"If we are to walk with God, we must change. God wants us to be conformed to His image and likeness so that we can carry His anointing, His presence, and His power wherever we go..." - Don Nori, His Manifest Presence
 
 
The quote from Don Nori's book, His Manifest Presence, continues -
 
"We move with God by coming to Him with open hands, not holding any attitude or doctrine or tradition that would hinder us. We must be willing to surrender our most valued opinions. Our prayer must be, 'Lord, anything You want to change in Me, change. Make me pliable. Make me into a new wineskin, a fresh wineskin. Change me into one who is pliable, open to change.'
 
Then, as we come to Him and He shows us things He wants to change, as He tries to deal with the hurt that is within us, let Him do it. We let Him heal us. We let Him change us...
 
Our attitude must be, 'There is nothing in this world that entices me, that holds me down. There's nothing that draws my attention away from You...I am willing and able to move and to change and allow You to change me within.' "
(end of quote from His Manifest Presence)
 
Moab was a nation that was conceitedly secure. They never suffered exile like Judah, were never molested by war, and were rarely disturbed by outside forces. For defense - they had towering cliffs, and for wealth - they had enormous flocks of sheep. Their continual prosperity bred an obnoxious arrogancy which caused them to go so far as to lift themselves up against the Lord and resultantly, target themselves for the judgment of God.
 
Jeremiah 48:29 testifies - "We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart."
 
Jeremiah 48:42 adds - "And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the LORD."
 
From Moab's continued prosperity sprung a carnal security, a spiritual lethargy and decadence, and a haughty carelessness.
 
Jeremiah 48:11 says - "Moab hath been at ease from his youth..."
 
A life of ease and comfort with no disturbances sounds so ideal, but ultimately, it is the curse of all ages. There is great spiritual danger in the quiet lot.
Ease and luxury leads to self-conceit and eventually to a total denial of God in one's life.
 
Amos 6:1 warns us - "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion..."

Jeremiah 48:11 says - "Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees..."
 
He hath "settled on his lees." This is wine maker's jargon. "Lees" are the undisturbed and thick portion of wine that naturally falls to the bottom of the vat. They are the dregs remaining in a skin of wine during the process of fermentation. After initially poured, the wine is allowed to stand undisturbed and unremoved or to settle down with its dregs and sediment to age and mature.
 
A person "settled on his lees" is one who is -
...undisturbed
...loves a life of quiet indifference to spiritual realities or warnings
...refuses to change, while continuing onward as always in the same behavior, "settled" in his ways, justifying and making excuses for himself.
 
Jeremiah 48:11 - "Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel..."
 
The wine maker knows how long to leave a bottle unshaken. At the appropriate time, he will gently take the bottle and carefully pour the wine into another smaller container, leaving the settlings behind. It was customary for the wine maker to do this in order to improve the quality of the wine. In the second container, after a period of time, the cloudiness disappears and more sediment falls to the bottom of the vat.

Jeremiah 48:11 - "Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed."
 
If the wine is not emptied from one vessel to yet a smaller one repeatedly, the "settlings" begin to work against the wine on top. The "scent" or odor becomes offensive, and the "taste" of the wine grows sour like vinegar.
 
Because Moab had not been "emptied from vessel to vessel," his "scent" remained in him. He became so full of self and congealed into a mold of pride, arrogancy, and conceit.
 
Once again, read Jeremiah 48:29 - "We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart."

2 Corinthians 2:15 says - "For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ..."

Jeremiah 48:12 - "Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles."
 
"Wanderers" or tilters were men in a wine cellar who decanted the wine. They would elevate one end of the cask, when the wine was nearly run out, that the remains of the liquid would be more effectually drawn out. They would empty the vessel and then smash the jar.
 
Jeremiah 48:42 - Through the Prophet Jeremiah, God pronounced judgment on the nation of Moab.
He said that He would send "wanderers" who would "break their bottles" - destroy them as a people because they magnified themselves against the Lord.
 
America is headed for the same destruction. Because she is at ease and in prosperity and has arrogantly forgotten God, His Word, and His ways - He will send the "wanderers" or tilters in order to empty her vessel (take away her Christian rights and liberties) and then break her bottle (destroy her through nuclear attack?). 

Zephaniah 1:12 says - "And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil."
 
As already mentioned, continual prosperity is a curse rather than a blessing. Yet, Christian TV and radio blurts out - 24 hours a day - the teachings of those who would encourage the believer to seek for more and more wealth where their whole confidence in life is in worldly possessions. Never mind the resultant laziness, stubbornness, and dullness in spiritual matters and the total distortion of their view of God.

Consequently, the true minister of God has to contend for the Faith with such spoiled, self-satisfied "Christians" who smugly believe - "The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil."
 
God's answer to all this mess is explicitly pronounced by the Prophet Zephaniah - "...I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil."

If we refuse to change at God's admonition to us, or do not keep ourselves open to change, God will have no other choice but to send the "wanderers" that will empty our vessels and break us.
Acts 9:5-6 - If He sees that, in our stubbornness, we do not accept correction but continue to "kick against the pricks," He has exactly the right "wanderers"(painful experiences) for us that will cause us to willingly cry out - "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?"

We have a choice - do we resist Him or let Him have His way?
 
Our choice can be a matter of Life or Death.
Our choice will eventually be a matter of Heaven or Hell!
 
Luke 6:46 - "And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"
Proverbs 13:7 - "There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches."
 
May God Bless His Word.

Connie