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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
J E R E M I A H.
CHAP. XLVIII.
Moab is next set to the bar before Jeremiah the prophet, whom God has
constituted judge over nations and kingdoms, from his mouth to receive
its doom. Isaiah’s predictions concerning Moab had had their
accomplishment (we had the predictions
and the like
and they were fulfilled when the Assyrians, under Salmanassar, invaded
and distressed Moab. But this is a prophecy of the desolations of Moab
by the Chaldeans, which were accomplished under Nebuzaradan, about five
years after he had destroyed Jerusalem. Here is,
I. The destruction foretold, that it should be great and general,
should extend itself to all parts of the country
and again
that spoilers should come upon them and force some to flee
(ver. 9),
should carry many into captivity
(ver. 12, 46),
that the enemy should come shortly
(ver. 16),
come swiftly and surprise them
(ver. 40, 41),
that he should make thorough work
(ver. 10)
and lay the country quite waste, though it was very strong
(ver. 14, 15),
that there should be no escaping
(ver. 42, 45),
that this should force them to quit their idols
and put an end to all their joy
(ver. 33, 34),
that their neighbours shall lament them
and the prophet himself does
&c.).
II. The causes of this destruction assigned; it was sin that brought
this ruin upon them, their pride, and security, and carnal confidence
and their contempt of and enmity to God and his people,
III. A promise of the restoration of Moab,
ver. 48).
| The Judgment of Moab. | B. C. 605. |
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1 Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel;
Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and
taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed.
2 There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have
devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being
a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall
pursue thee.
3 A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and
great destruction.
4 Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be
heard.
5 For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up;
for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of
destruction.
6 Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the
wilderness.
7 For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy
treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth
into captivity with his priests and his princes together.
8 And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall
escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be
destroyed, as the LORD hath spoken.
9 Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the
cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.
10 Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully,
and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.
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.
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.
13 And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel
was ashamed of Beth-el their confidence.
We may observe in these verses,
I. The author of Moab’s destruction; it is the Lord of hosts,
that has armies, all armies, at his command, and the God of
Israel
(v. 1),
who will herein plead the cause of his Israel against a people that
have always been vexatious to them, and will punish them now for the
injuries done to Israel of old, though Israel was forbidden to meddle
with them
(Deut. ii. 9),
therefore the destruction of Moab is called the work of the Lord
(v. 10),
for it is he that pleads for Israel; and his work will exactly agree
with his word,
v. 8.
II. The instruments of it: Spoilers shall come
(v. 8),
shall come with a sword, a sword that shall pursue them,
v. 2.
“I will send unto him wanderers, such as come from afar, as if
they were vagrants, or had missed their way, but they shall cause
him to wander; they seem as wanderers themselves, but they shall
make the Moabites to be really wanderers, some to flee and others to be
carried into captivity.” These destroyers stir up themselves to do
execution; they have devised evil against Heshbon, one of the
principal cities of Moab, and they aim at no less than the ruin of the
kingdom: Come, and let us cut it off from being a nation
(v. 2);
nothing less will serve the turn of the invaders; they come, not to
plunder it, but to ruin it. The prophet, in God’s name, engages them to
make thorough work of it
(v. 10):
Cursed be he that does the work of the Lord deceitfully, this
bloody work, this destroying work; though it goes against the grain
with men of compassion, yet it is the work of the Lord, and must
not be done by the halves. The Chaldeans have it in charge, by a secret
instinct (says Mr. Gataker), to destroy the Moabites, and therefore
they must not spare, must not, out of foolish pity, keep back their
sword from blood; they would thereby bring a sword, and a curse
with it, upon themselves, as Saul did by sparing the Amalekites and
Ahab by letting Benhadad go. Thy life shall go for his life. To
this work is applied that general rule given to all that are employed
in any service for God, Cursed by he that does the work of the Lord
deceitfully or negligently, that pretends to do it, but does it not
to purpose, makes a show of serving God’s glory, but is really serving
his own ends and carries on the work of the Lord no further than will
suit his own purposes, or that is slothful in business for God and
takes neither care nor pains to do it as it should be done,
Let not such deceive themselves, for God will not thus be mocked.
III. The woeful instances and effects of this destruction. The cities
shall be laid in ruins; they shall be spoiled
(v. 1)
and cut down
(v. 2);
they shall be desolate
(v. 9),
without any to dwell therein; there shall be no houses to dwell
in, or no people to dwell in them, or no safety and ease to those that
would dwell in them. Every city shall be spoiled and no city shall
escape. The strongest city shall not be able to secure itself
against the enemies’ power, nor shall the finest city be able to
recommend itself to the enemies’ pity and favour. The country
also shall be wasted, the valley shall perish, and the plain
be destroyed,
v. 8.
The corn and the flocks, which used to cover the plains and make the
valleys rejoice, shall all be destroyed, eaten up, trodden down, or
carried off. The most sacred persons shall not escape: The priests
and princes shall go together into captivity. Nay, Chemosh, the god
they worship, who, they hope, will protect them, shall share with them
in the ruin; his temples shall be laid in ashes and his image carried
away with the rest of the spoil. Now the consequence of all this will
be,
1. Great shame and confusion: Kirjathaim is confounded, and
Misgah is so. They shall be ashamed of the mighty boasts they have
sometimes made of their cities: There shall be no more vaunting in
Moab concerning Heshbon (so it might be read,
v. 2);
they shall no more boast of the strength of that city when the evil
which is designed against it is brought upon it. Nor shall they any
more boast of their gods
(v. 13);
they shall be ashamed of Chemosh (ashamed of all the prayers
they have made to and all the confidence they put in that dunghill
deity), as Israel was ashamed of Beth-el, of the golden calf
they had at Beth-el, which they confided in as their protector, but
were deceived in, for it was not able to save them from the Assyrians;
nor shall Chemosh be able to save the Moabites from the Chaldeans.
Note, Those that will not be convinced and made ashamed of the folly of
their idolatry by the word of God shall be convinced and made ashamed
of it by the judgments of God, when they shall find by woeful
experience the utter inability of the gods they have served to do them
any service.
2. There will be great sorrow; there is a voice of crying heard
(v. 3)
and the cry is nothing but spoiling and great destruction. Alas!
alas! Moab is destroyed,
v. 4.
The great ones having quitted the cities to shift for their own safety,
even the little ones have caused a cry to be heard, the meaner
sort of people, or the little children, the innocent harmless ones,
whose cries at such a time are the most piteous. Go up to the hills, go
down to the valleys, and you meet with continual weeping (weeping
with weeping); all are in tears; you meet none with dry eyes. Even
the enemies have heard the cry, from whom it would have been policy to
conceal it, for they will be animated and encouraged by it; but it is
so great that it cannot be hid,
3. There will be great hurry; they will cry to one another, “Away,
away! flee; save your lives
(v. 6);
shift for your own safety with all imaginable speed, though you escape
as bare and naked as the heath, or grig, or dry shrub, in the
wilderness; think not of carrying away any thing you have, for it
may cost you your life to attempt it,
Take shelter, though it be in a barren wilderness, that you may have
your lives for a prey. The danger will come suddenly and swiftly; and
therefore give wings unto Moab
(v. 9);
that would be the greatest kindness you could do them; that is what
they will call for, O that we had wings like a dove! for unless
they have wings, and can fly, there will be no escaping.”
IV. The sins for which God will now reckon with Moab, and which justify
God in these severe proceedings against them.
1. It is because they have been secure, and have trusted in their
wealth and strength, in their works and in their
treasures,
v. 7.
They had taken a great deal of pains to fortify their cities and make
large works about them, and to fill their exchequer and private
coffers, so that they thought themselves in as good a posture for war
as any people could be and that none durst invade them, and therefore
set danger at defiance. They trusted in the abundance of their
riches and strengthened themselves in their wickedness,
Ps. lii. 7.
Now, for this reason, that they may have a sensible conviction of the
vanity and folly of their carnal confidences, God will send an enemy
that will master their works and rifle their treasures. Note, We
forfeit the comfort of that creature which we repose that confidence in
which should be reposed in God only. The reed will break that is leaned
upon.
2. It is because they have not made a right improvement of the days of
the peace and prosperity,
(1.) They had been long undisturbed: Moab has been at ease from his
youth. It was an ancient kingdom before Israel was, and had enjoyed
great tranquillity, though a small country and surrounded with potent
neighbours. God’s Israel were afflicted from their youth
but Moab at ease from his youth. He has not been emptied from
vessel to vessel, has not known any troublesome weakening changes,
but is as wine kept on the lees, and not racked or drawn off, by which
it retains its strength and body. He has not been unsettled, nor any
way made uneasy; he has not gone into captivity, as Israel have
often done, and yet Moab is a wicked idolatrous nation, and one of the
confederates against God’s hidden ones,
Ps. lxxxiii. 3, 6.
Note, There are many that persist in unrepented iniquity and yet enjoy
uninterrupted prosperity.
(2.) They had been as long corrupt and unreformed: He has settled on
his lees; he has been secure and sensual in his prosperity, has
rested in it, and fetched all the strength and life of the soul from
it, as the wine from the lees. His taste remained in him, and his
scent is not changed; he is still the same, as bad as ever he was.
Note, While bad people are as happy as they used to be in the world it
is no marvel if they are bad as they used to be. They have no changes
of their peace and prosperity, therefore fear not God, their
hearts and lives are unchanged,
| The Judgment of Moab. | B. C. 605. |
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14 How say ye, We are mighty and strong men for the war?
15 Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his
chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King,
whose name is the LORD of hosts.
16 The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction
hasteth fast.
17 All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know
his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the
beautiful rod!
18 Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy
glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon
thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds.
19 O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him
that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done?
20 Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry;
tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled,
21 And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and
upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,
22 And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim,
23 And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon,
24 And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities
of the land of Moab, far or near.
25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith
the LORD.
26 Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the
LORD: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be
in derision.
27 For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among
thieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy.
28 O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the
rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of
the hole’s mouth.
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.
30 I know his wrath, saith the LORD; but it shall not be
so; his lies shall not so effect it.
31 Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all
Moab; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kirheres.
32 O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of
Jazer: thy plants are gone over the sea, they reach even to the
sea of Jazer: the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and
upon thy vintage.
33 And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and
from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the
winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; their shouting
shall be no shouting.
34 From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto
Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto
Horonaim, as a heifer of three years old: for the waters also
of Nimrim shall be desolate.
35 Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the LORD, him
that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to
his gods.
36 Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and
mine heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirheres:
because the riches that he hath gotten are perished.
37 For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped:
upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins
sackcloth.
38 There shall be lamentation generally upon all the
housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken
Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the LORD.
39 They shall howl, saying, How is it broken down! how hath
Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and
a dismaying to all them about him.
40 For thus saith the LORD; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle,
and shall spread his wings over Moab.
41 Kerioth is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and
the mighty men’s hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart
of a woman in her pangs.
42 And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because
he hath magnified himself against the LORD.
43 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O
inhabitant of Moab, saith the LORD.
44 He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he
that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I
will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their
visitation, saith the LORD.
45 They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of
the force: but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a
flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of
Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.
46 Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth:
for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives.
47 Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter
days, saith the LORD. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
The destruction is here further prophesied of very largely and with a
great copiousness and variety of expression, and very pathetically and
in moving language, designed not only to awaken them by a national
repentance and reformation to prevent the trouble, or by a personal
repentance and reformation to prepare for it, but to affect us with the
calamitous state of human life, which is liable to such lamentable
occurrences, and with the power of God’s anger and the terror of his
judgments, when he comes forth to contend with a provoking people. In
reading this long roll of threatenings, and meditating on the terror of
them, it will be of more use to us to keep this in our eye, and to get
our hearts thereby possessed with a holy awe of God and of his wrath,
than to enquire critically into all the lively figures and metaphors
here used.
I. It is a surprising destruction, and very sudden, that is here
threatened. They were very secure, thought themselves strong for
war and able to deal with the most powerful enemy
(v. 14),
and yet the calamity is near, and he is not able to keep it off, nor so
much as to keep the enemy long in parley, for the affliction hastens
fast
(v. 16)
and will soon come to a crisis. The enemy shall fly as an eagle,
so swiftly, so strongly shall he come
(v. 40),
as an eagle flies upon his prey, and he shall spread his wings,
the wings of his army, over Moab; he shall surround it, that
none may escape. The strong-holds of Moab are taken by
surprise
(v. 41),
so that all their strength stood them in no stead; and this made the
hearts even of their mighty men to fail, for they had not
time to recollect the considerations that might have animated them. It
requires a more than ordinary degree of courage not to be afraid of
sudden fear.
II. It is an utter destruction, and such as lays Moab all in ruins:
Moab is spoiled
(v. 15),
quite spoiled, is confounded and broken down
(v. 20);
their cities are laid in ashes, or seized by the enemy so that they are
forced to quit them,
Divers cities are here named, upon which judgment has come, and the
list concludes with an et cetera–and such like. What occasion
was there for him to mention more particulars when it comes upon all
the cities of Moab in general, far and near?
v. 21-24.
Note, When iniquity is universal we have reason to expect that calamity
should be so too. The kingdom is deprived of its dignity and
authority: The horn of Moab is cut off, the horn of its strength
and power, both offensive and defensive; his arm is broken, that
he can neither give a blow nor prevent a blow,
Is the youth of the kingdom the strength and beauty of it? His
chosen young men have gone down to the slaughter,
v. 15.
They went down to the battle promising themselves that they should
return victorious; but God told them that they went down to the
slaughter; so sure are those to fall against whom God fights. In a
word, Moab shall be destroyed from being a people,
v. 42.
Those that are enemies to God’s people will soon be made no people.
III. It is a lamentable destruction; it will be just matter of mourning
and will turn joy into heaviness.
1. The prophet that foretels it does himself lament it, and mourns at
the very foresight of it, from a principle of compassion to his
fellow-creatures and concern for human nature. The prophet will himself
howl for Moab; his very heart shall mourn for them
(v. 31);
he will weep for the vine of Sibmah
(v. 32);
his heart shall sound like pipes for Moab,
v. 36.
Though the destruction of Moab would prove him a true prophet, yet he
could not think of it without trouble. The ruin of sinners is no
pleasure to God, and therefore should be a pain to us; even those that
give warning of it should lay it to heart. These passages, and many
others in this chapter, are much the same with what Isaiah had used in
his prophecies against Moab
(Isa. xv. 16);
for, though there was a long distance of time between that prophecy and
this, yet they were both dictated by one and the same Spirit, and it
becomes God’s prophets to speak the language of those that went before
them. It is no plagiarism sometimes to make use of old expressions,
provided it be with new affections and applications.
2. The Moabites themselves shall lament it; it will be the greatest
mortification and grief imaginable to them. Those that sat in
glory, in the midst of wealth, and mirth, and all manner of
pleasure, shall sit in thirst, in a dry and thirsty land, where
no water, no comfort is,
It is time for them to sit in thirst, and inure themselves to
hardship, when the spoiler has come, who will strip them of all,
and empty them. The Moabites in the remote corners of the country, that
are furthest from the danger, will be inquisitive to know how the
matter goes, what news from the army, will ask every one that
escapes, What is done?
v. 19.
And when they are told that all is gone, that the invader is the
conqueror, they will howl and cry, in bitterness and anguish of
spirit
(v. 20);
they will abandon themselves to solitude, to lament the desolations of
their country; they will leave the cities that used to be full
of mirth, and dwell in the rock where they may have their full
of melancholy; they shall no more be singing birds, but mourning birds,
like the dove
(v. 28);
the doves of the valley,
Ezek. vii. 16.
Let those that give themselves up to mirth know that God can soon
change their note. Their sorrow shall be so very extreme that they
shall make themselves bald and cut themselves
(v. 37),
which were expressions of a desperate grief, such as tempted men to be
even their own destroyers. Job indeed rent his mantle and
shaved his head, but he did not cut himself. When the flood of
passion rises ever so high wisdom and grace must set bounds to it, set
banks to it, to restrain it from such barbarities. The sorrow shall be
universal
(v. 38):
There shall be a general lamentation upon all the house-tops of
Moab, where they worshipped their idols, to whom they shall in vain
bemoan themselves, and in all the streets, where they
conversed with one another, for they shall be free in communicating
their grief and fears and in propagating them; for they see all lost:
“I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, which
shall not be regarded and cannot be pieced again.” That which Moab used
to rejoice in was their pleasant fruits and the abundance of their rich
wines. The delights of sense were all the matter of their joy. Take
away these, destroy their gardens and vineyards, and you make all
their mirth to cease,
Hos. ii. 11, 12.
There is great weeping when their plants are transplanted, have gone
over the sea
(v. 32),
are carried into other countries, to be planted there. The spoiler
has fallen upon thy summer-fruits and upon thy vintage, and it is
this that makes the cry of Heshbon to reach even to
Elealeh,
v. 34.
Take joy and gladness from the plentiful field, and you take it
from the land of Moab,
v. 33.
If the wine fail from the wine-presses, that used to be trodden
with acclamations of joy, all their gladness is cut off. Take away that
shouting, and there shall be no shouting. Note, Those who make the
delights of sense their chief joy, their exceeding joy, since these are
things they may easily be deprived of in a little time subject
themselves to the tyranny of the greatest grief; whereas those who
rejoice in God may do that even when the fig-tree does not blossom
and there is no fruit in the vine. These Moabites lost not only
their wine, but their water too: Even the waters of Nimrim shall be
desolate
(v. 34),
and therefore their grief grew extravagantly loud and noisy, and their
lamentations were heard in all placed like the lowing of a heifer of
three years old. The expressions here are borrowed from
3. All their neighbours are called to mourn with them, and to condole
with them on their ruin
(v. 17):
All you that are about him bemoan him, Let him have that allay
to his grief, let him see himself pities by the adjoining countries.
Nay, let those at a distance, who do but know his name and have
heard of his reputation, take notice of his fall, and say, How is
the strong staff broken, whose strength was the terror of its
enemies, and the beautiful rod, whose beauty was the pride of
its friends! Let the nations take notice of this and receive
instruction. Let none be puffed up with or put confidence in their
strength or beauty, for neither will be a security against the
judgments of God.
IV. It is a shameful destruction and such as shall expose them to
contempt: Moab is made drunk
(v. 26),
and he that is made drunk is made vile; he shall wallow in his
vomit, and become an odious spectacle, and shalljustly be
in derision. Let the Moabites be intoxicated with the cup of God’s
wrath till they stagger and fall, and be brought to their wits’
end, and make themselves ridiculous by the wildness not only of
their passions but of their counsels. And again
(v. 39):
Moab shall be a derision and a dismaying to all about him; they
shall laugh at the fall of the pomp and power he was so proud of. Note,
Those that are haughty are preparing reproach and ignominy for
themselves.
V. It is the destruction of that which is dear to them, not only of
their summer fruits and their vintage, but of their wealth
(v. 36):
The riches that he has gotten have perished, though he thought
he had laid them up very safely, and promised himself a long enjoyment
of them, yet they are gone. Note, The money that is hoarded in the
chest is as liable to perishing as the summer-fruits that lie exposed
in the open field. Riches are shedding things, and, like dust as they
are, slip through our fingers even when we are in most care to hold
them fast and gripe them hard. Yet this is not the worst; even those
whose religion was false and foolish were fond of it above any thing,
and, such as it was, would not part with it; and therefore, though it
was really a promise, yet to them it was a threatening
(v. 35),
that God will cause to cease him that offers in the high places,
for the high places shall be destroyed, and the fields of offerings
shall be laid waste, and the priests themselves, who burnt incense
to their gods, shall be slain or carried into captivity,
v. 7.
Note, It is only the true religion, and the worship and service of the
true God, that will stand us in stead in a day of trouble.
VI. It is a just and righteous destruction, and that which they have
deserved and brought upon themselves by sin.
1. The sin which they had been most notoriously guilty of, and for
which God now reckoned with them, was pride. It is mentioned six times,
We have all heard of the pride of Moab; his neighbours
took notice of it; it has testified to his face, as Israel’s did; he
is exceedingly proud, and grows worse and worse. Observe his
loftiness, his arrogancy, his pride, his haughtiness; the
multiplying of words to the same purport intimates in how many
instances he discovered his pride, and how offensive it was both to God
and man. It was charged upon them
but here it is expressed more largely that there. Since then they had
been under humbling providences, and yet were unhumbled; nay, they grew
more arrogant and haughty, which plainly marked them for that utter
destruction of which pride is the forerunner. Two instances are here
given of the pride of Moab:–
(1.) He had conducted himself insolently towards God. He must be
brought down with shame
(v. 26),
for he has magnified himself against the Lord; and again
(v. 42),
he shall be destroyed from being a people, for this very reason.
The Moabites preferred Chemosh before Jehovah, and thought themselves a
match for the God of Israel, whom they set at defiance.
(2.) He had conducted himself scornfully towards Israel, particularly
in their late troubles; therefore Moab shall fall into the same
troubles; into the same hands, and be a derision, for Israel was a
derision to him,
v. 26, 27.
The generality of the Moabites, when they heard of the calamities and
desolations of their neighbours the Jews, instead of lamenting them,
rejoiced in them, they skipped for joy. Many, in such a case,
entertain in their minds a secret pleasure at the fall of those they
had a dislike to, who yet have so much discretion as to conceal it; it
is so invidious a thing. But the Moabites industriously proclaimed
their joy, and avowed the enmity they had to Israel, triumphing over
every Israelite they met with in distress and laughing at him, which
was as inhuman as it was impious and an impudent affront both to man,
whose nature they were of, and to God, whose name they were called by.
Note, Those that deride others in distress will justly and certainly,
sooner or later, come into distress themselves, and be had in derision.
Those that are glad at calamities, especially the calamities of
God’s church, shall not long go unpunished.
2. Besides this they had been guilty of malice against God’s people,
and treachery in their dealings with them,
They made a jest of the desolations of Judah and Jerusalem, and
pretended, when they laughed at them, that it was but in sport and to
make themselves merry; but, says God, “I know his wrath; I know
it comes from the old enmity he has to the seed of Abraham and the
worshippers of the true God. I know he thinks these calamities
of the Jewish nation will end in their utter extirpation. He now tells
the Chaldeans what bad people the Jews are, and irritates them against
them; but it shall not be so as he expects; his lies shall
not so effect it. The nation, whose fall they triumph in, shall
recover itself.” Some read it, I know his rage. Is it not so? Is
he not very furious against the people of God? And his lies I
know also. Do they not do so? Do they not belie them? Note,
All the fury and all the falsehood of the church’s enemies are
perfectly known to God, whatever the pretenses are with which they
think to cover them,
VII. It is a complicated destruction, and by one instance after another
will at length be completed; for those that make their escape from one
judgment shall perish by another: Fear, and the pit, and the snare,
shall be upon them,
v. 43.
There shall be fear to drive them into the pit, and a snare to hold
them fast in it when they are in it; so that they shall neither escape
from the destruction nor escape out of it. What was said of sinners in
general
that those who flee from the fear shall fall into the pit and
those who come up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare, is
here particularly foretold concerning the sinners of Moab
(v. 44);
for it is the year of their visitation, when God comes to reckon
with them, and will be known by the judgments which he executes,
for he is the King whose name is the Lord of hosts
(v. 15);
he is not only the King who has authority to give judgment, but
he is the Lord of hosts, who is able to do what he has
determined. The figurative expressions used
are explained in one instance
(v. 45):
Those that fled out of the villages for fear of the enemy’s
forces put themselves under the shadow of Heshbon, stood there,
and supposed they stood safely, as now armies sometimes retire under
the cannon of a fortified city, and it is their protection; but here
they should be disappointed, for, when they flee out of the pit,
they fall into the snare; Heshbon, which they thought would shelter
them, devours them as Moses had foretold long since
(Num. xxi. 28):
A fire has gone out of Heshbon, and a flame from the city of
Sihon, and devours those that come from all the corners of
Moab, and fastens upon the crown of the head of the
tumultuous noisy ones, or of the revellers, or children of
noise, not meant of the rude clamorous multitude, but of the great men,
who bluster, and hector, and make a noise; the judgments of God shall
light on them. Shall we hear the conclusion of this whole matter? We
have it
(v. 46):
“Woe be to thee, O Moab! thou art undone; the people that
worship Chemosh perish, and are gone; farewell, Moab. Thy
sons and daughters, the hopes of the next generation, have
gone into captivity after the Jews, whose calamities they rejoiced
in.”
VIII. Yet it is not a perpetual destruction. The chapter concludes with
a short promise of their return out of captivity in the latter
days. God, who brings them into captivity, will bring again
their captivity,
v. 47.
Thus tenderly does God deal with Moabites, much more with his own
people! Even with Moabites he will not contend for ever, nor be
always wrath. When Israel returned, Moab did; and perhaps the
prophecy was intended chiefly for the encouragement of God’s people to
hope for that salvation which even Moabites shall share in. Yet it
looks further, to gospel times; the Jews themselves refer it to the
days of the Messiah; then the captivity of the Gentiles, under the yoke
of sin and Satan, shall be brought back by divine grace, which shall
make them free, free indeed. This prophecy concerning Moab is
long, but here it ends; it ends comfortably: Thus far is the
judgment of Moab.
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