Season 6, Podcast 68, Isaiah 15:1-9, “Moab 1.”

Season 6, Podcast 68, Isaiah 15:1-9, “Moab 1.”Previously Isaiah discussed the fall of Babylon, the fall of Assyria, the fall of the house of Israel, and even the fall of Lucifer. Fundamentally the cause is pride. Isaiah extends the theme by describing the fall of Moab. Moab is 30 miles east of Jerusalem as the crow flies. To get there from Jerusalem, however, one must travel around the Dead Sea, thus doubling the distance. The Moabites are descendants of Lot as recorded in Genesis 19. Genesis 19:36-38Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.. And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Ben-ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day. Moab does not have the stature of Egypt or Babylon or Assyria; however, Isaiah extends his analogy to the destruction of the Moabites for like the great civilizations they too fell because they did not look to the Lord. As we consider Isaiah 19, we see the same imagery.Isaiah 15:1The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence;Like Babylon, meaning the world, which fell in a day, Moab fell in a night. Like Sodom and Gomorrah, “It is laid waste and brought to silence.” In the Old Testament, the rise and fall of civilizations is because they turned against God. The only way that Isreal was given the Promised land is because those who were there first had become so wicked. They were being punished by God. If they had been righteous, the Lord would have allowed them to keep the land. One central message of the Old and New Testaments is that the covenant people of the Lord are not determined by bloodline. They are determined by righteousness. The ultimate Promised Land is in Heaven with God, and only the righteous of the earth shall inherit that kingdom.  That is the message Isaiah is teaching us. Look for a moment at the Lord’s prayer. The Lord’s Prayer teaches us the difference between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of the world. To belong to the Kingdom of God we must abide by the laws contained in the Lord’s Prayer. Keep in mind the Kingdom of God vs the Kingdoms of the world as we study Isaiah. First let’s examine Matthew 6:9-13 which gives us The Lord’s Prayer. It is used as a model of how to pray. Really it is a model of how to live in the Kingdom of God, whether that Kingdom of God is on earth or in heaven. ‘After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven,’ First we pray to God, our Father, not directly to Christ. The Father is in heaven. Christ, at the time he is speaking, is on earth.  Christ teaches us to pray to the Father in his name. Christ himself prayed directly to the Father.John 14:12-16‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;’Therefore, we pray to the Father in the name of his Son Jesus Christ. Our faith is in Christ. It is Christ who made it possible for us to communicate with God the Father directly. It is Christ who saves us from our sins. It is Christ who is our intermediary with the Father.‘Hallowed be thy name.’