16 Send the tribute lamb to the ruler of the land,
From [a]Sela by way of the wilderness to the mountain of the daughter of Zion.
2 Then, like [b]fleeing birds or scattered [c]nestlings,
The daughters of Moab will be at the fords of the Arnon.
3 “[d]Give us advice, make a decision;
[e]Cast your shadow like night [f]at high noon;
Hide the outcasts, do not betray the fugitive.
4 “Let the [g]outcasts of Moab stay with you;
Be a hiding place to them from the destroyer.”
For the extortioner has come to an end, destruction has ceased,
Oppressors have completely disappeared from the land.
5 A throne will even be established in lovingkindness,
And a judge will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent of David;
Moreover, he will seek justice
And be prompt in righteousness.6 We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride;
Even of his arrogance, pride, and fury;
His idle boasts are [h]false.
7 Therefore Moab will wail; everyone of Moab will wail.
You will moan for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth
As those who are utterly stricken.
8 For the fields of Heshbon have [i]withered, the vines of Sibmah as well;
The lords of the nations have trampled down its choice clusters
Which reached as far as Jazer and wandered to the deserts;
Its tendrils spread themselves out and passed over the sea.
9 Therefore I will weep bitterly for Jazer, for the vine of Sibmah;
I will drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh;
For the shouting over your summer fruits and your harvest has fallen away.
10 Gladness and joy are taken away from the fruitful field;
In the vineyards also there will be no cries of joy or jubilant shouting,
No treader treads out wine in the presses,
For I have made the shouting to cease.
11 Therefore my [j]heart intones like a harp for Moab
And my [k]inward feelings for Kir-hareseth.
12 So it will come about when Moab presents himself,
When he wearies himself upon his high place
And comes to his sanctuary to pray,
That he will not prevail.13 This is the word which the Lord spoke earlier concerning Moab. 14 But now the Lord speaks, saying, “Within three years, as [l]a hired man would count them, the glory of Moab will be degraded along with all his great population, and his remnant will be very small and [m]impotent.”
In the previous chapter, one may have doubted God’s compassion for Moab. Perhaps the “heart cry” could be attributed to the prophet Isaiah who delivered God’s message. This message ought to erase such doubts entirely as God gives thought to the daughters of Moab in v. 2. Or even look at vv. 3-4 where Zion (Israel) is to be a refuge for the outcasts, and they are instructed to hide Moab from “the destroyer”.
However, as one reads this passage in conjunction with chapter 15, it becomes obvious that His compassion can no longer overlook their wickedness. Though it is somewhat in reverse order, we go from refuge and protection to their downfall. And then in v. 13 we find out that this is what God spoke earlier. Now, instead, the glory of Moab will be spent, and only a “very small” remnant will remain.
Why this change? Look once more in the middle, where the passage transitions in v. 6, “We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride; Even of his arrogance, pride, and fury; His idle boasts are false.” So all the things that were once the glory of Moab, like the produce of their fields and vineyards (v. 10), all of it will be gone.
Maybe you don’t have anything to brag about, but I think most of us could find something, no matter how we have sunk. “After all”, we might say, “I still have my dignity…” Do you? Do I? In what can we truly boast? Does not all of it come from God above? In case that wasn’t clear, yes it does! Everything we have accomplished, all we have accumulated, all the credit belongs to One alone.
As the boasts of Moab were idle, so is any boast we might take. So don’t be puffed up, and don’t brag when you did something cool. It’s unlikely those who hear it are as impressed as I am when I do something that I think is amazing. Be humble in your dealings, and if you’ve done something worthwhile, leave that to God and others to worry about the praise. You’ll know it is true when it comes from your Father, who cares most about you.