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.77

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.”78