이사야 Chapter 16

Translation: ESV

1

Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.

Key Message

Even the proud must humbly come to God's people in order to find a true place of refuge.

▸This is counsel to Moab to offer tribute to Israel's king (or the Messiah).

This is counsel to Moab to offer tribute to Israel's king (or the Messiah). Sela is the fortress city of Edom, where Moabite refugees would have gone. Sending lambs to the daughter of Zion is a sign of submission and reconciliation.

Related Verses

May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts!
2

Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.

Key Message

Refugees fleeing like birds when judgment falls depicts the chaos that ensues when God's judgment comes.

▸The women of Moab flee like birds.

3

"Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive;

Key Message

Protecting refugees and the oppressed is the duty of God's people, and this is what true love of neighbor looks like.

▸This is counsel to Judah to receive and protect Moabite refugees.

4

let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,

Key Message

When oppression ends and a just ruler comes, a true place of refuge and peace will be established.

▸The situation in which Israel's outcasts sojourn in Moab is described.

5

then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness."

Key Message

Messianic rule is characterized by steadfast love and justice, and this is God's promise to be fulfilled through the Davidic dynasty.

▸The messianic kingdom is briefly depicted.

6

We have heard of the pride of Moab—how proud he is!—of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; his idle boasting is empty.

Key Message

Pride is the root cause of all judgment, and no matter how magnificent the boasting, it is empty before God.

▸The core reason Moab is judged is presented: pride.

7

Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth.

Key Message

When the prosperity enjoyed through pride disappears, the grief is all the greater—this is God's reversed judgment on pride.

▸As a result of pride, Moab is destroyed and the whole nation mourns.

8

For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea.

Key Message

Just as a vine withers, all the prosperity of the proud withers away under God's judgment.

▸Moab's grapevine—the symbol of economic prosperity and cultural flourishing—has withered.

9

Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for over your summer fruit and your harvest the shout has ceased.

Key Message

The prophet weeping while proclaiming judgment reflects God's own heart—even in judgment there is compassion and grief.

▸Isaiah weeps again for Moab.

10

And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no cheers are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; I have put an end to the shouting.

Key Message

The disappearance of life's joy and festivity is the real substance of judgment, and the prophet grieves over how tragic this is.

▸The joy and song of the grape harvest disappear.

11

Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth.

Key Message

Even God's judgment of enemies grieves God's own heart, and the prophet shares in this heart of God.

▸Isaiah's lamentation is compared to the sound of a lyre.

12

And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.

Key Message

No matter how earnestly one prays to idols, there is no salvation from crisis; true salvation lies only with the living God.

▸Before judgment, Moab exhaustedly clings to its gods but receives no help at all.

13

This is the word that the LORD spoke concerning Moab in the past.

Key Message

God's word is proclaimed long in advance and will certainly be fulfilled—this guarantees the authority of prophecy.

▸This reveals that the prophecy concerning Moab up to this point was given long ago.

14

But now the LORD has spoken, saying, "In three years, like the years of a hired worker, 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."

Key Message

God's judgment has a specific time, and when the appointed time comes it will certainly be fulfilled.

▸A specific time limit for Moab's destruction is given: within three years.