The Moabites were related to the Israelites through Abraham's nephew Lot. Lot had two sons: Moab and Ben-Ammi. Lot's two sons were the fathers of the Moabites and the Ammonites. But their close relationship to Abraham doesn't mean that they wanted to be friendly with the Israelites. The Moabites and Ammonites forsook the God of Abraham and became idolaters instead. They harbored enmity against God and enmity against the tribes of Israel.
When we studied the book of Numbers we learned that, in an attempt to get God to turn His back on the tribes of Israel, the Moabites hatched a plot to entice the men of Israel to commit idolatry and sexual immorality with the women of Moab and Midian. Also in the book of Numbers, we found King Balak of Moab hiring the prophet Balaam to curse the people of Israel for him. Balaam (who had strayed from his faith and who was willing to turn against his own people for money) tried to fulfill this commission but was unable to do anything but bless Israel.
In the book of Judges, King Eglon of Moab allied himself with the Ammonites and Amalekites to come out in battle against Israel, gaining enough control in the land of Israel to force Israel to pay him tribute for eighteen years. These are just a few examples of how time and time again the Moabites troubled the people of Israel, lusting for the land the Lord granted to Israel, hating the people of Israel and hating Israel's God. But a day of judgment is coming for Moab, just as it is coming for Assyria and Babylon.
"A prophecy against Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Dibon goes up to its temple, to its high places to weep; Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba." (Isaiah 15:1-2a) Much of the territory that will be mentioned in our chapter was originally part of Israel when the Israelites first entered Canaan and began taking over the land, but over time the Moabites took these regions from Israel. One or more of the kings of Assyria will take these regions from Moab. An exact date for these happenings is not known and it is not known whether "destroyed in a night" is intended to be taken literally or whether it means it happened very quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if the walls of Ar and Kir actually were breached in only one night, though invasion and siege might have lasted for some time before.
What follows next is a picture of great distress, grief, and shame. "Every head is shaved and every beard cut off. In the streets they wear sackcloth; on the roofs and in the public squares they all wail, prostrate with weeping. Heshbon and Elealah cry out, their voices heard all the way to Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out, and their hearts are faint." (Isaiah 15:2b-4)
The wailing and the sackcloth indicate their grief and horror at what has happened. Having every head and beard shaved may be something the enemy has done. It was common for conquerors to humiliate the conquered in this fashion. However, it may be that the Moabite men did this to themselves as an expression of grief. This was not typically a custom of Israelite males, for to have one's beard shaved was considered a humiliation. If you have time, you can visit 2 Samuel 10 for an example of this when King Hanun of the Ammonites ordered the heads and beards of David's envoys shaved halfway off. Scripture tells us that the men were humiliated, which was King Hanun's intent, and to spare them further humiliation David had them housed in privacy in Jericho until the hair grew back so they would not have to return home and be seen with half their heads and faces shaved. But we don't know whether it was customary for Moabite males to shave their own hair off as a sign of distress or whether the Assyrians shaved them in order to humiliate them.
Why will the Moabites undergo defeat and humiliation? Because they scorned the one and only God and because they persecuted God's people Israel. Nothing good can come from rejecting the Lord. Nothing good can come from hating people who love the Lord. In our next study session we will look at more of the things that the Moabites have brought upon themselves by their sin and idolatry.
No comments:
Post a Comment