The Book Of Isaiah. Day 69, Moab Crushed, Part Four

The nation of Moab is being urged to turn back to the Lord and to appeal to Judah's king for help, bringing him tribute and asking for refuge from their enemy, Assyria. The king currently on the throne is Hezekiah but this next passage is believed by many scholars to be a reference to both King Hezekiah and to the Messiah.

"The oppressor will come to an end, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the land. In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it---one from the house of David---one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness." (Isaiah 16:4b-5)

In Isaiah's day the oppressor was the Assyrian Empire. The northern kingdom of Israel would fall to Assyria and the Assyrians would repeatedly raid the land of Judah and would seek to cause the fall of Jerusalem itself, only the Lord will not allow Jerusalem to fall to the enemy. If the Moabites had brought to King Hezekiah the tribute as they were assessed by King David and by succeeding kings, and if they had asked Hezekiah for mercy and refuge, Hezekiah would have accepted their gift and would have granted them asylum. This would have spared the refugeeing Moabites from the Assyrian army since the Lord is going to miraculously spare Jerusalem from the Assyrian army. In time the Assyrians would cease to be a threat at all: "the aggressor" would vanish, overthrown by a newer and more powerful empire. 

When King Hezekiah ascended to the throne upon the death of his father Ahaz, he got rid of his father's idols and reestablished the proper religious practices in the land. He had a heart for the Lord and wanted to do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, so we find Isaiah crediting him with faithfulness and justice. Because Hezekiah strove to do what was right, the Lord established his throne for many years and protected Jerusalem from the invader.

In a much broader sense our text above refers to the King of kings whose throne will be established forever. Like Hezekiah, He will be of the house (the lineage) of David. He will be faithful always. His judgments will be righteous. "The aggressor"---all those who have ever hated the Lord's people---will be seen and heard no more; war will cease to exist and all those who have placed their trust in the Lord will live in peace under His rule forever and ever. 

If the Moabites had turned to King Hezekiah for help, they could have been spared from the wrath of the Assyrians. And if they had turned to the Lord for help, they would have been spared from the wrath of the Lord who is going to judge them for their idolatry and for their other wicked modes of living. But they don't do either of these things and in the remainder of Chapter 16 we will find Isaiah's words painting a picture of woe for the nation of Moab.