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Devotional thoughts (Monday through Thursday mornings) from the pastor of Exeter Presbyterian Church in Exeter, NH // Sunday Worship 10:30am // 73 Winter Street

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Isaiah 16

At various points in the prophetic oracles, God has a word to speak to the daughters of Jerusalem. What we see in the beginning of Isaiah 16 is something different. Now the fear of the daughters of Moab is described. Does God cry for Moab in her distress?

At least one daughter of Moab is a great heroine in the history of Israel. The Moabitess Ruth showed great love to her mother-in-law Naomi in the days of her distress. In a time when it would have seemed much easier to abandon Israel’s God, and to cut off all ties from her deceased husband’s family, Ruth instead is extremely loyal to her mother-in-law, and specifically indicates that Naomi’s God will be her God.

The cry goes up for Israel to have mercy upon a nation that would not acknowledge the special status of the descendants of Jacob. The outcasts of Moab are to be safe, at least for a moment, as sojourners among Israel, which will be a “shelter to them from the destroyer.” God knows the day of the destroyer, but he also knows the loveliness of protection under the banner of his own people. The cry goes out for “faithfulness in the tent of David, for one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” Will there be hope for nations like Moab from the King of the Jews, the descendant of Ruth and David?

There is no denying the sin of Moab. The nation was proud and insolent. But now the cities will wail. The fields will be destroyed. Nonetheless, it would appear that the One who is the Lord of the nations, had regarded the helpless condition of Moab. She seems to receive at least a moment of the mercy of God, despite the fact that a foe will soon be coming.

How should one avail himself of amazing mercy? Believe and repent. Everyone who would know the mercy of God should repent and find peace in the Lamb of God. For Moab, the time is short. There is no more time for raisin cakes prepared for false divinities. Now the foreigner who is far off from the peace of God needs to forsake all false gods. The nation needs to cry for her loss, but also to count on the mercy of God for the unworthy.

The love of God and Isaiah for this unworthy nation is unexpected. Is Isaiah (or even God) grieving for Moab? How could this be? Moab wearies herself out worshipping false gods, yet the true God seems to have some place for Moab. At the end of the chapter we learn that within three years Moab will be gone. Is all of the sympathy of God for Moab only his reflection on her past? Has something different now happened, for “the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble.”

The plan of the Lord as it relates to Moab seems covered in shadows. We do know this: A light has dawned through the coming of Christ. That light is not based on our association with any nation. No ethnic or national relation will ever bring us eternal security. God’s heart was apparently moved concerning the coming misery for Moab, yet there would be no salvation for Moab simply because she was Moab. In three years she would in some sense be gone. Hope for us only arises because we are part of something that lasts. We are in the Kingdom of Heaven. In Christ we have our place in the only land of salvation. It will not be enough for anyone that God takes no joy in the destruction of the wicked, or that He expresses some measure of His wonderful sympathy for the lost toward us. We need something more. We need the righteousness credited to us that only comes through God the Son. We need to be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven.

posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM

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