Who were the Moabites?

Son of Lot and his eldest daughter; his descendants; and the land which they inhabited. Gen. 19:37. No account is given of Moab personally. The territory of his descendants was on the east of the Salt Sea. When the tribe of Reuben obtained their possession, their boundary on the south was the river Arnon, which river was the northern boundary of the Moabites, for they had been driven south by the Amorites before the arrival of Israel. Num. 21:11-30. When the Israelites approached the promised land they were directed not to distress nor contend with Moab, Deut. 2:9, so they passed to the east of them. The Moabites were however filled with terror when they heard that the Amorites had been smitten, and Balak their king hired Balaam to curse Israel. Balaam was compelled by God to bless them instead of cursing them, but he gave to Balak the fatal advice to try to weaken them by seductive alliances (which would cause them to fall under the Lord's discipline), and this, alas, was only too successful: cf. Rev. 2:14. It was in a valley in the land of Moab that Moses was secretly buried. Deut. 34:6.

In the time of the judges God used Eglon king of Moab to punish Israel, and they served the Moabites eighteen years; but when they cried unto the Lord, He delivered them, and ten thousand of the Moabites were slain. Judges 3:12-30. The relations of Israel with the Moabites were varied. In the prophecy of Isaiah 16 Moab is characteristic of the world in which outcast Israel is hidden: Elimelech and Naomi fled thither from the famine, and David, when Saul was persecuting him, entrusted to their king his father and mother. During his subsequent reign David defeated them and made them tributary. 1 Sam. 22:3-4; 2 Sam. 8:2; 1 Chr. 18:2.

In the time of Jehoshaphat the children of Moab, Ammon and mount Seir attacked Judah, but God made the battle His own and caused them to attack one another. 2 Chr. 20:1-23. During Ahab's reign they were again tributary, but at his death they threw off their allegiance, but were completely subdued by the united forces of Israel, Judah and Edom. In desperation the king of Moab offered up his eldest son as a sacrifice. 2 Kings 3:4-27. They revived to some extent, but were again subdued by Nebuchadnezzar. Jer. 27:1-11.

Ruth was a MOABITESS, and so also were some of Solomon's wives, for whom he introduced into Jerusalem the worship of Chemosh the idol of Moab. 2 Kings 23:13. The Moabites were not allowed to be received into the congregation of the Lord for ever. Deut. 23:3. The numerous ruins extant in the country of the Moabites show that it was once populously occupied, and it must have been wealthy to have annually paid Israel 100,000 lambs and 100,000 rams with the wool.

First of all, the oppressors came from Moab. We learn from many passages who Moab was and of his descendants. He had a very sad beginning. Moab, the son of Lot, was born as a result of a sinful act (Gen.19:30-38) and all down through the history of his descendants there was the exhibition of the same kind of evil features in opposition to God.

In Numbers 22 Balak the king of Moab hired Balaam, the false prophet, to curse the people of God. There Balak was being true to his parentage, he was being true to that evil beginning, he was exhibiting those evil features of opposition to God and to God's people. When we come to Numbers 25 we find that the daughters of Moab were a snare to the sons of Israel and through fornication and idolatry they brought terrible sin and it's evil consequences into the nation of Israel. They, too, were true to their parentage. We find that God gave a very definite commandment against Moab; in Deuteronomy 23:3 God says that a Moabite or an Ammonite was not to come into the congregation of the Lord for ever, this was God's command against the Moabites.

Moab, as we know, was a blood relation of Israel. He was descended from Lot, who was a relative of Abraham. So that the Moabites were the natural kinsmen of the Israelites. But, as we have already seen, Lot's relation with Abraham was largely a carnal, fleshly one. In his descendants' case it was entirely a fleshly one. Israel had no more bitter and relentless foes than these Moabites and Ammonites, who were their kinsmen.

Moab, as we know, was a blood relation of Israel. He was descended from Lot, who was a relative of Abraham. So that the Moabites were the natural kinsmen of the Israelites. But, as we have already seen, Lot's relation with Abraham was largely a carnal, fleshly one. In his descendants' case it was entirely a fleshly one. Israel had no more bitter and relentless foes than these Moabites and Ammonites, who were their kinsmen.

Lot and his family were loathe to leave the city, but the angels hastened them out, and bade them flee to the mountains. Lot begged to be allowed to go to Zoar, and was permitted; but, fearing to stay there, he left with his two daughters and abode in a cave, where, alas, he became the father of Moab and Ben-ammi, the ancestors of the Moabites and the Ammonites, who are afterwards alluded to as the children of Lot.

Moab could easily have claimed kinship with Israel - Abraham and Lot were relatives and Abraham saved Lot out of his position in Sodom, but there the likeness ceased. All the sons of Abraham on the line of faith, beginning with Isaac miraculously born to him, were men of faith and men of power to God. Lot's posterity, Moab and Ammon, were the inveterate enemies of Israel and they proved it in every moment of Israel's testimony, they were always against the people of God. Moab could easily have said, 'We are relatives of yours, we have the same ties, we are in the same position in a certain sense, we ought to be together and help each other'. They have claimed to be sons of Abraham down through the ages and right up to the present moment, but we shall see that there is a very great divergence between those who are fully of Abraham, children of faith, and those who are of Moab, the enemies of God's interests.

Looking at the companions that Moab had, we see Ammon and Amalek, two other enemies of Israel; there are no friends of Israel in Moab's company, they are all enemies. But we have already said that God said that neither a Moabite nor an Ammonite was to come into the congregation of the Lord for ever, this was God's command against them. Amalek was against the throne of God, they were arrogant and possessive and God said that there was to be war against them right to the end. Here is this very formidable confederacy against the nation of Israel, Ammon, Moab and Amalek. How was this going to be met? Bondage to any one of them was a great concern, but during the eighteen years it does not appear that anyone attempted to relieve the bondage. No-one had the courage, no-one had the resourcefulness, but God in mercy raised up one who was able to do something about this bondage in the person of Ehud.

It is not surprising that the people did not think of separation from Ammon and Moab at the beginning. These two nations were brothers of Israel according to the flesh, and inspite of their detestable origin, were descended from "righteous Lot", considered as Abraham's brother, and, in a sense, as closely related to Israel as profane Esau.

Then as to Moab “We have heard of the arrogance of Moab, he is very proud—his loftiness and his arrogance and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart” (Jer. 48:29). Unlike the Philistines, however, he had a certain relationship to Jacob. Moab and Ammon (of whom we hear in the next chapter) were both children of Lot. Truly Moab was proud and magnified himself against the Lord and derided Israel His people (vv. 26-27), therefore he should be punished accordingly; nevertheless, though he be destroyed from being a people (v. 42), yet in the latter days the Lord will turn again the captivity of Moab (v. 47).

The two sister-nations, Moab and Ammon, are known as "the children of Lot" (Deut. 2:9), and are of incestuous origination (Gen. 19:37-38). They have always been inveterate and implacable enemies of God's elect nation, and they are included in the coming great confederacy of nations which will be formed under the revived Assyrian power to destroy the children of Israel and blot out their very name from the earth (see the prophecy in Psalm 83:4-8).

Moab displayed this enmity against Israel on the way from Egypt to Canaan. When the travelling people reached the plains of Moab (Num. 22:1), Balak the king hired Balaam to effect their destruction by his curses (Joshua 24:9-10). This scheme failing through divine guardianship, other means of injury were adopted on the advice of the wicked prophet. The people were induced "to join themselves" to Baal-Peor and to indulge in the lascivious rites of the gods of Moab, thousands of the people dying from the plague that followed. This was a dark page in Israel's history, to which there are many allusions in the admonitions of scripture (Num. 31:16; Num. 25:1-5; Deut. 4:3; Ps. 106:28-30; Hosea 9:10; 1 Cor. 10:8; Rev. 2:14).

With these divisions the chapter may be studied in detail. Moab was of incestuous off spring (Gen. 19:37). Israel is now exhorted to flee and save itself because Moab is to be destroyed. Moab's national deity was Chemosh, who was also worshipped by the sister nation, the Ammonites. Chemosh was probably the same as Molech. He is now to go forth into captivity with his priests and princes. On verse 10 critics say: "This bloodthirsty verse is surely not Jeremiah's." But they forget that the whole prophecy is introduced with, "Thus saith the LORD," and the critic's knife, which cuts out certain verses from this chapter, mutilates the Word of God. There is no valid reason to brand this and other verses as the work of some supplementer.