens, daring God to reign down judgment. We would rightly think, if anyone deserves judgment, then it is them. Like Jonah, we could camp out and just wait for the fire and brimstone to fall. And then? In vv. 31-32, God weeps for them. Didn’t see that one coming, did we?
Those two verses show us once again the incredible love of God. These are not even “His people”, even though they were distant kin of the Israelites via Abraham’s nephew Lot. Still, though God must judge them for their rebellion and arrogance, and God only knows what else, He wailed and cried out, because they were His creation. They could have been Assyrian, Egyptian, Gaul or Mongolian, and God was their creator, and His breath was in their lungs from of old (Genesis 2:7).
Thus we ought to remember, for most of us as believers were not born of Abraham, but have been grafted in (Romans 11) because of His great love. We might be tempted to give up on some, or think they aren’t worthy, or there isn’t any possible way a particular person could be saved. We would be right, but for the love and power of God, that made the impossible possible.
So don’t give up, not on anyone, and strive every day to love people as God loves them. Even in the depths of their sin (or ours), He weeps for them, He loves them, and He gave His very life to rescue each of us. Don’t take that for granted, and let God’s love pour out through you.