Signs Of New Life

JEREMIAH 49 v 1-6

God will sometimes take us down a peg or two to help us to start a fresh when we have drifted away, but what signs of life and a future does he give us?
The Ammonites were very similar to the Moabites in many ways: They were both descended from Lot's incestual relationship with his daughter, they both worshipped a false god who they gave child sacrifices to and they both ignored the reign and rule of God. The Ammonites did worship a different false god (Molech) but child sacrifices were still mandatory. Throughout the Bible, the Ammonites and Israelites are portrayed as mutual antagonists. During the Exodus, the Israelites were prohibited by the Ammonites from passing through their lands. In the Judges, the Ammonites work with Eglon, king of the Moabites against Israel. Attacks by the Ammonites on Israelite communities east of the Jordan were one of the reasons behind the undoing of the tribes under Saul. In Jesus's time the Ammonites were still causing problems even though they were long gone, because they had brought having multiple wives into the doctrine of Israel, so the Pharisees and Jesus were both dealing with this.


The key difference for the Ammonites and Moabites is this, verse 6 - "“Yet afterward, I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites,” declares the LORD." God also says this at the end of his message to Moab (Jeremiah 48 v 47). God doesn’t promise every nation His judgement comes upon a future, for the Babylonians that was the end afterward God had destroyed them. My thoughts on what God was doing are this; that he wants Moabites and Ammonites to repent turn to him and that their future will be with Him. When does God need to take me down a peg or two to help me to repent and get refocused on Him?


Jesus tells us the key way to stay on track is Matthew 6 v 33-34 – “³³ Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. ³⁴ “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Jesus tells to stay focused on Him and His Kingdom, otherwise we end up focusing on building our own Kingdom and that is guaranteed to always go wrong. Jesus wants us to stay focused on building His Kingdom because when get distracted and stray away it means when He brings us back we have missed out on some amazing opportunities and the great things God has been doing. Matthew 6 v 34 (The Message) - “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” I love this version of verse 34 because it just encapsulates what Jesus is calling us to do in the now.

The Moabites and the Ammonites both never really focused on God at any point but God still gives them another chance – a new start. So how fortunate are we because if we are following God day after day but sometimes we get distracted and sin or drift slightly; God doesn’t have to destroy everything around us to get our attention and get us back on track and he gives us a new beginning .