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1:01

very much For doing it Chad

1:03

we're here in Isaiah chapter 15.

1:05

This is an oracle concerning Moab.

1:07

We got through the first four

1:10

verses and this one's a little

1:12

bit weird because it seems that

1:14

bad things are going to be

1:16

happening to Moab and that God

1:18

is bummed out about it so

1:20

you almost have this this language

1:22

you know like when Jesus does

1:24

the the seven woes in Matthew

1:26

23 like and he does this

1:28

he's just ripping up the Pharisees

1:31

left I mean it's just brutal

1:33

it's just a savage takedown and

1:35

at the very end of that

1:37

he says Jerusalem Jerusalem how

1:40

long I would have desired to

1:42

gather you under my wings and gathers

1:44

her chicks but you would not

1:46

and he moves from this sort

1:48

of like declaration of like just

1:50

ferocious judgment to this sort of

1:52

heartbrokenness I mean the lament over

1:54

Jerusalem isn't done in anger but

1:57

in an heartbreak and you have

1:59

some of that going on here

2:01

like where it's like hey this

2:03

is bad news and and I'm

2:05

kind of upset about it yeah

2:07

well that I think it puts

2:09

in a perspective that God's judgment

2:11

is not spoken out of some

2:13

sort of vindictiveness that he's just

2:15

real angry and wants to let

2:18

them know you know he's got

2:20

the big stick he's about to

2:22

bash their brains in just because

2:24

yeah That's just what God does.

2:26

Now everything that he's speaking here

2:28

is spoken out of a, yes,

2:30

concern for truth and justice, but

2:32

also genuine love, you know, that

2:34

what he really wants is for

2:37

them to repent, for them to

2:39

turn to him, for them to

2:41

be as he'll say in, I

2:43

don't know, the next chap or

2:45

something like that. He wants him

2:47

to be brought under the care

2:49

of the promises he's given to

2:51

the Davidic dynasty. So yeah, when

2:53

he, as we'll see in a

2:55

second, when his heart cries out,

2:58

this is, I mean, talk about

3:00

a clear win into the heart

3:02

of God, a heart that laments

3:04

while at the same time, pronouncing,

3:06

pronouncing a judgment. I mean, I

3:08

think on the human level, we've

3:10

all experienced this, you know, we

3:12

have to tell someone something that

3:14

is a really hard thing to

3:17

say, somebody we actually care about,

3:19

you know, and it truly breaks

3:21

our heart to say that to

3:23

them. We are lamentingentinging. But at

3:25

the same time it has to

3:27

be said because if we don't

3:29

do it, then not doing it

3:31

would not be a sign of

3:33

love. So I just take that

3:36

humid experience we all have and

3:38

translate it into what God has

3:40

to do as well. Yeah. So

3:42

all right. So. Just kind of

3:44

recap for those who maybe it's

3:46

been a few days since you

3:48

heard the first part of this

3:50

We got a lot of place

3:52

places are cured to bone Nebo

3:55

Heshpoth and Don't worry about all

3:57

of those. These are various places

3:59

that are in Moab reminded that

4:01

Moab is on the eastern side

4:03

died of the dead sea. So

4:05

that's the trans-jordinary that we're talking

4:07

about. So after he's spoken these

4:09

first four verses, he goes on

4:11

to say, verse five, my heart

4:13

cries out from Moap. Her fugitives

4:16

flee to Zor, to Eglath, Shalishia,

4:18

for at the ascent of Luhith,

4:20

they go up weeping on the

4:22

road to Huronayam, they raise a

4:24

cry of destruction. The waters of

4:26

Nimrim are desolation, the grass is

4:28

withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery

4:30

is no more. So stop there

4:32

for a second. So this is

4:35

more place names, some of these

4:37

we've heard of, like Zor, we've

4:39

heard about that, all the way

4:41

back in, like Genesis, you hear

4:43

about the five cities on the

4:45

plane, so Zor is mentioned there

4:47

and... Aglath Shalishya is just one

4:49

that we haven't heard about. It's

4:51

going to be mentioned elsewhere in

4:54

scripture, but means something like three-year-old

4:56

Heffer or something like that. But

4:58

all these are just place names

5:00

that are, that would have been

5:02

known at the time, certainly would

5:04

have been known to the Moabites,

5:06

probably known to all the Israelites

5:08

as well, which he is concretizing

5:10

exactly what's going to happen. So

5:13

you know that place, well that

5:15

assent of Luith, they're going to

5:17

be weeping there. And you know

5:19

that place called Who and I

5:21

am? Well, they're going to be

5:23

on that road and raising a

5:25

cry of destruction. I mean, these

5:27

are a weird town of names

5:29

to us, but you know, if

5:32

you and I were talking about

5:34

towns in Arkansas or towns in

5:36

Texas and just started listing them

5:38

off, you'd be like, oh yeah,

5:40

of course, I know. I don't

5:42

need a map. I know exactly

5:44

where those are. Same thing happening

5:46

here. And I mean, the overall

5:48

tenor of this entire section is

5:50

basically where there was... Life there's

5:53

death where there's once was greenery

5:55

now. There's desolation It's because of

5:57

everything that's about to about to

5:59

befall them Then he goes on

6:01

from a seven to say therefore

6:03

the abundance they have gained and

6:05

what they have laid up they

6:07

carry away over the brook of

6:09

the willows this kind of the

6:12

image of fugitives refugees which of

6:14

course are those who suffer the

6:16

most during war they've gathered up

6:18

everything they put in everything they

6:20

can carry just imagine this imagine

6:22

somebody comes running to your house

6:24

knocks on the door and says

6:26

hey you got just a few

6:28

minutes to get out of here

6:31

before the enemy shows up and

6:33

they're going to kill you or

6:35

take you into captivity or rape

6:37

your wives, they're going to burn

6:39

your house down, so grab what

6:41

you can and get out. That's

6:43

kind of the image here. You

6:45

grab what you can and then

6:47

you take off. Why? For a

6:50

cry has gone up around the

6:52

land of Moab. Her wailing reaches

6:54

to Eglayam, her wailing reaches to

6:56

Beir Elim. For the waters of

6:58

Deb are full of blood, for

7:00

I will bring upon Debone even

7:02

more, a lion. for those of

7:04

Moab who escape for the remnant

7:06

of the land. So I don't

7:09

know, there's really much else that

7:11

I have to say about this.

7:13

You get the general message that

7:15

everywhere they look there is violence,

7:17

there's threat, there's cries, there's going

7:19

to go up, and all of

7:21

this of course is because of

7:23

the becoming Assyrian invasion, which is

7:25

going to... decimate not just Moab

7:27

of course but this entire region

7:30

of Israel and then around Israel

7:32

yeah it sounds pretty horrific and

7:34

this sort of you get this

7:36

language of like you should get

7:38

all your stuff and escape even

7:40

though there's nowhere to escape to

7:42

right this is like you're not

7:44

really gonna it's not gonna really

7:46

result in your in your salvation

7:49

or anything and And it is

7:51

weird because it is Moab. Like

7:53

this is something that you might

7:55

like expect to hear about, I

7:57

don't know, like Jerusalem. You know,

7:59

some other place, but I don't

8:01

know if this is exactly right,

8:03

but if you think about what

8:05

is God ultimately talking about, well,

8:08

so far through this, that he's

8:10

going to use these other powers,

8:12

he's going to kind of take

8:14

his hand off, let them do

8:16

the evil thing that's in their

8:18

heart, which is invade Israel, which,

8:20

you know, they don't really care

8:22

that much about Israel, Israel is

8:24

not any bigger deal than anything

8:27

else to them, but it's one

8:29

of the things that they're in

8:31

their way, right. And God's going

8:33

to let him do it because

8:35

the people have rejected him, the

8:37

people have spurned him, so he

8:39

is no longer going to hold

8:41

back the tide of these foreign

8:43

powers. And it could be that

8:46

sort of Moab or like surrounding

8:48

areas of Israel are like sort

8:50

of beneficiaries of God protecting Israel.

8:52

So when God... you know, is

8:54

holding back the tide. Well, maybe

8:56

there's this place he doesn't want

8:58

to get to, but kind of

9:00

everything around there benefits from this

9:02

as well, right? Well, it's not

9:04

because of this, necessarily because of

9:07

the sin of Moab, who are

9:09

no doubt sinners and stuff, but

9:11

it's the sin of his people,

9:13

they're idolatry, that's going to make

9:15

him remove his hand, and Moab

9:17

is going to be swept up

9:19

in this too. And God feels

9:21

that that is unfortunate, right? So

9:23

like, hey, this is, there's almost,

9:26

again, I don't want to say

9:28

that Moab is some innocent place,

9:30

but there is a version of

9:32

collateral damage that seems like that

9:34

may happen here. Yeah, I think

9:36

so. And it's kind of both

9:38

sides, right? Israel. can because of

9:40

their sin bring collateral damage to

9:42

their neighbors at the same time

9:45

they can also bring you might

9:47

yeah maybe collateral blessing isn't the

9:49

best word but that was that's

9:51

the goal you know you want

9:53

to like God says to Abraham

9:55

he says it to Jacob as

9:57

well that in you all the

9:59

families of the earth will be

10:01

blessed and of course included in

10:04

that would be the the moebites

10:06

and edemites and other surrounding nations.

10:08

So that's the goal, Israel, to

10:10

be a blessing to these nations.

10:12

And yet what's happening is there

10:14

actually, because of their rebellion, they're

10:16

bringing the enemy onto the soil

10:18

of their neighbors, neighbors as well.

10:20

One little detail I'll mention here

10:22

that's kind of fun. So at

10:25

the very end of that he

10:27

says, a lion for those of

10:29

Moab who escaped for the remnant

10:31

of the land. So meaning that,

10:33

you know. As if it's not

10:35

bad enough, when you're running away,

10:37

you gotta worry about lions too.

10:39

It's like, oh, great, you know.

10:41

Well, this is kind of what

10:44

I meant, like, what else is

10:46

going to go wrong? Bad things

10:48

are happening, grab all your stuff

10:50

and get out of your house.

10:52

There's gonna be lions out there,

10:54

by the way, though. And just

10:56

so you know, yeah. So what's

10:58

kind of a, what's interesting is

11:00

that in a couple of places,

11:03

there's like First Chronicles, 1122, there's

11:05

mention of the the aerials of

11:07

Moab that's A-R-I-E-L-S and that means

11:09

the lions in Moab but it's

11:11

used as like a it's like

11:13

a military nickname for their elite

11:15

warriors so yeah call the lions

11:17

and Moab meaning you know the

11:19

the special forces we might say

11:22

so the the irony here is

11:24

that oh you've got special forces

11:26

you have the lion-like soldiers in

11:28

Moab and yet in this case

11:30

those refugees of Moab who are

11:32

fleeing they have to worry about

11:34

real lions because they're a lion

11:36

like their aerials who are their

11:38

warriors well either they are no

11:41

more or as I think we

11:43

heard last time they're trembling or

11:45

maybe that was another country but

11:47

either way they're not there to

11:49

help the people because they're busy

11:51

being defeated or fighting the the

11:53

Assyrians. All right so We're entering

11:55

into a new chapter, but it's

11:57

not much of a not much

11:59

of a change in tone. This

12:02

is still a continuation. of the

12:04

Oracle concerning Moab were just shifting

12:06

into chapter 16. So here we

12:08

read, begin with verse one, send

12:10

the lamb to the ruler of

12:12

the land from Ceyla. That could

12:14

be Petra by the way. I

12:16

think we're all familiar with Petra,

12:18

that rock fortress that's featured in

12:21

Indiana Jones. That rock, that rock

12:23

band that was featured heavily in

12:25

the late 80s. That was the

12:27

first Christian rock man I ever

12:29

listened to. It was Petra. Yeah.

12:31

Petra means rock. I think that

12:34

was the name of the first

12:36

Petra album was just Petra means

12:38

rock. I was alright. It's too

12:40

great. Yeah. Yeah, but I was,

12:42

was I in high school still?

12:44

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I was

12:47

like a senior in high school

12:49

when I was introduced to Petra

12:51

by a friend of mine. So

12:53

I rocked to several Petra albums

12:55

back in the back of the

12:57

day. It's appropriately named album and

13:00

no lies detected in Petra means

13:02

rock. Yes, it's true. Passes the

13:04

fact check there. So that could

13:06

be what this SELA, SELA, is

13:08

referring to, because it does mean

13:10

rock, and it's kind of in

13:13

that general vicinity of where the

13:15

ancient city of Petra is located.

13:17

But anyway, send the lamb to

13:19

the ruler of the land from

13:21

SELA by way of the desert

13:23

to the mount of the daughter

13:26

of Zion. All right. So what

13:28

seems to be happening here is

13:30

that the Moabites are going to

13:32

take this tribute, which is a

13:34

lamb, and we know from some

13:37

other context in particular from Second

13:39

Kings 3, that the Moabite tribute

13:41

was lamps. So maybe there's, you

13:43

know, a lot of shepherding going

13:45

on in the area Moab. So

13:47

they're going to get this lamb,

13:50

probably, you know, a representative tribute,

13:52

a promise of more to come.

13:54

So grab a lamb. and send

13:56

this tribute. from Salem, by way

13:58

of the desert. Where? Well, to

14:00

the people of Jerusalem, to the

14:03

mount of the daughter resigned. So

14:05

basically the Moabats are going to

14:07

be looking to Jerusalem, to Judah,

14:09

for protection, saying, hey, you know,

14:11

we got a lamb here. We

14:13

can bring a lot more if

14:16

you'll take us in. And then

14:18

it goes on in verse two

14:20

to say, like fleeing birds, like

14:22

a scattered nest. So are the

14:24

daughters of Moab. at the Fords

14:26

of the Arnon. The Fords of

14:29

the Arnon, I got interested in

14:31

this. I think this was a

14:33

week or two ago. I went

14:35

on Google Earth just to check

14:37

out the Fords of the Arnon,

14:39

which is a pretty cool thing

14:42

to do because the Fords of

14:44

the Arnon is where the Arnon

14:46

flows into the dead sea. And

14:48

if you do, if you get

14:50

on Google Earth and you're like

14:52

following it along, man, the landscape

14:55

just... plummets there. So the Arnon

14:57

River Canyon is the deepest gorge

14:59

in modern Jordan and enters a

15:01

dead sea at like 13, 150

15:03

feet below sea level. And if

15:05

you're like following along, you can

15:08

see how people, you know, if

15:10

they're fleeing, yeah, they're doing okay.

15:12

They're up and down. Then they

15:14

get to this Arnon, the forads,

15:16

the Arnon, it's like, how in

15:18

the world are you going to

15:21

get down there? And if you

15:23

do get down there, how the

15:25

world are you going to get

15:27

out? Yeah. So it's like one

15:29

of these, we, you know, not

15:32

just we, me, I hear this

15:34

before and I think, yeah, yeah,

15:36

the Ford, the Arnon. Well, imagine

15:38

like, okay, you're going along, you're

15:40

running away, and you see this

15:42

massive cliff drop. You got to

15:45

get across that. You got to

15:47

cross the river, and you got

15:49

to go way back up in

15:51

order to get away from the

15:53

enemy from the enemy. So that's

15:55

the image that's used here. Isn't

15:58

it kind of interesting that these...

16:00

Mobites that they need to escape

16:02

some lions so they need to

16:04

bring a lamb to Zion. Yes,

16:06

it is. That is a pretty

16:08

deep irony that's going on. Yeah,

16:11

it is interesting that you have

16:13

a chapter right there but like

16:15

one chapter ends with lions and

16:17

the next chapter starts with bring

16:19

that lamb to Zion if you're

16:21

gonna if you're gonna have anything

16:24

good happen. Yeah, that's perfect. Perfect.

16:26

What seems to be going on

16:28

here and this is a bit

16:30

of speculation because this is all

16:32

kind of packed tight here, but

16:34

They're they're sending a tribute. Here's

16:37

a description of what they're what's

16:39

happening to them. They're like birds

16:41

Who are scattered and then verse

16:43

three which says give counsel grant

16:45

justice make your shade like night

16:47

at the height of noon shelter

16:50

the outcaste do not reveal the

16:52

fugitive this seems to be like

16:54

the speech that these envoys are

16:56

going to be given at Jerusalem.

16:58

Okay, we need some counsel, we've

17:00

got to have justice, give us

17:03

some shade, because we're living at

17:05

the height of noon, the heat

17:07

of the Assyrians is pressing down

17:09

upon us, and so shelter us,

17:11

and don't reveal that we're hiding

17:13

among you, the refugitives. So that's

17:16

the first three. Isaiah, as it

17:18

were, giving counsel to the leaders

17:20

of Jerusalem, saying, okay, when this

17:22

happens, here's what I think you

17:24

should do. Let the outcast a

17:26

Moab sojourn among you. Be a

17:29

shelter to them from the destroyer.

17:31

When the oppressor is no more,

17:33

and destruction has ceased, and he

17:35

who tramples underfoot has vanished from

17:37

the land, so once the Assyrian

17:40

thread is over, what's going to

17:42

happen? will be established in steadfast

17:44

love. And on it will sit

17:46

and face in the tent of

17:48

David, one who judges and seeks

17:50

justice, and is swift to do

17:53

righteousness. I love how Isaiah can

17:55

go from describing what appears to

17:57

be an imminent threat to the

17:59

Moabites. Listen, the Assyrians are coming.

18:01

They're going to decimate your land.

18:03

Your people are going to run

18:06

away. They've got to worry about

18:08

lions. Their women are like fleeing

18:10

birds. They're going to come, they're

18:12

going to seek refuge among the

18:14

people of Jerusalem. All this is

18:16

like right on the horizon. And

18:19

then he'll say, you know what,

18:21

bring him in, because guess what's

18:23

going to happen? There's going to

18:25

be a divitic throne established in

18:27

faithfulness. And the one who sits

18:29

on that throne is going to

18:32

come from the line of David.

18:34

And what's going to be characterized

18:36

by? Justice and righteousness, instead fast

18:38

love. So he jumps right to

18:40

the coming of the Messiah. saying,

18:42

hey, welcome the Moabites, right? Bring

18:45

them in, the more the merrier.

18:47

The promise of the Messiah isn't

18:49

just for the people of Israel,

18:51

of course, it's for the Moabites

18:53

and the Edomites and the Samaritans

18:55

and everybody else as well. So

18:58

kind of a cool switch that

19:00

he does there in verse five.

19:02

Yeah, one of the weird things

19:04

about this is like what it

19:06

goes to you next, because like

19:08

it seems like, all right, so

19:11

the boa' gonna flee. And then

19:13

it seems like Isaiah's like, hey,

19:15

go ahead and take them in,

19:17

let that be the right thing

19:19

to do. And you get this

19:21

nice promise about like a throne

19:24

being established, it seems like things

19:26

are good, and you're like, all

19:28

right, so maybe this works out

19:30

well for everyone. And in verse

19:32

six, he's like, yeah, you know

19:35

about the pride of these mobile

19:37

bites, and you're like, wait, what

19:39

is that? Yeah, it's almost like,

19:41

Isaiah says, here's what you should

19:43

do, and here's why you should

19:45

do it. But we all know

19:48

what's gonna happen. because we all

19:50

know these Moabites, right? What are

19:52

they characterized by? Well, that's what

19:54

verse six describes. We've all heard

19:56

of what, the pride of Moab,

19:58

how proud he is of his

20:01

arrogance, his pride, his insolence, his

20:03

idol boasting. He is not, in

20:05

his idol boasting, he is not

20:07

right. So it's like Isaiah is,

20:09

he's like got his Jerusalem thesaurus

20:11

open in front of him. He

20:14

looks up, okay, here's pride. So

20:16

I had to have a little

20:18

fun here with this in the

20:20

Hebrew because, so all four adjectives

20:22

that are translated there of pride,

20:24

proud, arrogance, pride, they all begin

20:27

with the same letter in Hebrew,

20:29

which is the equivalent of our

20:31

G, and they all have the

20:33

same root, which means to be

20:35

high. So it'd be something like

20:37

this. If I was trying to

20:40

rent, if I was, you know,

20:42

the Chadberg translation, trying to capture

20:44

the Hebrew here, it'd be something

20:46

like this. We have heard of

20:48

the haughtiness of Moab his hauteur

20:50

of his hubris and high-handedness That's

20:53

my attempt to capture this so

20:55

you got four ages just like

20:57

four G's and in Hebrew, but

20:59

I mean the the message is

21:01

pretty clear this these this Moab

21:03

well they got they got a

21:06

big problem and it all has

21:08

to do with how big their

21:10

head has become So what's gonna

21:12

happen over seven says therefore let

21:14

Moab wail for Moab let everyone

21:16

wail morn utterly stricken for the

21:19

raisin cakes of Keir Haraseth Those

21:21

raisin cakes yeah So that's a

21:23

good dessert back then the raisin

21:25

cake seems to be a delicacy

21:27

from what I was able to

21:30

read so the delicacies we might

21:32

say of Keir Haraseth Yeah, so

21:34

I mean so there's the way

21:36

to read this that he says

21:38

hey take these mo bites in

21:40

but their land's not going to

21:43

really be... So you have this

21:45

sort of Moab whales for Moab

21:47

that all, whatever it is that

21:49

they're proud of over there, that's

21:51

all going to be removed and

21:53

laid to waste. But that doesn't

21:56

stop you from taking into Sojourner?

21:58

Yeah, I think so. I mean,

22:00

if anyone shows up, we'll bring

22:02

them in for sure. Don't turn

22:04

them away. Bringing them all bites

22:06

and let them basically sit. under

22:09

the promises that God has given

22:11

to David. But do know at

22:13

the same time that Moab is

22:15

proud. Proud of, well, some of

22:17

the things we're going to hear

22:19

about in just a second, you

22:22

know, they're fertile land where they

22:24

have vineyards and no doubt their

22:26

flocks and whatever possessions that they

22:28

have. I mean, I suppose every

22:30

nation has its own pride. I

22:32

mean, of course, except America, because

22:35

you never hear about pride. I

22:37

mean, I could be wrong here,

22:39

but I doubt there's a nation

22:41

on earth. We don't think we're

22:43

the best. No, I mean, perish

22:45

the thought that America thinks it's

22:48

the best. But I mean, speaking

22:50

as American, of course, we all

22:52

know about national pride. And I

22:54

doubt, I mean, I could be

22:56

wrong here, but I doubt there's

22:58

a nation in the world that

23:01

isn't proud of its nation for

23:03

something, you know, legitimately or illegitimately.

23:05

And Moab was no different. Israel

23:07

was no different. Judah was no

23:09

different. Egypt was no different. It's

23:11

been a constant issue throughout the

23:14

ages. So what's going to happen?

23:16

Well, he's going to pick it

23:18

up here with verse eight to

23:20

describe more of the destruction that's

23:22

going to come. And this is

23:25

agriculturally centered, heard a lot about

23:27

the people, what they're suffering. So

23:29

he's going to focus here on

23:31

what this destruction is going to

23:33

look like in terms of some

23:35

of the agriculture for the fields

23:38

of Heshban. language, the vine of

23:40

Sivma. So it's going to language

23:42

to the lords of the nations

23:44

have struck down its branches. this

23:46

was some sort of fertile country

23:48

where you had a lot of

23:51

vineyards. So these branches they reached

23:53

to Jayzer and strayed to the

23:55

desert. It shoots spread abroad and

23:57

passed over the sea. So some

23:59

hyperbole going on there just talking

24:01

about how how big and how

24:04

fruitful these vineyards are. Well they're

24:06

going to be cut down. They're

24:08

going to be destroyed. Then verse

24:10

9 picks up with where we

24:12

started off with divine limitation. Because

24:14

God says in verse nine, therefore

24:17

I, I, this is God speaking,

24:19

this is not Isaiah speaking, but

24:21

God speaking, therefore I weep with

24:23

a weeping of Jezer for the

24:25

vine of Sibma. I drenched you

24:27

with my tears, O Heshban and

24:30

Eliela, for over your summer fruit

24:32

and your harvest the shout has

24:34

ceased. And joy and gladness are

24:36

taken away from the fruitful field.

24:38

And in the vineyards, no songs

24:40

or songs, no cheers are raised,

24:43

no treads out wine in the

24:45

presses. I put an end to

24:47

the shouting. Therefore, my, again, this

24:49

is God still speaking, therefore my

24:51

inner parts moan like a liar

24:53

from Moab, and my inmost self

24:56

for Kier Haraseth. So once more

24:58

we have God's response to this,

25:00

he's not... He's not dancing around

25:02

a joyful, gleeful over the destruction

25:04

of the Moabites. Quite the opposite.

25:06

I don't know how we would

25:09

express this in English, but when

25:11

it says my inner parts moan

25:13

like a liar, it's like my,

25:15

in Hebrew, something like my intestines

25:17

are sighing from Moab like a

25:20

harp. The only thing I could

25:22

think of was like we talk

25:24

about, maybe not anymore, but like,

25:26

you know, plucking someone's heartstrings. But

25:28

that's a positive image. I don't

25:30

know what the negative image would

25:33

be in English, but that's that's

25:35

the idea that in the inner

25:37

most being of God, you have

25:39

this mournful music arising from the

25:41

core of his being. He's moaning

25:43

with this liar-like lamentation from Moab

25:46

as in most self for curious

25:48

horror stuff because of the destruction

25:50

coming. It was in the Old

25:52

Testament like that we think that

25:54

and you have some stuff like

25:56

love Lord your God with all

25:59

your heart and you're like okay.

26:01

And that doesn't sound weird, does

26:03

it all, because that's the kind

26:05

of language we use. The heart

26:07

is the seat of the emotions

26:09

for us. It's not really that

26:12

way, in the Old Testament, even

26:14

though you have references like that,

26:16

in the Old Testament, it's in

26:18

the Old Testament, it's like the

26:20

bowels, which, you know, is a

26:22

little bit different, like that doesn't

26:25

seem as nice, I mean, but

26:27

you know, that's just because we've...

26:29

you know elevated the heart but

26:31

I mean the heart is just

26:33

a big blood pumping muscle too

26:35

and there's those it's all the

26:38

same but yeah so with here

26:40

when you're just like when you're

26:42

really moved you're this is a

26:44

this talks this is talking about

26:46

your guts man and your bows

26:48

Yeah, or your kidneys. It kidneys

26:51

is another image they use for

26:53

that. Yeah, yeah, something like in

26:55

you like in that Stomach region.

26:57

It's more it's more stomach than

26:59

chest it seems Then in the

27:01

Old Testament, but one of the

27:04

things that when you when I

27:06

reach stuff like this or God's

27:08

like so upset and about this

27:10

and and he's talking about oh

27:12

man like There was these vineyards

27:15

and they were so awesome and

27:17

there was I used to have

27:19

all these like harvest parties and

27:21

there was like all this rejoicing

27:23

when it came time to do

27:25

all this stuff and you would

27:28

make all this wine and you'd

27:30

be stopping it out in the

27:32

wine press and like everyone be

27:34

shouting this stuff you know that

27:36

what you see by God being

27:38

so upset about the all that

27:41

stuff stopping is how much joy

27:43

God takes in those things and

27:45

so God really likes his creation

27:47

and So God thinks he made

27:49

a pretty good thing over there

27:51

in Moab. He thinks that those

27:54

vineyards are pretty impressive. They're pretty

27:56

great. And he created that land.

27:58

And he's the one that made

28:00

the soil good for growing vineyards

28:02

and that God enjoys when people.

28:04

rejoice over his creation. When he

28:07

sees people, God likes a party,

28:09

apparently. So when he sees the

28:11

people rejoice over the harvest, he

28:13

also takes joy in that, and

28:15

therefore is upset and broken-hearted when

28:17

those things come to an end,

28:20

that that won't be no more.

28:22

Because what it tells you is

28:24

that those things are objectively good.

28:26

Yeah. Don't you love how the...

28:28

the image of joy often in

28:30

scriptures is a party. Yeah, it's

28:33

like it's like a feast. Yeah,

28:35

there is no like, there is

28:37

no image of God as some

28:39

sort of pure technical deity who's,

28:41

you know, all concerned about being

28:43

somber and serious all the time.

28:46

There's a whole lot of partying

28:48

and feasting and having fun and

28:50

being joyful going on in the

28:52

script. It's almost like, it's almost

28:54

like, it's much more, you get

28:56

much more picture of God, I

28:59

don't know, like gathering up the

29:01

angels and be like check it,

29:03

like check it, like check it,

29:05

like, like, like, like, like, like,

29:07

like, They're celebrating out of the

29:09

harvest isn't it? Isn't that wonderful?

29:12

Look at how beautiful this is.

29:14

Like that's that's more the image

29:16

you get. Yeah, it turns out

29:18

God actually likes his creation. I

29:20

mean he he made it right

29:23

he made it to be this

29:25

way and so he he rejoices

29:27

over our rejoicing also. Yeah, and

29:29

it's not happy about seeing it

29:31

all like trampled and burnt down

29:33

and you know you think about

29:36

what a land looks like post

29:38

invasion and it's certainly not the

29:40

way that God designed it right

29:42

it's it's all it's all destruction

29:44

and and yeah that's God views

29:46

that as an evil. Yeah. All

29:49

right, so we're almost done here.

29:51

A couple more verses, finish this

29:53

out, verse 12. And when Moab

29:55

presents himself, when he wearies himself

29:57

on the high place, when he

29:59

comes to his sanctuary, to pray,

30:02

he will not prevail. This is

30:04

the word that the Lord spoke

30:06

concerning Moab in the past. But

30:08

now the Lord has spoken saying,

30:10

in three years. like the years

30:12

of a hired worker, the glory

30:15

of Moab will be brought into

30:17

contempt in spite of all his

30:19

great multitude, and those who remain

30:21

will be very few and feeble.

30:23

So verse 12 is accidentally the

30:25

fact that Moab can go up

30:28

to their own little worship sites,

30:30

you know, their high place, so

30:32

they can pray to their God,

30:34

but you know what's going to

30:36

happen? Nothing. They're not going to

30:38

prevail. Nothing's going to come of

30:41

this. They're going to the wrong

30:43

place. I mean... Isaiah says where

30:45

they should go, they should go

30:47

to Jerusalem. That's where they should

30:49

pray. In fact, when Solomon dedicated

30:51

the temple, he prayed that God

30:54

would hear the prayers of the

30:56

Gentiles, the non-Israelites who came to

30:58

the temple to pray. That's where

31:00

they belong. And then he adds

31:02

this conclusion these last couple of

31:04

verses about kind of a second

31:07

prophecy, maybe something that's going to

31:09

be more in the imminent future.

31:11

He says in three years. like

31:13

the years of a hired worker.

31:15

That seems to mean like, okay,

31:18

so if you're, if you're, if

31:20

you're a hired hand and you're

31:22

getting paid by the clock, you

31:24

know, we're gonna watch the clock.

31:26

This is not hypothetical for me.

31:28

Like I tell you what, man.

31:31

This is very true. I've had,

31:33

I've had many jobs that are

31:35

by the hour, like, you know,

31:37

a clock in clock out type

31:39

of thing. And. Yeah, man, you

31:41

know, you know, you know, it's

31:44

and that's all great, but anyone

31:46

who's ever Done that or is

31:48

still doing that knows that there

31:50

are some days where you're like

31:52

is that clock broken? Like you

31:54

just like stare at the like

31:57

that clock is not moving at

31:59

all. I checked that clock like

32:01

three hours ago and it's only

32:03

moved 15 minutes. Yes, yeah that

32:05

kind of thing but as it

32:07

is exactly that's exactly right and

32:10

of course the more you watch

32:12

that clock the slower it goes,

32:14

right? Mm-hmm. So when it says

32:16

in three years like the years

32:18

of a hired worker that means

32:20

in exactly Three years. That's that's

32:23

what that idiom is talking about

32:25

So in exactly three years or

32:27

as the Hebrew would put it

32:29

in three years like the years

32:31

of a hired worker The glory

32:33

Moab is going to be brought

32:36

into contempt and who's going to

32:38

be left? Well, not many. Here's

32:40

our remnant theme once more and

32:42

even the remnant is going to

32:44

be very few and and feeble

32:46

So that's that's the end of

32:49

the Moabite Oracle. I mean, there's

32:51

hope there's hope there but there's

32:53

hope only well there's always only

32:55

hope and that's with the promises

32:57

of the Lord otherwise there is

32:59

nothing but hopelessness yeah yeah it

33:02

is it is so weird too

33:04

with all of this up to

33:06

this point you know where you're

33:08

all this language like hey get

33:10

ready for it people of God

33:13

because it's it's coming and it's

33:15

gonna be horrible also I'm gonna

33:17

need you to be the one

33:19

source of deliverance for these other

33:21

people. And so they both of

33:23

these things are sort of true

33:26

at the same time where it's

33:28

like, oh, you're about to get

33:30

judged, but you're still the only

33:32

place with the promise. Mm-hmm. I

33:34

mean, to translate this into, you

33:36

know, relatively modern history, I would

33:39

think of how many, how many

33:41

nations over the course of the

33:43

20th century, you know, where you

33:45

had through the wars, you know,

33:47

terrible century, you know, all the

33:49

destruction, desolation, hopelessness, despair. And yet

33:52

even in these places, what so

33:54

remained well churches right the churches

33:56

that continued to preach the gospel

33:58

the churches which continued to give

34:00

out hope to people I mean

34:02

it's no different no different today

34:05

as well you can have a

34:07

place which is war torn and

34:09

devastated and on the brink of

34:11

just complete destruction and yet you'll

34:13

still have Christians gathering around praying

34:15

holding out hope for the people

34:18

that are around them well it's

34:20

basically Israel's calling in the ancient

34:22

world was to do that as

34:24

well for the mulibites who were

34:26

around them. Okay, so we have

34:28

a few months left. We can

34:31

jump into Chapter 17. This is

34:33

a, if you just read the

34:35

opening sentence, it can be a

34:37

little bit misleading because it says

34:39

an Oracle concerning Damascus. Well, it

34:41

is concerning Damascus, but it's also

34:44

concerning the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

34:46

And I think there's a bit

34:48

of a, of a jibe that's

34:50

going on here where Isaiah is

34:52

preaching in Oracle concerning Damascus. But

34:54

at the same time, he's preaching

34:57

it against the Northern Kingdom, because

34:59

what have they done? Well, they

35:01

have allied themselves with Damascus, which

35:03

is another name for its capital

35:05

of Aram or Syria. So he's

35:08

couching this whole oracle under Damascus,

35:10

the capital of Aram or Syria,

35:12

but the Northern Kingdom has allied

35:14

itself with these Gentiles. And so

35:16

the faith that befalls them is

35:18

also going to fall the Northern

35:21

Kingdom. So their destiny is now

35:23

subsumed under the destiny of Damascus

35:25

or Syria because rather than turning

35:27

to the Lord, they've chosen to

35:29

turn to their neighbors and it

35:31

turning to their neighbors, they have

35:34

distanced themselves from God and thus

35:36

moved outside of his realm of

35:38

protection. So what happens to Damascus

35:40

is also going to happen to

35:42

Israel. So it starts out. I'll

35:44

read the first three verses. An

35:47

Oracle concerning Damascus. Behold Damascus will

35:49

cease to be city. It's going

35:51

to become a heap of ruins.

35:53

The cities of Aror are deserted.

35:55

They're going to be for flocks

35:57

which will lie down and none

36:00

will make them afraid. Pretty common

36:02

theme there of a city being

36:04

completely wiped out deserted and what

36:06

has become be kept nothing more

36:08

than a big sheet pen more

36:10

or less. The fortresses will disappear

36:13

from and here we get it.

36:15

Ephraim. Of course, that is another

36:17

name for the Northern Kingdom. So

36:19

we're talking about Damascus, but we're

36:21

also talking about Ephraim or Israel.

36:23

The fortress will disappear from Ephraim

36:26

in the kingdom from Damascus, and

36:28

the remnant of Syria will be

36:30

like the glory of the children

36:32

of Israel, declares the Lord of

36:34

host. There's a lot of debate

36:36

as to what this means when

36:39

it says like the glory of

36:41

the children of Israel. I don't

36:43

know, I... I tend to think

36:45

that this is being used ironically

36:47

like, like air quotes around glory,

36:49

the glory of the Israelites, which

36:52

is not glorious because they're being

36:54

wiped out, that same glory is

36:56

going to be shared by the

36:58

remnant of Syria. That's how I

37:00

take that. I mean, you could

37:03

spend it positively in the sense

37:05

that there's going to be a

37:07

remnant left, and that remnant is

37:09

going to be like the remnant

37:11

glory of the Israelites. Only a

37:13

few of a small remnant is

37:16

going to be there, but it

37:18

will at least still have the

37:20

the glory of the promise connected

37:22

with it. I mean, I guess

37:24

you could take that either way,

37:26

but I tend to think this

37:29

is kind of being used in

37:31

that backward sort of way, and

37:33

in glorious glory, if you will.

37:35

Well, this is always the glory

37:37

of Israel is never that glorious,

37:39

the way that we think of

37:42

glorious, right? I mean, maybe in

37:44

Solomon's heyday, it was like something

37:46

that after that, like when the

37:48

real glory of Israel shows up,

37:50

it's like homeless and wandering around,

37:52

you know, you know, preaching, preaching,

37:55

with some like misfit people. We've

37:57

seen his glory. Yeah, well, you

37:59

have. but it's not what you

38:01

would think of when you see the

38:03

glory of God not the ministry not

38:05

the ministry not the ministry of Jesus

38:08

yeah for sure it does seem as

38:10

though all of these places that because

38:12

again you're you're you're zoomed

38:14

in on Israel here and then

38:16

but there's all this stuff like surrounding

38:18

it so here like the north and

38:20

they've aligned themselves with this so they

38:23

got to get wiped out too now

38:25

like and so like there's a I

38:27

hadn't thought about it,

38:29

honestly, until we were

38:32

recording this, but God sort

38:34

of protecting Israel

38:36

is a real benefit to

38:39

the surrounding area. And

38:41

you argue the real

38:43

impression that this is a

38:45

real bummer. Israel's idolatry

38:47

is really costing the

38:50

surrounding area. Yeah. Yeah,

38:52

the repercussions are broad. even

38:54

though the surrounding countries might

38:57

not realize the reason this is

38:59

happening they are certainly filling the

39:01

brunt of the the Assyrian onslaught

39:03

and Damascus is one of those

39:05

countries they you know they wanted

39:08

to defend themselves against

39:10

the Assyrians and they saw the

39:12

Northern Kingdom and the Northern Kingdom

39:14

was was ready and willing so

39:16

they said hey join our band

39:19

and maybe together we can withstand

39:21

these superior powers but well that

39:23

didn't work in fact I just was

39:25

checking out this morning. So

39:27

this is a, this is, this is

39:30

an excerpt from Tigalath Pelazor's

39:32

inscriptions. This is how he

39:34

describes what he did to,

39:37

to Damascus. I overran the

39:39

land of Damascus. the entire land.

39:41

I captured their cities and plunded them.

39:43

I carried off the people of the

39:46

land together with their possessions to Assyria.

39:48

I slew their king. I set up

39:50

governors over them. I took 16 districts

39:52

of Damascus along with their cities and

39:55

annexed them to the land of Assyria.

39:57

The people were deported. So there you

39:59

have it. that's what befell them from the

40:01

from the Assyrians put their trust in

40:03

the wrong place. in the wrong of putting

40:05

their trust in their trust in the the promises

40:08

sure and and certain promises to David,

40:10

they put their trust in alliance,

40:12

an and that alliance alliance did did not

40:14

bring them what they wanted. and we got

40:16

more we we got more. the We

40:19

made it through the first three

40:21

verses. We're gonna hear more about

40:23

what's coming up in up in First four and

40:25

following, but I But I guess we

40:27

gotta wait till next time. We'll

40:29

see We'll see ya.