Jer 48:38 | KingComments | STEP | The great sin of Moab is its pride ( ), along with its carelessness ( ). “We”, that is Jeremiah and his companions, “have heard of the pride of Moab”. Jeremiah has mentioned it before ( ), but not yet in the strong terms of this verse. Six times in this one verse it is spoken of in different ways. Haughtiness is the primal sin. It is in the heart of Moab and in the heart of every man. Haughtiness is in the heart, but the LORD knows the heart of Moab and the pride of which it is filled ( ). For people, this pride expresses itself in ‘hollow talk’ and doing what is not proper. Haughtiness leads to all other sins. Because of all these sins, judgment comes upon Moab. But Jeremiah does not rejoice over that ( ). Thereby he also shows that the LORD does not rejoice in judgment that He must execute. He is expressing the feelings of the LORD. He will weep over them and mentions Sibmah ( ). Sibmah is known for its vineyards far and wide, as far as the sea of Jazer. The entire harvest was destroyed by the enemies. Wine is a picture of joy. To take away the wine means to take away the joy ( ). There is no harvest of wine. All the expressions of joy, heard at the treading of the grapes, are gone. The LORD has caused those to cease. Instead of expressions of joy, outcry is now heard as an expression of deep sorrow ( ). This outcry, which sounds from Heshbon, which is near Sibmah, is heard everywhere. It covers, as it were, the whole land; the whole land is full of it. Not only is there no more wine, but there is also no more refreshment by water, for the waters of Nimrim will become desolate. The LORD will not only cause joy and refreshment to cease, but He will also put a stop to idolatry ( ). He will do this by killing all those who offer sacrifices to idols. By that will be meant especially the priests, but also the whole people who have devoted themselves to the idols, with Chemosh as the chief god. To him they sacrificed children ( ), a practice the Israelites imitated ( ). Because of the great and many sins, Jeremiah’s heart wails for Moab and the men of Kir-heres ( ). “Like flutes” refers to the use of the flute as an instrument to express feelings, both in joy and in sorrow. Jeremiah sees all that Moab has lost through its sins. In doing so, he does not think of the unjust way in which Moab obtained its abundance. He sees that the people get what they deserve, but that causes him sorrow and not gloating. The Moabites also express their sorrow because of their losses ( ). They shave their heads, cut off their beards, make incisions in their hands, and wear a robe of mourning on their loins. In many ways they show their dejection. They also make their lamentation loud everywhere ( ). They let it be heard on all the roofs, where they sacrifice to their idols, and in all the streets, where they meet. But there is no question of turning back to the LORD. He has done it. He has dealt with Moab as with a worthless vessel, in which no one is interested. Such a vessel only takes up space and is therefore smashed. All who hear of it and see it note how shattered Moab is ( ). Because of the loss of profit that lies in trading with Moab, they will lament over it. At the same time, they cannot restrain their laughter out of gloating when they see that haughty Moab has become an object of terror. This is how opposite feelings can go together in a person: he grieves over his own loss and is glad over the loss of another.

‏ Jeremiah 48:38

The Pride of Moab

The great sin of Moab is its pride (Jer 48:29), along with its carelessness (Jer 48:11). “We”, that is Jeremiah and his companions, “have heard of the pride of Moab”. Jeremiah has mentioned it before (Jer 48:7 ; 11), but not yet in the strong terms of this verse. Six times in this one verse it is spoken of in different ways. Haughtiness is the primal sin. It is in the heart of Moab and in the heart of every man. Haughtiness is in the heart, but the LORD knows the heart of Moab and the pride of which it is filled (Jer 48:30). For people, this pride expresses itself in ‘hollow talk’ and doing what is not proper. Haughtiness leads to all other sins.

Because of all these sins, judgment comes upon Moab. But Jeremiah does not rejoice over that (Jer 48:31). Thereby he also shows that the LORD does not rejoice in judgment that He must execute. He is expressing the feelings of the LORD. He will weep over them and mentions Sibmah (Jer 48:32). Sibmah is known for its vineyards far and wide, as far as the sea of Jazer. The entire harvest was destroyed by the enemies. Wine is a picture of joy. To take away the wine means to take away the joy (Jer 48:33). There is no harvest of wine. All the expressions of joy, heard at the treading of the grapes, are gone. The LORD has caused those to cease.

Instead of expressions of joy, outcry is now heard as an expression of deep sorrow (Jer 48:34). This outcry, which sounds from Heshbon, which is near Sibmah, is heard everywhere. It covers, as it were, the whole land; the whole land is full of it. Not only is there no more wine, but there is also no more refreshment by water, for the waters of Nimrim will become desolate.

The LORD will not only cause joy and refreshment to cease, but He will also put a stop to idolatry (Jer 48:35). He will do this by killing all those who offer sacrifices to idols. By that will be meant especially the priests, but also the whole people who have devoted themselves to the idols, with Chemosh as the chief god. To him they sacrificed children (2Kgs 3:27), a practice the Israelites imitated (Jer 7:31 ; Jer 32:35).

Because of the great and many sins, Jeremiah’s heart wails for Moab and the men of Kir-heres (Jer 48:36). “Like flutes” refers to the use of the flute as an instrument to express feelings, both in joy and in sorrow. Jeremiah sees all that Moab has lost through its sins. In doing so, he does not think of the unjust way in which Moab obtained its abundance. He sees that the people get what they deserve, but that causes him sorrow and not gloating.

The Moabites also express their sorrow because of their losses (Jer 48:37). They shave their heads, cut off their beards, make incisions in their hands, and wear a robe of mourning on their loins. In many ways they show their dejection. They also make their lamentation loud everywhere (Jer 48:38). They let it be heard on all the roofs, where they sacrifice to their idols, and in all the streets, where they meet.

But there is no question of turning back to the LORD. He has done it. He has dealt with Moab as with a worthless vessel, in which no one is interested. Such a vessel only takes up space and is therefore smashed.

All who hear of it and see it note how shattered Moab is (Jer 48:39). Because of the loss of profit that lies in trading with Moab, they will lament over it. At the same time, they cannot restrain their laughter out of gloating when they see that haughty Moab has become an object of terror. This is how opposite feelings can go together in a person: he grieves over his own loss and is glad over the loss of another.