Proper 13
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Pastor will be on vacation during the week of August 24th.
Isaiah Study
Isaiah 15-16
A Prophecy Against Moab
15 An oracle against Moab.
In one night, Ar of Moab has been ruined and brought to nothing.In one night, Kir of Moab has been ruined and brought to nothing.2 They have gone up to the temple at Dibon,up to the high places to weep.Moab wails over Nebo and over Medeba.Every head is shaved.Every beard is cut off.3 They wear sackcloth in their streets.On the rooftops and in the public squares, everyone wails.They all collapse in tears.4 Heshbon cries out with Elealeh.Their voice is heard even in Jahaz.Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,and their spirit is weak.
5 My heart cries out for Moab!Her refugees flee to Zoar,to Eglath Shelishiyah.They go up the Ascent of Luhith, weeping all the way.On the way to Horonaim, they weep continuously over their destruction.6 The waters of Nimrim are dried up.The grass has withered away.The vegetation has died,and no green thing remains.7 So they will carry across the Ravine of Poplars[c] whatever remains from the wealth they acquired and from the supplies they stored up.8 For a cry has echoed around the borders of Moab.The wailing reaches to Eglaimand all the way to Be’er Elim.9 For the waters of Dimon are full of blood, and I will bring still more on Dimon.I will bring a lion upon the refugees of Moaband upon the survivors who remain in the land.
16 Send the tribute ram for the ruler of the land,
from Selah toward the wilderness,to the mountain of the daughter of Zion.2 At the fords of the Arnon, the daughters of Moab will belike birds fleeing from a scattered nest.
3 Get advice and make a decision.At high noon make your shade as dark as night.Hide the refugees.Do not betray the fugitive.4 Let the refugees from Moab stay with you. Be a hiding place for them from the face of the destroyer.
For the extortionist is no longer present.Violence has ceased,and the oppressors have disappeared from the land.5 A throne will be established in mercy.In the tent of David a judge will sit on the throne in truth,seeking justice, eager to bring righteousness.
6 We have heard about Moab’s pride,about his egotistical conceit.His pride, his arrogance, and his boasting are nothing but self-delusion.7 Therefore Moab will wail for Moab.Everyone will wail.Completely devastated, you will mourn for the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth.
8 Look, the fields of Heshbon wither,along with the vines of Sibmah.The rulers of the nations have trampled the choice vines, which reached even to Jazer, which spread out into the wilderness.Their shoots were spread out all the way to the sea.9 Therefore I will weep as Jazer weeps for the vines of Sibmah.I will drench you with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh,because the noisy celebration over your ripened fruit and over your harvest has been silenced.10 Gladness and joy are taken away from the rich fields.In the vineyards there will be no cries of joy or happy shouting.No one will tread out wine from the wine presses.I have put a stop to the cheering.11 That is why my deepest feelings moan like a lyre for Moab,and everything inside me is poured out for Kir Hareseth.12 When Moab presents himself on the high place,he only wears himself out.When he goes to his shrine to pray,he will accomplish nothing.13 This is the word that the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab.
14 But now the Lord also says, “Within three years, as a worker bound by contract would count them, the glory of Moab will fade away despite its noisy crowd, and those who remain will be few and feeble.”
Pastor’s Comment
Isaiah continues his oracle against the Nations, this time against Moab. The nation of Moab was descended from Lot, Abraham’s nephew. Israel encountered Moab during their journey toward the land of Canaan. They feared Israel and attempted to get Balaam to curse them, but were foiled by God’s pronouncement of blessing through Balaam. However, Balaam advised the Moabites to tempt Israel into adultery and idolatry. From then on, they are one of Israel’s enemies and characterized by their temptation in Numbers 25.
Luther’s Comment
On 14:9 The prophet continues in the metaphor. In the time of harvesting and grape-picking men who have something to gather are moved to joy. In the same way parents are happy over their offspring, the state over its young people, the prince over an obedient populace. The prophet, then, indicates that a song different from the song of those rejoicing in the harvest or fruit, namely, the noise and uproar of war, will intervene. Or, the kingdom of Moab was literally laid waste in the time of the harvest. The prophet put summer in place of the summer’s crop, that is, the fruits. He is taunting the Moabites by means of irony or sarcasm. That is to say, “I truly think that the voice of people rejoicing has come into your harvest. Those who will be jubilant in your harvest will certainly come. Others will carry off what you have reaped, and they will be jubilant. Ps 39:6 reads: ‘Man heaps up, and knows not who will gather.’ The Assyrians will carry off your young people who were trained to till the soil and to manage the affairs of the state.” Moreover, this principle extends in its broadest sense to all the misfortunes of the ungodly. When they have scraped many things together, then they depart into hell, and Satan in their death deprives the self-righteous of all righteousness, so that they are compelled to despair.