Flee! Run for your lives! Become like a juniper in the desert.' Sermons
1. Barren. No rich, strength-sustaining fruit does the heath bear. A mere hard berry. The camel and the ass may browse thereupon, but it is no food for man. "Can men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" And thus barren of good is the sinner. 2. Unlovely. There is no form nor beauty about the heath; a stunted, misshapen shrub. Its wood can be used for no manufacture. It is fit only to be burned. And when our eyes are opened to see things as they are, sin and the sinner will appear in all moral unloveliness; all present outward charm gone, and only their evil deformity seen. 3. Alone. Surrounded by drear expanse of sand; no companion trees to form it into a grove or a verdant mass of plant life. And so will the sinner be one day. Christ goes with the believer down the dark valley, but the sinner goes forth alone. He stands at the bar of God with no advocate. None of all his old companions can redeem his soul or give to God a ransom for him. Alone; helpless. 4. The gracious influences of Heaven do him no good. The dew and the rain, the sun's warmth, come upon it; but it remains the unlovely, solitary, barren thing it ever was. So the impenitent man is visited by the influences of Heaven, the pleading of the Spirit, the varied means of grace; but they avail him not. 5. Soon to perish. The driving sand, the scorching heat, the browsing camel, the encampment fire, all threaten its life, and by one or other of them it soon perishes. And they who are like to it are never safe. "How are they destroyed as in a moment!" Conclusion. But the godly are not so. "He shall be like a tree planted by," etc. (Psalm 1.). - C.
Flee, save your lives. Such was the warning addressed to Moab by the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel. The Chaldeans were about to lay waste the land of the Moabites — a punishment which they justly deserved for their iniquities and for their long-continued opposition to the people of God But even "in wrath the Lord remembers mercy"; or, to use the beautiful language of the prophet, "He stayeth His rough wind in the day of the east wind." Though Moab shall be punished, her cities overturned, and the country laid waste and desolate, her princes, people, and priests carried into captivity, yet an opportunity is afforded for at least a remnant to escape. "Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness."I. FROM WHAT ARE WE TO FLEE? In a word, from everything that would wean his heart from God and endanger the safety of his soul, the Christian is to flee — "from all evil and mischief, from sin, from the world, the flesh, and the works of the devil, from hardness of heart and contempt of God's Word and commandment." II. FOR WHAT ARE WE TO FLEE? The life of your soul is concerned; and unless you flee from what stands in your way to God, and blocks up your return to Him, the wrath of God will assuredly overtake you, and you will become a prey to your enemies, to those who seek your life. It is for glory, and honour, and immortality we should flee — blessings of infinite value, prizes beyond all price — nay, far beyond the power of human tongue to tell of their inestimable preciousness; we should flee for the favour of God, the forgiveness of our sins, the worth of our souls, the love and glory of Christ, and the beauty and happiness of holiness. And we should hasten our flight, for the time is short, and death advancing. III. WHERE SHOULD WE FLEE? "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life; and we believe," &c. Such was Simon Peter's declaration. Such is the confession of God's people still. To the Lord Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, must the sinner flee. He must go as he is, and "he like the heath in the wilderness," destitute of fruit or value, fit only for fuel, and seek to be engrafted in the living Vine. For Moab, we may observe, was commanded merely to "flee." Whatever would oppose their progress should be put away. (C. A. Maginn, M. A.) II. III. IV. V. (H. Macmillan, D. D.) People Chemosh, Gamul, Jeremiah, Sihon, ZoarPlaces Arnon, Aroer, Beth-diblathaim, Bethel, Beth-gamul, Beth-meon, Bozrah, Dibon, Elealeh, Heshbon, Holon, Horonaim, Jahaz, Jahzah, Jazer, Kerioth, Kir-hareseth, Kiriathaim, Luhith, Madmen, Mephaath, Moab, Nebo, Nimrim, Sea of Jazer, Sibmah, ZoarTopics Arabah, Aroer, Ass, Bush, Deliver, Desert, Faces, Flee, Flight, Heath, Juniper, Naked, Run, Save, Shrub, Tamarisk, Wild, Wilderness, YourselvesOutline 1. The judgment of Moab7. for their pride 11. for their security 14. for their carnal confidence 26. and for their contempt of God and his people 47. The restoration of Moab Dictionary of Bible Themes Jeremiah 48:6Library August 8. "Be Like the Dove" (Jer. Xlviii. 28). "Be like the dove" (Jer. xlviii. 28). Harmless as a dove, is Christ's interpretation of the beautiful emblem. And so the Spirit of God is purity itself. He cannot dwell in an unclean heart. He cannot abide in the natural mind. It was said of the anointing of old, "On man's flesh it shall not be poured." The purity which the Holy Spirit brings is like the white and spotless little plant which grows up out of the heap of manure, or the black soil, without one grain of impurity adhering to its crystalline … Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth How those are to be Admonished who Decline the Office of Preaching Out of Too Great Humility, and those who Seize on it with Precipitate Haste. Balaam's Prophecy. (Numb. xxiv. 17-19. ) Meditations for the Sick. The Section Chap. I. -iii. The Prophet Joel. Jeremiah Links Jeremiah 48:6 NIVJeremiah 48:6 NLT Jeremiah 48:6 ESV Jeremiah 48:6 NASB Jeremiah 48:6 KJV Jeremiah 48:6 Bible Apps Jeremiah 48:6 Parallel Jeremiah 48:6 Biblia Paralela Jeremiah 48:6 Chinese Bible Jeremiah 48:6 French Bible Jeremiah 48:6 German Bible Jeremiah 48:6 Commentaries Bible Hub |