Moab and the Messiah's Mercy: An Unexpected Message of Mercy

Along with an expected warning to Moab, we also find something surprising and unexpected. We find mercy! God weeps for Moab, and in the next chapter we find that the Lord extends mercy to Moab, and us, in the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

1. An expected message - Your Idol cannot save you.
2. An unexpected message - Mercy!
   Along with the expected warning, we also find something surprising and unexpected. We find mercy! Vs. 5, God weeps for Moab. Motyer touches on something very significant in this revelation. The righteous judge weeps as He smites. “The grief of the judge of all the earth is one of the [two] striking truths of this oracle.” (151) We find rich theology here. Sometimes men portray God as a cold, wrathful God who laughs with some insane glee at the death of the wicked. But the Bible reveals the Lord differently. He weeps as He smites. He is full of mercy! (Eg. Eze 33:11)

Application:

1. Your idols cannot save you. Applied especially to the current economic crisis.
2. God is merciful. The message startles us, it's so unexpected. Our false gods have been no help. Our sins and our own conscience condemn us. How could God love and forgive me? But He does. God is merciful. The living God provides a way of salvation, and a real refuge. You may find forgiveness of sin in Jesus. He gives us sweet relief by providing the perfect sacrifice for sin, and by covering over our shame with His own righteous robes. (Eg. Ruth the Moabitess)