A Prophecy Against Moab
1 An oracle concerning Moab:
Ar in Moab is ruined,
destroyed in a night!
Kir in Moab is ruined,
destroyed in a night!
2 Dibon goes up to its temple,
to its high places to weep;
Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba.
Every head is shaved
and every beard cut off.
3 In the streets they wear sackcloth;
on the roofs and in the public squares
they all wail,
prostrate with weeping.
4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out,
their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
and their hearts are faint.
5 My heart cries out over Moab;
her fugitives flee as far as Zoar,
as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the way to Luhith,
weeping as they go;
on the road to Horonaim
they lament their destruction.
6 The waters of Nimrim are dried up
and the grass is withered;
the vegetation is gone
and nothing green is left.
7 So the wealth they have acquired and stored up
they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.
8 Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;
their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,
their lamentation as far as Beer Elim.
9 Dimon’s waters 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.
My Understanding: Moab was under the judgment of God. The enemy had swept across the land and had left a trail of death and destruction, so the people were wailing over their losses. The capital city of Moab went up to its temple, to its high places to weep and to wail over the loss of property and human lives. These high places were religious centers for the worship of false gods (their idols). So, the people of the capital city or those united with the government of the land were calling upon their false gods to save them. They shaved their heads and cut off their beards as a sign of mourning and of humiliation. They cried out in their pain and suffering and their hearts were faint.
Even Isaiah’s heart cried out over Moab. I am certain he cried out to Almighty God because of the pain and the suffering of the people. And I am certain he wept, as well, over the sin of the people that brought such destruction upon them, and many of whom were still going to their idol shrines to weep, instead of turning God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit), the Amen, the Alpha and Omega, the one true God. Oh, how Isaiah’s heart must have ached to see how many of them were still following after their idols and were calling out to false gods (gods of men; man-made idols; the government, etc.) to save them, instead of calling out to their heavenly Father to deliver them from the grave.
God’s act of judgment on this nation was thus not finished. The capital city was full of blood, yet God was to bring still more upon Dimon – a lion upon the fugitives of Moab and upon those who remain in the land.
The Bible teaches us in Revelation 3 that God loves us so much that he loves us like a loving parent in that he disciplines and brings the rod of correction against his own people to either bring them back to God in a right relationship with Jesus Christ and/or to make them holy, fit for his service; to mature them and to make them more like Jesus, conformed into his likeness; to humble them; and to mold and make them according to his will. In God’s love, grace, kindness and mercy, if we continue on a path to destruction and if we refuse to repent and to follow the only true God, God will discipline us with a divine dose of judgment, because he is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. All we have to do is to read the letters to the seven churches in Asia as recorded in the book of Revelation to see that God warns of judgment to his church, and that he will carry it out if we do not repent and return to our first love, Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ, God’s Son, and God the Son, left heaven, came to earth, took upon himself human flesh, suffered as we suffer, was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin, was rejected, despised, forsaken, denied, betrayed, beaten and then crucified on a cruel cross though he had done no wrong. No deceit was found in his mouth. He was without sin, our perfect Lamb sacrifice for the sins of the world. When he died on that cross, our sins died with him. When he was buried, our sins were buried with him. When he was resurrected back to life, our sins remained in the grave, for he had conquered death, hell, Satan and sin for you and for me, so that we could go free from the ultimate penalty of sin (eternal damnation) and so we could go free from the control of sin over our day-to-day lives. Only by his grace and through faith (repentance and obedience) in Jesus Christ and in what he did for us on the cross will we know him and will we live with him forever. Make sure today, if you have not done so before, that you truly know him, because if you do not, you will live without him forever in eternal punishment and in eternal separation from God.
His Favor / An Original Work / April 18, 2011
Behold your King!
Worship the Lord, He’s the great I AM; the perfect Lamb.
Jesus, our Redeemer, our Savior, sustainer,
The heavens declare!
The risen One;
He gave His life as a sacrifice. He paid the price.
Our blessed provider, our Lord, magnify Him,
For He’s God’s Son!
Our God is King.
He reigns forever in majesty. He set us free.
Without Him forever, we won’t know his favor,
In victory!
Song Lyrics @ Public Domain
Audio, song lyrics and sheet music at:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs/home/songs/his-favor
Song on video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2Jq_hHH_QU
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