Isaiah’s message was delivered seven hundred years before the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. The prophecy’s principle purpose was to confirm Immanuel’s coming and supply details of what His incarnation would accomplish and provide. This series of ‘burdens’ served to reassure the Lord’s elect when their faith in God was tried. Distressing days were coming yet none of the national calamities Isaiah foresaw would hinder God’s covenant promise of grace and glory in Christ. A bigger bully The ancient city of Damascus was to be destroyed. Syria and Israel once bullied Judah, now Assyria, a bigger bully, tormented them all. Their respective capitals Damascus, Samaria and Jerusalem would all feel the pressure of Nineveh. The first two would be destroyed, Isaiah tells us, but…

We take chapters 15 and 16 together this week because they both contain ‘the burden of Moab’ given to Isaiah concerning the destruction of the Moabites. The Moabites were an ancient people with whom the Children of Israel had a long and uneasy history. They were sworn foes to God and His people. The founder of the Moabite nation was Moab, son of Lot by incest. The shameful legacy of righteous Lot reminds us of the sad and far-reaching consequences of sin. A devious neighbour When Israel came out of Egypt Moab refused passage through their land. Yet, for Lot’s sake, God warned Moses not to go to war with Moab, nor possess their land, nor distress them in battle. That did not stop Moab…