Isaiah 16:1-14
1 Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Selaa to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.
3 Takeb counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; betray not him that wandereth.
4 Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortionerc is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.
5 And in mercy shall the throne be established:d and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.
6 We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud: even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so.
7 Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn;e surely they are stricken.
8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof, they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea.
9 Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shoutingf for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen.
10 And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease.
11 Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirharesh.
12 And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.
13 This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning Moab since that time.
14 But now the LORD hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.g
Isaiah 16:1. Send ye the lamb from Sela to the wilderness, to the mount of the daughter of Zion. Send the tribute of the lambs from all the towns of Moab, and seek alliance with the house of David, with whom God has now renewed his promises. This is your best wisdom, and first duty. So it is intimated in the fifth verse, for the king of Judah shall sit upon the throne in the tabernacle of David. This tribute is fully explained in 2 Kings 3:4, where it is said that Mesha king of Moab refused to pay the tribute, and involved his country in great distress.
Isaiah 16:14. But now the Lord hath spoken, saying, Within three years the glory of Moab, so great in population, in fortresses, in flocks and herds, shall be contemned and debased in all its multitude of people and cattle. It appears that the prophets had warned Moab prior to this final denunciation by Isaiah. And it might be that the prophet visited Moab, and gave them the warning; but if otherwise, they had it in writing.
The remnant shall be very small and feeble. Moab recovered from this visitation, but not to her former glory. She continued to encrease for a hundred and twenty years, when, five years after the fall of Jerusalem, and the burning of the temple, (at which she could not conceal her joy, Psalms 137:7) Nebuchadnezzar gave her a final overthrow, as the prophets had foretold. Amos 2:1; Jeremiah 48.
REFLECTIONS. CHAP. 15, 16.
We have in these two Chapter s the warning voice, and subsequent elegy of our princely prophet. Grieved for the sins of Moab, he satirized her pride, but seeks at the same time to save her from ruin. And what could do it but opening her eyes to the impending storm, and pouring contempt on the helpless character of her gods.
The prophet displayed to Moab the tremendous army of the Chaldeans, overspreading the country; an army whose character was to despise every strong hold. The strokes of heaven awaken the power of conscience. The spoilers were coming against a spoiler. Their staining the waters of Dimon with blood, was to visit for the abundance of blood which Moab had shed, when she, both vile and weak, had joined Philistia and Amalek in their wars. Her pride, the proverb of nations, should be brought low. Ah, in vain, oh Moab, shalt thou go up to the house of Bajith; thy long- boasted temple of Baal-Meon. Thy gods shall be blind to thy misery, and deaf to thy cries. Thy king shall fly to the desert, thy counsellors shall be confused, thy soldiers without strength. Alas, alas, the joy of harvest and the shouts of the vintage shall he heard no more. Profit therefore by these warnings; hide thyself under Jehovah's wings, and bow to the shadow of David's throne.
But why does the illustrious prophet of the Hebrews talk in words so strange? Is there any thing in the tablets of universal history which can justify those sombrous discoveries? Nay; Is there any thing else in the tablets but slaughter, burning, and destruction? Are not all great conquerors like great rivers, which sometimes drown and ravage the country which they ought only to water and enrich.