December 20, 2018: Day 19 – Isaiah 15

Once again you can refer to the map in order to understand what is going on.  Moab is that region to the East of the Dead Sea and all of those cities mentioned in this chapter you can see listed in the map.  The beginning inscription to this chapter lets us know that this is an oracle all about Moab.  Moab was not a friend, and yet this sounds like a lament on behalf of Moab.  The Moabites were sworn enemies to both Israel and Judah, and yet here we hear the author say in vs. 5 that their “heart cries out for Moab.”  

It makes me wonder if there is not some sarcasm in this dirge, but I just don’t see it.  It makes we wonder if the author is authentically saddened by the degree of destruction which the Babylonians caused upon Moab.  Is there a certain threshold where even if the nation is our enemy, when they are massacred beyond any kind of humane parameters, does it strike a chord and force us to ask for mercy even for our sworn enemies?

Chapter 16 will continue this oracle.