THE BURDEN OF MOAB ISAIAH 15:1-9

THE BURDEN OF MOAB ISAIAH 15:1-9

THE BURDEN OF MOAB Text: ISAIAH 15:1-9, 1. Here is a message about Moab: Indeed, in a night it is devastated, Ar of Moab is destroyed! Indeed, in a night it is devastated, Kir of Moab is destroyed! 2. They went up to the temple, the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, Moab wails. Every head is shaved bare, every beard is trimmed off. 3. In their streets they wear sackcloth; on their roofs and in their town squares all of them wail, they fall down weeping. 4. The people of Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, their voices are heard as far away as Jahaz. For this reason Moab s soldiers shout in distress; their courage wavers. 5. My heart cries out because of Moab s plight, and for the fugitives stretched out as far as Zoar and Eglath Shelishiyah. For they weep as they make their way up the ascent of Luhith; they loudly lament their demise on the road to Horonaim. 6. For the waters of Nimrim are gone; the grass is dried up, the vegetation has disappeared, and there are no plants. 7. For this reason what they have made and stored up, they carry over the Stream of the Poplars. 8. Indeed, the cries of distress echo throughout Moabite territory; their wailing can be heard in Eglaim and Beer Elim. 9. Indeed, the waters of Dimon are full of blood! Indeed, I will heap even more trouble on Dimon. A lion will attack the Moabite fugitives and the people left in the land. (NET)

Commentary: Isaiah 15 is one of the short, but very weighty chapters in the Bible. God s prophet wrote, The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off. In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly. And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him. My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction. For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing. Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows. For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beerelim. For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood: for I will bring more upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land. (Isaiah 15:1-9) This is a message about Moab. Isaiah, by inspiration of God, announced doom of Moab. One very impressive thing about this little chapter is the names of all the places that were mentioned that would be part of this devastation. Isaiah named more than 20 places that are associated with the Moabites; he showed that each would feel doom, desolation and destruction. The people upon whom this burden was pronounced were kinsman of the Jews. The Moabite people came from the incestuous union between lot and his daughters. Who could forget when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, when Lot s wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt and when Lot s daughters,

after getting their father drunk, committed incest with him? (Genesis 19) Even though the Moabites shared a common physical background with the Jews, they had nothing in common with them spiritually. They were a people filled with pride; they were immoral and saddest of all, they were idol worshipers. Sudden and complete destruction upon Moab -- Isaiah 15:1-3: The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off. In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly. (Isaiah 15:1-3) The burden or destruction that Isaiah saw concerning Moab would be sudden and complete. In his prophecy Isaiah wrote, The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence, (Isaiah 15:1) The towns of Ar and Kir were destroyed in the night. Their destruction was also saddened, in a moment, like when night comes at the close of the day. This prophecy gave a sad picture of total desolation, destruction and ruin of a sinful people. The high places were places where they had worshiped false gods, like Baal. Now they go to those high places to weep because of destruction. They shave their heads and beards in shame. They cried to false gods, but of course no help is to come. They could cry upon these high places to their false gods, day and night, and yet there would be only silence. Those who did not go to the high places to cry out for help got on the top of their houses, put on sackcloth, mourned, wept and grieved, but still no help came from their false gods. Crying for Moab Isaiah 15:4-5: And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him. My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by

the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction. (Isaiah 15:4-5) The soldiers of Moab, armed for battle, would cry out in distress. The soldiers in the field recognized how useless it was to try to fight against God. You will never win in a battle against the Almighty! The statement My heart shall cry out for Moab likely refers to the same thing as we read about in Isaiah 16:7. Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken. (Isaiah 16:7) It does not seem reasonable that God, nor the prophet of God, would mourn for those who are being punished for continual rebellion against the Creator. Just as a three-yearold heifer would have no control over her destiny, neither did the people of Moab have control over their destiny. God used a drought to take away what Moab had gained Isaiah 15:6-7: For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing. Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows. (Isaiah 15:6-7) Much destruction and devastation comes through famines. God withheld the rain from wicked Moab. The hay withered and the grass failed. The devastation was so complete there was no green thing left. Imagine the devastation that comes when the ponds and springs dry up, the rain stops, the rivers and creeks are dry and there is no moister in the land to produce plants. Everything requires water to be green. When God dried up the water, the prosperity that Moab gained was all taken away. God had blessed them with abundance; they left God out and now he took the abundance from them. What a warning that is for us today! How can we expect God to bless the United States of America when so many of our people live in direct rebellion against him? When our people promote abortion, homosexuality, drunkenness, same-sex marriage and all kinds of immodesty and immorality, how can we expect God to bless our nation? Let us turn back to God before we are crying for help when it is too late.

No one in Moab would escape punishment Isaiah 15:8-9: For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beerelim. For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood: for I will bring more upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land. (Isaiah 15:8-9) The howling of Moab had done no good. All around their nation people had cried out to their false gods, yet no answer came. To cry to anyone other the true and living God for help will always be to no avail. They cried to their gods for help and for protection, yet God sent total destruction and devastation upon them. The severity of the battle is seen as God pictures the waters of Dimon as being full of blood. In case there were any who are able to escape, God would bring even more destruction upon them. He would bring Lions upon any that escaped. Jeremiah 48:44 pictures it this way, He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the LORD. There is no escape from the judgment and the punishment of God upon evildoers! Those who trusted in God could not live in peace in Moab. Moab was a land inhabited by idle worshipers. They were a rebellious and sinful people; they had no interest in serving God. We must do better! We must listen to God and obey his will in order to be saved from our sins. In order to be saved from sin we must hear the gospel (Romans 10:17), believe in Jesus (Mark 16:16), repent of sins (Luke 13:5), confess Jesus as Lord (Matthew 10:32), and be baptized into Christ. (Romans 6:3-4) The people of Moab remind us that God does love us; but God does not accept a life of sin. God requires of us a life that is consistent with His will. He requires obedience from us. Our relationship with God means that we abide by His standards. We bring many problems upon ourselves when we do not walk with God. By Charles Box, Walnut Street Church of Christ, P. O. Box 551,

Greenville, Alabama 36037

Questions on Isaiah 15:1-9 (Questions 1-22 are based on the NET text.) 1. How long did it take for Moab to be devastated? 2. How did Moab express its grief? 3. Locate and give as much information as you can about Ar of Moab. 4. Kir of Moab.

5. Dibon. 6. Nebo. 7. Medeba. 8. Moab.

9. Hesbon. 10. Elealeh. 11. Jahaz. 12. Zoar.

13. Eglath Shelishiyah. 14. Luhith. 15. Horonaim. 16. Nimrim. 17. Stream of the Poplars.

18. Eglaim. 19. Beer Elim. 20. Dimon. 21. To what temple did the Moabites go to worship? (See verse 2.)

22. What afflictions befell Moab? 23. Why were so many Moabite locations mentioned in Isaiah 15? 24. What sins were most prominent among the Moabites which led to their destruction? Contrast Moab and the Jews in regard to spiritual matters. 25. No one will ever in a the! 26. Did God and Isaiah mourn for those who were being punished for continual rebellion against the Lord? Give reasons for your answer.

27. In view of the devastation which befell Moab, how can we expect to the of when so many of our in against him? When our,,, - and all kinds of and, how can we expect to our? Let us to before we are for when it is. 28. Do you believe God still uses natural disasters to punish wicked people? If so, give examples of natural disasters you think may have been used by the Lord to punish sinners. 29. There is from the and the of upon! 30. Those who in could in in. was a by. They were a and ; they had in. We! We bring

upon when we do with.