Passage:
Isaiah 15
Proclamation Against Moab
1 The burden against Moab.
Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste
And destroyed,
Because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste
And destroyed,
2 He has gone up to the temple and Dibon,
To the high places to weep.
Moab will wail over Nebo and over Medeba;
On all their heads will be baldness,
And every beard cut off.
3 In their streets they will clothe themselves with sackcloth;
On the tops of their houses
And in their streets
Everyone will wail, weeping bitterly.
4 Heshbon and Elealeh will cry out,
Their voice shall be heard as far as Jahaz;
Therefore the armed soldiers of Moab will cry out;
His life will be burdensome to him.
5 “ My heart will cry out for Moab;
His fugitives shall flee to Zoar,
Like a three-year-old heifer.
For by the Ascent of Luhith
They will go up with weeping;
For in the way of Horonaim
They will raise up a cry of destruction,
6 For the waters of Nimrim will be desolate,
For the green grass has withered away;
The grass fails, there is nothing green.
7 Therefore the abundance they have gained,
And what they have laid up,
They will carry away to the Brook of the Willows.
8 For the cry has gone all around the borders of Moab,
Its wailing to Eglaim
And its wailing to Beer Elim.
9 For the waters of Dimon will be full of blood;
Because I will bring more upon Dimon,
Lions upon him who escapes from Moab,
And on the remnant of the land.”
Isaiah 16
Moab Destroyed
1 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,
From Sela to the wilderness,
To the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 For it shall be as a wandering bird thrown out of the nest;
So shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.
3 “ Take counsel, execute judgment;
Make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day;
Hide the outcasts,
Do not betray him who escapes.
4 Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab;
Be a shelter to them from the face of the spoiler.
For the extortioner is at an end,
Devastation ceases,
The oppressors are consumed out of the land.
5 In mercy the throne will be established;
And One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David,
Judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness.”
6 We have heard of the pride of Moab—
He is very proud—
Of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath;
But his lies shall not be so.
7 Therefore Moab shall wail for Moab;
Everyone shall wail.
For the foundations of Kir Hareseth you shall mourn;
Surely they are stricken.
8 For the fields of Heshbon languish,
And the vine of Sibmah;
The lords of the nations have broken down its choice plants,
Which have reached to Jazer
And wandered through the wilderness.
Her branches are stretched out,
They are gone over the sea.
9 Therefore I will bewail the vine of Sibmah,
With the weeping of Jazer;
I will drench you with my tears,
O Heshbon and Elealeh;
For battle cries have fallen
Over your summer fruits and your harvest.
10 Gladness is taken away,
And joy from the plentiful field;
In the vineyards there will be no singing,
Nor will there be shouting;
No treaders will tread out wine in the presses;
I have made their shouting cease.
11 Therefore my heart shall resound like a harp for Moab,
And my inner being for Kir Heres.
12 And it shall come to pass,
When it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place,
That he will come to his sanctuary to pray;
But he will not prevail.
13 This is the word which the LORD has spoken concerning Moab since that time. 14 But now the LORD has spoken, saying, “Within three years, as the years of a hired man, the glory of Moab will be despised with all that great multitude, and the remnant will be very small and feeble.”
Journal:
Chapters 15 and 16 deal with Isaiah's prophecy of the defeat of the Moabites by the Assyrians. This came to pass in 715 B.C. at the hands of King Sargon II of Assyria. Though the prophecy reveals God's sovereignty (and judgment) in dealing with Moab, Isaiah appears sympathetic towards Moab and its public and private wailing and mourning. In fact, Isaiah implored Judah to hide the fugitives of Moab (Isaiah 16:3-4 --"Make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day; hide the outcasts, do not betray him who escapes. Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab; be a shelter to them from the face of the spoiler.")
The shelter is perhaps symbolic in that God established a covenant with Judah, and out of this covenant from the house of David would appear Jesus, who is the ultimate shelter from God's judgment. (Isaiah 16:5 --"In mercy the throne will be established; and One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness.”) Isaiah's sorrow for the lost Moabites should parallel our sorrow for the lost among us. God's judgment will be swift and exacting, and we should regret mournfully the souls that are perishing. There should be great joy when being used by God to shed light on the shelter provided by the savior from the House of David.
Heard 'Round the House:
I had to stay home yesterday morning because Jill took Vera and Emma to the eye doctor and because Ella is sick. Alex became very concerned that I was off Thursday, Friday and now wasn't going in on Monday morning. There was something wrong here and he felt I owed someone an explanation --
Alex (age 12): Daddy, did you tell someone at your work that you wouldn't be there?
Luke (age 12): Daddy is his own boss. He doesn't have to tell anybody.
Daddy: Yes, Alex. I sent an email to some people I work with to let them know that I would be late.
Alex: See, Luke. He can't just do whatever he wants to do without telling people!
[Words to live by . . .]
Isaiah 15
Proclamation Against Moab
1 The burden against Moab.
Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste
And destroyed,
Because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste
And destroyed,
2 He has gone up to the temple and Dibon,
To the high places to weep.
Moab will wail over Nebo and over Medeba;
On all their heads will be baldness,
And every beard cut off.
3 In their streets they will clothe themselves with sackcloth;
On the tops of their houses
And in their streets
Everyone will wail, weeping bitterly.
4 Heshbon and Elealeh will cry out,
Their voice shall be heard as far as Jahaz;
Therefore the armed soldiers of Moab will cry out;
His life will be burdensome to him.
5 “ My heart will cry out for Moab;
His fugitives shall flee to Zoar,
Like a three-year-old heifer.
For by the Ascent of Luhith
They will go up with weeping;
For in the way of Horonaim
They will raise up a cry of destruction,
6 For the waters of Nimrim will be desolate,
For the green grass has withered away;
The grass fails, there is nothing green.
7 Therefore the abundance they have gained,
And what they have laid up,
They will carry away to the Brook of the Willows.
8 For the cry has gone all around the borders of Moab,
Its wailing to Eglaim
And its wailing to Beer Elim.
9 For the waters of Dimon will be full of blood;
Because I will bring more upon Dimon,
Lions upon him who escapes from Moab,
And on the remnant of the land.”
Isaiah 16
Moab Destroyed
1 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,
From Sela to the wilderness,
To the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 For it shall be as a wandering bird thrown out of the nest;
So shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.
3 “ Take counsel, execute judgment;
Make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day;
Hide the outcasts,
Do not betray him who escapes.
4 Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab;
Be a shelter to them from the face of the spoiler.
For the extortioner is at an end,
Devastation ceases,
The oppressors are consumed out of the land.
5 In mercy the throne will be established;
And One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David,
Judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness.”
6 We have heard of the pride of Moab—
He is very proud—
Of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath;
But his lies shall not be so.
7 Therefore Moab shall wail for Moab;
Everyone shall wail.
For the foundations of Kir Hareseth you shall mourn;
Surely they are stricken.
8 For the fields of Heshbon languish,
And the vine of Sibmah;
The lords of the nations have broken down its choice plants,
Which have reached to Jazer
And wandered through the wilderness.
Her branches are stretched out,
They are gone over the sea.
9 Therefore I will bewail the vine of Sibmah,
With the weeping of Jazer;
I will drench you with my tears,
O Heshbon and Elealeh;
For battle cries have fallen
Over your summer fruits and your harvest.
10 Gladness is taken away,
And joy from the plentiful field;
In the vineyards there will be no singing,
Nor will there be shouting;
No treaders will tread out wine in the presses;
I have made their shouting cease.
11 Therefore my heart shall resound like a harp for Moab,
And my inner being for Kir Heres.
12 And it shall come to pass,
When it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place,
That he will come to his sanctuary to pray;
But he will not prevail.
13 This is the word which the LORD has spoken concerning Moab since that time. 14 But now the LORD has spoken, saying, “Within three years, as the years of a hired man, the glory of Moab will be despised with all that great multitude, and the remnant will be very small and feeble.”
Journal:
Chapters 15 and 16 deal with Isaiah's prophecy of the defeat of the Moabites by the Assyrians. This came to pass in 715 B.C. at the hands of King Sargon II of Assyria. Though the prophecy reveals God's sovereignty (and judgment) in dealing with Moab, Isaiah appears sympathetic towards Moab and its public and private wailing and mourning. In fact, Isaiah implored Judah to hide the fugitives of Moab (Isaiah 16:3-4 --"Make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day; hide the outcasts, do not betray him who escapes. Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab; be a shelter to them from the face of the spoiler.")
The shelter is perhaps symbolic in that God established a covenant with Judah, and out of this covenant from the house of David would appear Jesus, who is the ultimate shelter from God's judgment. (Isaiah 16:5 --"In mercy the throne will be established; and One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness.”) Isaiah's sorrow for the lost Moabites should parallel our sorrow for the lost among us. God's judgment will be swift and exacting, and we should regret mournfully the souls that are perishing. There should be great joy when being used by God to shed light on the shelter provided by the savior from the House of David.
Heard 'Round the House:
I had to stay home yesterday morning because Jill took Vera and Emma to the eye doctor and because Ella is sick. Alex became very concerned that I was off Thursday, Friday and now wasn't going in on Monday morning. There was something wrong here and he felt I owed someone an explanation --
Alex (age 12): Daddy, did you tell someone at your work that you wouldn't be there?
Luke (age 12): Daddy is his own boss. He doesn't have to tell anybody.
Daddy: Yes, Alex. I sent an email to some people I work with to let them know that I would be late.
Alex: See, Luke. He can't just do whatever he wants to do without telling people!
[Words to live by . . .]
