Chapter 16

1 Moab is exhorted to yield obedience to Christ’s kingdom. 6 Moab is threatened for her pride. 9 The prophet bewaileth her. 12 The judgment of Moab.

1. Send ye the lamb. When Moab had been subdued by Omri and Ahab, tribute was paid to Israel in the form of lambs and rams (2 Kings 3:4). Now Moab was called upon to send a similar tribute to Judah.

From Sela. See on 2 Kings 14:7; cf. Jer. 48:28. Sela means “rock,” and is thought to have been the name of the capital of Edom. The people of Moab had been forced to leave their cities and flee to the wilderness and make their homes in the rocks. Now, in their desolate condition, they are called upon to acknowledge the supremacy of “the mount of the daughter of Zion” by the payment of tribute.

2. A wandering bird. Or, “a fleeing bird,” or “a stray bird,” a graphic illustration of the fugitives of Moab, who knew not which way to turn for safety.

3. Take counsel. Some think these words are addressed to Zion by the Moabites, who had been forced to leave their country; others, counsel given by the prophet to the humbled people of Moab. The latter seems to be the more likely. Having brought judgment upon Moab, the Lord now counsels its stricken inhabitants as to the course they ought to pursue. Henceforth they should deal justly and practice mercy toward their neighbors. In the day of Judah’s calamity the people of Moab took delight in the tribulation that had overtaken God’s people (see Jer. 48:27; Zeph 2:8). Now the Lord admonishes them to show kindness to Judah, and not to take advantage of exiles forced to seek refuge in Moab. As with the shadows of night, they were to hide the fleeing fugitives and not to betray (“bewray”) them to their pursuers.

4. Dwell with thee. Moab is admonished to permit the outcasts from Judah to find refuge in her midst and to hide them from those who would seek their destruction. This message was given to Moab a century before the Babylonians brought judgment upon Judah, when thousands of Jews sought refuge in Moab (Jer. 40:11). At that time, however, this counsel was not heeded, and the Moabites took keen delight in the miseries that had come upon Judah (Jer. 48:26, 27). For this reason a terrible judgment was to fall upon Moab (Zeph. 2:8, 9).

5. In mercy. The words of v. 4, an admonition to Moab, are also appropriate to the kingdom of Christ. The prophet seems to look forward to a time when a representative of the house of David, the Messiah (see on ch. 11:1), will govern Moab. It is mercy, not cruelty, that brings security, peace, and prosperity to the peoples of earth. If Moab will be merciful, its throne will be established; if not, the nation is doomed. It was because the Lord “heard the reproach of Moab” against His people that He declared, “Surely Moab shall be as Sodom,” and announced that He would be “terrible unto them” (Zeph. 2:8, 9, 11).

6. The pride of Moab. Pride and arrogancy were outstanding weakness of Moab and primary reasons for its destruction (see Jer. 48:29; Zeph. 2:10).

His lies. Literally, “his idle talk,” “his boasting.” Compare Jer. 48:30. The boasts of Moab were false, and would be proved to be altogether in vain.

7. Moab howl. Had Moab given heed to the counsel of the Lord, its throne would have been established in righteousness and mercy, but since it refused, the result would be woe and destruction. The whole nation would wail in agony at the arrival of the hour of doom.

The foundations. Literally, “raisin cakes.” In Hosea 3:1 the same word is translated “flagons of wine” (see on 2 Sam. 6:19; S. of Sol. 2:5). Perhaps pressed cakes of raisins had been one of the chief products of Kir-hareseth, and the people here bemoan the loss of their chief means of livelihood.

8. Heshbon. See on ch. 15:4.

Sibmah. This city was assigned to Reuben (Num. 32:37, 38; Joshua 13:15, 19) and was famous for its grapes (Jer. 48:32). The vines of this beautiful and prosperous country were destroyed by the cruel invaders. The city of Sibmah was near Heshbon, its location uncertain. The figure of the branches of Moabite grapevines reaching out in various directions probably suggests the places to which the product of its vines was exported, in the form of raisin cakes.

Unto Jazer. That is, the branches of the flourishing vine of Heshbon and Sibmah reached northward even unto Jazer, a city on the northern frontier (west or northwest of Rabbath-ammon), originally in Gilead (Num. 32:1, 3, 35; 2 Sam. 24:5; 1 Chron. 26:31). They stretched eastward into the Arabian Desert, and westward they crossed the Dead Sea to reappear on the slopes of En-gedi (S. of Sol. 1:14). The words of Isaiah picture the flourishing and extensive vineyards of Heshbon and Sibmah as constituting a single vine reaching out in all directions (see Jer. 48:32).

9. For the shouting. The last part of v. 9 reads, literally, “for upon thy summer fruits and upon thy harvest a shout has fallen.” In times of peace and prosperity this would be the joyous shout of the harvesters, but in a time of war (see on v. 7) it would be the shout of the invader as he took possession of the harvest and destroyed the trees and vines. The Targums read, “a despoiler has fallen.” The prophet joins with the inhabitants of Moab in weeping over their miseries.

10. Gladness. Harvesttime in the fields and vineyards was a period of unrestrained joy and celebration. Instead, tears were to take the place of laughter.

11. Bowels. Considered by the Hebrews to be the seat of the emotions (see on Gen. 43:30). Here the emotions are pictured as vibrating like the plaintive chords of a lyre sounding a funeral dirge. The prophet sympathizes with the people against whom he testifies.

12. Moab is weary. When Moab presents himself at the high place of his god, even though he wearies himself with incantations and prayers, Chemosh will not answer (see 1 Kings 18:26–29).

13. Since that time. Literally, “from then,” a Hebrew idiom meaning “formerly,” “of old,” “in the past.” In ch. 48:3, 5, 7, it is translated “from the beginning,” and in 2 Sam. 15:34, “hitherto.” The meaning here is that Isaiah’s message is but a repetition of earlier messages that had been given.

14. Within three years. Previous pronouncements of judgment against Moab had been indefinite as to time.

The years of an hireling. A hireling works only so long as his contract requires. He is not likely to remain beyond that time. Thus it will be with the judgment soon to fall upon Moab. A time has been set for that judgment, and judgment is not likely to be postponed.

Very small and feeble. Moab was not to be completely destroyed. A remnant would be left, but that remnant would be small and weak.

Ellen G. White comments

3, 4 MH 188