Isaiah 16: 10-14

¹⁰ Gladness and joy are taken away from the fruitful field;
In the vineyards also there will be no cries of joy or jubilant shouting,
No treader treads out wine in the presses,
For I have made the shouting to cease.
¹¹ Therefore my heart intones like a harp for Moab
And my inward feelings for Kir-hareseth.
¹² So it will come about when Moab presents himself,
When he wearies himself upon his high place
And comes to his sanctuary to pray,
That he will not prevail.

¹³ This is the word which the Lord spoke earlier concerning Moab.
¹⁴ But now the Lord speaks, saying, “Within three years, as a hired man would count them, the glory of Moab will be degraded along with all his great population, and his remnant will be very small and impotent.”

Closing out Isaiah Chapter 16 today. Take note of the prophet's deep compassion (vs. 11), as well as the unveiling of God's words of action and His timing (vs. 14). Character-revealing passage!

Verse 10 finishes the thoughts of last week, as we recall Moab's devastation depicted through the loss of its vineyards and grape harvest--a chief industry and source of pride for the nation. What should have been a time of rejoicing has become a time of mourning. Shouts of joy turned into wails of lamentation.

“There is wailing in all the plazas,
And in all the streets they say, 'Alas! Alas!'
They also call the farmer to mourning
And professional mourners to lamentation.

'And in all the vineyards there is wailing,
Because I will pass through the midst of you,' says the Lord.

--Amos 5: 16 and 17 

(Remember, Amos prophesied to Israel before Assyria destroyed it)

"I have made the shouting to cease," God says at the end of verse 10. Interesting in both this verse and verse 17 of the Amos passage that the prophets' words contain that 'I', reminding the hearers of Whom is in control. It is not the passing of a poor season and its consequences, but God Almighty who passes through, wielding justice and judgment at His hand. Had the nation faith in the Lord, the outcome of its judgment and its response to its circumstances might have looked quite different.

"'But a gracious soul can rejoice in the Lord as the God of its salvation even when the fig-tree does not blossom and there is no fruit in the vine,' Hab. 3:17, 18. In God therefore let us always rejoice with a holy triumph, and in other things let us always rejoice with a holy trembling, rejoice as though we rejoiced not."

--Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible

The prophet's heart--and God's, too--"intones like a harp for Moab" (vs. 12) Although we would commonly use 'heart', in the language of the day, one might have used 'entrails' to refer to the place of one's deep inner being. As the strings of a harp are plucked, they vibrate, resonating tones. Poetically, Isaiah trembles and quivers in his innermost places over the loss and coming grief to face Moab. The New Testament cross-reference verse adds a dynamic spin:

"Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion...."

--Philippians 2: 1

Talk about a man of character! Though he was given a Godly charge and the words of the Almighty to say, Isaiah never lorded over his hearers that he was in any way above anyone else. Sure, Moab had been an enemy to God's people and the truth he relayed through his prophesies spelled out a future of judgment. But at his core, Isaiah offered his fellowship as another man, as a brother of earthly brothers. He let his compassion rule--what Jesus would do if he were on the scene at the time. [And that's only one verse of Philippians in a chapter that is extremely convicting!] It's this kind of revelation that inspires me, as I see how God works in the minds and hearts of those He calls.

This judgment that we have read about in these two chapters shall come to Moab in a time when the nation "wearies himself upon his high place." When a nation is in trouble, it turns to its higher powers for guidance. [Alas, who is that higher power?] In this case, Moab turns to its national god, Chemosh (pictured above) for direction. The people will literally tire themselves in their prayers and sacrifice, seeking answers. Yet, there is no reward, gain or knowledge in their devotion, for the One who makes the "shouting to cease" controls the destinies of all. He (Chemosh) "will not prevail." (vs. 12)

Moab will not prevail as the self-gloried nation it was either. Here is where God drops some specifics of timing, which is, generally, rare in prophecy. In verse 13, Isaiah qualifies that God has known this was the judgment to come to Moab since the earliest days of its excessive pride. God would not let that stand, yet, He did not immediately execute a sentence upon the nation. How often is this the case, even today? But how many prophesies have been brought to fulfillment? The truth is clear, as we have already seen in our reading! Do we trust God to be true to His Word?

"BUT...," verse 14 (caps mine), "now the Lord speaks, saying, "Within three years...." A timetable has been given! As surely as Isaiah spoke the words, there would be three years--a contract length for which a servant might be hired--before Moab would be invaded. In 715 B.C., King Sargon of Assyria took over the country.

Bruce Springsteen said the glory days will "pass you by...in the wink of a young girl's eye." Sure thing. Moab would be reduced to a "remnant" of migrants (vs. 14), which, though a better fate than Babylon, was not something of which to boast. No more chants of "We are the Moabites--the mighty, mighty Moabites!" Might would not prevail either, not under the will of God.

So why did God give Moab a three-year timeframe? Given what we have read over these two chapters about Isaiah's heart, and the Lord's heart, suggests that there might have been room offered for a change of Moab's heart. We mentioned earlier in the study of Chapter 15 that this was Ruth's home country. Might there have been others of her character that God would shape and mold to be His followers? There are times in Scripture when judgments are withheld for a time (as was the case with Nineveh in the wake of Jonah's prophecy there).

But, even as I ponder this, I am reminded by Matthew Henry that God's gift of timing is solely His, and what He chooses to reveal and when are also His. In facilitating a class on Revelation, I had more questions (and no answers) than I knew what to do with regarding when a judgment was supposed to happen. It is human curiosity to question, but not for us to obsess over or for which to demand answers. But, when God does reveal something, it is, indeed, noteworthy:

"It is not for us to know, or covet to know, the times and the seasons, any further than God has thought fit to make them known, and so far we may and must take notice of them. See how God makes known his mind by degrees; the light of divine revelation shone more and more, and so does the light of divine grace in the heart."

--Matthew Henry

It is sad for the prophet to reveal the light of divine grace only to see that light doused out by the pride of man. There's a lesson for everyone in that!

Prophecy about Damascus (of its 732 B.C. destruction, lest you think we're dealing with current events. But, who am I to talk about timing!). ...'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: averdadeirahistoriadahumanidade.blogspot.com

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Next week:  Isaiah 17: 1-3
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 16: 6-9

⁶ We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride;
Even of his arrogance, pride, and fury;

His idle boasts are false.
⁷ Therefore Moab will wail; everyone of Moab will wail.
You will moan for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth
As those who are utterly stricken.
⁸ For the fields of Heshbon have withered, the vines of Sibmah as well;
The lords of the nations have trampled down its choice clusters
Which reached as far as Jazer and wandered to the deserts;

Its tendrils spread themselves out and passed over the sea.
⁹ Therefore I will weep bitterly for Jazer, for the vine of Sibmah;
I will drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh;
For the shouting over your summer fruits and your harvest has fallen away.

Despite Isaiah's counsel and compassion, Moab remains senseless in its response to the prophet. The destruction to come will be fulfilled, and Isaiah describes the nation's losses and his continued grief over the situation in our passage today.

Moab might have seen a mighty act of redemption had it dealt with the long-term issue of its heart--pride, which Isaiah describes as "excessive." This is a nation proud of its pride!  #1 in arrogance! Best boasts by a boaster! You get the idea. With God, all things are possible. Without God, pride is a hard sin of which to repent; excessive pride...woo....

"It is not the rash and rigid censure of one or two concerning them, but it is the character which all that know them will give of them. They are a proud people, and therefore they will not take good counsel when it is given them. They think themselves too wise to be advised; therefore they will not take example by Hezekiah to do justly and love mercy. They scorn to make him their pattern, for they think themselves able to teach him. They are proud, and therefore will not be subject to God himself nor regard the warnings he gives them."

--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

["Too wise to be advised." There is a young lady of note (??) who made blazing headlines in entertainment news this week. Perhaps there is something in this message for her.]

"Therefore...," (vs. 7) trouble is coming, and no one will escape its coming. The nation will "wail" and "howl," (King James Version). Mourning will beset Moab. In the capital, Kir (the likely city meant by Kir-hareseth), the people will "moan for raisin cakes." This is the first reference Isaiah makes concerning a chief business of Moab--grape production. The nation was widely known for its growing of grapes as well as its manufacturing of wines. (Jerusalem was one of its key importers.) Raisin cakes were made from dried grapes, as you would expect, into a granola bar of sorts. The Encyclopedia of the Bible calls them "an imperishable food." Soldiers took them out into the field with them. If the Moabites would not even have their emergency box go-to food available, things would be awful.

With verse 8, we read of the destroying of the grape crop, which can just as well be read metaphorically of Moab itself. The vines in Heshbon, the prominent Moabite city in the north that we looked at in Isaiah 15, will be withered, as will those in Sibmah, a suburb of Heshbon to the northwest. In the Assyrian attack on the nation, the "choice clusters," that which would have spawned a new crop, will be trampled. The tendrils of the vines--the coils that reached out to support the plant--had once stretched from Jazer at the furthest point north, to the deserts east and south, to the Dead Sea. No longer!

Isaiah weeps (vs. 9), and "bitterly" so, over the loss of this great resource and gift, as well as over the nation's plight, "drenching" the cities of Heshbon and Elealah, who, otherwise, would have celebrated over a great harvest. "...For upon your summer fruits and your harvest the shout [of alarm and the cry of the enemy] has fallen." (Amplified Bible) 

Once again, it is a study of contrasts, Moab and Judah--and, remember, Isaiah is speaking to Judah, even as he is speaking to Moab. Judah would know redemption, in the near future with Hezekiah at the hand and mercy of God, and in the future in the final coming of a Savior:

"The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.

You shall multiply the nation, 

You shall increase their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian."

--Isaiah 9: 2-4

But gladness at the time of harvest--both in its defeat by Assyria and in the final days--will remain an unknown joy of Moab.

“According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity
And those who sow trouble harvest it.

'By the breath of God they perish,
And by the blast of His anger they come to an end.'"

--Job 4: 8 and 9

"...And his remnant will be very small...." The prophet's grief over the loss of a nation. ...'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: www.bio.brandeis.edu , www.calvaryfullerton.org

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Next week:  Isaiah 16: 10-14
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 16: 1-5

Prophecy of Moab’s Devastation

¹ Send the tribute lamb to the ruler of the land,
From Sela by way of the wilderness to the mountain of the daughter of Zion.
² Then, like fleeing birds or scattered nestlings,
The daughters of Moab will be at the fords of the Arnon.
³ “Give us advice, make a decision;

Cast your shadow like night at high noon;

Hide the outcasts, do not betray the fugitive.
⁴ “Let the outcasts of Moab stay with you;
Be a hiding place to them from the destroyer.”
For the extortioner has come to an end, destruction has ceased,

Oppressors have completely disappeared from the land.

⁵ A throne will even be established in lovingkindness,
And a judge will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent of David;
Moreover, he will seek justice
And be prompt in righteousness.

Despite Chapter 16's title, Isaiah doesn't immediately launch into the details of Moab's devastation. Actually, the prophet, who was so moved in his concern over Moab's coming trials, issues what might be a last-ditch effort to try and save the nation from its predicament.

 

"I rather take it as good advice seriously given, like that of Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar when he was reading him his doom, Dan. 4:27. Break off thy sins by righteousness, if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity."

--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

 

"Send the tribute lamb...," says Isaiah in verse 1. Needed to do some cross-reference reading to know more of the history. First off, Moab was a country full of shepherds, so there were plenty of sheep to send as a tribute. Why? II Samuel 8:2 explains that when David defeated Moab in battle that he made the Moabites become servants to him. They sent tribute lambs regularly as part of their submission to his kingship. Later on, Moab would send lambs to the king of Israel for the same purpose. But, as the nation grew in power and self-sufficiency, it stopped sending a tribute. Indeed, with the split kingdom situation in effect in Israel, and other nations growing in their power and self-sufficiency, it was no surprise that Moab reneged on its duty.

But Isaiah is calling the nation to return to its responsibilities, and to, again, send the tribute lambs--now to Hezekiah of Judah, the "ruler of the land...to the mountain of the daughter of Zion" (aka, Jerusalem. Recall Isaiah 10:32b regarding the king of Assyria: "He shakes his fist at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.") To further clarify the direction of activity, Sela was located in Edom near Petra, which was the location of the fugitives who were leaving Moab in a southerly way at the time of the Assyrian invasion.

The daughters of Moab--a poetic symmetry, I'm thinking--are fleeing like scattered wildfowl. This is not like the procession of the Israelites through the wilderness. This is a chase, either to safe refuge or to their end. They are running to the Arnon, a waterway described in Numbers 21:13: "From there they journeyed and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that comes out of the border of the Amorites, for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites." Again, the southern portion of Moab.

Then, in verses 3 and 4, comes the plea for help:

"[Say to the ruler] Give counsel, execute justice [for Moab, O king of Judah]."

--Amplified Bible

 

Not only would a Moabite tribute go a long way in re-establishing good relations with Judah, but so, too, a direct, respectful appeal to the head of the nation for support and, yes, justice. The prophet encourages to the nation to return to a state of submission.

"It would engage great men to be kind to the people of God if they would but observe, as they easily might, how often such conduct brings the blessing of God upon kingdoms and families. “Make Hezekiah your friend, for you will find it your interest to do so upon the account both of the grace of God in him and the presence of God with him."

--Matthew Henry

 

"Be our shade, Judah" says Moab, from the hot Assyrian oppression beating down. "Shelter our people."

 

"This was that good work by which Rahab’s faith was justified, and proved to be sincere, Heb. 11:31. 'Nay, do not only hide them for a time, but, if there be occasion, let them be naturalized: Let my outcasts dwell with thee, Moab....'"

--Matthew Henry

 

Wow! How about that connection? Rahab the prostitute, hiding spies under Joshua's command prior to the fall of Jericho. Judah also had an opportunity to do a good work in hiding the outcasts of Moab, to be their hiding place. How often are we willing to protect those who have persecuted us? We also need to keep in mind that Judah wasn't safe from an Assyrian attack. (Isaiah had prophesied about that, too.) The "Give counsel" from verse 3 carries great weight on the head of Judah for personal reasons.

But Isaiah follows quickly with the statement at the end of verse 4 that the oppression will soon end. (In fact, it did. Assyria would not devastate Judah in this forward charge.) He takes things one step further with verse 5, anticipating the time when ultimate justice will reign, and the injustices in the world will be dealt with--in promptness and righteousness, mercy and faithfulness.

 

In spite of everything, the prophet's appeal and words are lost to a nation's pride.  ...'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: www.georgiabackyardnature.com

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Next week:  Isaiah 16: 6-9
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 15: 7-9

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.

Even as the prophet weeps over Moab and documents the nation's coming lament over the days of desolation and famine, Isaiah says that there will be "added woes" beyond those already foretold (vs. 9).

Because of the loss of Moab's two major cities and the desecration of the land, the refugee population rises--people are on the move. "Therefore," begins verse 7, the people take all that they have with them, even over "the brook of Arabim," which can also be translated as the brook of willows or poplars. My study Bible suggests that the brook might have been the Zered River, which forms a border between Moab and Edom.

Matthew Henry brings up an interesting point in noting the attitude of the Moabites. Here are a people facing ruin, weeping, shaving their heads in grief--over their personal losses, not over the loss of God in their lives--yet carrying their entire "abundance" off to a foreign land.

"Those that are eager to get abundance of this world, and solicitous to lay up what they have gotten, little consider what may become of it and in how short a time it may be all taken from them. Great abundance, by tempting the robbers, exposes the owners; and those who depend upon it to protect them often find it does but betray them."

--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

The "cry of distress" (vs. 8) from Moab is heard in the territory surrounding the nation. Eglaim is the northernmost part of Edom, and Beer-elim is the southernmost part of Edom. Moabite wailing covers a lot of auditory ground.

In verse 9, we read about Dimon. Depending on the original sources from which your Bible is translated, Dimon could be a place all its own or it could be an alternate spelling of Moab's idol capital, Dibon. Matthew Henry says, "Dimon signifies bloody; the place shall answer to its name." He references II Kings 3: 22 and 23, in which the Moabites see water that looks like blood. "Then they said, 'This is blood; the kings have surely fought together, and they have slain one another. Now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!'" (vs. 23) (Israel would then rise up in surprise to defeat them.) Here's what I read about the etymology of 'Dimon':

"The form of the name, Dimon, in Isa 15:9, may have been given to make it resemble the Hebrew dam, 'blood,' to support the play upon words in the verse...."

--International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

[It would be like Isaiah to use a play-on-words. Such a creative writer!]

But, given Moab's reliance upon idols and Dibon's propensity for them, it would be an equally plausible possibility that Isaiah was referring to the city itself. It is no wonder God would bring about additional woe upon the people in relationship to their activities at Dibon. Remember, "gods before Him" has always been the problem requiring the #1 Commandment. But the extent of the woes goes beyond Dibon to the fugitives themselves. One really does start to feel sad for this people in the end due to their cluelessness. We did wrong, but we won't own up to it. Instead, we'll cry over our ruin, take all that we own and cherish, and run away to start a new life [in an equally spiritually corrupt nation]! God would not have it. He would send "a lion." (vs 9)

It's a picture perhaps not unlike what Babylon would experience with the "desert creatures" taking over their houses, towers and palaces. (Isa. 13: 21 and 22) The cross-reference verse takes us back to another prophet's words--Amos--who warned that even when escape from the first obstacle is possible, there are more woes awaiting:

"Alas, you who are longing for the day of the Lord,
For what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you?
It will be darkness and not light;

As when a man flees from a lion
And a bear meets him,
Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall
And a snake bites him."

--Amos 5: 18 and 19

Perhaps the most striking contrast--and one that Judah should have seen--is that of "the remnant." [And did Isaiah choose that word on purpose or what?!] Moab's would not survive. Judah's would be preserved through the history of the world.

 

Where the scattered fugitives landed, as we begin Chapter 16. ...'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: www.warsawbiblicalgardens.org

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Next week:  Isaiah 16: 1-4
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 15: 4-6

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.

We continue to look at the judgment on Moab this week in Isaiah, Chapter 15. We are loaded with place names today, as you can see. I always like to look at the vocabulary, so let's figure out the proper nouns before we put things in proper perspective. (Background and Scripture cross-references from The Encyclopedia of the Bible.)

Heshbon--The city, east of the Dead Sea, had a history of takeover by various countries. At one time, Israel, under Moses' direction, captured the city:

"Israel took all these cities and Israel lived in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all her villages. For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon."

--Numbers 21: 25 and 26

Elealeh--This city is very close to Heshbon and even closer to the Dead Sea. Nations wrestled over its ownership as well throughout history. At one point, the city was given to the tribe of Reuben [of Israel] who rebuilt the city.

"The sons of Reuben built Heshbon and Elealeh and Kiriathaim, and Nebo and Baal-meon—their names being changed—and Sibmah, and they gave other names to the cities which they built."

--Numbers 32: 37 and 38

But, not long after, Moab reclaimed Elealeh, though they carried on a dispute over the city with Ammon.

Jahaz--This city was located some 20 miles south of Heshbon, on the Arnon River, and northeast of Moab's idol capital, Dibon. In the same battle that saw the Amorites' King Sihon lose Heshbon to Israel, Jahaz was also turned over.

Zoar--This city may have been located on the southern end of the Dead Sea, though Biblical scholars are not in agreement on this. We read about Zoar in Genesis in the account of Lot and his fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah in the time of God's wrath unleashed upon the cities. 

"The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar.... Thus it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived."

--Genesis 19: 23 and 29

Eglath-shelishiyah--Not on our map, it's a city whose location is not clearly known, though mentioned in both Isaiah's and Jeremiah's prophecies concerning Moab. The King James Version actually reads, "...his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old." Needed some help to understand that.

"In the former case strong and unconquered cities, Zoar and Horonaim, are compared to the heifer not yet broken to the yoke. Such use of 'heifer' is not infrequent (compare Jeremiah 46:20, Hosea 10:11, etc.). The majority of scholars, however, take it as a place-name."

--International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

I will be siding with the majority when we read this passage through momentarily.

Luhith--Possibly another city on the southern end of the Dead Sea, though this location is not for sure. Given how the passage containing the city reads, it may have been on a hill ("go up the ascent of Luhith," vs. 5).

Horonaim--Like Luhith, a possibly southern city, though unconfirmed.

Nimrim--'Nimrim' means basins of clear water. Again, the Biblical scholars are a bit all over the map, literally, in deciding where Nimrim was located. Most suggest it was a stream-oasis near the eastern coast of the Dead Sea.

Now, to our text. Isaiah is addressing the full nation of Moab, doing so through geographical reference points. He begins at the northern segment of the territory, with Heshbon and Elealeh crying out southward to Jahaz. (vs. 4) The cry from the fall of these cities triggers despair by the armies of the men of Moab. Soul trembling by the nation's mightiest warriors. This should help us to understand the depth of devastation to come.

Verse 5: "My heart cries out for Moab." I admit to tripping and stumbling when I came to this statement. 'My' refers to Isaiah. Isaiah was crying out for Moab, not just to Moab--and, truly, he was speaking to Judah. He is the bearer of bad news, but he does not put himself in a position of saying, "God told you this would happen if you didn't behave." This is a window into Isaiah's character--a man of compassion. Thinking back on Jonah and his relationship with Nineveh, we can see a very different man of prophecy.

"...It becomes God’s ministers to be of a tender spirit, not to desire the woeful day, but to be like their master, who wept over Jerusalem even when he gave her up to ruin, like their God, who desires not the death of sinners."

--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

Continuing with verse 5, Moab's fugitives flee as far as to its southernmost cities. They weep climbing the hill of Luhith, and on the road to Horonaim, they continue to cry out over its ruin. It is nationwide destruction and grief! On top of that, "...the waters of Nimrim are desolate." (vs. 6) As is not uncommon in these situations, there is a drought and famine accompanying Moab's already dreadful situation. "There is no green thing."

Times in Joel's days of prophecy were just as desperate for Judah and they were for Moab. No doubt, what Isaiah was describing of Moab would be a particularly vivid memory for Judah:

"The field is ruined,
The land mourns;
For the grain is ruined,
The new wine dries up,
Fresh oil fails.
Be ashamed, O farmers,
Wail, O vinedressers,
For the wheat and the barley;
Because the harvest of the field is destroyed.
The vine dries up
And the fig tree fails;
The pomegranate, the palm also, and the apple tree,
All the trees of the field dry up.
Indeed, rejoicing dries up
From the sons of men."

--Joel 1: 10-12

"...For the cry of distress has gone around...." Finishing up Chapter 15. ...'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: www.calvaryfullerton.org

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Next week:  Isaiah 15: 7-9
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 15: 1-3

Judgment on Moab

¹ 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.

A new chapter of Isaiah brings a new chapter of judgment upon an enemy. This time, it's Moab, Judah's longtime southeastern enemy. 

My first thought of Moab is Ruth, who, you might recall, hailed from the country but chose to follow her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to her home in Judah at the conclusion of a time of famine there and the death of her sons. No one in the Bible is quoted as saying, "Can any good thing come out of Moab?" but if someone were, he or she would be referring to Ruth. You may also remember the story of King Balak of Moab who, out of his fear, tried to bring a curse upon Israel through his prophet Balaam. (God, through His angel, through Balaam's donkey said, "No." [Find the rest of the story in Numbers 22 through 24.])

God found Moab offensive because it worshiped idols. The nation's reliance on them trickled into everything and tainted the lives of God's people on more than one occasion. 

"This they [Moab] will have in return for their pride, because they have taunted and become arrogant against the people of the Lord of hosts. The Lord will be terrifying to them, for He will starve all the gods of the earth...."

--Zephaniah 2: 10-11a

The judgment through Isaiah is not that of complete destruction; God left that oracle to Jeremiah. [Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible] "This prophecy here was to be fulfilled within three years (Isa. 16:14), and therefore was fulfilled in the devastations made of that country by the army of the Assyrians...."

Not to escape our passage completely, but Henry makes another statement that I found interesting in referring to the speediness of the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. It is good every so often to remember the mission of a prophet, and that it is a calling fraught with challenge, at times:

"...That the accomplishment of this prophecy now shortly (within three years) might be a confirmation of the prophet’s mission and of the truth of all his other prophecies, and might encourage the faithful to depend upon them."

--Matthew Henry

This oracle, though referring to Moab, was shared with the people of Judah. In reading through just these few short verses, I found that it sounded like something God would have spoken to Israel or Judah in a time of judgment. King Hezekiah would have been so moved by the sin of his country as to have torn his robes and donned sackcloth in seeking repentance. Isaiah was telling of Moab, and Moab's response, here, would seem similar to Hezekiah's, except for one huge difference. Let's look more closely at our verses.

In verse 1, we read that over the course of a night, Ar and Kir are "devastated and ruined." Ar and Kir are both major cities in Moab--Kir being the capital city. Such destruction in such a short time led the people into mourning. They retreat to the temple to weep, and to Nebo and Medeba. (vs. 2) Mount Nebo, near the Dead Sea, is one of the tall peaks with Pisgah, which is where God led Moses to view the Promised Land. (Deuteronomy 34:1) Medeba is a city about five miles away from Nebo.

With the end of verse 2 and, then, verse 3, come common expressions of grieving for that time: heads are bald; beards are cut; sackcloth put on; and, wailing, not just tears. There is no question that something deeply saddening has occurred. When it comes to the wearing of sackcloth, it is generally a sign, also, of disgrace or humiliation that comes with the grief. There is not just a tremendous loss, but there is sorrow expressed over the behavior that has led to this loss. Consider this example from the cross-referenced verses in today's passage:

"But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands."

--Jonah 3:8

This quote, from the king of Nineveh, comes following the prophet Jonah's words to the nation. God worked through a reluctant, fearful messenger to deliver a word of life-altering change to the head of the nation. Nineveh chose to follow God as a result, turning away from their sinful ways--at least, at that time. Another humble example of one "dissolved in tears" is Hannah. One of two wives to Elkanah, Hannah was unable to conceive and was repeatedly taunted by Elkanah's other wife over the matter. She cries out her grief to an overhearing Eli, the priest:

"She, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. She made a vow and said, 'O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.' ...But Hannah replied, 'No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the Lord.'"

--I Samuel 1: 10 and 11; 15

Hannah believed that her life was "devastated and ruined" without a child, under the oppression of a difficult household situation. But Hannah--and the king of Nineveh--understood something that Moab did not. Perhaps you noticed that I left out a detail in looking at verse 2:

"They have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, even to the high places to weep."

--vs. 2

The temple is not the temple in Jerusalem. Dibon is the location of the temple of the Moabite god, Chemosh. Not just any Moabite god, but, as most of the reference sources I looked at said, the national god of Moab. As God would call Israel the people of God, the Moabites were called the people of Chemosh. Putting this together, then, all of the wailing and grief measures and humble dress were all offered to Chemosh, to appease and to seek refuge and restoration in him--not God! Such an enormously critical difference. Because it is not the actions of the people that will rectify their devastated state--not if they are reaching out to a false god.

 

"Note, It becomes a people in distress to seek to their God; and shall not we then thus walk in the name of the Lord our God, and call upon him in the time of trouble, before whom we shall not shed such useless profitless tears as they did before their gods?"

--Matthew Henry

 

Which leads to asking, is there something over which we are crying profitless tears? The God who knows and holds each tear we cry (Psalm 56: 8) is approachable--waiting and ready to receive us.

 

"O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace."

--lyrics from Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (Helen H. Lemmel)

"Surely, the grass is withered...," in Moab and elsewhere.... 'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: www.thenagain.info

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Next week:  Isaiah 15: 4-6
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).