John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 48:16

"The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast." — Jeremiah 48:16 (ASV)

Here the Prophet expresses something more: that the vengeance of which he spoke was near and hastening. It served to alleviate the sorrow of the faithful when they understood that the Moabites would soon be punished. For it was a grievous and bitter trial, when God severely chastened His own children, to see that the wicked were meanwhile spared. Since He deferred His judgments regarding the wicked, that delay tended to drive the faithful to despair, or at least they could not bear God's scourges with sufficient patience.

This is the reason why the Prophet now says, Near is the destruction of the Moabites, and their calamity hastens. And though God bore with the Moabites for some time, so that they remained in a peaceful state and reveled in their pleasures, this prophecy was nevertheless true. For we are to bear in mind that truth—which should always be remembered concerning promises and threats—that a thousand years are as one day with the Lord. And from this comes the exhortation given by the Prophet Habakkuk:

“If the prophecy delays, wait for it; for coming it will come, and will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3).

And this way of speaking occurs often in the prophets. When, therefore, God denounces punishment on the wicked and the despisers of His Law, He says, “Behold, your day hastens,” and He says this so that they might be awakened and begin to fear in due time.

But here, as I have reminded you, Jeremiah considered his own people. For the faithful might have objected and said, “What can this be? How long will God defer the punishment which He threatens against our enemies?” Therefore, he says, “Strengthen your minds for a little while, for God will soon stretch out His hand and show that He is a defender who cares for you and your safety; for He will set Himself against the Moabites, because they have been unfaithful and vexatious to you.” It is for this reason, then, that he says, Near is their destruction, and their vengeance hastens.

From this we may learn this useful doctrine: that whenever God promises anything, we should receive it as a present thing, though still hidden and even remote. There is no distance that should impede our faith; but we should regard as certain whatever God promises, as though it were before our eyes and in our hand. And the same should be true for threats: whenever God denounces anything hard and grievous, it should touch and move us just as though we saw His hand armed with a sword, and as though the very execution of His vengeance was exhibited before our eyes. For we know what Scripture teaches us elsewhere:

“When the wicked shall say, Peace and security, destruction comes suddenly on them, as the pain of childbearing, which seizes a woman when she thinks nothing of it” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

Let us, then, learn to regard God’s favor as always present, and likewise all punishments, so that we may truly fear them.