Moab has been at ease from his youth; he has settled on his dregs, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into captivity. Therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent has not changed.
— Jeremiah 48:11
MOAB—situated as they were in wine country—would have understood this analogy very well. When making wine, they put the juice of the grapes into large jugs. As the juice fermented, the dregs, or lees, would settle at the bottom. They then poured the wine from jug to jug, always leaving as much of the sediment as possible in the bottom of the previous jug. In this way, they produced pure wine. However, if they waited too long and the wine settled in its dregs, it began to rot. That rotten taste and smell would permeate the flavor of the whole jug.
Moab had settled in his dregs and become rotten. A life of ease, with no conflicts or disturbances, had spoiled and weakened him.
When God sees that we have begun to settle in our lees, tolerating evil and compromise, He often begins to pour us from vessel to vessel. He brings disruption to unsettle us so that our lives won’t take on the taste of the world.
We don’t like being poured from jug to jug.
DISRUPTION IS UNSETTLING AND UNCOMFORTABLE, BUT IT SERVES AN IMPORTANT PURPOSE.
Disruption not only purifies us, it also brings us back to our knees where we gain a closer relationship with our Father.
We are so grateful, Father, that You love us. Continue pouring us from vessel to vessel, as through the process of disturbances You make us what You would have us to be—pure for Your glory.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.