Isaiah 15:1

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 has gone up to the temple and Dibon, to the high places to weep... On all their heads will be baldness, and every beard cut off. In their streets they will gird themselves with sackcloth; on the tops of their houses and in their streets everyone shall howl, weeping bitterly. (Isaiah 15:1-3)

When two great cities fall in a single night, the prophet who sees it does not rejoice — he weeps.

From Judgment on Israel to Judgment on the Nations

We have been witnessing in the book of Isaiah the judgment spoken by God first upon His own people in the first twelve chapters. Now we are beginning to look at the judgment spoken upon the nations surrounding Israel. We considered Peter's words that the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of the Lord. That judgment began with God's people first, but now it is directed to those who were not His people — those who were, in reality, enemies of His people.

In our last study we saw a heavy burden spoken first upon the Babylonians, then the Assyrians, then the Philistines. Now we come to a judgment spoken upon the Moabites. It is important for us to understand a little about the Moabites before we consider this judgment — even the birth of the people of Moab.

The Birth of Moab

Turn to Genesis chapter 19, the passage dealing with the destruction God brought upon the cities of the south, including Sodom and Gomorrah. A cry was coming up from those cities, and I believe Lot, the nephew of Abraham, was crying out on behalf of the terrible things going on there. In chapter 18, God came down and told Abraham He was going to visit Sodom and Gomorrah and see if the cry coming up from them was true.

You know the story. God sent two angels into Sodom, and the men of the city were so wicked that they sought to bring these angelic beings out so they could know them carnally — essentially, to rape them. That was one manifestation of their wickedness, not the only reason for their judgment, but one of them. Abraham had interceded: would God spare the city for fifty righteous? Forty? Thirty? He went down to ten, assuming there must be at least ten. In reality, there was only one righteous man — and the New Testament calls Lot righteous.

Lot was protected. The angels carried him, his wife, and his daughters outside the city by their hands, telling them to flee to the hills. Lot pleaded to flee instead to the city of Zoar, and the angels agreed, but urged him to hurry, for they could not bring destruction until he was gone. As they fled toward Zoar, God poured out His wrath. Lot's wife looked back — the Hebrew suggests a longing gaze upon the home she wished to return to — and was turned into a pillar of salt.

When Lot saw the destruction, he was so fearful that he fled even from Zoar up into the hills, hiding in a cave. There his two daughters considered that the whole world had been destroyed. In reality, their whole world — their whole life — had been bound up in Sodom. So they came up with a plan, the wisdom of man, to "save the world." Isn't it interesting how man is always trying to save the world?

Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. And the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the people of Ammon to this day. (Genesis 19:36-38)

The Moabites and Ammonites came about by this wicked union, even though Lot did not perceive what had happened. Because they were related to Israel — Abraham's nephew Lot was their ancestor — there was some sense of inheritance and protection upon them.

Moab: Relative and Enemy of Israel

Throughout the Scriptures the Moabites would be thorns in Israel's side. In Numbers 22, as Israel came out of Egypt and passed through Moab toward the promised land, Balak the king of Moab hired the prophet Balaam to curse them, and he stirred up the women of Moab to seduce the men of Israel. In Judges 3, Eglon the king of Moab — a very fat man — harshly ruled over Israel eighteen years until Ehud the judge took care of him.

Yet they were protected. In Deuteronomy 2:9 Moses told Israel, "Do not harass Moab, nor contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession." Israel was to take Canaan, but not Moab. There is a very clear reason: David, the great king and psalmist, was a quarter Moabite — his grandmother was Ruth the Moabitess. And in Matthew 1:5, Ruth stands in the line of the Messiah, in the line of Jesus. God had a plan, and He would bring David and ultimately the Messiah through this line.

A Burden of Dread, Not Rejoicing

As you study Isaiah 15-16 and other prophetic passages about Moab's destruction, you notice the tone is one of dread, not excitement. When you read of the destruction of Assyria or Babylon, there is almost a joyful tone — like Habakkuk, excited that Babylon will be judged. But when Isaiah sees this vision of judgment upon Moab, he is filled with sorrow.

In one night Isaiah sees two key strongholds destroyed. The name Kir means a wall or fortress; several Moabite cities bore it — Kir Moab, Kir Heres, Kir Hareseth — but there was also a city simply called Kir, believed to be modern-day Kerak, a huge Moabite stronghold. It would be as if you and I woke up tomorrow and turned on the news to find that Washington, D.C. and New York City had been destroyed completely in one night. Imagine the national sorrow.

The repetition in verse 1 — "in the night... laid waste... brought to silence" — emphasizes the point, as Hebrew poetry does. Verse 2 shows their reaction: they go up to Dibon and the high places, centers of false-god worship, to weep. Their heads are shaved and their beards cut off. Among Middle Eastern peoples the beard was venerated; to cut it signified great grief. In verse 3 they gird themselves with sackcloth, a sign of sorrow and mourning. Upon every housetop — the fullness of God's judgment — and in the open streets, everyone howls in open shame. Jeremiah 48:38 says the same: "I have broken Moab like a vessel in which is no pleasure, says the Lord."

Why God Judged Moab

Jeremiah 48 gives us great insight into the reasons. In verse 7: "Because you have trusted in your works and your treasures, you also shall be taken. And Chemosh shall go forth into captivity." Chemosh was a key deity of Moab, an abomination to God.

Verse 11 says, "Moab has been at ease from his youth; he has settled on his dregs, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel." These words picture the winemaking process — and Moab was known for its vineyards. Lot first settled there because it was well-watered. To purify wine, they let it sit so the lees, or dregs, settled to the bottom, then carefully poured off the top into a new vessel, leaving the dregs behind, refining it more with each pouring. If wine sat on its dregs too long, it soured and was ruined. God says Moab settled on its lees — never poured out, never refined, never purified — and has been ruined by living at ease.

Verse 26: "He has magnified himself against the Lord." Verse 29: "We have heard of the pride of Moab — he is exceedingly proud — his loftiness, his arrogance, and his haughtiness of heart." Verse 35: God will cause to cease those who offer in the high places and burn incense to their gods. Verse 42: "Moab shall be destroyed... because he has magnified himself against the Lord."

So the reasons were pride, idolatry, and idleness. They had grown wealthy from their winemaking and were able to kick back and be idle. Consider this in light of our own nation. Are we a nation that in any way exhibits pride, idolatry, and idleness? I think we do. We should take notice of why God judged these people.

The Completeness of God's Judgment

Jeremiah 48:8: "The plunderer shall come against every city; no one shall escape." When you study Jeremiah 48 and Isaiah 15-16, you find a list of about fifteen cities. Look at an ancient map of Moab and circle them — all over the nation, every key city is destroyed.

Verses 43-45: "Fear and the pit and the snare shall be upon you, O inhabitant of Moab... He who flees from the fear shall fall into the pit, and he who gets out of the pit shall be caught in the snare." Those who flee to Heshbon, a main stronghold, are devoured by fire. The exact same words appear in Isaiah 24:17-18, where God speaks to the whole earth — for the judgment of Moab is a picture, a foreshadowing, of the judgment God will bring upon the whole earth, inescapable for all who have not repented and turned to Christ.

We see the same in Amos 5:18-19: "Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! ... It is darkness, and not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him; or as though he went into the house, leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him." When the day of the Lord comes and man tries to flee from God, there is no escape. Just when he beats the lion, the bear gets him; just when he thinks he is safe, the serpent bites and kills.

Jeremiah 48:44 calls this "the year of their visitation" — the time when God comes for judgment. When it comes, the weeping and howling are too late. As I mentioned last week, if you wait until the day of the Lord to humble yourself, it is too late. Today is the day of salvation. The Moabites refused to repent when God first called, and so their crying came too late.

Yet there is a remarkable word in Jeremiah 48:47: "Yet I will bring back the captives of Moab in the latter days." In the end God will bring back a purified remnant — for God's punishment is for the purpose of purification.

Isaiah's Sorrow and Moab's Refuge

Turn back to Isaiah 15:5: "My heart will cry out for Moab." When Isaiah sees this vision of destruction upon a nation related to Israel, he is stirred to sorrow. Notice the fugitives flee to Zoar — the very city Lot fled to when judgment fell on Sodom. As they flee they take a heifer of three years and go up to Luhith weeping, yet instead of repenting and turning to God, they are still worshiping their false gods.

Verse 6: the waters of Nimrim are desolate, the grass fails — all the fruitfulness Moab trusted in is destroyed. Verses 8-9: the cry goes round the borders of Moab, and even those who escape are met with lions, again showing the completeness of God's judgment.

Isaiah 16:1: "Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela to the wilderness, to the mount of the daughter of Zion." Second Kings 3 tells us Moab paid Israel an annual tribute of 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams — many used in offerings at Jerusalem — until the king of Moab stopped paying it. Isaiah's counsel is, in effect: start paying the tribute again, because you will soon be refugees seeking help from Israel. Like a wandering bird cast out of the nest, the daughters of Moab will be at the fords of the Arnon, homeless and pitiful, crying in verse 3: "Help us! Defend us against our enemies; protect us from the relentless attack; do not betray us."

A Prophecy of the Messiah

Verse 4 takes a complete turn — now it is not the Moabites but Israel fleeing for refuge:

Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab; be a shelter to them from the face of the spoiler... 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 16:4-5)

Who sits on the throne of David, judging with righteousness? Jesus. Verse 5 is a prophecy of the coming Messiah. Many Bible teachers see verse 4 as an end-times prophecy: when the Antichrist focuses his war upon Israel, the children of Israel will flee — many believe to the rock city of Petra in modern Jordan, which lay in ancient Moab. There they will find refuge until "the spoiler ceases" — until the Antichrist is gone. And when the Antichrist is gone, the true Christ will return and sit upon the throne. So in the middle of this distressing judgment stands this great prophecy of the Messiah.

The Foolishness of Idols

Verse 12: "When it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail." On the hilltops the Moabites will pray in anguish to their false gods, but these idols will do them no good. That is what man always finds when he turns to false gods. The Psalms tell us twice that the gods of this world are silver and gold, the work of men's hands — eyes that do not see, hands that do not touch, mouths that do not speak. The god you worship is ultimately the thing you trust in, and in the day of trouble these gods are revealed as nothing.

We saw the same in Isaiah 13 and 14, where men cast their silver and gold gods to the moles and bats when they realize their idols cannot help. Just as the children of Israel, when judged by Babylon, recognized their idolatry could not save them, so the Moabites turn to their gods and find no help.

God's Judgment Comes Quickly

Verses 13-14: "This is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning Moab since that time. But now the Lord has spoken, saying, 'Within three years, as the years of a hired man, the glory of Moab will be despised... and the remnant will be very small and feeble.'" For a long time God had said He would judge Moab, but within three years it comes to pass. God's judgment moves quickly — that is why it is often called the day of the Lord's wrath. Jesus said the same in Matthew 24: when the signs of the end begin to come, "this generation will not pass till all is fulfilled."

The Burden of Damascus

Isaiah 17:1: "The burden against Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap." Damascus, capital of Syria, is the oldest continually inhabited city in the world. This last Saturday I had the privilege of sitting with a pastor from Damascus whose church is just blocks from the street called Straight — the very street where Saul of Tarsus stayed after his conversion (Acts 9).

This prophecy has never been fulfilled. Damascus has been sacked, attacked, and besieged — the Assyrians nearly destroyed it — but it has never been a ruinous heap, never become uninhabited. So Isaiah 17:1 is a prophecy yet to come, and I believe it may be one of the next to be fulfilled.

Consider the Middle East today. In the early 1990s, during the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein fired scud missiles at Jerusalem, and Israel's first-strike option became Baghdad — likely meaning nuclear weapons, which Israel is assumed to possess. But about eight years ago Saddam was removed, and Baghdad is no longer the issue. Now Israel's first-strike option is Damascus, Syria.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran has been seeking to enrich uranium to weapons grade and has made clear he wants to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Israel has made it clear it intends to stop Iran, and in recent months has appeared to approach the point of attacking. Syria, one of Iran's closest allies, has said it will respond if Israel attacks Iran — and Israel has made clear that if Syria responds, it will first strike Damascus. We could very possibly see Isaiah 17:1 come to pass very soon, when Damascus becomes a ruinous heap.

Syria and the Fall of Ephraim

While Isaiah 17:1 has its ultimate fulfillment in the last days, the chapter was primarily fulfilled when the Assyrians destroyed Syria. The names can become confusing — Syrians, Assyrians, Israel, Ephraim, Judah — so follow carefully. In Isaiah 7 the northern ten tribes, allied with Syria, attacked Judah, and God promised Ahaz He would protect Jerusalem and destroy both. In Isaiah 10 He named the nation He would use: the Assyrians. So Isaiah 17 describes that judgment in the 8th century B.C.

Verse 2: "The cities of Aroer are forsaken." Verse 3: "The fortress also will cease from Ephraim." Here is a vital application: it matters greatly whom you make covenants and partnerships with. Paul tells us not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6) — primarily in marriage, but the principle applies to business and alliances. "Bad company corrupts good morals" (1 Corinthians 15:33). The northern ten tribes yoked themselves to Syria, and when Syria was destroyed, that destruction flowed down upon them.

Verse 4: "The glory of Jacob will be made thin." Verses 5-6 picture the completeness of judgment: like a harvester gathering the grain, leaving the field bare the next day; like the shaking of an olive tree, leaving only two or three berries on the topmost branch, four or five on the outermost.

A Purified Remnant

Yet even here, God's punishment is for purification. Verse 7: "In that day a man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel." Verse 8: "He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands; nor... the wooden images or the incense altars." When God judges His people, He removes their idolatry. The remnant left over will look to their Maker and no longer to the work of their fingers, nor to the groves where they worshiped Asherah.

Verse 10: "Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not been mindful of the Rock of your strength, therefore you will plant pleasant plants" — in foreign lands. That is exactly what happened: the Assyrians had a relocation policy, taking captives and resettling them throughout their empire. We will see this again when their commander tells Jerusalem to make a treaty and go home, only to be taken later to "a land like your own." Verse 11: the plants will yield nothing — all their labor in vain, just as Amos warned of gathering into a bag with holes, because they did not seek the Lord.

Woe to the Assyrians

Verses 12-14 turn to the Assyrians themselves: "Woe to the multitude of many people who make a noise like the seas... God will rebuke them, and they will flee far off, and be chased... at evening, behold, terror! Before the morning, he is no more." The Assyrians would destroy Syria and the northern tribes, but they too would be destroyed — in one night, as we see in Isaiah 37, when the people went to sleep outside Jerusalem and were dead before morning. God will judge the destroyer as well.

Today Is the Day of Salvation

So in these chapters God judges Moab for pride, idolatry, and laziness; declares the coming ruin of Damascus, not yet fully fulfilled; and uses the Assyrians to judge Syria and Ephraim — yet preserves a small, purified remnant who at last look to their Maker. Then He judges the Assyrians too.

Isaiah 13 through 23 is the judgment and wrath of God, the day of the Lord. Each burden is a minor day of the Lord, all leading to that great and terrible day in Isaiah 24. The lesson is this: the judgment of God will come, it will come with speed, and when it comes it will be too late to repent — for today is the day of salvation.

May we learn from these nations destroyed for their idolatry, arrogance, pride, and laziness. We in February 2010 are also in a nation filled with idolatry, idleness, pride, and haughtiness, and the Scriptures declare judgment will come. We who are the children of God have a ministry: to go into this world and proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light, because there is an opportunity to find refuge from the coming destruction — and that refuge is found only in Christ.

Closing Prayer

Father, I thank You for Your word. I pray that this week You would cause us to consider and meditate upon these things. As we've gone through these three chapters tonight, stir our hearts to investigate them more fully tomorrow and the next day. Make us like the Bereans who searched the Scriptures to see if these things were so. Help us recognize, as Paul prayed for the Thessalonians, that this is Your word — not man's opinion or wisdom, but Your word given that we might know You, the only true God. Give us boldness by Your Holy Spirit to be witnesses in this dark world. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.