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Lessons Learned From the Fall of Israel, Judah, Edom, Ammon, and Moab |
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Written by Michele Jackson
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Parents send their children to college with faith that giving them the opportunity to gain more knowledge will multiply into a better life for their children and improve society. God also gives us talents according to our “own personal ability” (Matthew 25:15 Amplified Bible), so that we can multiply them into a better life for ourselves and society. Knowledge of the law of God and the person of God can be thought of as a talent. When someone possesses more knowledge than another person, that person with the greater ability to obtain knowledge has been given a greater knowledge talent. Lot had exposure to Abraham. Jacob (Israel) and Esau were brothers. Egypt had exposure to Joseph then to the 12 tribes of Israel during the more than 400 years that the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. While Israel and Abraham had the greater talent of the knowledge of the law of God and the person of God, Edom (the nation descendant from Esau), Ammon and Moab (the nations descendant from Lot) and the Egyptians also had a talent of knowledge for they all had exposure to the law of God and the person of God through the people of Israel.
Matthew 25:29 teaches that to whom more is given more is required. Judgment for Israel, and to a lesser extent Edom, Ammon, Moab and Egypt will be stricter than the judgment for nations without exposure to the law of God and the person of God (Jeremiah 9:25-26). Israel during the time of the book of Jeremiah was divided into two kingdoms called Israel and Judah: Israel was the northern kingdom and Judah was southern kingdom. The northern kingdom had already fallen to the Assyrians by the time of the book of Jeremiah. The book of Jeremiah is primarily addressed to Judah whom God was warning that He already punished Israel for disobedience and Judah was about to get the punishment for disobedience also if they do not turn back to God and His laws.
Matthew 25 says through a parable that God rewards those who multiply the talents given to them and punishes those who do not. For in the parable of the servants given talents God says “Well done you upright (honorable, admirable) and faithful servant!” to the servants who multiplied their talents, but God says, “throw the good-for-nothing servant into outer darkness” to the servant who did not multiply his talent. God expected not only Israel and Judah to multiply the kingdom of God, He expected Edom, Ammon, Moab and Egypt to multiply the kingdom of God for they too had knowledge of God. Jeremiah 12:16-17 (Amplified Bible) says, “And if these [neighbor nations] will diligently learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, saying, As the Lord lives--even as they taught My people to swear by Baal--then will they be built up in the midst of My people. But if any nation will not hear and obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, says the Lord.”
Jeremiah teaches us that instead of Israel, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and Egypt multiplying the talent of knowledge of the law of God and the person of God, they choose to multiply knowledge of false gods (demons). Human beings can only worship God or the devil and demons. If you do not worship God according to the way He wants to be worshipped explained in the Bible, then you are worshipping the devil and demons. You cannot worship God anyway you think or feel or worship something/someone other than God, and please God. The way of human beings is not the way of God (Isaiah 55:8-9). Those who are exceptionally talented are warned by God through the prophet Jeremiah. “Thus says the Lord: Let not the wise and skillful person glory and boast in his wisdom and skill; let not the mighty and powerful person glory and boast in his strength and power; let not the person who is rich [in physical gratification and earthly wealth] glory and boast in his [temporal satisfactions and earthly] riches; But let him who glories glory in this: that he understands and knows Me [personally and practically, directly discerning and recognizing My character], that I am the Lord, Who practices loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord,” Jeremiah 9:23-24 (Amplified Bible).
The law of God and the person of God were especially revealed to Israel and Judah, and they were was suppose to witness to the whole world. But instead of doing this, Israel and Judah followed the way of the nations of the world. So God used the nations to punish and purify Israel and Judah and to provide a process for Israel and Judah to return to the correct worship of God and other nations to come to the knowledge of God.
If you do not seek God’s face (correct worship of God), then you get His back (punishment) (Jeremiah 18:17). Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, was part of God’s back to Judah. Nebuchadrezzar was a violent man. He invaded and conquered the kingdom of Judah in 586 B.C. Nebuchadrezzar arranged for King Zedekiah’s last sight to be the heads of his sons cut off before his own eyes were gouged out (2 Kings 25:6-7), and Zedekiah was the last king of Judah. When God tells us to do something, we better do it. When God says something, He means it. Yes, God has mercy and loving kindness; He will withdraw judgment if we turn to Him and His ways; His judgment is slow in coming, but His judgment will come for those who do not allow God to empower then to change their wrong thoughts and wrong behavior. God does not spare His chosen children judgment. Judah and Israel had the mistaken idea that because they were chosen by God, they could be disobedient to God and prosper indefinitely.
Judah in the book of Jeremiah was also like the servant with the one talent in Matthew 25 who did not multiply his talent and was cast into outer darkness. Matthew 25 does not tell us the specific talent this servant had, but Matthew 25 does tell us some of the criteria God will use to evaluate how each person spent life on earth. Matthew 25:35-40 (Amplified Bible) says, “For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you brought Me together with yourselves and welcomed and entertained and lodged Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me with help and ministering care, I was in prison and you came to see Me. Then the just and upright will answer Him, Lord, when did we see You hungry and gave You food, or thirsty and gave You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger and welcomed and entertained You, or naked and clothed You? And when did we see You sick or in prison and came to visit You? And the King will reply to them, Truly I tell you, in so far as you did it for one of the least [in the estimation of men] of these My brethren, you did it for Me.” God used Nebuchadrezzar to judge Judah because God said of Judah “But your eyes and your heart are only for your covetousness and dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood, for oppression and doing violence,” Jeremiah 22:17 (Amplified Bible).
It may be shocking to some, but God puts covetousness on the same level as shedding innocent blood (See also Exodus 20:13 and Exodus 20:17). Today that would be like putting abortion on the same level as excessive spending on self.
Excessive spending is important to God because if you spend too much money on yourself, then you will not have money to spend on others. If you spend too much money on houses, cars, food, clothes, etc., then you will not have enough money to clothe the naked, visit and minister to the sick and those in prison, feed and give drink to those in need. When God gives us spiritual lessons, He also gives us natural lessons. God also has built into the natural order of things rewards and judgments for obedience to His laws. Judgment day is not something only for after death but is a process that is going on in our everyday lives. Societies that have people who spend too much money on self have wide gaps between the rich and the poor and classes of people like aliens, single-parent children and the elderly not having their needs met.
Money is one of the most discussed topics in the Bible. Jeremiah 34 teaches us that God also judged the people of Judah for the way that they overworked their servants. God said that servants are to work six years then be released from work -- if the servants desire this -- and with a big bonus (Deuteronomy 15:12-14). The people of Judah released their servants for a while, but then compelled them to return to servant hood. One of the lessons from this is not to be greedy. The people of Judah behaved like an employer trying to get more than a fair wage out of their employees. God teaches us that there is a time for work; there is a time for rest also; be content with the amount of money God has allowed you to obtain within His rules. God teaches us to operate in faith, courage and creativity. If an employer has to release their employees after six years, then the employer and employee need to operate in faith, courage and creativity to keep prospering financially. When God is teaching us to multiply our talents in Matthew 25, He is also saying He wants us to prosper, but this does not mean that everyone will be rich by the world’s standards. God’s ways also keep excitement in life. If you are changing jobs or employees every six years or so, you are actively learning new things. We should not view God’s ways as too hard. The correct way to view God’s ways and laws are as a means for our good, and we should seek to follow them closely and carefully. God wants us to enjoy life (John 10:10).
Do not be like Israel, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Egypt and other nations that did not follow after God and reaped the judgment of God recorded in the book of Jeremiah. Israel the northern kingdom ceased to exist in 721 B.C. when the Assyrians took the capital city of Israel, Samaria, and carried off the people into captivity. Judah suffered 70 years under Babylonian captivity (Jeremiah 29:10), and eventually ceased to exist as a kingdom in 586 B.C. Jeremiah 44:13, Jeremiah 44:30 and Jeremiah 46 predicted that Egypt would be punished and the pharaoh of Egypt would fall into the hand of his enemies. This happened in 588 when Nebuchadrezzar stopped Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt also known as Apries in the Greek and Wahibre in Egyptian from helping Judah defeat Nebuchadrezzar’s invasion of Judah; Pharaoh Hophra was killed by his former general Amasis II who seized the throne of Egypt; and eventually Egypt fell to Persia, then the Greeks and then it became a province of the Roman empire in 30 B.C. Ammon and Moab were predicted to be defeated by Nebuchadrezzar and to not exist until the latter days (Jeremiah 48 and Jeremiah 49:1-6). These prophecies were fulfilled for after Nebuchadrezzar defeated Ammon and Moab it was not until modern times that these countries reasserted themselves as the country Jordan. Jeremiah 49:7-22 predicted that nation of Edom would cease to exist and would never rise again, and that is exactly what has happened to Edom.
Be quick to obey God. But you cannot obey Him unless you know Him. If you do not already know God, today is a good day to meet Him. God is a multiple of one as in 1 X 1 X 1 = 1 (God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit) (See John 14). Confess your wrong thoughts and wrong behaviors (sins) to God and accept the free gift of salvation that God offers. You cannot do anything to earn salvation (Romans 5:17 and Romans 6:23); God gives salvation freely to those He chooses (John 17:9, John 17:11, John 17:12 and John 18:9). Salvation is the privilege of a now and eternal relationship with God (John 3:16). Jesus Christ purchased salvation for His chosen children by going to a cross in Calvary, Israel, more than 2,000 years ago to die a death as a supposed criminal as payment for the sins of His chosen children (Matthew 27-28, Mark 15-16, Luke 23-24 and John 19-21). God the Father accepted this payment by raising Jesus Christ up from the dead three days later. Accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Acceptance of Jesus also means that Jesus, God the Father and the Holy Spirit come to live inside of you. With these residents living inside of you, you are now empowered to worship God in Spirit and in truth. John 4:24 (Amplified Bible) says, “God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality).” Talk to God (pray) about everything and especially about finding a Bible-believing church that is enthusiastic about God. God wants us to worship Him with zeal. The following is a sample prayer from the Everyday Life Bible Amplified Version to begin a relationship with God, “Father, You loved the world so much that You gave Your only begotten Son to die for our sins so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. Your Word says we are saved by grace through faith as a gift from You. There is nothing we can do to earn salvation. I believe and confess with my mouth that Jesus Christ is Your Son, the Savior of the world. I believe He died on the cross for me and bore all my sins, paying the price for them. I believe in my heart that You raised Jesus from the dead and that He is alive today. I am a sinner and I am sorry for my sins and I ask You to forgive me. By faith I receive Jesus Christ now as my Lord and Savior. I believe that I am saved and will spend eternity with You! Thank You, Father. I am so grateful! In Jesus’ name, amen.”
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