Isaiah · chapter 15 of 66
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Isaiah 15 is an oracle of lament against Moab, the people east of the Dead Sea. In a single night Ar and Kir of Moab are laid waste, and across the land people weep, shave their heads and wear mourning clothes. The waters of Nimrim dry up, the grass disappears and fugitives flee toward Zoar with what little they have, while the Lord announces still more calamity.
After the oracles against Babylon, Assyria and Philistia, Isaiah turns to Moab, a kingdom descended from Lot and neighbor of Israel and Judah, with whom relations were tense but also had connections, such as Ruth's. The chapter is above all a poetic lament: the prophet describes, city after city, the grief of a country collapsing.
The oracle begins with the destruction of Ar of Moab and Kir of Moab, laid waste in a single night. Moab goes up to the high places of Bayith and Dibon to weep. Over Nebo and Medeba Moab wails, and every head is shaved and every beard cut off. In the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.
Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, and their voice is heard as far as Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud and their soul trembles. The prophet's heart cries out for Moab, and its fugitives flee as far as Zoar, the third heifer, and go up weeping by the ascent of Luhith. On the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction.
The waters of Nimrim are dried up and the grass is withered; there is no greenery. So they carry what they have gained and stored up over the brook of the willows. The cry goes around the territory of Moab, to Eglaim and Beer-elim. The waters of Dibon are full of blood, and the Lord will bring even more upon Dibon: a lion for those of Moab who escape and for the remnant of the land.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
In a single night Ar and Kir of Moab are laid waste and the country is ruined. The speed of the disaster shows how fragile the security of a people is when it does not rest on God.
Isaiah's heart cries out for Moab while its fugitives reach as far as Zoar. The prophet does not rejoice at the neighbor's misfortune but weeps for it, an attitude that reflects God's compassionate heart.
The waters of Nimrim dry up and the grass disappears. Judgment touches not only cities and people but the land itself, which stops providing sustenance.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Moab, the neighbor east of the Dead Sea. — Isaiah 15:1
Answer: A single night. — Isaiah 15:1
Answer: Shaved heads, cut beards, sackcloth in the streets and weeping on the housetops and in the squares. — Isaiah 15:2-3
Answer: His heart cries out for Moab. — Isaiah 15:5
Answer: They dry up and the grass withers, leaving no greenery. — Isaiah 15:6
Answer: A lion, that is, even greater calamity. — Isaiah 15:9
Isaiah 15 teaches us to look at the suffering of other peoples with compassion, not indifference. The prophet announces a judgment, yet he weeps for Moab. In a small group, we can ask how we respond to news of distant tragedies and whether we pray for and help those who lose everything.
It also shows that human security is fragile. Cities and fortresses that seemed firm fell in a night. Lasting trust is found only in the Lord, and that trust frees us from the fear of losing what we have.
Isaiah 15 ends with Moab in tears, without water and with new punishment on the way. Chapter 16 continues the oracle with a call to seek refuge in Zion and a new description of Moabite pride.
The Moabites were a people neighboring Israel east of the Dead Sea, descended from Lot according to Genesis 19:37. There were conflicts with them, but also connections, such as the story of Ruth, a Moabite who became an ancestor of David.
The text gives no date. Moab suffered attacks from Assyria in the eighth century BC and later from Babylon. Many interpreters see these invasions as the fulfillment, though a single occasion cannot be pinned down.
His lament shows that God's judgment is not announced with satisfaction. The prophet shares the pain of those who suffer, and that compassion reflects the character of God, who takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.