Metaphysical meaning of Moab (mbd)
Moab, mo'-ab (Heb.)--seed of the father; water of the water; flowing from the father; what of the father?; of his father.
Son of Lot by his eldest daughter; from him the Moabites were descended (Gen. 19:37).
Meta. Moab seems to have two sides to its significance. Moab means seed of the father, flowing from the father, of his father, and while Moab represents the body and the most external conditions of life, there is something good in it, or at least a possibility of good. From the top of a mountain in Moab, "mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah," Jehovah showed Moses the Promised Land (Deut. 34:1).
Ruth, who represents the love of the natural soul for God, and from whom David and Jesus were descended, was a Moabitess.
On the other hand, the text, "Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently; and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood" (Jer. 48:10), accompanies a charge from the Lord to destroy Moab. Moab here signifies carnal mind, lust-born, turpitude; when the individual enters into the overcoming life he receives the commission to destroy--to cast out--the carnal mind or personal, limited self. This is the self to which Jesus referred when He said, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself." When man takes up this work he must not be deceitful about it by keeping back part of the price, as Ananias and Sapphira did (Acts 5:1, 2), or by seeking to save some of the carnal self--the goodliest of it, as Achan did (see Joshua 7); for if he does these things he will be cursed, that is, he will not attain the happiness and the peace that come only to the whole-hearted and true. Nor may he be negligent in his work of dying to the carnal mind, for the lazy and slothful man will not win the prize that is set before him--eternal life, preservation of the entire man--spirit, soul, and body. The "sword" in this text (Jer. 48:10) represents the word of God.
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Preceding Entry: Mnason
Following Entry: Moabites
