Isaiah 16:1

Moab Destroyed

1 Send ^athe lamb to the ruler of the land,
^bFrom¹ Sela to the wilderness,
To the mount of the daughter of Zion.

2 For it shall be as a ^awandering bird thrown out of the nest;
So shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of the ^bArnon.

3 “Take counsel, execute judgment;
Make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day;
Hide the outcasts,
Do not betray him who escapes.

4 Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab;
Be a shelter to them from the face of the¹ spoiler.
For the extortioner is at an end,
Devastation ceases,
The oppressors are consumed out of the land.

5 In mercy ^athe throne will be established;
And One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David,
^bJudging and seeking justice and hastening ^crighteousness.”

6 We have heard of the ^apride of Moab—
He is very proud—
Of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath;
^bBut his¹ lies shall not be so.

7 Therefore Moab shall ^awail for Moab;
Everyone shall wail.
For the foundations ^bof Kir Hareseth you shall mourn;
Surely they are stricken.

8 For ^athe fields of Heshbon languish,
And ^bthe vine of Sibmah;
The lords of the nations have broken down its choice plants,
Which have reached to Jazer
And wandered through the wilderness.
Her branches are stretched out,
They are gone over the ^csea.

9 Therefor¹e I will bewail the vine of Sibmah,
With the weeping of Jazer;
I will drench you with my tears,
^aO Heshbon and Elealeh;
For battle cries have fallen
Over your summer fruits and your harvest.

10 ^aGladness is taken away,
And joy from the plentiful field;
In the vineyards there will be no singing,
Nor will there be shouting;
No treaders will tread out wine in the presses;
I have made their shouting cease.

11 Therefore ^amy heart shall resound like a harp for Moab,
And my inner being for¹ Kir Heres.

12 And it shall come to pass,
When it is seen that Moab is weary on ^athe high place,
That he will come to his sanctuary to pray;
But he will not prevail.

13 This is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning Moab since that time.

14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “Within three years, ^aas the years of a hired man, the glory of Moab will be despised with all that great multitude, and the remnant will be very small and feeble.”

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?

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What Does Isaiah 16:1 Mean?

Isaiah 16:1-5

These displaced persons are heading generally south, but they are milling around in confusion—they are terrified, frightened and do not know what to do. This is what they are doing at the fords of Arnon, saying, "What should we do? Where should we go? Maybe we ought to go to Zoar? It's a little place, you see. Nobody will pay any attention to us if we're there." But God admonishes them to make an offering—thus the mention of the word "lamb"—to the ruler of the land.

Who is the ruler of the land? It has to be Christ, because that is where His church is. He is governing His church, and He is admonishing the Moabites to make an offering. He is saying, "Pray, cry out for mercy to the ruler of the land, to Jesus Christ." The offering is to go through Selah: "From Selah to the wilderness," because that is where God's outcasts are. But He tells them, "Be sure nobody sees you. Hide them, hide My people. Don't betray where My people are," Then he encourages them, "Hang on! It's almost over. Christ is coming, and it's but a short time to when that will take place."

John W. Ritenbaugh
A Place of Safety? (Part 2)

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Moab Destroyed

What Does Isaiah 16:1 Mean?

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