Isaiah 16 - Aiding the Enemies of God

1 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion. 2 Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive; 4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land, 5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right. 7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea. 9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for over your summer fruit and your harvest the shout has ceased. 10 And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no cheers are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; I have put an end to the shouting. 11 Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth. 12 And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail. 13 This is the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble.”

Target Date: Sunday, 12 May 2024

Sermon Text:

We are in the midst of a great section of Isaiah that is speaking of God’s sovereign judgment on the nations – all of them.

It began with Israel and Judah, and proceeded to Assyria, Babylon, Philistia (Palestine), and today, Moab.

We will see many others as we continue in this book, as God is willing.

You may have noticed I am not going verse-to-verse on many of these passages, primarily because many of the passages have similar or identical applications for us today.

That is not to say they are unimportant, but as we have seen in this study, many verses, being poetic in nature, draw us a picture of the truth of God rather than, for instance in the letters of Paul, simply stating the truth or doctrine.

But we will pause at the places that bring us to things that stick out as important or necessary at this time for our doctrine or practice as we are equipped for the work of the gospel.

And so we pause in the midst of the prophecy of the judgment of Moab today.

And I would remind you: similar to the prophecies against Babylon we have already looked at, it is highly likely that no Moabite official ever got this message.

This message was intended for the hearts of the people of Judah, the remnant of God’s people.

So the things Isaiah is saying are to build the faith and devotion of God’s people;

Not, like Jonah in Ninevah, to actually warn the city of its impending judgment.

So the messages of these judgments are given to comfort and instruct God’s people through these tumultuous times.

And they were really tumultuous, perhaps akin in scope to a world if Nazi Germany won World War 2, or if ISIS-style Islam conquered the entire United States.

I suspect that some hearing me might be thinking: that would never happen – I have my gun.

But that is the point, isn’t it? Israel had something on earth to trust in too – the Temple of God.

But God has sent prophet after prophet to tell them this: it is not just Assyria or Babylon who is against you; I am coming against you in them.

All your weapons and armies and patriotism and trust in the presence of God’s temple are NOTHING in the face of His judgment.

And the message is even worse for Moab: If God has judged His own people this severely, how much worse will it be for you in your idolatry?

And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place [the idolatrous altars], when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail. - v. 12

Now, I would be surprised if there was not someone here thinking: But who IS Moab? Why do they even matter?

After all, they don’t exist today, at least not as a distinct people.

Yet they are an ancient people, descended from Lot.

In Genesis 19:37, we see that after Lot and his daughters were saved from the destruction of Sodom, each daughter got him drunk and conceived a son by him.

The elder was named Moab; the younger, Ammon.

All this happened about 1400 years before Isaiah’s prophecy.

And for the last 700 years or so, the nation of Moab had been an on-again, off-again enemy of the people of Israel.

We don’t have enemies who have been around that long.

It was the king of Moab who hired the prophet Balaam, who was a descendant of Ammon, to curse Israel just as they were reaching the end of their wanderings under Moses in Numbers 22ff.

You may remember he wasn’t able to curse them, but he told the king of Moab to lure the men of Israel into immorality at one of their idolatrous places, Baal-Peor.

And because of their hostility and idolatry, and Israel’s soft spot for their temptations, the people of Israel are forbidden to marry the Moabites “for ten generations”.

We see them then invading Israel in the book of Judges, and enemies of Israel throughout the period of the kings.

But, then we have Ruth, the Moabitess, who became one of the near-ancestors of King David when she was allowed to marry Boaz.

And we see David, when he was fleeing Saul, bringing his father and mother for safe-keeping to the king of Moab (1 Samuel 22:3-4).

But with these few bright spots, the history between these two peoples was generally antagonistic, with many more wars against each other than times they had been at peace.

So when God declares His judgment on this nation of idolatry and temptation, good Jews could be easily understood to think this was a good thing God is doing.

The enemy they had faced on the battlefield so often was going to be conquered by God’s sovereign hand: Good riddance.

So it may have been surprising to hear God say through Isaiah:

My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, - Isaiah 15:5

There is so much being said in this small portion of a verse: I will try to summarize quickly.

1. We see God’s pity on the objects of his judgment.

Through the later prophet Ezekiel, we see this same thing:

“And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?’ 11 Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? – Ezekiel 33:10-11

God is not unfeeling or uncaring.

And we know from Scripture He has elect in every tribe and nation.

If He were uncaring or unloving, His judgment would have no limit, and there would be no redemption.

But He DOES love the world, and He has made loving provision even for those among His enemies.

Because in this fallen world, no one comes into it as God’s friend or ally: There is none righteous, not even one – Romans 3:10

2. But then look at the end of the verse: her fugitives flee to Zoar.

This might not ring in your ears as clearly as it would have rung in the ears of the Jews hearing Isaiah preach these words.

The land of Moab is in the plains on the east side of the Jordan River and Dead Sea. (Israel and Judah are mostly on the west side of that river system).

In the time of Lot, there were five cities on that plain, of which Zoar was the smallest. The others were Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim.

When God’s judgment was poured out on Sodom, it was His stated intention to destroy ALL FIVE cities for their wickedness.

But as he was being hustled out of Sodom, Lot said to the men God had sent:

I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20 Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar [meaning “little”]. - Genesis 19:19-22

Now you can quibble with me if you like on this, but I read the verse this way: her fugitives flee to Zoar.

Once again, those whom God has saved from His destruction will take shelter in this small city.

Feel the pity, the tenderness, for those who are under His judgment.

And don’t fail to notice the promise at the end of chapter 16 in Isaiah:

those who remain will be very few and feeble.

That may not sound very hopeful, but look at it this way: there will be a remnant of Moab as well.

There will be some who remain, who are saved out of this terrible destruction.

God has some people in Moab, and He is allowing them to flee to the same place of refuge He allowed Lot.

God’s tenderness is not deserved; it is NEVER deserved.

God’s grace is always a gift, always a work of His love that is uncaused from outside Himself.

And it is always to the undeserving, the rebellious, the sinful, even the idolater.

If God waited for us to approach Him, or even desire Him, no one would EVER be saved.

At best, some men would desire to capture Him, control Him, for their own purposes, to fulfil their own desires.

But no one would bow to Him; no one would seek to follow Him.

And in His love, God doesn’t simply close His eyes and ignore our sins and trespasses.

We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right. – v. 6

He sees your sins; He knows your sins; He HATES your sins.

And He sent His Son to DIE FOR YOUR SINS. To take away your sins.

That is grace; that is mercy; that is love.

Leave behind your old life, and trust fully in the completed work of Jesus Christ and His righteousness, and you will be saved.

Though the judgment of God falls all around you.

Though you deserve every drop of wrath He can dispense.

Though you are guilty, guilty, guilty in your rebellion.

God will forgive it all when you are found in Christ.

I could end there, but there is one more thing in this passage this morning we must look at: what is the responsibility of God’s people toward His enemies?

How are we to fight His battles as His judgment falls?

What are we told to do when dealing with His enemies?

“Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive; 4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land, 5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” – vv. 3-5

Be a SHELTER to them from the destroyer.

I think I said something to this effect in the last passage we dealt with, but here it is even bigger:

Our battle is NOT against flesh and blood.

Our weapons are not physical.

Our enemies are not PEOPLE.

We are here to SAVE people, to PRESERVE God’s people from the curses of this world.

That is what God is telling Judah here:

Your enemy for seven CENTURIES is being judged for their sin.

If they make it to you, it is your job to protect them, to embrace them.

Rest assured, we see in the remainder of chapters 15 and 16 that no one will escape God’s judgment alive unless He allows them to.

And so when they come to you, even in their great need and poverty, feed and clothe them, shelter them, and love them for the sake of God who brought them to you.

When they have been ground up by the judgment of God, and they have been allowed to come to you and beg for help, your proper response is to give to them in the way you would want them to give to you.

To bless them in proportion to what God has blessed you with.

Not to grind them further.

Not to break off the bruised reed.

Not to humiliate them or chastise them.

You, people of God, become their shelter, their sanctuary EVEN FROM the raging wrath of God.

Even while the judgment is still going on.

Even if they are GUILTY against God.

Even if they hold to beliefs that are still foreign to God’s righteousness:

If they are illegal aliens.

If they are homosexual.

If they are atheistic.

If they are wealthy.

If they are selfish.

If they are entirely sinful.

God has brought them to you, not to fix them – that is the Holy Spirit’s job.

He has brought them to you in their humiliation or need to care for them, to love them, to show them the tangible love of God because He has already shown them His great strength and holiness.

If He has brought them to you, that is the very thing He may use to fix them:

Not your lectures on morality.

Not your superior politics.

What He will use is HIS LOVE through you, loving your enemy. Loving His defeated enemy.

It is all in how you define “fixing” someone:

If you take the view that fixing an unbeliever means helping change their mind about their sin, there are a lot of problems with that.

1. That conviction of sin is the internal work of the Holy Spirit, and He hasn’t delegated that to you.

2. This change of mind about their sin is the work of the Law, and it is the weakness of the Law; it cannot make them righteous.

3. Even if it is successful, all you have done is inoculate them against the true gospel of Jesus Christ; they are being told that in overcoming their own sin, they will be saved.

4. This does NOTHING to address their greatest problem: that they are STILL God’s enemy, although they aren’t as bad as they could be.

To really FIX someone, it is a matter of bringing them to Jesus Christ, to show them His love in action.

Only in a direct encounter with Him will they begin to realize God’s holiness and their utter hopelessness before Him without Jesus Christ.

Recall: Isaiah was a priest and knew the Law, but it wasn’t until He “saw the Lord” in chapter 6 that he was captivated by His holiness and love.

Convicted of his sin, and cleansed by God’s grace.

That is why in verse 5, the reference is made to the Messiah of God:

then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.

When will this happen?

When the Moabite (sinner) has been brought to God’s person.

When God’s person has cared for him and sheltered him.

And when the sinner is safe from the oppressor (sin) and its consequences.

The one who sits on this glorious throne of love, justice, and righteousness is none other than Jesus Christ, our Lord – our great Savior.