Isa 16:7-8 | KingComments | STEP | After advising Moab to submit to Zion and be a refuge for the outcasts of Judah, Isaiah returns to the characteristic attitude of Moab. That attitude is one of pride, arrogance, fury and idle boasts ( ; ). This attitude causes the land to be destroyed and Moab to wail and moan about his fate ( ; cf. ). Isaiah sees it before him. It seizes him. Where there should be cheering for joy – the vine is the symbol of it – is bitterly weeping ( ). At the end of we suddenly hear the LORD speaking in the speaking of Isaiah. He says that He has made the shouting of joy to cease. The LORD is at work in what happens to Moab. This brings Isaiah to a new expression of grief over Moab ( ). The tragedy of Moab is that he does not resort to God, but to his idols ( ). He makes every effort to get any help in the house of his idol. Of course there is no salvation there. His going to the sanctuary of his god and the prayer to his god are totally useless.

‏ Isaiah 16:7-8

Moab Destroyed

After advising Moab to submit to Zion and be a refuge for the outcasts of Judah, Isaiah returns to the characteristic attitude of Moab. That attitude is one of pride, arrogance, fury and idle boasts (Isa 16:6; Jer 48:29-30). This attitude causes the land to be destroyed and Moab to wail and moan about his fate (Isa 16:7-8; cf. Pro 16:18). Isaiah sees it before him. It seizes him.

Where there should be cheering for joy – the vine is the symbol of it – is bitterly weeping (Isa 16:9-10). At the end of Isa 16:10 we suddenly hear the LORD speaking in the speaking of Isaiah. He says that He has made the shouting of joy to cease. The LORD is at work in what happens to Moab.

This brings Isaiah to a new expression of grief over Moab (Isa 16:11). The tragedy of Moab is that he does not resort to God, but to his idols (Isa 16:12). He makes every effort to get any help in the house of his idol. Of course there is no salvation there. His going to the sanctuary of his god and the prayer to his god are totally useless.