January 21, 2011
PROSTRATE BEFORE THE LORD ON BEHALF OF THE LOST
Isaiah 15
Mary Birdlebough
Central Truth
There will be a day of judgment, but God is patient and compassionate, and it is His desire that all would come to repentance. Isaiah's heart was aligned with God's heart as he cried out over Moab, knowing that Moab's destruction was coming.
Key Verse | Isaiah 15:5
My heart cries out for Moab;
His fugitives are as far as Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah,
For they go up the ascent of Luhith weeping;
Surely on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of distress over their ruin. (Isaiah 15:5)
Isaiah 15
An Oracle Concerning Moab
1 An oracle concerning Moab.
Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone;
because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone.
2
He has gone up to the temple,
1
15:2
Hebrew the house
and to Dibon,
to the high places
2
15:2
Or temple, even Dibon to the high places
to weep;
over Nebo and over Medeba
Moab wails.
On every head is baldness;
every beard is shorn;
3
in the streets they wear sackcloth;
on the housetops and in the squares
everyone wails and melts in tears.
4
Heshbon and Elealeh cry out;
their voice is heard as far as Jahaz;
therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud;
his soul trembles.
5
My heart cries out for Moab;
her fugitives flee to Zoar,
to Eglath-shelishiyah.
For at the ascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;
on the road to Horonaim
they raise a cry of destruction;
6
the waters of Nimrim
are a desolation;
the grass is withered, the vegetation fails,
the greenery is no more.
7
Therefore the abundance they have gained
and what they have laid up
they carry away
over the Brook of the Willows.
8
For a cry has gone
around the land of Moab;
her wailing reaches to Eglaim;
her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.
9
For the waters of Dibon
3
15:9
Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse
are full of blood;
for I will bring upon Dibon even more,
a lion for those of Moab who escape,
for the remnant of the land.
Dive Deeper | Isaiah 15
The first several times I read this chapter I had no idea what to write about. Over the next several weeks, I went back to this chapter and prayed for something to say. The one thing that kept jumping out at me was that Isaiah wept and grieved over the coming destruction of Moab because of Moab's pride and conceit (Isaiah 16:6-11).
I was also reading through Deuteronomy at the time. To be honest, in the past I haven't been really excited about reading Deuteronomy, but for some reason this time through it came alive. Moses repeatedly fell prostrate before the Lord (often for days on end and without food or water) to plead with God to save the Israelites. Moses tells Israel, "So I lay prostrate before the LORD for these forty days and forty nights, because the LORD had said he would destroy you." (Deuteronomy 9:25, ESV) Isaiah and Moses both understood that a day of destruction was coming, and their hearts cried out over and over for the people subject to God's judgment.
Does my heart cry out over and for the lost? Do I cry out for those who I am "friends" with or even say I "love," but who don't know God through Jesus Christ? Lately, God has prompted me to share more about Him with friends who don't know Him, but does my heart cry out to God on their behalf? When was the last time I grieved even five minutes for the souls of those whom I say I "love"?
My prayer is that He would give me more and more compassion and love for the lost while at the same time exposing just how much my heart is prone to wander from Him, so that He can change it to be more like His. Remember, "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)
Discussion Questions
1. When was the last time your heart grieved for someone who does not know the Lord? How did you express your feelings to the Lord? To others?
2. Do you grieve about the sin in your own life like Moses and Isaiah did for the Israelites and Moabites? What about the effects of sin in the lives of those you love?
3. Do you spend time with Him daily so that He can change your heart and life? If not, it is not too late to start. He loves you and wants you to know Him. God's grace through Jesus is so you may KNOW Him and approach Him in freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12).
WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY
ISAIAH 11-15 (JAN 17-21)
It’s winter outside. What does your yard look like? Most things are brown and dead. But what happens in the spring when the sun and rain come? The grass that was once brown and crunchy grows soft, lush, green blades. In our reading today, let’s see what Isaiah says about “a shoot” and “a new branch.”
Read Isaiah 11:1-5.
Who is Isaiah talking about in this passage? How do you know?
Read the passage again. How does it make you feel? Why?
What is your favorite characteristic of the One that this portion of Scripture describes?
Compare this description to yourself. What’s different? What’s the same? How can you be more like Jesus in how you live?
Activity: Go outside and gather some dead blades of grass or a stick. Put your items in an envelope. On the outside of the envelope write Isaiah 11:1.
Keep this reminder in your home of the hope you have in Jesus! Keep it through the winter until Easter when the season changes to unveil green leaves, flowers, and fruit! Celebrate the hope we have because Jesus has given us new life in Him!