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We now move into the second section of the chapter dealing with the deliverance of Israel from captivity.

Read Isaiah 42:9. What are these “things” being mentioned here? These are actually prophecies. The “former things” are those prophecies given by both Isaiah and Jeremiah, predicting Judah’s captivity, which have now come to past. Read Isaiah 39:5-7, Jeremiah 15:1-2. Now that those prophecies have been fulfilled, the Lord has “new things” or new messages to give the people describing what will happen in the future.

We don’t know what God is going to do until verses 13-16, but we do know it is going to be something wonderful and encouraging because the verses that follow talk of rejoicing and praise.

Read Isaiah 42:10-12. Here we have a list of two different groups praising and worshiping God: aspects of nature such as “all that is in the sea”, “the islands”, “the desert” and people groups from “the ends of the earth”, “fishermen and sailors” (you who go down to the sea), “islanders”, “Arab desert dwellers – those living in cities, as well as nomads” (Kedar), and “people of Sela” (that is Petra, the rock capital city of Edom, to the south of Israel). Isaiah appears to be describing primarily the areas and peoples surrounding Israel: those who would be most aware of when the Jews return from captivity in Babylon. In God’s perfect world, all these peoples and areas would be rejoicing that the Jews have been redeemed and forgiven by God and living once more in their Promised Land. He does include from “the ends of the earth” in his list to show that this is something worthy of rejoicing on a world wide scale.

Now we learn what God is going to do. Read Isaiah 42:13. The Lord is going into effort like a mighty man, like a warrior. This is called an “anthropomorphism”, where one describes God using human terms, to superior comprehend His character and actions. He is going to fight for captive Israel like he fought for the Israelites against the Egyptians during the Exodus. Read Exodus 15:3-4. The Israelites didn’t physically see God as a giant warrior, tossing Pharaoh’s chariots about; they only saw the results of his power, when he caused the waters to come crashing down and drowning the Egyptians. The same is true here in Isaiah: the Israelites wouldn’t actually see God in the shape of warrior, a mighty man, or hear an audible effort cry but they would see his deeds when he destroyed their enemies, the Babylonians. Notice that they are also “his” enemies, for they have mistreated his chosen people, the Jews.

Read Isaiah 42:14. In verses 10-13 Isaiah was speaking, but now the Lord, Jehovah, talks once more. Here, in this anthropomorphism (God being described as being like a woman in childbirth) we get a glimmer of the depth of God’s feelings for Israel/Judah. He was silent for a time (50 to 60 years), watching as his people suffered, and stated and did nothing, but now the pain of watching has become so great, like that of going through childbirth, that He can no longer stand back and do nothing. What a graphic image!

I thought about what is all involved in childbirth: inside the mother’s womb the fetus is growing and changing. The mom must carry the fetus and in the process goes through many inconveniences and anguish to keep the unborn child healthy. If the baby is to survive outside the womb the mom must carry it to term, for a certain length of time; if the baby is born prematurely, it might die. The Jews were not ready to return to Jerusalem until their 70 years were complete; they could not be “born” again until they had spent their allotted time in captivity. They needed time to repent and grow spiritually. But it was not a comfortable thing for the Lord to go through, biding his time until they “grew up”, especially since, unlike our fetus analogy, they had to go through physical suffering to spiritually grow. But just as a mom adores her child, so the Lord greatly adores his chosen people and was willing to go through great pain for them.

To be continued…

Sources
Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford (notes). The Student Bible. NIV Version
H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell (editors). The Pulpit Commentary Volume 10: Isaiah

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Read Isaiah 42:15. From a first read this sounds like the Lord is going to physically destroy nature, ie. mountains, hills, vegetation, etc. We must remember that in the Bible things in the natural realm are often used to represent people of different stations. The mountains and hills here most likely represent Babylonians of high rank: kings and nobles. If we can remember way back in chapter 2, Isaiah uses similar images, but with greater variety: Read Isaiah 2:12-18. The vegetation in 42:15, therefore, probably represents the rest of the Babylonians – those of middle and lower rank. There will be a change in the established order of things: rivers will become islands, pools will become dry wells. The Babylonian government will be shaken and set topsy-turvy. The Lord could also be alluding to how Babylon would begin to Cyrus the Persian: according to the Greek historian Herodotus the city of Babylon straddled the River Euphrates. Cyrus had the river diverted by a canal into a basin so that his army was healthy to march into Babylon on the river-bed. In other words he turned the river into a series of islands!

Read Isaiah 42:16. As we read further on in this chapter we come to realize that God is talking of the Jews here – they are the blind. We see an interesting process going on here – they begin out as blind, as God leads them, but as they achievement with him, he brings light into their lives and so they are healthy to see. The Jews, when they were in the captivity, were still in darkness because of their early sins and greatly in need of guidance. “ways they have not known” and “along unfamiliar paths I will guide them” is most likely referring to how Cyrus will voluntarily grant them to return to their homeland. Such grace from a conqueror was not common or expected. God also promises to “make the rough places smooth”; this is a theme we have seen before and will see again. Read Isaiah 26:7, 40:3-4, 45:13. I think there are probably multiple meanings to this theme: 1) God will work in the people’s lives to remove those sins which are preventing them from moving forward toward their goal; 2) God will wage endorsement when enemies both human and spiritual attack; 3) God will remove circumstantial obstacles which might prevent the mortal from reaching his goal.

Read Isaiah 42:17. God makes it clear that this rescue from captivity is for the Godly Jew, not for those who worship idols, like the Babylonians. The idol worshipers will be defeated and turned back.

To be continued…

Sources
Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford (notes). The Student Bible. NIV Version
H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell (editors). The Pulpit Commentary Volume 10: Isaiah

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We move into the third and final section of this chapter. Here Israel is reminded that they are in captivity because of their sin and encouraged to return to God.

Read Isaiah 42:18. God is rebuking the Jews by calling them “deaf” and “blind.” Note, however, that he commands them to “hear” and “see” which tells us that they are deaf and blind by choice! Read Matthew 13:15. But the fact that God appeals to them here states that they do have some glimmer of moral discernment or moral vision left, if they but take the effort to leave their apathy and use it. Remember what we read early in this chapter “a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” If there is even a spark of establishment left, he will do all he can to feed it.

Read Isaiah 42:19. This section can be somewhat confusing when we compare it to the first section, since here, too, we read about “my servant.” This servant, however, is clearly not the same as the one at the beginning of the chapter, for God rebukes this servant, calling him blind, in contrast to the first one, which he honors and esteems. Two commentaries that I’ve looked at state that this second servant is Israel – which does make sense, for Israel was originally intended to be God’s representative here on connector to the other nations. Because of her failure, God has to send the Messiah as his true and final Servant.

Read Isaiah 42:20. I can not fathom God talking this verse to Jesus, this is clearly spoken to a rebellious mortal or nation, such as Israel. “You have seen many things” is referring to all the wonderful miracles and prophecies fulfilled that God had given to Israel. But they ignore these deeds, as if they are meaningless. “your ears are open, but you hear nothing.” The Jews could physically hear all the words of the prophets, both present and past, but they don’t grant the words to sink in or repent because of them.

Read Isaiah 42:21. Here we have a change in speakers, from the Lord talking to Isaiah speaking. The law being spoken of here is not just the law given on Mount Sinai to Moses, but all the additional insights and commands given to the Jews through the centuries by the prophets. Why this verse is here, after the rebuke for being blind and deaf, isn’t really clear until we jump down to verse 24, the second half. “they did not obey his law.” Isaiah is making it clear that compliance to the law, compliance to God, is of extreme importance. He is setting us up for what he states next.

Read Isaiah 42:22. Isaiah is describing how Judah was attacked and looted by the Babylonians, the people then taken into captivity and prefabricated slaves in Babylon. Isaiah uses the phrase “hidden away in prisons.” We have a specific example of this happening to the second to the last king of Judah, Jehoiachin. Read 2 Kings 24:8-17, 25:27-30. Jehoiachin reigned for 3 months and then spent 37 years in prison.

Isaiah continues with “they have been prefabricated loot with no one to state ‘send them back’.” Isaiah is saying who is going to ransom an entire nation? Individuals or people of royal blood might have someone willing to pay a high price to ransom them, but a whole nation? If we jump ahead to the next chapter we see that the Lord will not leave His people as prisoners and slaves. He will wage a ransom for them. Read Isaiah 43:3-4. We’ll look at these verses in greater detail later, to superior comprehend the specifics of this ransom.

Read Isaiah 42:23. Isaiah is reaching out to those individuals who aren’t quete as hardened as the rest: those who aren’t absolutely deaf of blind. In order for the Lord to rescue them, there has to be a significant heart change among the masses. There needs to be true repentance. And that starts with an understanding of how they came to this hard, miserable place. The next verse helps to further this understanding.

Read Isaiah 42:24. Isaiah makes it pretty clear: God did this. He was in complete control of the Babylonians and used them as a way to discipline the Jews for their sin and disobedience. Notice that Isaiah includes himself as part of this guilty nation. The prophets justice and Ezra had this same loving compassion and humility in their capability to take on the burden of sin of their people, though as individuals they probably had tiny to repent of. Read justice 9:4-6, Ezra 9:5-7.

Read Isaiah 42:25. Here we get some specifics of the punishment: the violence of war with images of flames. Jerusalem was burned in the final attack. Read 2 Kings 25:8-9. This image of great devastation “It enveloped them in flames”, “it consumed them” could also be referring to the general devastation of Judah as a whole. Jeremiah is filled with examples. Here is just one. Read Jeremiah 44:19-23. (The Queen of Heaven was Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of fertility.)

Isaiah because it clear in 42:25 that he didn’t really see any great repentance coming out of the Captivity up to this point. The Jews go through all this discomfort and suffering and they “still don’t get it!” If they had, Isaiah would not have needed to preach this chapter.

Blessings!

Sources
Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford (notes). The Student Bible. NIV Version
H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell (editors). The Pulpit Commentary Volume 10: Isaiah

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What’s in a name?
Names in the Bible are very important.  Several times in scriptures God changes a person’s study (Abram to Abraham, Simon to Peter) or tells expectant parents what to study their kids (Hosea; Zechariah and Elizabeth, John the Baptist’s parents; Mary the mom of Jesus).  These obloquy often reflect the character or different aspects of God, or how God will be working in that person’s life, or even as a prophecy of future events. 

“Isaiah” in Hebrew means “Jah is helper”
This is very similar to “Joshua” which means “Jah his help”
“Jesus” is the Greek & Latin form of the Hebrew “Joshua”

“Jah” is a shorter form of “Jehovah”, one of the Hebrew obloquy for God. 

A more modern meaning of “Isaiah”, therefore, is “the salvation of God” or in the Greek “Esaias:  Jehovah has saved.”

One Bible dictionary I read described the aspects of God given in the study “Jehovah” as follows:

Underived existence, He is or I am because I am, the God of Abraham, of grace, and truth, and love, self-existence, eternity

The writer then summed this up to state that “Jehovah” is “God in grace” (unmerited favor). 

Why should we care what “Isaiah” and “Jehovah” mean?
When I began to study the book of Isaiah, I started to see a pattern of how his writings reflect what is hinted at in his name.

Firstly, Isaiah was God’s prophet – I find it significant that one of God’s shorter obloquy is in his name; I see this as a symbol of Isaiah representing God to his contemporaries and later, to us.  Isaiah spoke God’s words.

Isaiah prophesies regarding the coming Messiah, the salvation and savior of the world, the eventual gift of grace.  I find it very interesting that in Hebrew his study is so similar in meaning to Joshua/Jesus, the Messiah himself.  Jah is a God of grace.

Isaiah preaches to the Jews:  Jah is the God of Abraham.

Isaiah preaches repentance to the Gentiles:  Jah is a God of love and wants no one, Jew or Gentile to perish.  Jah provides a savior for all people, the eventual grace.

Isaiah prophecies of an eternal kingdom, not just an earthlike one:  Jah is a God of eternity.

Isaiah’s prophecies show the people who and what they really are in motive and in character, not what they pretend to be:  Jah is a God of truth

Isaiah prophecies of what is to come: Jah as a Being has always existed, will always exist, and is not constrained by time.  He knows what’s going to happen.

What do we know about Isaiah the man?
Read Isaiah 1:1:  We know his father’s name, Amoz (“strong”), but not his tribe.  Tradition says he was of “royal” descent, perhaps, therefore, from David’s (Judah’s) line.

He is believed to have prophesized during a period of at least 48 years, during the time of 4 Judah kings, Uzziah (Azariah), Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

One Bible dictionary estimated he began his ministry on or about 740 BC.

We know that he was married and had at least two sons. 

Read Isaiah 7:3:  “Shear-Jashub” (“a remnant will return”)

Read Isaiah 8:3-4:  wife is called a prophetess; second son “Maher-Shalal-Hash-Bay” (“quick to the plunder, quick to the spoil”)

Again here obloquy are important, in this case Isaiah’s sons are symbols of future events:

– the first son is a symbol/prophecy that though Judah will be judged and taken into captivity, God is merciful and promises a remnant of the people will return

– the second son is a symbol/prophecy that Damascus and Samaria will be plundered by Assyria

These obloquy themselves show that God is a God of grace AND judgment.  Each time these men’s obloquy were spoken people would be reminded of what God had done and/or would be doing in the future.

We don’t know when Isaiah died for certain, but Jewish tradition says that he was martyred by King Manasseh, actually sawed in half, at approximately age 80. (Manasseh was Hezekiah’s son.)

Other notes of interest
Two other prophets were preaching during the time of Isaiah, Hosea (to Israel, the Northern Kingdom) and Micah (to Judah, the Southern Kingdom).

Isaiah was written the same century as Homer’s Iliad and the Odyssey.

Isaiah is mentioned in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles.

His prophecies regarding the Messiah (written approx. 700 years before Christ) are quoted in all four gospels, Acts, and Romans.

Sources
H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell (editors). The Pulpit Commentary  Volume 10:  Isaiah
Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford (notes). The Student Bible.  NIV Version
John D. Davis.  The Westminster Dictionary of the Bible.

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(When I taught my two year long Bible study on Isaiah, I used The Pulpit Commentary Volume 10: Isaiah edited by H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell to give me a starting point and rough outline of the material covered in the chapters. In this article, when you read the phrase “my commentary”, I am referring to this volume. I also used supplementary books and materials when I originally taught this study; these I’ve noted in {}s.)

These next few verses describe how Egypt is going to turn to Jehovah, the one true God. There is a lot to discuss in these verses, so lets read them through all together first to get a general intent of what is happening, then discuss them in more detail. Read Isaiah 19:18-22

Now how is this turning to Jehovah going to come about? Well, first there is going to be an influx of Jews who are going to move into Egypt in the future. Read Isaiah 19:18 The number 5 is probably not to be taken literally, but rather is provided as a round number, meaning several or a massive number of cities. People are going to emigrate from Canaan (Palestine) and into Egypt (most likely into the Eastern Delta). One fulfillment of this prophecy that we can point to is at the founding of Alexandria, by Alexander the Great, and when he encouraged the Jews to become settlers there. (Alexander lived from 356-323 BC) We have historical evidence regarding this from the historian Josephus. Josephus wrote his books between 75-100 AD. The following is taken from his “Against Apion, Book II.”

Apparently Josephus is writing in response to Apion’s charge that the Jews of Alexandria can not be called Alexandrians, because they are Jewish. It is very sad, but apparently Anti-Semitism has been around since ancient times!

“IV. But let us now see what those heavy and wicked crimes are which Apion charges upon the Alexandrian Jews. ‘They came (says he) out of Syria, and inhabited near the tempestuous sea, and were in the neighborhood of the dashing of the waves.’ Now if the place of habitation includes any thing that is reproached, this man reproaches not his own real country, (Egypt,) but what he pretends to be his own country, Alexandria; for all are concurred in this, that the part of that city which is near the sea is the ideal part of all for habitation. Now if the Jews gained that part of the city by force, and have kept it hitherto without impeachment, this is a mark of their valor; but in reality it was Alexander himself that gave them that place for their habitation, when they obtained equal privileges there with the Macedonians. Nor call I devise what Apion would have said, had their habitation been at Necropolis? and not been fixed hard by the royal palace (as it is); nor had their nation had the denomination of Macedonians given them till this very day (as they have). Had this man now read the epistles of king Alexander, or those of Ptolemy the son of Lagus, or met with the writings of the succeeding kings, or that pillar which is still standing at Alexandria, and contains the privileges which the great (Julius) comic bestowed upon the Jews; had this man, I say, known these records, and yet hath the impudence to write in contradiction to them, he hath shown himself to be a wicked man; but if he knew nothing of these records, he hath shown himself to be a man very ignorant: nay, when lie appears to wonder how Jews could be called Alexandrians, this is another like instance of his ignorance; for all such as are called out to be colonies, even though they be ever so far remote from one another in their original, receive their obloquy from those that bring them to their new habitations.”

Back to Isaiah… “One of them will be called the City of Destruction.” This is believed to refer to the city of Heliopolis. Ancient Helipolis can be found in the midst of modern day Cairo. { Show port on map } During the time of Ptolemy VI, there was another influx of Jews into Egypt, one of them an exiled priest titled Onias, along with many supporters. He received permission to erect a Jewish temple near Heliopolis. Here, Onias established a small Jewish settlement that flourished between the primeval 2nd Century BC and the 1st Century AD.

This fact seems to support the truth of our next verse in Isaiah. Read Isaiah 19:19. Onias, in fact, uses this verse to acquire support in building this temple. This is taken from Josephus’ work “Antiquities of the Jews, Book 13, 3″:

“BUT then the son of Onias the high priest, who was of the same study with his father, and who fled to king Ptolemy, who was called Philometor, lived now at Alexandria, as we have stated already. When this Onias saw that Judea was oppressed by the Macedonians and their kings, out of a desire to buy to himself a memorial and eternal fame he resolved to send to king Ptolemy and queen Cleopatra, to ask leave of them that he might build a temple in Egypt like to that at Jerusalem, and might ordain Levites and priests out of their own stock. The chief reason why he was desirous so to do, was, that he relied upon the prophet Isaiah, who lived above six hundred years before, and foretold that there certainly was to be a temple built to Almighty God in Egypt by a man that was a Jew. Onias was elevated with this prediction, and wrote the following epistle to Ptolemy and Cleopatra: “Having done many and great things for you in the affairs of the war, by the assistance of God, and that in Celesyria and Phoenicia, I came at length with the Jews to Leontopolis, and to other places of your nation, where I found that the greatest part of your people had temples in an improper manner, and that on this statement they bare ill-will one against another, which happens to the Egyptians by reason of the multitude of their temples, and the difference of views about Divine worship. Now I found a very fit place in a castle that hath its study from the country Diana; this place is full of materials of several sorts, and replenished with unnameable animals; I desire therefore that you will allow me leave to purge this holy place, which belongs to no master, and is fallen down, and to build there a temple to Almighty God, after the pattern of that in Jerusalem, and of the same dimensions, that might be for the benefit of thyself, and thy wife and children, that those Jews which live in Egypt might have a place whither they might come and meet together in mutual harmony one with another, and he subservient to thy advantages; for the prophet Isaiah foretold that “there should be an altar in Egypt to the Lord God; (5) and many other such things did he prophesy relating to that place.”

So even before the time of Christ, there was a strong Jewish community in Egypt. Many of these would have worshipped the one true God.

Read Isaiah 19:19 We have already established that there would have been a Jewish temple in Heliopolis (the heart of Egypt) and a Jewish community (most likely with a synagogue) in Alexandria (on the northern border of Egypt) all before the time of Christ. However, this verse was also fulfilled by the birth of the Coptic Church in Egypt, one of the oldest Christian churches in the world.

Knowing the history of the Coptic Church, the next few verses make much more sense. Read Isaiah 19:20-21. God is going to send them Jesus, the Christ, to be their Savior and Defender. I believe the oppressors mentioned here are not human ones, but rather spiritual ones. God provided Egypt an escape and salvation from the spiritual oppression of their idol and demon worship, from their sorcery and magic.

Read Isaiah 19:22 God first strikes Egypt – through the Assyrians, than later the Babylonians, the Medes, the Greeks, the Romans, the Arabs… but during this process many Egyptians turn to God, and through their acceptance of Christ they are healed.

These last three verses describe a spiritual alliance among the three countries: Egypt, Assyria, and Israel. Read Isaiah 19:23-25 There will be common communication among all three countries and all will worship the one true God together.

My commentary says that when we read “Egyptians” and “Assyrians” we should be thinking of those people who live in these geographical areas, not necessarily those who are “Egyptian” or “Assyrian” by ethnicity. The commentary believes that these verses are describing the centuries to come when the Jews are dispersed into these countries – when the 10 tribes are taken into captivity, they are relocated into the Mespotoamian regions (the land of the Assyrians) and later the Greeks set up Jewish colonies all over Egypt (which we have already discussed.) These Jews become Assyrian and Egyptian in that they lived in these countries, but they still have ties to Israel, though most of them never return to Israel after the Captivity. The result is that by the time of Alexander the Great there were people worshipping the one true God in as far north as Assyria, and as far south as Egypt. There would have been communication among these Jewish communities “there will be a highway” as described in verse 23.

Look at the description of all the God-fearing Jews who were in Jerusalem at the time of Pentecost, AD 30. Read book 2:5-11. Notice verse 11: “both Jews and converts to Judaism” So it is not only those who were Jewish by birth who come to God because of this dispersion over the centuries, but also people of other ethnic backgrounds. When we move forward in time, we have some of the first Christians living in these countries.

Blessings!

Sources
H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell (editors). The Pulpit Commentary Volume 10: Isaiah
Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford (notes). The Student Bible. NIV Version
Josephus. Against Apion
Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews

Find more Exellent articles from search form.

(When I taught my two year long Bible study on Isaiah, I used The Pulpit Commentary Volume 10: Isaiah edited by H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell to give me a starting point and rough outline of the material covered in the chapters. In this article, when you read the phrase “my commentary”, I am referring to this volume.)

Read Isaiah 39:5-7. The Lord, through Isaiah, tells Hezekiah what will be happening to Judah in the future by describing the Babylonian exile. (This will happen in about 115 years.) Now does this judgment on Judah happen simply because of Hezekiah’s sin here? No; if this was the only sin that God could hold against Judah the Judahites would never have been taken into captivity. My study Bible provides summaries on apiece of the kings of Judah and also gives us insight in Judah’s spiritual say down through the generations. As we read these summaries we can see clearly how God had no choice but to punish Judah for her wickedness. Her good kings only delayed the inevitable. By the time we get to Manasseh, things became so bad that God could no longer withhold His hand. Read 2 Kings 21:10-15.

Isaiah describes how the treasures of Jerusalem’s palace would be carried off to Babylon. This is described in 2 Kings. Read 2 Kings 24:13.

Isaiah also talks of some of Hezekiah’s descendants serving as eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. We see this fulfilled in Daniel 1:3-5. It does not say here that the young men were prefabricated eunuchs, but it is not unlikely, since that was not an unusual practice.

Something to make note of here, Isaiah talks of Hezekiah’s descendants. At this point in Hezekiah’s life our ideal guess is that he did not yet have a son. Manasseh, who was his heir, had not yet been born. That might help explain some of Hezekiah’s response.

We have two verses that describe how Hezekiah responds to Isaiah’s prophecy. Read Isaiah 39:8. Here it appears that Hezekiah responds with great selfishness, greatly relieved that at least he knows that not only will he live 15 more years, but that his reign, at least, will be peaceful and secure. He knows this, in part, because Isaiah talks of his “descendants”, which means future generations, not himself. This also indicates that he will have a son to reign on the throne after him. We can’t really tell from this verse what Hezekiah’s true spiritual say is, whether he felt any remorse for his sin of pride or not. Fortunately we also have 2 Chronicles.

Read 2 Chronicles 32:26. Here we see that Hezekiah repented of his pride; not only that, that he managed to lead his people to repent, as well. How, we don’t know, but somehow the author of Chronicles reports that the people of Jerusalem also repented and that by doing so, forestalled the coming judgment. Taking this into account, this puts a different feel on Isaiah 39:8. Hezekiah might actually be talking with great humility when he states “the word of the Lord you have spoken is good” out of easy gratitude that he and his generation have escaped God’s wrath. Perhaps he knew that all he could do was to lead his own generation to repentance; there was nothing he could do about future generations having to deal with the consequences of their own sin.

Here we see the last of Hezekiah in Isaiah. As a fitting farewell, let’s read his epitaph as it is given in 2 Chronicles. Read 2 Chronicles 32:27-33. How Hezekiah was treated in death states quite a bit about who he was as a man; he was greatly honored by the people and buried in the royal tombs. We can compare this to how Ahaz, his father, was treated in death. Read 2 Chronicles 28:27.

Blessings!

Sources
H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell (editors). The Pulpit Commentary Volume 10: Isaiah
Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford (notes). The Student Bible. NIV Version

Find more Exellent articles from search form.

(When I taught my two-year-long Bible study on Isaiah, I used The Pulpit Commentary Volume 10: Isaiah edited by H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell to give me a starting point and rough outline of the material covered in the chapters. In this article, when you read the phrase “my commentary”, I am referring to this volume.)

Read Isaiah 38:4-6. Here we have a dramatic example that God does hear and answer prayer. You get the sense that nearly immediately after Hezekiah prayed and wept before God the word came to Isaiah. God changes His mind because of Hezekiah’s prayer. The Lord has Hezekiah state “the God of your dad David”; I think the Lord was emphasizing that He had a very special relationship with David and loved him greatly. That love is being passed onto his great, great, etc. grandson because this son is showing the same soft heart and trust in the Lord that prefabricated David so special.

God’s answer and blessing is two-fold. He allows Hezekiah 15 more years of life and promises him that Jerusalem will be defended from the Assyrians. I can’t help thinking how this astonishing statement and promise must have affected Hezekiah. Firstly it is extremely rare that any of us know the exact day of our death. We might have hints or probabilities based on our health (for example, those that have terminal cancer of a certain kind are giving estimates of how long they will live, 3 months, 1 years, etc.) but unless God tells us, we don’t know exactly when that day is coming. Hezekiah did. And if he trusted absolutely in the Lord just envision how that would empower him! He knew he had 15 more years of life, that nothing could happen to kill him, that no sickness would bring him to the point of death again. The uncertainty of death was taken away from him; it was no longer a factor. As we read on in the chapter and the next, we do get a glimpse of how this miracle in his life (and this sense that he was invincible, for 15 years at least) became a source of pride and that pride became his downfall.

I can’t help wondering, however, how time might have diluted that trust and confidence in the Lord and in this promise. 12-13 years later Hezekiah is looking to make allegiances with Egypt against Assyria, rather than trusting in the promise God gives him here! Perhaps this promise comes to mind when he takes the insulting letter from Sennacherib and spreads it before the Lord. Read Isaiah 37:14.

Read Isaiah 38:7-8. God comprehends that people are often weak in their establishment and sometimes gives them physical signs as confirmations that God keeps his promises. Sometimes God offers a sign without being asked, as he did here for Hezekiah, and as he did for the shepherds of Bethlehem at the birth of Jesus. Read Luke 2:8-12. Other times God will wage a sign if we humbly ask for one. Read Judges 6:11-21. Beware, however, of asking for a sign with the wrong attitude. Let’s review how Jesus responded to some people who asked for a sign. Read Matthew 12:38-42.

But what is this sign that the Lord does for Hezekiah? My translation talks of the shadow cast by the sun going back ten steps on the “stairway of Ahaz.” Other translations speak about “the dial of Ahaz” or the “sundial of Ahaz” and that the steps are actually degrees. It is nearly universally accepted that this is the first written mention of a sundial in history. What kind of sundial did Ahaz have? The historian Herodotus tells us that the Babylonians had invented sundials, so it is doable that when Ahaz (who was Hezekiah’s father) visited the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser at Damascus he might have seen one and brought one back or had one made, just as he had the pagan altar made. Read 2 Kings 16:10. The Assyrians had close contact with the Babylonians, so they would have undoubtedly had sundials, as well. My commentary says:

“Sun-dials are of several kinds. The one here spoken of seems to have consisted of a set of steps, with a perpendicular gnomon or pole at the top, the shadow of which receded up the steps as the sun rose in the heavens, and descended down them as the sun declined. We must suppose that the sign was given in the forenoon, when the shadow was gradually creeping up the steps.”

Now how exactly this effect was created is unknown. It is doable a solar eclipse did this. However, it is believed the effect was local because of what is stated in 2 Chronicles 32:31. The envoys were asking about the sign that had occurred in “the land.” This implies only the people of Judah witnessed it, but others outside the area heard about it.

Read Isaiah 38:9. We now move from the historical narrative to the part of the chapter called “Hezekiah’s Psalm”; it is a hymn of thanksgiving. It seems that not only did men in those days and this culture weep, they also wrote poetry! J We know from 2 Chronicles that Hezekiah was interested in the psalms of David and Asaph. Read 2 Chronicles 29:30. These Psalms undoubtedly inspired Hezekiah to write the following.

Hezekiah’s Psalm is broken into two stanzas, verses 10-14 and verses 15-20. In the first stanza Hezekiah offers up his complaint (why should I die?) then in the second stanza offers up his praise and thanks for God’s healing.

Read Isaiah 38:10. Hezekiah’s main complaint was not necessarily that he was going to die, but that he was going to die in the prime of life, before what he considered his time. He had a belief in that apiece person, if they were righteous, should live until weakened by old age.

Read Isaiah 38:11. At this time the Jews did not have a concept of Heaven (or a blissful section of Hades, where they believed the dead went) where God would manifest Himself and where the saints would praise God. Read Psalm 6:5, 115:17-18. So part of Hezekiah’s sadness is that he believes when he dies he will no longer see the Lord, nor see any of his loved ones again.

Read Isaiah 38:12. Here Hezekiah compares his “house” to a shepherd’s tent that is pulled down and taken from him. A shepherd’s tent is a temporary dwelling, set up only for a short time while the shepherd guarded the flock. Paul also refers to his body as a tent. Read 2 Corinthians 5:1-4. Both men comprehend that the body is seen as a dwelling place for the soul, for the “real person” and that when the tent is removed the soul is left exposed and needs another place to go. Paul understood far more than Hezekiah, of course, because he understood the concept of Heaven and that the Lord had prepared a place for his soul to go when his body died.

Hezekiah also compares his life to cloth being woven on a loom; as it is being woven a careful weaver will roll up the cloth to keep it clean and free of dust. But now the Lord is coming to cut the cloth from the loom before it is finished. Just as a trivia note, this picture of a life being woven on a loom is also used in Greek mythology with the three Fates.

Read Isaiah 38:13. Hezekiah is writing poetry here – when he talks of the Lord being like a lion who broke all his bones, he is describing being in great spiritual distress. Having aching bones was a metaphor for being in distress. Read Psalm 6:2-3. Notice that he repeats the line “day and night you prefabricated an end of me” from the previous verse.

Read Isaiah 38:14. Hezekiah is describing how he prefabricated sounds like birds in his discomfort and distress. He is so troubled and fearful he has difficulty looking to the Lord for help. But he does cry out to the Lord for aid, even though he knows it is the Lord who is doing this.

To be continued…

Source

H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell (editors). The Pulpit Commentary Volume 10: Isaiah

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(When I taught my two year long Bible study on Isaiah, I used The Pulpit Commentary  Volume 10:  Isaiah edited by H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell to give me a starting point and rough outline of the material covered in the chapters.  In this article, when you read the phrase “my commentary”, I am referring to this volume.)

Here we are, the last chapter in Isaiah!  What an astounding journey.  This chapter is one of judgment and hope; a fitting last chapter since it shows both aspects of God’s character, that of Just Judge, and Merciful Savior.

Read Isaiah 66:1-2.  The Jews are returning from the captivity and are now turning thoughts toward designing the new temple and reestablishing temple worship.  God reminds them that no man prefabricated building could ever be worthy of God, since His Presence fills all of heaven and earth.  God live in only one small building on earth?  It was absurd!  Solomon expressed the same feelings of awe and humility when he approached the task of building the original temple.  Read 1 Kings 8:27-29, 2 Chronicles 2:5-6.  Solomon understood that the purpose of the temple was to wage a place for God’s people to worship and bring sacrifices.  He knew no building could home God.

God makes it clear that the people He values are the humble and contrite in spirit, who have a sincere desire to follow His word.  Read Isaiah 57:15.  God values such a mortal far more than any elaborate building or any elaborate outward expression of worship and sacrifice.  It is the heart that matters to God.

From this context, we can adopt that the next two verses speak about how God views sacrifices from the outwardly religious, but inwardly chesty and arrogant.  Physical kill without an inward humble spirit of kill is an abomination before God.

Read Isaiah 66:3.  This verse describes four types of outwardly acceptable physical sacrifices and compares them to four abhorrent, offensive acts.  1) So you go to all the time and expense to kill a bull?  Because your act is all outward, with no true inner love for me, you are as a murderer (a killer of men) before my eyes.  2) You killed a lamb?  Your kill is as unclean as that of a kill of a dog.  3) You brought a grain offering?  Your kill is as unclean as that of a pig.  (As a swift side note, Jesus talks about the uncleanness of dogs and pigs.  Read Matthew 7:6.) 4) An offering of incense (which was usually done with a meat offering) is like giving an offering to an idol.  This last makes sense to me since the mortal making the offering is not truly honoring God in his heart, so to whom is he really giving the offering?  To the god of self, the god of hypocrisy, the god of religiosity!

This rebuke is very similar to what we read way back in the first chapter of this book; we come full circle.  Read Isaiah 1:11-17.   

Read Isaiah 66:4.  God warns these people of their folly and sends warnings, but they don’t listen, and they receive their just reward.  Part of this verse is very similar to Isaiah 65:12.  

God now talks to the godly, to those that revere and honor Him.

Read Isaiah 66:5.  This verse reminds me of how when you read an e-mail it is difficult to comprehend the emotions behind the words.  I sometimes wish the Bible came with e-icons, the tiny smiley grappling figures that help express the emotions behind the writer’s meaning!  Here, I need to rely on my commentary to comprehend what is going on.  There are two groups of Jews being described here (notice the “brothers”); those that have been following God and believing the prophecies regarding the humbling of Babylon and the restoration of Israel and those that have rejected God and scoff at such “fantasies.”  Those that have rejected God hate and mistreat those who still follow the “old ways.”  They scoff and mock and say “Yeah, right, let the Lord act and do all He promises and we’ll rejoice with you!” but they don’t anticipate any such miracles.  God knows that they will be place to shame when all the prophecies are fulfilled. 

Read Isaiah 66:6.  Jerusalem and the temple are restored and rebuilt and are filled with the sounds of ordinary life, a bustling, prosperous city.  But it was more than that.  The Jews, under Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, did subjugate many of their ancient adversaries.

We now have the analogy of the creation of the new nation of Israel as being like a woman giving birth.

Read Isaiah 66:7-8.  This is an uncommon birth – the baby is born without any fag pains!  What is going on here?  What is being described is the occupation of Jerusalem with a great number of returning Jews, the Babylonian exiles.  Nearly over night a nation is born, something never before seen in history.  Nations are usually grown slowly, over time, like a woman being in fag for hours, but not with this second birth of Israel!

Read Isaiah 66:9.  I brought this all to pass, states God.  Now that the birth is coming, am I going to step in and stop it?  Of course not!  The second birth of Israel is inevitable:  it is coming.

Read Isaiah 66:10-11.   For those who love Jerusalem and have mourned over her devastated state, they will now rejoice at how she has been restored and is now prospering.  Jerusalem is now shown as a nursing mother, one who will bless and take care of those who love her.  She will have “spiritual milk” for all.  Read 1 Peter 2:2-3.

Read Isaiah 66:12.   God promises to bless Jerusalem not only with peace as wide and lasting as a river, but also with great wealth from the nations, that is, from the Gentiles.  An interesting contrast to point out is that here we have “the wealth of nations like a flooding stream” while way back in chapter 8 we have Assyria coming like a flood to destroy Israel.  Read Isaiah 8:7-8.  You get the feeling that all past curses or punishments are going to be turned into great blessings!

Read Isaiah 66:13.  God Himself will comfort the Jews and they will no longer be in mourning because of what happened to Jerusalem.  Their period of mourning will be over!

Read Isaiah 66:14.  “When you see this” – what is it that the Jews will see?  A restored Jerusalem, a new nation born over night with the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon.  “you will flourish like grass” is usually used to represent the shortness and fragility of life, but here God is using it to describing that time in primeval spring when grass is rejuvenated and that new green growth appears; it has new life and strength to it.  Seeing Jerusalem restored will cause the Jews to be, in a sense, reborn, and they will rejoice and recognize that it was the Lord’s hand that brought this all about.  But though God is merciful and loving to His servants, He is an implacable judge to His foes.  We now move into a time of vengeance.

To be continued…

Source
H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell (editors). The Pulpit Commentary  Volume 10:  Isaiah

Find more Exellent articles from search form.

(When I taught my two-year-long Bible study on Isaiah, I used The Pulpit Commentary Volume 10: Isaiah edited by H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell to give me a starting point and rough outline of the material covered in the chapters. In this article, when you read the phrase “my commentary”, I am referring to this volume. This chapter in Isaiah is filled with proper obloquy of cities located in the biblical nation of Moab. To get the most out of this article it is suggested that you have a detailed map of ancient Moab handy as you read. When you read the phrase “on our map” in this article I am referring to the map I used when I originally taught this class.)

In our previous section of scripture in Isaiah we read a prophecy against Philistia, Israel’s nearest enemy to the west. Moab is Israel’s nearest enemy to the east.

This chapter is filled with the proper names; let’s read the whole chapter through once, first, to get a feel for what is happening. Read Isaiah 15

Without knowing what these proper obloquy are, what can we deduce about what is happening in this chapter? What do these proper obloquy represent? What is the attitude of the Moabites? Who is talking here and what is His attitude? Why do you think this chapter was written? As Christians reading this chapter 2500 years after it was written, what can we learn from this?

Now that we’ve got a general sense of what is happening in this chapter, let’s dig deeper and see how the chapter is constructed. One of the first things I noted is that this oracle is written quite a bit differently from the oracles against the other pagan cultures we’ve studied so far: Assyrian, Babylon, and Philistia. With those we are given more general prophecies, filled with prophetic metaphors, and few proper names. With this prophecy very specific places are named.

The only exception to this use of a more general format regarding prophecy that I found was in regards to Assyria (possibly the Anti-Christ) attacking Israel. There again Isaiah provides a list of cities and towns. Read Isaiah 10:28-32. In this passage the listing of towns is directional, moving from north to south as the Assyrians (or Anti-Christ) moves toward Jerusalem.

In Isaiah 15, we also have a sense of direction, as we run through the places mentioned in verses 1-4 we move in a roughly south to north direction, as if we are sweeping through the most important cities in Moab. Let’s reread verses 1-4 slowly, picking out apiece city as we go. (Side note: “Kir” is believed to represent Kir Haroseth)

I believe Ar is mentioned before Kir primarily because Ar was Moab’s capital city.

When we read verses 5-8, however, the direction dramatically switches and all the emphasis is on the southern part of the kingdom and the southeastern part of the territories bordering Moab. Most of the places mentioned here are not found on our map. I will speak about apiece one as we come to it in the verses. What we should note here, therefore, is the Moabites are all fleeing, going south and southeast, leaving their cities behind as they are being attacked from the north.

Read Isaiah 15:5. We have four places mentioned here. The first one, Zoar, is on our map.

The next study on our list, Eglath Shelishiyah, is something of a mystery. This literally means “An heifer of three years” or “Or the third heifer.” Different translations have left the proper name, or replaces it with “a heifer of three years”, or just “Eglath” or “the third town, Eglath.” From the commentaries I have read have been unsure if this is an actual place or if the proper meaning is something to the affect of the Moabites running and rushing along with helpless bellows of a heifer. (ie. acting like a three year old heifer) It is also doable that it is referring to the fact that the third calf born to a heifer is supposed to be the strongest; that the Moabites, therefore, need to find the strongest form of shelter possible.

The next name, Luhith is also not on our map. As the Moabites “go up”, it is assumed that they ascend up some way, to get to Luhith, then from there to Zoar, which is in the south orient corner of Moab.

The next name, Horonaim is also not on our map. From what we know on the Moabite Stone, King Mesha of Moab attacked and captured this city from the Edomites. Edom is the country south of Moab; this particular city was probably south or south easterly of the Dead Sea.

Read Isaiah 15:6. The Waters of Nimrim is shown on our map. This is called currently the Wady Numeira, and was believed to have been fed by six or seven springs. The desolation described here was probably caused by the enemy stopping or blocking the springs. This was a common practice in that time. Read 2 Kings 3:18-19

Read Isaiah 15:7 The Ravine of the Poplars is not shown on our map. Some translations read this as The Brook of the Willows. This is believed to be the border between Moab and Edom, separated by a brook in a ravine, lined with trees. The Moabites can only take with them what they can carry; what good is all their wealth now? In fact, I would think, it would be much harder for a rich man to flee during such times, than a poor man, for the rich man will be lamenting all he left behind, while the poor man would be content with saving his life!

Read Isaiah 15:8. The next two places are unidentified, Eglaim and Beer Elim. The second means a “well” or “cistern,” most likely man-made. From the pattern we’ve seen, we can probably adopt that these places are somewhere to the south of Moab, perhaps in Edom or southeastern Judah. The people of Moab are fleeing from an enemy attacking in the north and heading south.

Read Isaiah 15:9. This verse breaks our pattern of going south and moves north to Dimon, which is believed to be another study for Dibon. If we look at our map, we see that Dibon is in the middle of the country. I think this city was chosen for this last verse as a symbol of the whole country being under attack, under seige. Dimon’s waters probably refer to one or both of the rivers that Dibon is located near, probably the River Arnon (which is on our map.)

I think the last part of this verse “a lion upon the fugitives of Moab” gives us a clue as to the enemy invaders. Commentaries are uncertain if this is Asshurbanipal of Assyria, who overran the country in about BC 645 or Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon who conquered the Moabites in about BC 612. Hunting lions was a favorite sport of the Assyrians, as we can see from reliefs from Asshurbanipal’s palace. As the previous prophecy against Philistia appears to indicate that the Assyrians will be attacking Philistia, it is not illogical to adopt that the Assyrians are also the invaders in this next section.

However, Jeremiah, calls Nebuchadnezzar a lion, in his own prophecies. Read Jeremiah 4:5-8. Jeremiah’s prophecies regarding Moab in Jeremiah 48 also appears to be about Nebuchadnezzar.

Blessings!

Sources

H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell (editors). The Pulpit Commentary Volume 10: Isaiah

Editors. Cradle of Civilization.

Find more Exellent articles from search form.

(When I taught my two-year-long Bible study on Isaiah, I used The Pulpit Commentary Volume 10: Isaiah edited by H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell to give me a starting point and rough outline of the material covered in the chapters. In this article, when you read the phrase “my commentary”, I am referring to this volume.)

In the midst of a “contemporary” prophecy (one referring to a time in the near future of when this was written, during Isaiah’s life time) we have a Messianic prophecy. Before we study this one in detail, let’s review the previous prophecies regarding Jesus already given by Isaiah up to this point.

To help gather these all together, I used Josh McDowell’s Evidence That Demands a Verdict, rather than going through my own notes. He was kind enough to place all the prophecies in the OT regarding Jesus in one section of his book.

Prophecy in Isaiah :: Fulfillment in New Testament

Isaiah 6:9-10 (Jesus rejected) :: Matthew 13:11-15

Isaiah 7:14 (born of a virgin, called Immanuel) :: Luke 1:26-35, Matthew 1:23

Isaiah 8:14 (“stumbling stone” for Jews) :: 1 Peter 2:7

Isaiah 9:1 (ministry in Galilee) :: Matthew 4:12-17

Isaiah 9:6 (shall pre-exist, be God) :: Colossians 1:15-17

Isaiah 9:7 (everlasting rule) :: Revelation 1:4-8

Isaiah 11:1, 11:10 (line of Jesse, salvation for the Gentiles) :: The genealogies in Luke 3, and Matthew 1; Romans 11:11-12

Isaiah 11:2 (special anointment of Holy Spirit) :: Matthew 3:16-17

Isaiah 11:3 (shall be a prophet) :: Matthew 21:11

Here in Isaiah 16 we can read the latest prophecy regarding Jesus.

Read Isaiah 16:5. This verse appears to me to be evenhandedly straightforward, a ruler is coming who will be loving, faithful, from the line of David, focused on justice and righteousness. When I read this description it occurred to me that this is how Jesus, the Prince of Peace is going to seem to those who love Him and have accepted Him as Savior. But for those that have rejected Him and have not acknowledged Him as Savior, the image the are going to see is described in Revelation 19:11-16. Those that come against this image of Jesus are not going to see Him as loving, faithful, and just, but only as terrifying and horrifying.

Before we continue on in our chapter, let’s review what Moab is being called to do to receive mercy and endorsement from the invading army (probably Babylon, possibly Assyria.) She is being called to swallow her pride and submit to Judah’s dominance and grant Judah to protect her. She can do this by providing tribute in the forms of lamb and sheep. (Again, notice the imagery here – as Christians we submit to God’s dominance by accepting Jesus, the Lamb that was slain. He pays the price so we can be right with God.) As we will read in a moment, Moab ejects this offer.

Aren’t we so much like Moab in this? We try to do things in our own strength, refusing to bow our heads to anyone and accept another’s authority. We pay the consequences as a result. The Bible calls this being “stiff-necked” and warns us about what can happen if we preserve in this attitude. Read book 29:1.

Read Isaiah 16:6. This verse implies that Moab rejects this offer of protection, probably because they feel it would be demeaning to ask Judah’s help. They can handle this invader on their own; they don’t need help… A very chesty and boastful country, but the boasts are empty because she can’t follow through in protecting herself. Many other nations in the Old Testament responded with similar pride and conceit to like situations and were punished or destroyed.

Why the people of Israel and Judah continued to turn away from God, knowing His track record is beyond me! God would never have sent the Assyrians and Babylonians to punish the Divided Kingdom if the people and rulers had but trusted God, rather than turning away to idols and relying on their own military strength and political alliances with pagan peoples.

Read Isaiah 16:7. “Kir Hareseth” is one of the primary Moabite cities in the south. This is one of those verses where if you have four different translations, you are likely to have four very different sounding takes on the same verse. My commentary also added in that the word “foundations” could be translated “flagons” (as in flagons of wine). So the Moabites could be mourning for the “foundations”, “flagons”, “men”, or “raisin cakes” of Kir Hareseth! It is doable that Isaiah is using some sort of word play or pun in which men are likened to raisin cakes, as my study Bible implies. As a materialistic society, they might equate the loss to their economy as important as the loss of men. The exact meaning probably isn’t that important, one does get the general sense that the Moabites of Kir Hareseth go into deep mourning and wailing. (Perhaps this city was known for their raisin cakes? J)

Read Isaiah 16:8. We can find Heshbon on our Moab map; neither Sibmah or Jazer are shown. My commentary states that historians believe Sibmah was located about half a mile from Heshbon, so it was in the general vicinity. Jazer was believed to be about 12 miles north of Heshbon. One interpretation, then, is that prior to this attack, this area was very rich in vineyards, the vineyards extending both to the north, toward Jazer, to the easterly into the desert, and to the west, toward the Dead Sea. (It is also doable that the Moabites sold or transported “slips” or “shoots” of their vineyards to the peoples in those locations.) Moab was probably known for her wealth in grapes and wine, yet now the vineyards are going to be forsaken and left to wither (no one would have been there to wage the irrigation), the fruit trampled by soldiers’ feet.

Read Isaiah 16:9-10. Another city is mentioned here, Elealeh, which is on our map, and is located near Heshbon. (They are often listed together, as sister cities) The prophet, here, becomes quite emotional and mournful over what is going to happen to Moab, literally weeping. What I find interesting is what he states in verse 10, that “I have place an end to the shouting” which makes me wonder if it is actually Isaiah talking or if he is talking literally for God, and that it is God who is weeping.

These verses focus on how the joy and gladness of harvesting is over, replaced by mourning. This follows the theme of vineyards from the previous verse, which makes me think again, that Moab was known for her grapes. These verses in Isaiah are very similar to Jeremiah’s Moab prophecy. Read Jeremiah 48:31-33. Here, also, Jeremiah uses the first mortal “I have stopped the flow of wine from the presses.”

Read Isaiah 16:11. Interestingly while Isaiah laments like a harp, Jeremiah laments like a flute. Read Jeremiah 48:36. There are numerous examples in the Bible of music being used for praise, worship, and rejoicing, but these verses hint that music was also used for mourning. I found a verse in Job to confirm this. Read Job 30:31

Read Isaiah 16:12. The Moabites were idol worshippers, worshipping a variety of gods, including Baal and Chemosh. As part of their religion, they had temples set up on hills or “high places” where they would do their sacrifices. In the midst of this trial, it is expected that the Moabites would beseech their gods for help. All in vain, of course, because they were beseeching nothing more than stone and wood prefabricated by their own hands, absolutely ignoring the living God who had reached out to them through Isaiah and Jeremiah and other Jewish prophets.

Read Isaiah 16:13-14. These two verses wrap up the chapter, as well as give a time plateau for when this prophecy against Moab will be fulfilled. The Lord uses very exact language here: “within three years, as a servant bound by contract would count them” means in exactly three years, not a day more, not a day less (both servant and employer would anticipate nothing less) this will be fulfilled. My commentary estimated that the population Moab at this time was probably around 300,000 people, of which the adult men would have been about 75,000. “All her many people will be despised” implies that these fighting men didn’t give up much of a fight against the invading army, and in the end there were few survivors. (We do know that there were some survivors, enough for the study Moab to survive, because many years later, when the Jews return to Jerusalem, they are warned against intermarrying with Moabites.)

Blessings!

Sources

H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell (editors). The Pulpit Commentary Volume 10: Isaiah
Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford (notes). The Student Bible. NIV Version
Josh McDowell. Evidence That Demands a Verdict

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