Isa 15 :1 -16:14
Notes
Transcript
The Oracle of Moab
The Oracle of Moab
Good to see you all today,
Here we are in the first day of March. That doesn’t seem possible but it is...
Today we come back to the text of the prophet Isaiah and we are walking verse by verse through these texts.
This particular one, is entitled as the Oracle of Moab.
So who are the Moabites? In Old Testament accounts (e.g., Genesis 19:30–38), the Moabites belonged to the same ethnic stock as the Israelites. Their ancestral founder was Moab, a son of Lot, who was a nephew of the Israelite patriarch Abraham.
But they were a cursed people....Why did God curse the Moabites? Divine law prohibits Moabites from the assembly of God, as a punishment for their maltreatment of the children of Israel and for engaging Balaam to curse the children of Israel, while they journeyed in the wilderness.
Now in Numbers 25:1-5, you can see where the Moabite women tempted the sons of Israel and led them into sexual sins and God punished them. God punished the leaders who went astray.
So they are always seen as a enemy of the people of Israel and God will destroy the enemies of His people.
So lets look at verses 1-2 Isa 15:1-2
1 An oracle concerning Moab.
Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone;
because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone.
2 He has gone up to the temple, and to Dibon,
to the high places to weep;
over Nebo and over Medeba
Moab wails.
On every head is baldness;
every beard is shorn;
We do not know the time of the this oracle that is against them. But we know their hope is gone. God is bringing judgement against them[.
When you look at verse 1, we see that the destruction coming against them will be swift, because it is said that it happens at night, so just a few hours and it is all gone.
Kir of Moab is the capital of the land, so the city and its king have fell in the attack.
The Lord says they will go to their temple or high places of worship and they will wail, weep and pray for intervention .
They will shave their heads and bears in mourning, to express their grief over what has happened in their land.
Look at verses 3-4 Isa 15:3-4
3 in the streets they wear sackcloth;
on the housetops and in the squares
everyone wails and melts in tears.
4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out;
their voice is heard as far as Jahaz;
therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud;
his soul trembles.
The significance of their grief is seen in the fact that not only to they shave their heads and beards, but they walk around the city wear sackcloth.
Sackcloth is a material used to make a garment of a very course material that we might compare to burlap or something of the same.
But wearing it signifies grief, mourning and pain. These people are dressed like this wailing, crying out. Do you remember the mourning of city of NY when the trade towers fell. That might be a small similar picture to help us understand the sadness of the day here in Isaiah.
The people in all the main cities like Heshbon, and Elealeh are mourning and try aloud.
It is such a time that even those who are accustomed to war and battle stand and tremble as witness all that is taking place as the nation falls.
Now lets look at verses 5-7 Isa 15:5-7
5 My heart cries out for Moab;
her fugitives flee to Zoar,
to Eglath-shelishiyah.
For at the ascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;
on the road to Horonaim
they raise a cry of destruction;
6 the waters of Nimrim
are a desolation;
the grass is withered, the vegetation fails,
the greenery is no more.
7 Therefore the abundance they have gained
and what they have laid up
they carry away
over the Brook of the Willows.
More destruction takes place and the people witness and mourn because of it.
And as the destruction comes, people are trying to flee to the south.
At the very beginning of verse 5, you see that Isaiah mourns for them, especially those who are just innocent refugees. They mourn as they trudge down the road, and the people, they form a long line indicating there are many who fleeeing the war.
As this line of people walk down the road they witness dried up streams and withered fields. It is as if they are in a desert area and there is nothing for them, no food or water.
The people leave the cities carrying all the possessions they can carry...... That made me think o the people fleeing Ukraine last year, the roads were full of people. That is much of the scene here.
The city of Zoar mentioned here, it is a reference to the towns of the most southern edge, they are fleeing most likely into two areas, They could enter Edom or they could flee into Judah.
Now the last two verses of chapter 15, Isa 15:8-9
8 For a cry has gone
around the land of Moab;
her wailing reaches to Eglaim;
her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.
9 For the waters of Dibon are full of blood;
for I will bring upon Dibon even more,
a lion for those of Moab who escape,
for the remnant of the land.
This passage really relates the truthfulness and reliability of God’s prophecy.
The wailing of the people is so loud that those cities along the border, no matter if they are close or farther away, their wailing will be heard ....
In verse 9 Isaiah uses the term of a lion. The lion is a symbol of a fierce enemy and army that will devour them but in Amos 3:8
8 The lion has roared;
who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken;
who can but prophesy?”
God is the roaring lion that devours the enemy.
God will take care of his people, and he will devour those who are their and by nature His enemy.
Now we will stop here and pick up the rest of the story this coming week, to finish it tonight will take up another 45 min..
Pray
