Jeremiah 48

Jeremiah Chapter Forty-Eight

Verse 1 Jeremiah 48THE AGAINST MOABThere are three remarkable differences in this prophecy, as compared with others, as cited by Green. “These are (1) its unusual length, (2) its use of material from other prophets, and (3) the large number of place names in it."[1]A number of other prophets also received messages from God regarding the eventual judgment of Moab; and, “These include: Isaiah 15-16; Isaiah 25:10;Ezekiel 25:8-11; Amos 2:1-3; and Zephaniah 2:8-11."[2] Also, this is not the first prophecy regarding Moab that came through Jeremiah. See Jeremiah 9:26; Jeremiah 25:21; and Jeremiah 27:3. We have already commented upon all of these passages except the one in Ezekiel; and there are not many new things to cover in this chapter. See my commentaries on Amos, Zephaniah and Isaiah. The reason for God’s judgment against Moab is not far to seek. From the days of the false prophet Balaam and afterward, Moab rebelled against the true God, adopted the horrible worship of Chemosh, and reveled in the licentious worship of the Canaanite Baalim. The Moabite women, under the suggestion of Balaam, had pulled off a wholesale seduction of the Israelites at Baal-Peor (Numbers 25:1 ff), in which a thousand of the princes and judges of Israel fell, leading all Israel into paganism from which the Israelites never totally recovered. The origin of the Moabites, of course, will be remembered as beginning in the incestuous union of Lot and his daughters, the same event from which the Ammonites also sprang (Genesis 19). The Moabites always hated Israel, and “They had actually taken part with the Chaldeans against Judaea (2 Kings 24:2)."[3]Actually, there are no critical problems worth bothering with here; but some writers still insist on repeating some of the old shibboleths of the radical critics, prattling about “which is the original,” with regard to similar passages to the writings of other prophets to which Jeremiah referred in this chapter. All the passages are “original.” This we shall continue to believe until some critic convinces us that Almighty God could not possibly have given the same words, or similar words, to more than one prophet! Besides, as regards this chapter, the Dean of Canterbury noted the following. “The passages borrowed from other authors by Jeremiah are so interwoven with Jeremiah’s own words that we cannot omit them as interpolations without destroying the whole. Also passages most certainly belonging to Jeremiah, and in many of the alterations of the borrowed passages, one recognizes so strongly Jeremiah’s mode of expression, that one has no resource except to acknowledge the whole to be Jeremiah’s."[4]Jeremiah 48:1-4JEHOVAH vs. CHEMOSH; THE OF MOAB (Jeremiah 48:1-10) “Of Moab, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe unto Nebo! for it is laid waste; Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken; Misgab is put to shame and broken down. The praise of Moab is no more; in Heshbon they have devised evil against her: Come, and let us cut her off from being a nation. Thou also, O Madmen, shall be brought to silence; the sword shall pursue thee. The sound of a cry from Horonaim, desolation and great destruction. Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.““Nebo …” (Jeremiah 48:1). “This is not the mountain from which Moses viewed the Promised Land, but the city of Num 32:3; Numbers 32:38, built by the Reubenites."[5]“Kiriathaim …” (Jeremiah 48:1). “A city six miles south of Dibon."[6] Dibon was where the Moabite Stone was found. “Heshbon …” (Jeremiah 48:1). This was an important city, belonging originally to Moab; but then captured by Sihon and made his capital (Numbers 21:26); after its conquest by Israel under Moses, it was given to the Reubenites (Numbers 21:21-24; Numbers 32:37). By the times of Jeremiah, the city was at the zenith of its prosperity and had been retaken by Moab.[7]But in the times of a certain Alexander, Heshbon again became a Jewish city.[8] Moab eventually was lost as a nation, except for the hope expressed in Jeremiah 48:47 (below). “In Heshbon they have devised evil against her …” (Jeremiah 48:2). It is believed that this is a prophecy that the Babylonians would plan their subjugation of Moab at Heshbon. There is a play on the word. “Heshbon” means “to plan”; and the words “plan evil” are similar in the Hebrew. “Misgab …” (Jeremiah 48:1) and “Madmen …” (Jeremiah 48:2). Nothing is known of either of these towns; and the dictionaries available to us have no notes on them whatever. “Horonaim …” (Jeremiah 48:3). “This is the same as the city of Avara, mentioned by Ptolemy; the name means the double caves' (<a href="/bible/parallel/NEH/2/10" class="green-link">Nehemiah 2:10</a>; <a href="/bible/parallel/ISA/15/5" class="green-link">Isaiah 15:5</a>).[9]"Her little ones have caused a cry to be raised ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/48/4" class="green-link">Jeremiah 48:4</a>). The "little ones" referred to here were in all probability the infant sacrifices offered to the savage old god Molech, or Chemosh. That horrible rebellion against God in offering such sacrifices was certainly one of the reasons that brought the wrath of God upon Moab. See more about that pagan god under <a href="/bible/parallel/JER/48/7" class="green-link">Jeremiah 48:7</a>. Verse 5 "For by the ascent of Luhith with continual weeping shall they go up; for at the descent of Horonaim they have heard the distress of the cry of destruction. Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness. For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken, and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, his priests and his princes together. And the destroyer shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape; the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed; as Jehovah hath spoken. Give wings unto Moab, that she may fly and get her away: and her cities shall become a desolation, without any to dwell therein. Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently; and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.""Ascent of Luhith... descent of Horonaim ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/48/5" class="green-link">Jeremiah 48:5</a>). Whether fleeing to a high mountain or descending into the caves at Horonaim, the people would hear the cry of destruction. "Luhith’ is unknown”;[10] but the mention of “ascent” suggests that it was some kind of summit, or high place. “Flee, save your lives, be like the heath in the wilderness …” (Jeremiah 48:6). Textual uncertainties inJeremiah 48:6 have led to several different translations here. “The word here rendered heath' is also rendered as tamarisk,’ sand-grouse,' or wild ass’ (See KJV, ASV, the English Revised Version (1884), the New English Bible, the Jerusalem Bible, and LXX).[11]“Chemosh shall go forth into captivity …” (Jeremiah 48:7). “Chemosh is referred to on the Moabite Stone as Ashtar-Kemosh. Ashtar in Canaan was the god of the morning star."[12] Thus we have another example of the Israelites and their kinsmen “worshipping the host of heaven” (Acts 7:42 ff). In fact, many of the ancient gods and goddesses of paganism were identified with the sun, the moon, various stars and planets Chemosh, the national god of the Moabites, is here prophetically doomed to captivity, and that meant also that the whole nation of Moab would suffer in a similar way. Like all other manmade gods, Chemosh was of no help whatever to Moab in the day of their calamity. Jeremiah 48:10 here is a mystery, especially the last clause, of which Robinson said, ,‘Here the prophet incites to the slaughter with a curse."[13] However, we reject that interpretation. The only true application of such a command would be to those instruments whom God commissioned to punish rebellious nations for their wickedness. Certainly, Pope Gregory VII’s making this his favorite verse has no possible justification.[14]Verse 11 AND “Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remaineth in him, and his scent is not changed. Therefore the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will send unto them that pour off, and they shall pour him off; and they shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles in pieces. And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence. How say ye, we are mighty men, and valiant men for the war? And they are gone up into his cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King whose name is Jehovah of hosts. The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.

All ye that are round about him, and all ye that know his name; say, How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod!““Settled on his lees …” (Jeremiah 48:11). This expression came from the wine-making industry. The best wine cannot be produced without a process of draining off the liquid from the dregs repeatedly, and by pouring the wine from vessel to vessel during the fermentation process. If this is not done, the color of the wine, its taste and quality are inferior. The metaphor of Moab being settled on their lees meant that they had been very fortunate, due to their location, and had not been exercised, as a people, by the hardships and calamities which, had they suffered such, might have hardened and prepared the people for what would eventually come upon them. It was simply a case of a nation growing, fat, lazy and incompetent, a situation which this writer fears is gradually coming upon our own country at this very moment.

For over a hundred years all of our wars have been fought on the other man’s homeland, not ours. “They shall pour him off …” (Jeremiah 48:12). This is a metaphor, meaning that the Babylonians will fall upon Moab, which will be helpless before them and will suffer total ruin. “Ashamed of Chemosh . .. as Israel was ashamed of Bethel …” (Jeremiah 48:13) Israel was indeed ashamed of Bethel. That city was where Jeroboam established the sinful altar for Israel, setting up the calf worship there. This is where all Israel “kissed the calf” (Hosea 13:2); but kissing the calf did them no good whatever when Shalmanezer fell upon Samaria and mined the nation forever. Israel must indeed have been ashamed of all that calf-kissing when the blow fell! So would it be with Moab and their pagan, man-made Chemosh! “They are gone up into his cities …” (Jeremiah 48:15). Textual uncertainties here have led to alternate renditions, “Her cities have gone up in smoke (burnt).” and, “The waster of Moab and of her towns is coming up to the attack, and her chosen youths are gone down to the slaughter."[15]“The calamity of Moab is come near, and his affliction hasteth fast …” (Jeremiah 48:16). The certainty of our dealing with a predictive prophecy here is seen in the construction of these sentences. It would have been impossible, after the destruction of Moab had occurred, for any man in his right mind to have made a statement of this kind. Can one imagine a serious writer appearing publicly in Atlanta, Georgia, today and shouting that “General Sherman is advancing upon Atlanta!”? Barnes noted that this prophecy was given twenty-three years before the events foretold, the fulfillment coming, “Five years after the destruction of Jerusalem."[16]“The strong staff broken …” (Jeremiah 48:17). “The emblems of Moab’s rule and authority, the scepter' and glorious staff’ will be broken, showing that their power and national glory will pass."[17]Verse 18 AND “O thou daughter that dwellest in Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the destroyer of Moab is come up against thee, he hath destroyed thy strongholds. O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and watch: ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth; say, What hath been done? Moab is put to shame; for it is broken down; wail and cry; tell ye it by the Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.““Come down … sit in thirst …” (Jeremiah 48:18). The thought here is the same as that of Isa 47:1-5, in which Babylon was spoken of as a deposed queen, coming down from a throne to sit on the ground. “Dibon …” (Jeremiah 48:18) “… Aroer …” (Jeremiah 48:19) “… the Arnon …” (Jeremiah 48:20). Dibon, the same as modern Diban, was located four miles north of the Arnon river and twelve or thirteen miles east of the Dead Sea. The Moabite Stone was found there in 1868. Aroer was situated southwest of Dibon and was the southernmost city of Sihon. There were two other cities of the same name, mentioned in Numbers 32:34, and in 1 Samuel 30:28. The Arnon emptied into the east side of the Dead Sea opposite Engedi, and marked the boundary between Ammon on the north and Moab on the south. Verse 21 “And judgment is upon the plain country, upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath, and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim. and upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamal, and upon Beth-meon, and upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near. The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith Jehovah.““The horn of Moab is cut off …” (Jeremiah 48:25). Like a bull with his horns cut off and no longer able to fight, or like a boxer with a broken arm, the helplessness of Moab before her enemies is thus metaphorically represented. “All the cities of Moab, far or near …” (Jeremiah 48:24). Eleven of these cities are mentioned in this paragraph. “Holon … Mephaath …” Neither of these cities has ever been identified. “Dibon … Nebo …” See above comments on these. “Jahaz …” This name occurs in several forms. It was the scene of Israel’s triumph over Sihon (Numbers 21:23; Deuteronomy 2:32). The Moabite Stone reports that Israel possessed the town for awhile; but the city was in the hands of Moab in the times of Jeremiah.[18]“Beth-diblathaim … Beth-gamul … Beth-meon …” Peloubet’s Bible Dictionary lists all of these (pp. 87,91). The first of these means, “The house of two fig cakes,” very probably a reference to some pagan shrine where the price of admission to their sacred licentiousness was “two fig cakes.” The place is identified as Almon-diblathaim. The second was a Moabite town east of the Jordan river; and the meaning of the name, according to Jamieson was, “The city of camels."[19]The third name is the contraction of a longer term, Beth-Baal-Meon. It was a Moabite town evidently connected with the worship of Baal. “Kerioth …” (Jeremiah 48:24). This was, apparently, at one time the capital city of Moab, for the king evidently lived there when Amos gave his prophecy (Amos 2:2). It should not be confused with the city having the same name in southern Judah. Some identify it with Ar, the ancient capital of Moab. It was the location of a principal sanctuary of Chemosh.[20]“Bozrah …” (Jeremiah 48:24). This Moabite city has not been certainly identified. Some equate it with Bezer, one of the cities of refuge, located fifteen miles east of the place where the Jordan enters the Dead Sea. It is not the same as the Edomite city of Bozrah. Verse 26 “Make ye him drunken for he magnified himself against Jehovah: and Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision. For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for as often as thou speakest of him, thou waggest the head. Oh ye inhabitants of Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock; and be like the dove that maketh her nest over the mouth of the abyss.“The long hatred between various divisions of the Semitic people is in some ways a mystery. Lot, the ancestor of the Moabites, was a true friend and kinsman of Abraham; but the Moabites, Lot’s descendants, are here represented as continual enemies of Israel who spoke contemptuously of them at all times. This was one of the reasons for God’s wrath. The prophecy here admonishes the people to hide, if they can, from their forthcoming devastation. Verse 29 DIRGE OVER A LAND"We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; his loftiness, and his pride, and his arrogancy, and the haughtiness of his heart. I know his wrath, saith Jehovah, that it is naught; his boastings have wrought nothing. Therefore will I wail for Moab; yea, I will cry out for all Moab: for the men of Kirheres shall they mourn. With more than the weeping of Jazer will I weep for thee, O vine of Sibmah: thy branches passed over the sea, they reached even to the sea of Jazer: upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage the destroyer is fallen. And gladness and joy is taken away from the fruitful field and from the land of Moab.“Sometimes a new translation provides a deeper insight into the meaning of a passage; and here it is the New English Bible that does so. “We have heard of Moab’s pride, and proud indeed he is. Proud, presumptuous, overbearing, insolent. I know his insolence, says the Lord; His boasting is false, false are his deeds."[21]“Kirheres …” (Jeremiah 48:31). “The literal meaning of this word is city of potsherds.' It is the same as Kirhareseth (<a href="/bible/parallel/2KI/3/25" class="green-link">2 Kings 3:25</a>; <a href="/bible/parallel/ISA/16/7" class="green-link">Isaiah 16:7</a>). Today, it is probably El-Kerak, 17 miles south of the river Arnon, and eleven miles east of the Dead Sea." "Sibmah ... Jazer ... Elealeh ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/48/32" class="green-link">Jeremiah 48:32</a>; <a href="/bible/parallel/JER/48/34" class="green-link">Jeremiah 48:34</a>). All three of these places were clustered around Heshbon; Sibmah was three miles northwest, Elealeh was 2 miles North and Jazer was 10 miles North of Heshbon.[22] Isaiah also mentioned the "vines of Sibmah" (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/16/8" class="green-link">Jeremiah 16:8-9</a>) but a careful look at both passages will leave no doubt of the absolute originality of both. The critical nonsense that one sacred writer's mention of something that another sacred writer also mentioned is always and invariably a sign that one of them copied the other is ridiculous; and that stupid rule has been carried to its preposterous extreme in the alleged so-called "doublets" of the New Testament. "That reached even to the sea of Jazer ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/48/32" class="green-link">Jeremiah 48:32</a>). Translators in some works, trying to guard what they feel is the integrity of the text, have changed the reading here, as in the New English Bible to "the fountains of Jazer," which is totally unnecessary. Sure, there is no "sea" (or inland lake’) at this place today; but this is no indication whatever that there was not a large lake there 2,600 years ago! Visitors to Yellowstone Park are shown the remains of a rather large lake that has disappeared there within the last century, as a natural change wrought by geographical developments. Keil noted this fact. “Since the valley of Jazer, lying among the mountains, is somewhat depressed, it was in ancient times probably filled with water."[23] In the light of what is written here in the Word of God, we can be sure that this is true. Verse 33 “And I have caused wine to cease from the wine-presses: none shall tread with shouting; the shouting shall be no shouting; from the cry of Heshbon even to Elealeh, even unto Jahaz have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, to Eglath-shelishiyah: for the waters of Nimrim also shall become desolate. Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith Jehovah, him that offereth in the high place, and him that burneth incense to his gods. Therefore my heart soundeth for Moab like pipes, and my heart soundeth like pipes for the men of Kirheres: therefore the abundance that he has gotten is perished. For every head is bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth. On all the housetops of Moab and in the streets thereof there is lamentation everywhere; for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein none delighteth, saith Jehovah. How is it broken down! how do they wail! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab become a derision and a terror to al] that are round about him.““The shouting shall be no shouting …” (Jeremiah 48:33 b).

The vast wine industry, upon which much of Moab’s prosperity depended will be totally destroyed. The workers who treaded out the grapes in the wine-presses continually celebrated their activity by shoutings and songs. The cry of the distressed population will reach all the way from Zoar, at the southwest corner of the Dead Sea to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. The last two place names here are not too positively identified, but Keil placed both of them in southern Moab. The general meaning is surely clear enough. Grief and distress are everywhere. “My heart soundeth for Moab like pipes …” (Jeremiah 48:36). This is a reference to the prophet’s own grief for the terrible, distress prophesied against Moab. We have a little later in the chapter a dramatic description of how that grief affected all the people. This grief of Jeremiah is significant. He did not prophesy doom because he received any pleasure from it, but because it was his duty to warn the people. “Every head bald … every beard clipped … sackcloth worn by all … mourning on all the housetops … mourning in all the streets …” (Jeremiah 48:36-38). What a pitiful picture of what Nebuchadnezzar’s brutal, licentious, devastating armies did to the peoples of the world. Here is the pride and ruthless ambition of men raging out of control. Verse 40 AND “For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread out his wings against Moab. Kerioth is taken, and the strongholds are seized, and the heart of the mighty men of Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs. And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against Jehovah. 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 him, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith Jehovah.““He shall fly as an eagle …” (Jeremiah 48:40). The eagle here was Nebuchadnezzar’s terrible army. This writer, as a child, witnessed a bald eagle’s attack upon a coyote.

The helplessness of the doomed animal was pitiful; and the swift, ferocious attack can never be forgotten. Moab was helpless before such a destroyer. “The fear, and the pit, and the snare …” (Jeremiah 48:43-44). These verses are almost identical withIsaiah 24:17-18; but if this expression was a popular proverb of that day, which it most probably was, there could be nothing surprising about its being found in Jeremiah as well as in Isaiah. In fact we have the same proverb with different elements in Amos 5:19, “As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him!” Verse 45 “They that fled stand without strength under the shadow of Heshbon; for a fire is gone forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and hath devoured the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones. Woe unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh is undone; for thy sons are taken away captive, and thy daughters into captivity. Yet will I bring back the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith Jehovah. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.“The first two of these verses record the fulfillment of Balaam’s prophecy against Moab in Numbers 21:28-30; Numbers 24:17, some of the very language of the Book of Numbers being here repeated, indicating once again that all of the Pentateuch (not merely Deuteronomy) was, even at this date, in the hands of Israel. As we have repeatedly noted, every line of the Old Testament lies under the shadow of the first five books of the Old Testament. “Yet will I bring back the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith Jehovah …” (Jeremiah 48:47). How could this be, when God had announced that “Moab should be destroyed from being a people?” Halley noted that, “This was probably fulfilled when the Moabites, absorbed into the race of the Arabs, many of whom were present at Pentecost when the Gospel was proclaimed unto all men (Acts 2:11),"[24] were evidently among those converted to Christ. Certainly the “restoration” promised here was definitely stated to be scheduled for the “latter days,” the times of the Messiah. “A similar promise is given to Egypt, Ammon, and Elam (Jeremiah 46:26; Jeremiah 49:6; Jeremiah 49:39)."[25]“Thus far is the judgment of Moab …” (Jeremiah 48:47 b). This is not a critical comment, but is most likely a note by some scribe, similar to the one in Jeremiah 51:54.

Jeremiah 48:1

Jeremiah 48:1. This entire chapter is against the land of Moab which was situated on the east side of the Dead Sea, Its people were descended from one of the sons of Lot (Genesis 19:37) and were hence related by blood to the line coming down from Abraham. For this reason the Lord would not permit his people to deal with them as they did with other nations with whom they came in contact (Deuteronomy 2:9). Yet the relations between the two peoples were somewhat strained and in the main the Moabites were considered as enemies to the Israelites and were marked for some severe judgments from the Lord, The places named were cities of the Moabites that were destined to feel God’s wrath.

Jeremiah 48:2

Jeremiah 48:2. Heshhon was another city In the land of Moab that was to be punished. They have devised evil against it means the forces whom God would see fit to use as his Instruments when the time came for the punishment predicted.

Jeremiah 48:3

Jeremiah 48:3. Voice of crying means the bewailing that was to he heard in the city of Horonaim which was one of the special ones among the Moabites.

Jeremiah 48:4

Jeremiah 48:4. Moah is named and includes the land and the people. Little has a various definition in the lexicon, hut the general meaning is to be small or helpless against the attacking foe, and that was to make the people of the land cry out so as to he heard.

Jeremiah 48:5

Jeremiah 48:5. Luhith and Horonaim were cities of Moab and their citizens were destined to be heard crying because of the destruction of their cities.

Jeremiah 48:6

Jeremiah 48:6. Flee, save yourselves is a prediction of the distressful condition that was to come upon the land of Moab. Heath means a tract of waste land, and the land of Moab was to become such a place for a time.

Jeremiah 48:7

Jeremiah 48:7. The feeling of security which the Moabites had was to be shattered and their helplessness was to become evident. Chemosh was one of the invisible gods of the land of Moab. the chief one that they wor-shiped. Idolaters relied on their gods for protection and help, but the prediction was against all their expectations.

Jeremiah 48:8

Jeremiah 48:8. The spoiler means one who would strip the country of its goods, and in this case it was to be the Babylonians. City and valley are named together to indicate the completeness of the desolation as it would affect the land.

Jeremiah 48:9

Jeremiah 48:9. There would be no use to try fleeing from the punishment, that God designed against Moab. The language intends to picture the people in a state of panic and desire to escape the chastisement confronting them.

Jeremiah 48:10

Jeremiah 48:10. God had decreed the pun-ishment of Moab at the hands of another country, and the work to be done by it (Babylon) would be the work of God. If the swordsman of Babylon should be negligent in using the sword against the victims of God’s wrath, the divine curse will be upon him.

Jeremiah 48:11

Jeremiah 48:11. This verse is an interesting figurative description of the past state of the self-satisfied peace of Moab, The figure is drawn from the subject of wine and its various conditions. Lees are the settlings that fall to the bottom of a vessel In which the raw juice of the grape has been placed. After a time these settle and leave the pure wine undisturbed and clear on the top. To pour this wine from one vessel to another would disturb It which would represent the dis-turbed condition of the land of Moab when it is upset by the Babylonians. The land had not gone into captivity which means it had been left aione as a quantity of wine undisturbed with the lees at the bottom of the vessel. In such a condition the taste of the pure wine would remain in the vessel, not having been mixed with the dregs through being shaken up or poured out.

Jeremiah 48:12

Jeremiah 48:12. This condition of peace was to be disturbed and the wanderers (the Babylonians) were to come and break the bottles (figuratively speaking) and destroy the peace of the land on which the people bad been resting in their false security.

Jeremiah 48:13

Jeremiah 48:13. Bethel was one of the places where the 10-tribe kingdom of Israel set up the golden calves for idolatrous worship (1 Kings 12:29). That did not save Israel from the shame of captivity (2 Kings 17). neither was the Idol god Che.moxh. going to save Moab In the day of its humiliation.

Jeremiah 48:14

Jeremiah 48:14, The Moabites boasted of their men in the war forces and virtually defied any nation to oppose them.

Jeremiah 48:15

Jeremiah 48:15. Moab is spoiled is present tense as to grammatical form but is prophetic in thought. ‘When God says a certain, thing will be done it is as certain as a thing that is done at the time it is predicted.

Jeremiah 48:16

Jeremiah 48:16. This verse is still a prediction in the present tense, but it is a little more definite as to time and says the fulfillment is soon to come.

Jeremiah 48:17

Jeremiah 48:17. The downfall of Moab was to be so evident and humiliating that the surrounding nations would lament over it They are predicted as being so affected because the men of Moab had been regarded as great and strong and it would be a matter of astonishment to see them meet such great defeat.

Jeremiah 48:18

Jeremiah 48:18. Daughter is a figurative name for a country and Dtion was one of the cities of that country. The Moabites were proud and independent and had exalted themselves over the glory of this city. Come down from thy glory is a prediction that the Moabites would be taken down from that self-constructed pinnacle of glory and he made to sit in thirst which means they would be brought to want.

Jeremiah 48:19

Jeremiah 48:19. The countries of the ancient world counted much on their cities, and for that reason many of the military conflicts were directed towards those centers, Aroer was a city of Moab and its inhabitants were warned of the destruction to come upon the city. Espy means to look on and see the people fleeing from the city. They were then to ask the meaning of the excitement and would wonder what is donet

Jeremiah 48:20

Jeremiah 48:20. This gives the answer to the inquiry, which is that Moab is confounded or confused because it is broken by the invasion of the Babylonians. Arnon was a Btream on whose banks the city of Aroer was located, and the stream is represented as lamenting the hard fate of the country through which it flowed.

Jeremiah 48:21

Jeremiah 48:21. The towns named in this verse were not very important and little is known of them. But the Moabites counted much on their many towns or cities, and the Lord wished them to get some idea of the greatness of His wrath by overthrowing them.

Jeremiah 48:22-24

Jeremiah 48:22-24. The cities named in this paragraph were to receive punishment similar to those previously named, hence they are grouped into the one unit.

Jeremiah 48:25

Jeremiah 48:25, When horn is used figuratively It is defined “power” in the lexicon. The power of Moab as a nation was to be taken from her by the Babylonians.

Jeremiah 48:26

Jeremiah 48:26. We should understand these terms are being used figuratively. A drinking man sometimes boasts of his ability to ‘‘ handle’’ as much liquor as he chooses. God represents Moab in that frame of mind and predicts that he will be forced to swallow more than he can manage. He was to become repulsively sick from drink and then forced to wallow In the discharges of his besotted stomach.

Jeremiah 48:27

Jeremiah 48:27. Moab had made light of Israel and compared him to a man caught among thieves. It was true that Israel had met with misfortune as a chastisement from God for his sins, but the Lord would not tolerate having Moab skip with joy over it.

Jeremiah 48:28

Jeremiah 48:28. The burden of the oppression that was to come against the people of Moab would be directed chiefly against the cities. That is why the citizens of such spots were told (which was a form of prediction) to leave them and dwell among the rocks.

Jeremiah 48:29

Jeremiah 48:29. Pride is not always manifested by a display of outward glory. The original word Is also rendered “avrogancy,” which means an overbearing attitude. Moab had certainly shown that disposition against Israel, a noted instance being that in the affair of Balak and Balaam (Numbers 22-24).

Jeremiah 48:30

Jeremiah 48:30. The same spirit described as pride in the preceding verse is here called wrath. In that attitude Moab threatened to destroy Israel (even as lie tried in the days of Balak), hut God knew all about it and decreed the failure of the plot. Shall not effect it means Moab would not be able to bring the effect against Israel that he conspired to do. Jeremiah 48:31 Jeremiah 48:31. Wifi I howl is a form o£ prediction, meaning that Moab would howl for the miseries that the Lord would bring against the land. Kir-heres was one name of a place in the land of Moab that was destined to feel the sting of God’s wrath.

Jeremiah 48:32

Jeremiah 48:32. Much of this verse is figurative but it has Hie same thought as the other predictions against the land. Weep with the Keeping means that Sibmah will weep In the same manner as did Jazer, a city that had been taken by invaders (Numbers 21:32). Plant* refers to the people who are gone (will go, according to prophetic style) over the sea. This clause is an indirect reference to the cities tributary to Babylon,

Jeremiah 48:33

Jeremiah 48:33. Grape cultivation was one of the principal industries of the lands of the Bible. For that reason an interference with that business would he considered a serious thing for the country: such a misfortune was to befall the land of Moab.

Jeremiah 48:34

Jeremiah 48:34. Nimrim was a stream in the region of Moab, and the other names were towns and places that depended on the waters for sustenance, but that was to be cut off by the curse the Lord intended bringing on the country. According to verse 11 Moab had never suffered much as a nation, even as a heifer of three gears old had never known the hardships of work. The circumstance is used to illustrate the unaccustomed misfortune to be brought against the land.

Jeremiah 48:35

Jeremiah 48:35. The idolatrous practices of Moab were destined to be stopped by the Lord. This would be accomplished by the dearth that would come which would cut short the production of animals and other items commonly used in sacrifices.

Jeremiah 48:36

Jeremiah 48:36. The distressful situation of Moab is described figuratively in this passage. The prophet (speaking for the Lord) expresses a pitiable attitude toward the sad fate decreed to come upon the land. The figure is based upon an instrument called a pipe. The appropriateness of such a comparison will bo apparent in the following quotation from Smith’s Bible Dictionary: “ The sound of the pipe was apparently a soft, wailing note, which made it appropriate to be used in mourning and at funerals.” This explains to us the reason for the language in Matthew 9:23.

Jeremiah 48:37

Jeremiah 48:37. In ancient times a strange custom prevailed in cases of great distress or anxiety. People would mutilate their bodies and disarrange their hair and beards in the manner described in this verse.

Jeremiah 48:38

Jeremiah 48:38. Houses had Hat roofs in the eastern countries so that people used them as places of prayer and other activities. (See Acts 10:9.) Moab was destined to engage in mourning programs on the tops of their houses as well as in the streets, when the threatened punishment came upon the country.

Jeremiah 48:39

Jeremiah 48:39. They shall howl means that others shall express themselves at the shameful condition that wras to come on the land of Moab. The significance of it is in the fact of the situation’ s being so evident that others would realize it and make remarks.

Jeremiah 48:40

Jeremiah 48:40. He shall fly denotes that the Lord will come down upon Moab with his punishment, even as an eagle would swoop over a land.

Jeremiah 48:41

Jeremiah 48:41, Kerioth was a town of Moab and it was to suffer the same fate as her sisters. When a woman is In the pangs of childbirth her entire nervous system is in a slate of terror (John 16:21). That circumstance is used to illustrate the state of mind that will overcome the men of Moab when they see the trouble in their gates.

Jeremiah 48:42

Jeremiah 48:42. The destruction of Moab was to he understood in a comparative sense and not in a total one as will be seen in the last verse of this chapter.

Jeremiah 48:43

Jeremiah 48:43. A pit indicates a place into which one might fall, and a snare means an instrument in which one would be caught. Both terms are used to indicate the downward piunge that the people of Moab would take in the hour of their adversity.

Jeremiah 48:44

Jeremiah 48:44. The varied experiences of escaping from one difficulty only to run into another describes the things that were destined to come upon the land of Moab. Year of their visitation means the. year when God would visit Moab with his punishments.

Jeremiah 48:45

Jeremiah 48:45. Heshbon was a prominent city of Moab and the people thought they would find shelter in the shadow t hereof. They fled there because of the force of the enemy that the Lord had chosen by whom to chastise (he Moabites. But the fire of God’ s wrath had already shot forth even In the region of Heshbon so that, it would not avail anything to flee thither for the purpose of finding refuge.

Jeremiah 48:46

Jeremiah 48:46. The people of Chemosh means the Moabites who relied on this god for protection. Instead of help from this false god his worshipers were to perish.

Jeremiah 48:47

Jeremiah 48:47, Moab never did go bodily into national captivity as we understand that term regarding the captivity of Israel. It rather indicated a state of domination under some other people in which its national progress was checked. The original for captivity is defined by Strong, “ a former state of prosperity,” Thus the prediction In the phrase bring again the captivity means that after having suffered punishment according to God’s purpose, He would restore to the land of Moah its previous state of national prosperity and the liberty of enjoyment therein.