06.13.09
Isaiah - Day 287
Scripture: Isaiah 15:4 (NIV): "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."
Thought: To me, even the mightiest of men can grow faint in heart when God's protection is removed.
Question: Have I ever cried out in utter despair because of God's judgments?
As seen in previous verses, God's oracle, (prophetic message of warning), to the Moabites, (east of Jerusalem), lists several cities of involvement: Ar, Kir, Dibon, Nebo and Medeba, to be exact. Today we add the cities of Heshbon and Elealeh. All are being assaulted by the Assyrians.
Both Assyria and Moab, as well as the Philistines in Isaiah 14: 28 - 32, are enemies of Israel. God had used Assyria to attack Israel in disciplinary fashion and warned of impending destruction as described in the beginning of the book of Isaiah. Then in chapter 10 we see Assyria also is to be destroyed, but not before God uses them to lay low Israel's enemies, including Moab, as described here in chapter 15.
Heshbon and Elealeh are cities just north of Dibon, Nebo and Medeba. They are north of The Salt Sea, (today's Dead Sea), and just east of the Jordan River. "Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz." Jahaz is about 10 miles north of Elealeh. If the voices of those under assault, mingled with the shouts of those who attack, are heard 10 miles away, it must be an extremely horrendous battle! Remember, this battle is a matter of historic record--can you imagine the magnitude of this conflict?
"Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out, and their hearts are faint." No wonder they "cry out"! No wonder "their hearts are faint"! The fear gripping them must have been powerfully intense. The Assyrians were a dreaded force. They were great warriors, basing their assaults on robbery and empowering themselves with the loot of peoples they conquered. They practiced severe cruelties such as skinning their prisoners alive, cutting off hands, feet, noses, ear, or putting out the eyes, pulling out tongues and making mounds of human skulls. All these acts were intended to terrorize their victims. Even though the men of Moab are "armed", "their hearts are faint."
And the prophet, Isaiah, by the foreknowledge and wisdom of God, is predicting all of this to Israel, that they might be sobered and made to respond to God with fearful respect and obedience. Will they?
Prayer: Lord God, it is a fearful thing to come out from under Your powerful protection--to lay exposed to the horrors of evil perpetrators! I pray with thanksgiving that in and through Jesus Christ, You have shielded me from the ravages of a conflict like this. Jesus is my safe harbour! Amen.
