Isaiah 15
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CHAPTER 15
A Prophecy Against Moab (15:1–9)
1–9 This prophecy describes God’s future judgment on Moab83. God most likely used the Assyrians to inflict this judgment, but it is not known when the events described here actually took place.
Moab was a small country east of Israel and its founding can be traced back to Abraham’s nephew Lot (Genesis 19:3637). Thus the Moabites were “cousins” of the Israelites. Furthermore, David’s great grandmother was a Moabitess (Ruth 4:1317). But in spite of the blood relationship between Moabites and Israelites, they remained perpetual enemies throughout most of their history. In particular, the Moabites never worshiped Israel’s God.
The places named in this chapter are all located within Moab, but the exact identification of most of them is uncertain.
Isaiah vividly describes the severity of God’s judgment on Moab. Its people will weep on Moab’s high places (verse 2)—the pagan shrines built on hilltops; they will shave their heads and wear sackcloth to indicate their grief. So many Moabites will die that their blood will spill into the waters of the land (verse 9). As Isaiah sees all this happening in his vision, his heart cries out over Moab (verse 5); the Old Testament prophets took no personal pleasure in announcing God’s fearful judgments. But Isaiah’s cry surely reflects God’s heart as well; God, who wants all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), takes no pleasure in judging them (see Matthew 23:37).