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Moab a Failure because He Refused to Change, March
31
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.
Jeremiah 48:11
.
A man may refuse to hear the counsels and admonitions of God. He
may choose to take the regulating of his conduct into his own hands....
Like Moab, he refuses to be changed.... He refuses to correct his defective
traits of character, although the Lord has plainly pointed out his work,
his privileges, his opportunities, and the advancement to be made. It is
too much trouble to break up his old ways, and transform his ideas and
methods. “His taste remained in him.” He clings to his defects
There are many who are not satisfied with the work that God has given
them. They are not satisfied to serve Him pleasantly in the place that He
has marked out for them, or to do uncomplainingly the work that He has
placed in their hands. It is right for us to be dissatisfied with the way in
which we perform duty, but we are not to be dissatisfied with the duty
itself, because ... in His providence God places before human beings
service that will be as medicine for their diseased minds.... Some He
places where relaxed discipline and over-indulgence will not become their
snare, where they are taught to appreciate the value of time, and to make
the best and wisest use of it.
There are some who desire to be a ruling power, and who need the
sanctification of submission.... They are being qualified to fill places where
their disciplined ability will make them of the greatest service. Some God
trains by bringing to them disappointment and apparent failure. It is His
purpose that they shall learn to master difficulty....
Many are ignorant of how to work for God, not because they need to
be ignorant, but because they are not willing to submit to His training
process. Moab is spoken of as a failure because, the Word declares, “he
hath been at ease from his youth.
[98]
77
Letter 10, 1897
.
78
Ellen G. White
Manuscript 79, 1903
.
98