Jeremiah 48:11 - "Moab has been at ease since his
youth; He has also been undisturbed, like wine on its dregs, and he has not
been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into exile. Therefore he
retains his flavor, and his aroma has not changed."
In this passage God is pronouncing a judgment against Moab, and I find the reason for the judgment quite interesting. This verse says that he has been at ease, undisturbed, unchanged, and therefore God was going to bring judgment upon him. Simply for being comfortable. He says that Moab is "Like wine on its dregs , and he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel." This is a reference to the way that they used to purify wine. Back in the days of Jeremiah they would take grapes and put them into the wine press and crush them, and after they were crushed and all the juice had come out they would put the wine into a vessel and let it sit until all the dregs and all the impurities settled to the bottom. After it settled the wine was then poured into another vessel and the dregs would be left in the bottom of the first. This would happen 5 or 6 times until the wine was completely pure.
If they didn't go through this process the dregs would make the wine worthless. They would ruin both the taste and the smell of the wine. So in order for the wine to be good it had to be emptied from vessel to vessel.
In a similar way this is what God wants to do with our lives. He wants our lives to be pure and useful to Him. He wants us to be emptied of ourselves and full of His Spirit. Galatians 5 talks about how the Spirit and the flesh are in opposition one to another. We can't live by both. If we do our taste and our smell will be spoiled. Our testimony will be ruined and we'll be useless to God.
But if we live by the Spirit, and if we have a desire to live godly in Christ Jesus, God will purify our lives and He does this with trials and persecutions. 2 Timothy 3:12 says - "And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. That's how God purifies our lives. Just like the wine, once we start to settle and get comfortable God will stir up our lives by pouring us out. The apostle Paul in Philippians and also in 2 Timothy talked about His life being poured out as a drink offering. It's hard and uncomfortable but it's necessary for purification. And when we're pure He can use us and our fragrance will be sweet. 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 says - "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing."
2 Timothy 2:21 - "Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart."
In this passage God is pronouncing a judgment against Moab, and I find the reason for the judgment quite interesting. This verse says that he has been at ease, undisturbed, unchanged, and therefore God was going to bring judgment upon him. Simply for being comfortable. He says that Moab is "Like wine on its dregs , and he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel." This is a reference to the way that they used to purify wine. Back in the days of Jeremiah they would take grapes and put them into the wine press and crush them, and after they were crushed and all the juice had come out they would put the wine into a vessel and let it sit until all the dregs and all the impurities settled to the bottom. After it settled the wine was then poured into another vessel and the dregs would be left in the bottom of the first. This would happen 5 or 6 times until the wine was completely pure.
If they didn't go through this process the dregs would make the wine worthless. They would ruin both the taste and the smell of the wine. So in order for the wine to be good it had to be emptied from vessel to vessel.
In a similar way this is what God wants to do with our lives. He wants our lives to be pure and useful to Him. He wants us to be emptied of ourselves and full of His Spirit. Galatians 5 talks about how the Spirit and the flesh are in opposition one to another. We can't live by both. If we do our taste and our smell will be spoiled. Our testimony will be ruined and we'll be useless to God.
But if we live by the Spirit, and if we have a desire to live godly in Christ Jesus, God will purify our lives and He does this with trials and persecutions. 2 Timothy 3:12 says - "And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. That's how God purifies our lives. Just like the wine, once we start to settle and get comfortable God will stir up our lives by pouring us out. The apostle Paul in Philippians and also in 2 Timothy talked about His life being poured out as a drink offering. It's hard and uncomfortable but it's necessary for purification. And when we're pure He can use us and our fragrance will be sweet. 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 says - "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing."
2 Timothy 2:21 - "Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart."
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