Thy Strong Word – Isaiah 16: Haughty Refuge Now Humbled Refugees, Moab

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Rev. Ken Wagener, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 16.

In the wake of the devastation, the Moabites flee south to Edom. From there they offer tribute and pleas for mercy that they might be granted asylum north in Judah. Isaiah 16 continues this poetic oracle from the previous chapter, offering once again sympathy in the midst of total devastation. This time however, Isaiah gives us his vision of a sad, languished vineyard, accompanied by Moab’s plea in their own words.

The haughty have been humbled, and Moab recognizes that there is something unique about God’s people of Judah; only they can shelter from the blistering Assyrian onslaught. Their desire to sojourn under the shelter of “the tent of David” mirrors David’s own story, when his ancestors sojourned in Moab. This points ahead to how Jesus Christ, the true heir of David, sojourned with us when He was born of a virgin, that one day we would dwell with Him in the heavenly Jerusalem. Until then, we humbly seek refuge in the church, the unique sacramental shelter from sin, death, and Satan.

Underwriter of Thy Strong Word

Thy Strong Word is a daily in-depth study of the books of the Bible with host Rev. AJ Espinosa and guest pastors from across the country. Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation and produced by the LCMS Office of National Mission.

Isaiah 16

16 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,
from Sela, by way of the desert,
to the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 Like fleeing birds,
like a scattered nest,
so are the daughters of Moab
at the fords of the Arnon.

3 “Give counsel;
grant justice;
make your shade like night
at the height of noon;
shelter the outcasts;
do not reveal the fugitive;
4 let the outcasts of Moab
sojourn among you;
be a shelter to them[a]
from the destroyer.
When the oppressor is no more,
and destruction has ceased,
and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,
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.”

6 We have heard of the pride of Moab—
how proud he is!—
of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence;
in his idle boasting he is not right.
7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab,
let everyone wail.
Mourn, utterly stricken,
for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth.

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

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.

13 This is the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab in the past. 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.”

Footnotes:

Isaiah 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. esv.org