34 From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, even to Jahaz they have [t]raised their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate. 35 I will make an end of Moab,” declares the Lord, “the one who offers sacrifice on the high place and the one who [u]burns incense to his gods.
36 “Therefore My heart [v]wails for Moab like flutes; My heart also [w]wails like flutes for the men of Kir-heres. Therefore they have lost the abundance it produced. 37 For every head is bald and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands and sackcloth on the loins. 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in its streets [x]there is lamentation everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable vessel,” declares the Lord. 39 “How [y]shattered it is! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back—he is ashamed! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an object of terror to all around him.”
40 For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, one will fly swiftly like an eagle
And spread out his wings against Moab.
41 “Kerioth has been captured
And the strongholds have been seized,
So the hearts of the mighty men of Moab in that day
Will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
42 “Moab will be destroyed from being a people
Because he has [z]become arrogant toward the Lord.
43 “Terror, pit and snare are coming upon you,
O inhabitant of Moab,” declares the Lord.
44 “The one who flees from the terror
Will fall into the pit,
And the one who climbs up out of the pit
Will be caught in the snare;
For I shall bring upon her, even upon Moab,
The year of their punishment,” declares the Lord.45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
The fugitives stand without strength;
For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon
And a flame from the midst of Sihon,
And it has devoured the forehead of Moab
And the scalps of the [aa]riotous revelers.
46 “Woe to you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh have perished;
For your sons have been taken away captive
And your daughters into captivity.
47 “Yet I will restore the [ab]fortunes of Moab
In the [ac]latter days,” declares the Lord.
For a bit, I wasn’t getting much out of this passage, at least not anything new. But I want to take another look at the pride of Moab, as we that emphasized in vv. 41-42. Moab was pretty self-sufficient, and commentators have noted that they were a little off the most common trade routes. As such, they were often passed by when invaders came through.
They had a pretty sweet thing going on, and needed nobody and nothing, least of all some deity from their rivals in Israel. Yet even still, it wasn’t going to last, and fire and flame would devour Moab. In v. 39, we see that they would be shattered, and ashamed, and even a laughingstock. And there is the inevitable result of pride, for them, and for us.
So many times, we don’t ask for help, we do things our own way, because we don’t want to look like a fool. It’s a classic theme on television shows, the guy says he’ll fix the sink, or the dishwasher, or whatever. Then, after a day (or more) trying to fix it, he ends up looking very much a fool and calling a repairman to do the job. The crazy thing, is that we have the ultimate “repairman” who is crazy about us, and who would love to help us.
Besides that, God has given us people to help us as well, and we go out of our way to not be ashamed. But when we don’t ask for help, and fall on our face? Yeah, it doesn’t work so well, does it? Rather, we should call on God, and call on those around us. There is always help to be found, and we should not be so proud as to ignore it, nor our Father in heaven least of all.