Isaiah Chapter 15 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Isaiah 15:1
This is a prophecy about Mo'av: The night 'Ar is sacked, Mo'av is ruined. The night Kir is sacked, Mo'av is ruined.
As we have seen in the last couple of chapters, God is dealing with Israel's neighbors, and here He turns to the Moabites. Lot, the nephew of Avraham, had a son with his oldest daughter after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (see Genesis 19). This son's name was Moab, and the land of Moab is what we call Jordan today. Ar and Kir were the two strongholds of the land, and here we see a prophecy that they will be destroyed in a single night. In our world today, we do not even wonder about the fact that a city can be destroyed in a night. But at the time of Isaiah, they did not have the weapons of mass destruction that we have, so the only way this would be possible is by the very power of God.
Isaiah 15:2–4
He went up to the temple, to Dibon and to the high places, to weep. On N'vo and Meidva Mo'av is howling, every head shaved bald, every beard cut off. In the streets they wear sackcloth; on their roofs and in their squares, everyone howls and weeps profusely. Heshbon and El'aleh cry out, they are heard as far as Yachatz. Mo'av's best troops cry aloud, as their courage faints away.
We see the widespread destruction of the cities and the fact that the people cry out to their idols. We see that they shave their heads and beards as well as wearing sackcloth, things that the Israelites did as signs of repentance. But the Moabites were going through the motions without worshiping the true God. They had inherited this from Lot, who had been close to faith as he traveled with Avram but had missed out when he made the choice to settle among the people of Sodom. Much the same thing happens today, as many will sit in a pew and go through the motions but never have a true faith in God. This is what many call the "almost persuaded," so close to the kingdom of God but falling short of putting their trust in Yeshua the Messiah. They, like the Moabites, are destined to be judged, and it will come just as swiftly as it is foretold here.
Isaiah 15:5
My heart cries out for Mo'av! Its fugitives flee to Tzo'ar, a calf three years old. They ascend the slope of Luchit, weeping as they go; on their way to Horonayim, they utter heartrending cries.
Here we see that the people fled instead of repenting and turning to God. Yet we also see how much God cares for them, as His own heart cries out for them. The same is true for the almost persuaded of today, as God's heart cries out each and every Sunday for those who are so close to the kingdom and yet so far. They, like the Moabites, will attempt to flee the coming judgment of God rather than run to Him.
Isaiah 15:6–8
The waters of Nimrim are desolate, the grass is dried up, the new growth fails, nothing green is left. Therefore they carry away their wealth, everything they have put aside, across the Vadi of the Willows. For the cry has circulated throughout Mo'av's territory - its howling has reached Eglayim, its howling has reached Be'er-Elim.
God judged the land of Moab, and the people fled. We are reminded here that storing up wealth on this earth is a waste of time. The "almost persuaded" will put in their time at a church service, but the majority of their time and energy is focused on building their legacy or their bank accounts rather than their relationship with God.
Isaiah 15:9
For the waters of Dimon are full of blood, yet I have worse in store for Dimon - a lion for those who escape from Mo'av and for those who remain in its land.
The water for the city of Dibon was turned to blood, and the people fled, but still more judgment was to follow. Just as the blood was a sign for Pharaoh to repent and let Israel go, God was still calling Moab to repent before the coming final judgment. This pattern continues as we see waters turned to blood during the Great Tribulation period before the final judgment of Yeshua the Messiah, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The "almost persuaded" will not escape the coming judgment.