The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 15:5-9,
"My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as
far as Eglath Shelishiyah. They go up the hill to Luhith, weeping as
they go; on the road to Horonaim they lament their destruction...
Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab; their wailing reaches as
far as Eglaim, their lamentation as far as Beer Elim. The waters of
Dimon are full of blood, but I will bring still more upon Dimon— a
lion upon the fugitives of Moab and upon those who remain in the
land."
In these few verses, the destruction of Moab is proclaimed, yet
couched in an expressed sorrow or lament, "My heart cries out over
Moab". Yet, we read in just a few verses later that, "I will bring
still more upon...". Since the vision Isaiah had is of the Lord's
destruction of Moab over her sinfulness, we know the first person
singular pronoun in verse 9 refers to the Lord himself. At the end of
this section, in 16:13, Isaiah sums up by saying, "This is the word
the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab."
While many commentators feel the beginning of verse 5, the "My heart"
refers to Isaiah, or the people of Moab themselves as they lament
Moab's destrucion, as expressed in the remainder of the passage, I
don't see it that way. It appears to me that the Lord himself is
expressing his broken heart over the destruction of Moab, destruction
done by his own hand!
We know that God loves the world, John 3:16. We know he has a love
that surpasses knowledge, we simply cannot fathom its full dimension,
Ephesians 3:19. We know he earnestly desires that every member of
mankind be saved, to become members of his family, "God our Savior...
wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man
Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people." 1 Timothy
2:4-6. The Lord is patient, not wanting anyone to taste his judgment,
but for all to come to him, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his
promise,as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you,
not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 2
Peter 3:9.
Yet, we know he is going to cast into a lake of fire all who have not
embraced Jesus Christ in faith, "Then I saw a great white throne and
him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his
presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great
and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another
book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged
according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave
up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that
were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had
done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake
of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written
in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire." Revelation
20:11-15.
It is my firm belief that when judgment day arrives and those who
rejected God's offer of salvation are cast into that horrible place,
God's heart will be broken. Just as his heart went out to the wicked
people of Moab, so his heart will be broken when he exercises his
judgment on all who have rejected him.
One of the amazing things of God's complexity is that far beyond a
two-dimensional emotional being, he expresses multiple feelings at the
same time. The satisfaction of his justice against Moab is also
accompanied by his broken heart for the very ones that suffer his
judgment. It appears these emotions of his exist in a vibrant,
assertive and bold stasis together where none impinge on the others.
God does have a very deep seated and passionate love for the very ones
he will one day inflict his terrifying judgment upon - I think his
heart will be broken as he judges them.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send
me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are
receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just
respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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