David Bahn – Reflections

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These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Isaiah 13-15, Psalm 28.

Isaiah 15:1a, 5-6

An oracle concerning Moab.

⁵ My heart cries out for Moab;
    her fugitives flee to Zoar,
    to Eglath-shelishiyah.
For at the ascent of Luhith
    they go up weeping;
on the road to Horonaim
    they raise a cry of destruction;
⁶ the waters of Nimrim
    are a desolation;
the grass is withered, the vegetation fails,
    the greenery is no more.

Today’s reading presents a challenge for a devotional writer. Usually there is some glimmer of hope, some ray of grace, some passage to lift up for our consideration. At first glance, today’s reading seems to offer none of that. It is almost entirely judgment as God speaks woe over one nation after another through the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 13–15 begins a series of oracles announcing God’s judgment against the nations. Babylon, Philistia, and Moab all come under the Lord’s righteous judgment for their pride, idolatry, and rebellion. The God of Israel is revealed as the sovereign Lord of all peoples, holding every nation accountable to his righteous standards and bringing down every kingdom that exalts itself against him.

It becomes clear through these judgments that the LORD is not a regional deity. He is not consigned to govern famine, fertility, sex, or thunder. He rules over all the nations of the earth. His standards of morality and faithfulness are universal.

The nations surrounding Israel trusted in gods such as Marduk of Babylon, Dagon and Baal among the Philistines, and Chemosh of Moab. These so-called gods were believed to grant victory, prosperity, and protection. But Isaiah scarcely acknowledges them, for they are no rivals to the LORD, who alone rules over all nations and holds every people accountable to his righteous judgment.

Yet in the midst of these relentless pronouncements of judgment, Isaiah suddenly opens a window into the very heart of God:

“My heart cries out for Moab…” (Isaiah 15:5)

What a remarkable statement! The very God who announces judgment also grieves over those who stand under it.

It reminds me of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37)

Jesus came in the name of the LORD, calling people to repentance and faith. Yet he did more than announce God’s judgment. He came to bear it.

The God whose heart cried out for Moab is the same God who wept over Jerusalem. And the Savior who wept over Jerusalem stretched out his arms on the cross to bear the judgment that sinners deserved.

God’s warnings are never empty threats. Neither are his tears empty emotion. Both reveal his holy love—a God who hates sin, grieves over its consequences, and, in Christ, has done everything necessary to rescue those who trust in him.

That is the God Isaiah proclaimed. And that is the heart of God Jesus Christ has revealed to us.