Zephaniah 2:8-11

God's Judgment against the Moabites and Ammonites -- Zephaniah 2:8-11: God next dealt with the children of Moab and the children of Ammon, Judah's neighbors to the east. These heathen nations had insulted and threaten God's chosen nation. These nations were also idolatrous. God promised that captivity would cut off idol worship. The idols would have no more sacrifices offered to them. Their worship would be entirely destroyed. The Lord says, "He will famish all the gods of the land." God promised that these nations would become like Sodom and Gomorrah. They would be covered with thornbushes and they would become salt pits forever. They would feel the strong sting of divine wrath. Bible students remember the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire from heaven. (Genesis 19) The Moabites and Ammonites would be destroyed with similar decisiveness. Then the remnant of God's people would possess their land. This remnant was that small group of Jews that returned from captivity in Babylon. (Ezra 2) God said, "This is how Moab and Ammon will at last be repaid for their pride and for sneering at the nation that belongs to me, the Lord All-Powerful."(Zephaniah 2:10) The sin of pride is a preoccupation with self. Pride may damn more souls than any other sin. God hates all sin and He will punish every sin. He especially hates pride because it robs Him of His glory. The person that walks in pride tries to take God off His throne and put self on that throne. God would throw down their idols and all would recognize Him as the superior power of the universe. God promised to judge the Moabites and the Ammonites and to bring them to perpetual desolation.