Isaiah 15 - Bible Study in 5 Minutes

Isaiah 15 Short Summary:

Isaiah 15 and 16 are God’s oracle regarding the nation of Moab. It was prophesied that within 3 years the nation of Moab would suffer a devastating catastrophe at the hands of a foreign power.

Isaiah 15 Bible Study

TIMELINE:

• The prophetic ministry of Isaiah spanned the reigns of King Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

• We do not know the exact date this oracle was delivered to Isaiah, but we know the fulfilment of it came 3 years after it was spoken (16:14).

KEY CHARACTERS:

• Isaiah – The son of Amoz (1:1). God commissioned Isaiah as His prophet to Judah.

• The Nation of Moab – The relatives of the Israelites through Abraham’s nephew Lot. Although relatives, the Moabites were more-often-than-not enemies of the Israelites. They inhabited the land immediately East of the Dead Sea.

DEFINITIONS:

• Oracle (15:1) – A divine announcement; a message from God.

• Sackcloth (15:3) – A very rough and uncomfortable fabric. It was worn by people who were publicly mourning.

OUTLINE:

• AN ORACLE CONCERNING MOAB (15:1-9):

  • The nation of Moab would suffer a calamity similar to those that were prophesied to befall Babylon, Assyria, and Philistia (see Isaiah 14).

  • This calamity was likely the result of Moab’s pride. Isaiah said, “We have heard of the pride of Moab—how proud he is!—of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right” (16:6).

  • Moab would be laid waste by an enemy in the night. The text seems to suggest this devastation would happen suddenly.

  • There would be wailing and crying in the streets.

  • Those who escaped the initial attack would be hunted down and their blood would fill the rivers.

  • Unlike his prophecies about Babylon, Assyria, and Philistia, Isaiah expresses some personal sadness at the sad future of Moab (15:5), perhaps because Moab was their near neighbor and distant relation, unlike the other nations. It’s also possible Isaiah could have known some Moabites. Moab wasn’t far from Jerusalem.

APPLICATION:

• Why should we care about foreign nations and prophesies that have an indirect connection to the larger Biblical story? Why should we care what happens to Moab or Philistia? What’s the point of these chapters?

• First, it shows that God’s prophets were speaking into the real historical world. Isaiah wasn’t some mythological prophet cloistered away in a nation that had no connection to other historical events. Isaiah was a very real man, and his prophesies directly spoke to the fates of real nations, and these prophesies can be verified by modern historians.

• Second, God’s work amongst the foreign nations paints a picture of God as the sovereign of the whole world. Although God selected Israel and Judah to be His special people, His power and dominion was not limited to their borders. God had plans for the other nations, and He was shaping them according to those plans. This is all leading up to the revelation in Acts 10 that God would not only bless the Jews through the Messiah King (Immanuel) but all nations of the earth.