ISAIAH

Isaiah 15

quote:

"The oracle concerning Moab. Surely in a night Ar of Moab is devastated and ruined; Surely in a night Kir of Moab is devastated and ruined. 2 They have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, even to the high places to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba; Everyone's head is bald and every beard is cut off. 3 In their streets they have girded themselves with sackcloth; On their housetops and in their squares Everyone is wailing, dissolved in tears. 4 Heshbon and Elealeh also cry out, Their voice is heard all the way to Jahaz; Therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; His soul trembles within him. 5 My heart cries out for Moab; His fugitives are as far as Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah, For they go up the ascent of Luhith weeping; Surely on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of distress over their ruin. 6 For the waters of Nimrim are desolate. Surely the grass is withered, the tender grass died out, There is no green thing. 7 Therefore the abundance which they have acquired and stored up They carry off over the brook of Arabim. 8 For the cry of distress has gone around the territory of Moab, Its wail goes as far as Eglaim and its wailing even to Beer-elim. 9 For the waters of Dimon are full of blood; Surely I will bring added woes upon Dimon, A lion upon the fugitives of Moab and upon the remnant of the land."

To understand Isaiah's feeling for Moab, we need to know something of its origin. The country of Moab was small, but very productive. Moab was the region just east of the Dead Sea, bordering Reuben's land portion. The ancestry of its people is Moab, the son born to Lot's eldest daughter (Genesis 19:31-37).

The history of Moab is that of defiance of Israel and so God will finally come against this nation in judgment. On their way to the Promised Land the Israelites were opposed by Balak, the King of Moab, who hired Balaam to curse them. God intervened, however, and would only allow Balaam to bless His Children. (Numbers 22:1-24:19) Later, to punish Israel for their evil deeds, God sent Eglon, the King of Moab, to attack Israel. They captured Jericho and held Israel in subjection for eighteen years (Judges 3:12) Under King David, Moab was conquered and its people became servants (2 Samuel 8:2). Following King Ahab's death, the King of Moab, Mesha, rebelled against Israel, but the rebellion was suppressed with Mesha even offering his own son as a burnt offering. (2 Kings Chapter 3).

Isaiah speaks as though Moab has already been destroyed, because the occurrence of it is a sure thing. Destruction may come in the night or it could mean that it will happen suddenly. There is widespread weeping because the land has been destroyed and the people of Moab clothe themselves in sackcloth, as a sign of lamentation and mourning. Many flee from the land and go as far as Zoar, the city that Lot fled to from the destruction of Sodom, before fleeing from there to the mountains.

This prophecy was to be fulfilled within three years (Isaiah 16:14), and was therefore fulfilled by the Assyrians. Moab was probably overrun by the army of Shalmaneser, about the time of the taking of Samaria, in the fourth year of Hezekiah, or, possibly by the army of Sennacherib, which, ten years afterward, invaded Judah.

At the same time, Isaiah had reason to have sympathy towards Moab. Because they were related through Lot, Abraham's nephew, God told Israel not to destroy Moab and take their land (Deuteronomy 2:9). Also King David's grandmother, Ruth, was a Moabitess. In 1 Samuel 22:3-4, it is recorded that David entrusted his father and mother to the protection of the king of Moab when he was a fugitive running from Saul.

It is interesting to see Isaiah's heart in this passage – "My heart cries out for Moab". In compassion, Isaiah suffers with them. He laments not only for the people, but also for the land. Here is the heart of one who has love for those who he knows are doomed for destruction. Isaiah's heart is one of a prophet who, though it was his responsibility to declare the word of the Lord, he would rather not see Israel or Moab come to this end. But like Israel, God would spare a remnant and they would not be completely destroyed.

In Matthew 5:44, Jesus says, "But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you." When we pray for our enemies, we are also praying for a solution that will reduce the conflict and bring about a more peaceful situation, one that benefits us as well. Let us not be so quick to judge another, but have a heart of compassion for those who do not know His saving grace and be quick to respond to an opportunity to teach them the things of God and His salvation through Jesus, our wonderful Lord and Savior!