The Gentile nations were being judged for how they treated Israel. Israel was going to be judged for how they treated God.
Judgment against Moab
At first there’s a slight carryover of judgment of the nations and this is against Moab (modern day Jordan area). Their crime?
“he burned, as if to lime, the bones of Edom’s king” (v. 1).
This was a problem for two reasons. First, again it is not just that you conquer a king or nation but how you do it. This level of treachery was unacceptable.
Secondly, Edom was still a descendant of Israel. Though God made the covenant with Jacob and descendants, Edom was still a descendant of Abraham who was founder of the covenant.
Judgment against Judah
Now on to Israel and Judah. Israel was the north and Judah in the south of this divided kingdom. First of all he brings judgment against Judah.
Judah will be judged “because they have rejected the law of the LORD and have not kept his decrees, because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods their ancestors followed” (v. 4).
Judah too would not escape the judgment of God because of their idolatry and rejection of God’s law. These go together. We are made to worship and when we reject God, we will find elsewhere to worship. For them it was the gods because the gods gave them liberties for sexual sin and human sacrifice.
Judgment against Israel
Next up was Israel. Her sin? Her crimes?
“They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name. They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. In the house of their god they drink wine taken as fines” (v. 6).
Bottom line? She was greedy and didn’t care about who it affected. And worse than that, a father and son had sexual relations with the same girl which was a high crime. And again, they took others clothes as pledges and don’t return them by day’s end as the law requires. And then demand wine taken as fines.
This was evil. This was all about self.
God’s judgment would come on them and their soldiers that they trusted. But they would not be able to stand up against God’s judgment.
RIghteousness became casual to all of Israel. It was a game. They got away with more and more sin thinking they would never have to truly face God’s judgment. But that wasn’t the case. It was just that God was patient with them.
It’s the same with us. We as people oftentimes treat sin as casual. We don’t face judgment right away so we think it doesn’t matter so much. But that isn’t the case. We will face God.
It’s why Jesus says this:
“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to (Lk 13:24).
