Isaiah, Prophet of Salvation, Book 3, part 15

In Isaiah 15 we see the oracle concerning Moab. Its pride and idolatry was to result in much destruction, and the prophet says, “My heart cries out for Moab” (Isaiah 15:5). Though the troubles of Moab were to be great, the prophet remains sympathetic, specially in chapter 16, which is a separate prophecy about Moab.

History of Moab

The Moabites were descended from Lot’s son, Moab. Moab and Ammon were born through incest through the daughters of Lot after they had escaped the destruction of Sodom. The story is told in Genesis 19:30-38. Moab means “water (i.e., seed) of his father,” named, no doubt, by his mother, the daughter of Lot.

The curse of law for such an incestuous origin (Deuteronomy 23:2) was never overcome in those days. The tenth generation, however, saw Ruth the Moabitess break free, and the result was that her eyes were opened to believe in the God of Israel.

Moab refused to allow the Israelites to pass through their land along the east coast of the Dead Sea when they were journeying north toward the Jordan River opposite Jericho. God would not allow Israel to attack Moab for this, telling them in Deuteronomy 2:9, “Do not harass Moab, nor provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot as a possession.”

Ar was a city on the south side of Moab. In fact, it means “city” and was mentioned also in Numbers 21:15. In Isaiah 15:1 the prophet mentions Ar first in his list of cities to be devastated,

¹ The oracle concerning Moab. Surely in a night Ar of Moab is devastated and ruined; surely in a night Kir of Moab is devastated and ruined.

The Israelites made war on Moab’s main enemy to the north, Sihon, whose people had occupied the northern part of Moab as far south as the Arnon River (Numbers 21:26). (Sihon, in turn, had been pushed south by a Hittite invasion coming from the north.) Sihon’s defeat at the hand of the Israelites allowed Moab to prosper and grow, so that 90 years later, Moab was strong enough to put Israel into its second captivity for 18 years (Judges 3:14).

Two centuries later, King Saul defeated the Moabites (1 Samuel 14:47) but did not occupy their territory or put them into tribute. Some years later, David’s parents were harbored by the king of Moab to protect them from Saul’s persecution (1 Samuel 22:3, 4). The Moabite king had no love for Saul and was willing to help David. Nonetheless, after David became king of all Israel, he put Moab into subjection (2 Samuel 8:2).

After the death of Solomon, when the kingdom was divided, Moab was controlled by Israel until it revolted from Israel’s king Ahab (2 Kings 1:1; 3:4). Years later, Ahab’s son, Jehoram, made an alliance with Judah’s King Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom and these three kings went to war against Moab (2 Kings 3:7). They defeated the Moabites but did not occupy the land nor did they succeed in putting Moab back under tribute (2 Kings 3:27).

Finally, under King Chemosh-nadab, the Moabites were subdued by Sargon II, the Assyrian king who also conquered the Philistine city of Ashdod (Isaiah 20:1). Sargon ruled from 721-705 B.C. and, along with his son Sennacherib, brought judgment upon Moab. This is the devastation that was prophesied in Isaiah 15 and 16.

The Moabite Cities

Isaiah 15:1 says,

¹ The oracle concerning Moab. Surely in a night Ar of Moab is devastated and ruined; surely in a night Kir of Moab is devastated and ruined.

Ar and Kir were the two main fortresses of Moab. While Ar means “city,” Kir means “wall, or fortress.” The prophet says that both were to be “devastated and ruined.”

Isaiah 15:2, 3 continues,

² They have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, even to the high places to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba; everyone’s head is bald and every beard is cut off. ³ In their streets they have girded themselves with sackcloth; on their housetops and in their squares everyone is wailing, dissolved in tears.

Dibon was Mesha’s capital city, according to the Mesha Stele (stone inscription) that was discovered in 1868.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesha_Stele

The inscription begins: “I am Mesha, son of Chemosh-gad, king of Moab, the Dibonite.” No doubt Dibon was the site of the temple to Chemosh, the national god of Moab. Dibon was located east of the Dead Sea on the King’s Highway, the main north-south trade route between Egypt and Syria. Today it is a city of 15,000 and is known as Dhiban.

Nebo was the city located at the base of Mount Nebo, where Moses died (Deuteronomy 34:1, 5, 6). Medeba was located a few miles southeast of Nebo on the Plain of Medeba. It was later part of the territory of Reuben (Joshua 13:9), although it appears that the Reubenites had lost control of it by the time they were exiled to Assyria. Hence, Isaiah speaks of it as Moabite territory.

Isaiah 15:2, 3 describes “wailing” in these cities of Moab on account of the devastation that was to come at the hand of the Assyrians. Cutting one’s hair and beard was a common demonstration of mourning for the dead. Sackcloth was a sign of mourning or repentance.

Isaiah 15:4 says,

⁴ Heshbon and Elealeh also cry out, their voice is heard all the way to Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles within him.

Heshbon and Elealeh were cities due north of Medeba on the southern border of Gad (Joshua 13:26). Heshbon was Sihon’s capital city when Moses and the Israelites fought against him (Numbers 21:25, 26). It was probably largely destroyed at the time, but it was rebuilt, along with Elealeh, by the tribe of Reuben (Numbers 32:37). Heshbon then became a Levitical city for the descendants of Merari (Joshua 21:34, 39). Merari was one of the sons of Levi (Genesis 46:11).