The effects of God’s universal judgment (verses 2, 3) upon Judah and Jerusalem are described in detail (verses 4-13). The chapter ends with a terrifying picture of the day of the Lord (verses 14-18).
- On whom particularly will God’s judgment fall according to this chapter, and why? Can you think of any modern counterparts to the sinful actions described?
- Having considered the reasons for judgment, now ponder the accompaniments of the day of the Lord in verses 14-18. What can we learn from this about God’s view of sin? Cf. Prov. 11:4; Ezek. 7:19.
Notes
- Verse 4. To ‘cut off… the names of’ means to ‘obliterate the memory of’.
- Verse 5. ‘Molech’: a foreign deity of this or similar name was worshiped in several of the countries surrounding Judah.
- Verse 12. ‘Like wine left on its dregs’: cf. Jer. 48:11. This picture, taken from the wine-trade, refers to the sedimentation of wine. The idle, stagnant, muddy-minded men in Jerusalem, who thought that they could settle down in their godless indifference, will be punished.