Isaiah 15: Moab Undone like the Nations, Mourned like Israel -- 2019/10/03

Rev. Curtis Deterding, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, Florida, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 15. “My heart cries out for Moab!” Unlike the previous oracles against Babylon, Assyria, and Philistia, this one in Isaiah 15 takes a sympathetic perspective. Rather than a vengeful and ominous tone, Isaiah speaks with one of heartbreak from the perspective of a nation in mourning. Moab and Israel have had a rocky relationship, especially considering the incident at Baal-Peor in Numbers 25. Yet Moab and Israel are closely related, even if they are estranged (Genesis 19). The oracle foretells utter destruction by both war and nature. It predicts grim devastation not unlike the plagues of Egypt. And yet Isaiah’s words show that God takes no pleasure in the destruction of idolaters. He would rather have the Moabites attach themselves to Israel like Ruth, the ancestor of our Lord Jesus, and that all nations of the earth be blessed.