In our study of the first half of this chapter we found Isaiah foretelling a time of distress for the Moabites. We know now, from history, that they were invaded by and then subjugated by the Assyrian Empire and then later, when the Neo-Babylonian Empire rose to great power and conquered Assyria, the Babylonians thoroughly conquered Moab as well, at which point they ceased to be known as a separate and distinct people.
It was customary for many ancient conquerors to deport all but the poorest citizens from a region they conquered; Babylon was no exception to this practice. Anyone who escaped invasion and capture fled to other lands where they eventually integrated into other societies. The land of Moab was later resettled by the Nabateans, who were conquered after the Roman Empire came to power and the land was annexed for Rome. There is no distinct group in the world today known as the Moabites and there is no nation known as the land of Moab, just as Isaiah foretold.
Although the Moabites had long wished to see an end made of the descendants of Jacob and although they coveted the land of the tribes of Israel, Isaiah is saddened by what is going to happen to them. I believe what Isaiah says next is coming not only from his own heart but from the Lord's heart: "My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath Shelishiyah. They go up the hill to Luhith, weeping as they go; on the road to Horonaim they lament their destruction." (Isaiah 15:5)
The Lord must judge sin because He is righteous but that does not mean He enjoys having to judge sin. Just as a good parent prefers his child to be obedient rather than having to correct deliberately wayward behavior, the Lord wants people to be obedient rather than having to judge people's willful disobedience. Like any good parent, the Lord would rather be able to reward than to discipline. As the Apostle Peter stated, the Lord doesn't want anyone to perish but wants everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9b)
Verse 5 of our current chapter describes the horror and grief of those who will flee from their invaders. But escaping from the enemy doesn't mean they are escaping from judgment. They still won't repent even in the face of the calamities that have befallen them. They still won't renounce their false gods and repent of their wickedness. That is why they will be met with trouble after trouble. To quote the Lord's own words from later in the book of Isaiah: "'There is no peace,' says my God, 'for the wicked.'" (Isaiah 57:21)
The Moabites who escape battle or capture will be met with other problems. "The waters of Nimrim are dried up and the grass is withered; the vegetation is gone and nothing green is left. So the wealth they have acquired and stored up they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars. Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab; their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim, their lamentation as far as Beer Elim. The waters of Dimon are full of blood but I will bring still more upon Dimon---a lion upon the fugitives of Moab and upon those who remain in the land." (Isaiah 15:6-9)
The Lord has much more to say about Moab when we move on to Chapter 16 but we must keep in mind that He confronts people with sin because He wants to save them from sin. He's issuing a warning about what will happen to Moab if the people don't turn away from their wickedness. What He wants is for them to repent but at the same time He knows that all or most of them will not. The Moabites were related to the Israelites through Abraham's nephew Lot and because of that relationship the Lord instructed the Israelites not to attack the Moabites or try to take any of their land. Yet the Moabites didn't treat the Israelites with this same respect; they wanted to see the Israelites destroyed. The Lord's heart broke at the thought of having to judge Moab for its people's idolatry, its people's sexual immorality, its people's lawlessness, and its people's hatred of the Jews. But He had to judge them because He would not be a righteous and holy God if He turned a blind eye to sin. He would not be a God worthy of worship if He did not stand up for those who are His and punish those who do His children wrong.
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