So we're there in Isaiah 16, and we are continuing the judgment of Moab.
And you may recall that it was called the burden of Moab there in Isaiah 15,
and Isaiah 16 just continues the same thought.
But you know, God tells us exactly what the main problem with Moab is.
If you look at verse number 6, Isaiah 16 verse 6, it says,
We have heard of the pride of Moab.
Total for the sermon tonight is the pride of Moab.
In fact, this also gets referenced in the book of Jeremiah.
This pride of Moab is well known for the people of that time.
And so God begins to judge this wicked nation.
Now let's start there in verse number 1.
Now, you may recall that in Isaiah 15,
that as God was prophesying of his judgment to come,
that Isaiah himself felt compassion,
felt sorrow for the destruction of these people.
And so as we begin chapter 16,
Isaiah begins to advise Moab what to do.
Like, he starts to tell Moab,
Look, if you want to be made royal with God,
these are the instructions that I want to give you.
And so from verse number 1, he says,
Send ye the Lamb to the ruler of the land from Silah to the wilderness,
unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.
Now, of course, the mount of the daughter of Zion again is a reference to Jerusalem.
And the king that is reigning at this point is King Hezekiah,
who was a godly king for the nation of Judah.
And so Isaiah is telling Moab, or the king of Moab,
Look, send the Lamb to Jerusalem.
You go, what? Why would he say that?
And he kind of gives the direction from Silah.
So Silah is one of the cities of Moab to the wilderness.
So to go to Jerusalem, you'd be passing through the wilderness
and to send that Lamb to Zion.
Now, what could he possibly be referring to here?
Keep your finger there in Isaiah 16.
Isaiah 16, and come with me to 2 Samuel 8, please.
Come with me to 2 Samuel 8.
2 Samuel 8, please.
And I want to explain a little bit to you about the...
Again, we've looked at the history of Moab last week,
but I want to show you something further here.
Now, of course, you all know about King David, okay?
And King David was a powerful warrior.
King David, under King David's rule, there was finally peace in Israel.
And one of the nations that he was able to conquer was Moab, okay?
So when you get to 2 Samuel 8, verse number 1,
2 Samuel 8, verse number 1, it says,
And after this it came to pass
that David smote the Philistines and subdued them,
and David took Amor out of the hand of the Philistines,
and look at verse number 2,
and he smote Moab,
and measured them with a line,
casting them down to the ground,
even with two lines measured here to be put to death,
and with one full line to keep alive.
And so the Moabites became David's servants and brought gifts.
So you can see, under the reign of King David,
the Moabites came under the authority of David,
they came under the authority of the nation of Israel,
and they were to bring gifts.
They were to bring, you know, they were to pay their taxes,
and they'd bring their tribute to the king, King David.
And one of these tributes that they were required to do,
which we're going to have a look at in a moment,
was to bring sheep, okay?
So if you come now with me to 2 Kings,
come with me to 2 Kings, chapter 3.
2 Kings, chapter 3.
Now, of course, under King David, the nation was one combined nation, wasn't it?
It was one combined nation,
and then after King Solomon,
the nation was split into two.
But even when the nation was split into two,
Moab still gave tribute to the nation of Israel,
to the northern kingdom of Israel.
And so you see here in 2 Kings, chapter 3,
2 Kings, chapter 3, and verse number 4,
it says,
And Misha, king of Moab, was a sheepmaster,
and rendered unto the king of Israel,
and a hundred thousand lambs,
and a hundred thousand rams with the wool.
Okay?
So you can see, even after the nation of Israel was split into two,
Moab continued this tradition
of giving their tribute to the people of Israel, okay?
Because they were under the authority of Israel.
But, notice verse number 5,
And it came to pass,
when Ahab, that's King Ahab of Israel,
was dead,
that the king of Moab rebelled
against the king of Israel.
Okay?
So we're not going to go into the story there,
you can read it in your own time in chapter number 3.
So this whole time,
Moab is under the authority of the nation of Israel,
then once King Moab passes away,
the king of Moab says,
That's it, we're done with this.
We're no longer going to submit under the power of Israel,
we're going to rebel against the king.
And so of course they stopped giving their tribute,
they stopped sending their lambs and their sheep and all these kinds of things
to the nation of Israel.
So, with that in mind,
when we get to, back to Isaiah 16,
coming again back to Isaiah 16,
when he says,
Send ye the Lamb, okay?
You know, what is Isaiah recommending that Moab does?
Hey, get yourself back under the authority of Israel, okay?
Because the judgment that was going to come to pass upon Moab
was initially coming from the Assyrians, okay?
And the Assyrians of course would wipe out the northern kingdom of Israel.
But God would promise that the Assyrians would not wipe out
the southern kingdom of Judah.
And so, Isaiah is recommending, advising Moab,
Look, get under the authority of Judah.
Because if God has promised that Judah's not going to be wiped out by the Assyrians,
then you too would be protected
if you come under the umbrella of the king of Judah.
And in order for you to do that, bring the lamb.
Like, bring the tribute.
And I don't know whether this lamb would be offered as a sacrifice
to the Lord God,
but this is the advice that Isaiah...
Remember, Isaiah has been overwhelmed.
You know, he feels compassion for the Moabites, all right?
He understands the judgment of God
through the hands of the Assyrians,
and he's kind of given them just this,
Look, please, please do this.
Please come under the authority of the nation of Judah.
And of course, under King Hezekiah,
who was a godly king at this point in time.
And look at verse number two.
For it shall be that as a wandering bird
cast out of the nest,
so the daughters of Moab shall be
at the fords of Anon.
Okay, so think of the wandering bird
as a bird that cannot yet fly,
so it's a little chick.
I don't know if you've ever seen
a little, you know, baby bird
would fall out of its nest and then
it's kind of, it's open prey
for any kind of predator for destruction.
And so he's saying to you, to the nation of Moab,
Look, if you don't do this,
you're going to be like this bird
cast out of its nest.
You're like this bird that's missing the protection.
And of course, the protection that
Isaiah is recommending is to come under
the authority of Judah.
And so he gives this illustration
of the daughters of Moab because
it would be the men that would go to war
against the Assyrians.
And so the ladies that would remain in Moab
would say, so the daughters of Moab
shall be at the fords of Anon.
So let's understand where Anon is
in conjunction with the nation of Moab.
So again, keep your finger there
and come with me to Numbers 21.
Come with me to Numbers 21.
Numbers 21.
And while you're tuning there,
if someone can get me a cup of water
that would be appreciated, okay?
But Numbers 21, verse number 13.
Numbers 21, verse number 13, please.
So we want to understand where Anon is
in light of the nation of Moab, okay?
Numbers 21, verse number 13, it says,
From thence they removed
and pitched on the other side of Anon.
Remember, Anon's mentioned in Isaiah 16.
Thank you.
It says, which is in the wilderness
that cometh out of the coast of the Amorites,
for Anon is the border of Moab
between Moab and the Amorites.
So if the women are going to the fords of Anon,
they're going to what?
They're going to the borders, okay?
They're escaping the cities,
they're escaping the towns,
and they're trying to make their way
to enter into, they're trying to,
you know, be refugees,
trying to enter in in other nations for protection.
And so the judgment here is
you're going to have all these ladies fleeing.
They don't have the protection
of their families and their homes.
If you don't submit yourself under Judah,
this is a judgment that's going to fall upon you.
Back to Isaiah 16, verse number 3.
Isaiah continues giving them advice.
He says, take counsel, execute judgment.
He says, make thy shadow
as the night in the midst of the noonday,
hide the outcasts,
berate not him that wandereth.
Okay, now, he's telling the Moabites,
because remember, it's the Assyrian Empire, okay?
They're taking over many nations, right?
And of course, the key nation that we're focused on
is the northern kingdom of Israel.
And so as the Assyrians are coming through,
what's going to happen if they're taking over
places that they're destroying cities,
there's obviously going to be an influx of refugees, okay?
Or outcasts, as it's referred to here,
coming from the nation of Israel.
And now, Isaiah is giving advice to Moab.
He says, take counsel, execute judgment,
make thy shadow, think of a shadow
as the night in the midst of the noonday.
So noonday is when the sun is at its highest, right?
Or generally speaking, it's at its highest.
Noonday is usually when it's the hottest part of the day,
as a general rule.
And so Isaiah's telling Moab,
look, can you please be like a shadow,
like a shade for these outcasts,
for these refugees that are running away from Israel,
can you please give them protection,
is essentially what he's asking Moab to do.
And then it says, be rail, it's similar to betray,
not him that wandereth.
So instead of saying to the Assyrians,
hey, don't worry, we've got all these refugees,
we're going to hand them over to you and betray them,
he's asking, can you please take them in,
can you please protect these outcasts,
or these refugees from Israel.
Now, if you can backtrack a little bit,
keep your finger there, just to chapter four in Isaiah,
I just want to show you that this is also referenced
in a very similar way in Isaiah chapter four,
Isaiah chapter four, just a few chapters back,
Isaiah chapter four, verse number five.
Now, you may recall that Isaiah four
was speaking of the millennial reign of Christ, okay?
And it says here in Isaiah four five, it says,
and the Lord will create upon every dwelling place
of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies,
a cloud and smoke by day,
and the shining of a flaming fire by night,
for upon all the glory shall be a defense.
So we're talking here, the defense of the Lord
for the people that reside in Zion
during the millennial reign of Christ.
Then it says in verse number six,
and there shall be a tabernacle,
notice the phraseology here,
for a shadow in the daytime from the heat,
and for a place of refuge,
and for a covet from storm and from rain.
Do you notice that we have very similar phrase
and similar words there in Isaiah four,
with what Isaiah is asking Moab to do in Isaiah 16, okay?
So just in the same way as God provides protection
for his people in his millennial reign of Christ,
Isaiah's asking, Moab, can you do the same
for these refugees that are escaping
the hand of the Assyrians?
And so I assume that by doing this,
by showing mercy and love and protection
for the nations that should have been known as God's people,
that God's judgment would not be as severe, of course,
if they treated God's people in the right manner,
if you want to put it in that way.
And if we go back to Isaiah 16, verse number four,
Isaiah 16, verse number four.
And this is almost like the words of God,
but of course it's Isaiah speaking.
He says, let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab.
Okay?
So if these are God's outcasts or even Isaiah's outcasts,
I assume these are believers.
Like even though Israel was a wicked nation
that had turned against the Lord,
look, there's always a remnants,
there's always a people,
even if it's a small amount of people
that love the Lord.
And so it seems like that these people
that are seeking refuge,
that are escaping the hand of the Assyrians,
are probably those that have heard the judgment of Israel,
and they're actually doing what God's are,
like they've heeded God's instruction,
like they've heeded the judgment of God,
and they're trying to do something about it,
and as they're escaped, Moab would say,
look, please, take them in.
It says, and be thou a covet,
in the same way like Isaiah 24,
a covet, it's like the word covering, a protection,
and be thou a covet to them
from the face of the spoiler,
for the extortioner is at an end,
the spoiler seeseth,
the oppressors are consumed out of the land.
So if we look at verse number 4,
it sounds like to me,
it sounds like that Isaiah is saying,
look, if you take in these refugees,
then the extortioner is at an end,
the spoiler seeseth,
meaning that Assyria is not going to take,
wipe you out.
Like if you just take them in,
God's going to make sure
that you're protected from the army of the Assyrians,
okay?
And then the oppressors are consumed out of the land.
Like they're not going to come
and wipe you out, Moab.
So I think we see some love,
like from Isaiah,
to this ungodly nation,
and of course it's because of his compassion,
seeing God's judgment,
he's just trying to give them this final chance
to be made right with God,
this final chance that God's judgment
would not fall upon Moab.
Now, keep your finger there,
and I always ask this question,
we're in Isaiah 16, aren't we?
So what's the 16th book of the Bible?
What are we up to?
We're up to Nehemiah, okay?
So let's turn to Nehemiah,
Nehemiah chapter 13,
not Nehemiah chapter 13,
okay, because,
I don't know, I'm trying to discover
if every chapter of Isaiah
lines up with the corresponding number
of the book of the Bible, okay?
But Nehemiah chapter 13,
Nehemiah chapter 13, verse number 1,
Nehemiah chapter 13 and verse number 1,
of course the book of Nehemiah
would be when,
about the Jews,
when they would come out of captivity
after the 70 years,
and specifically with Nehemiah,
it's about building the city,
rebuilding the walls of the city of Jerusalem,
and in verse number 1,
Nehemiah chapter 13, verse number 1,
it says this,
On that day,
they read in the book of Moses,
in the audience of the people,
and therein was found written
that the Ammonites
and the Moabites,
so there's a reference to the Moabites,
should not come into
the congregation of God forever.
Okay, so they've gone back,
they've gone back to the Lord,
they've gone back to the rhymes of Moses,
and they realize, hold on,
the Moabites aren't supposed to be here
in the congregation of the Lord.
Okay, then it says in verse number 2,
and this is the reason why God says this,
in verse number 2, it says,
because they met not the children of Israel
with bread and with water,
but hired Balaam,
we saw this last week,
against them,
that he should curse them,
how be it, how God turned the curse
into a blessing.
So you can see in Nehemiah chapter 13,
the Moabites are mentioned once again, why?
Because when the children of Israel
were coming out of Egypt like refugees,
Moab should have given them bread and water,
like Moab should have been kind
to all these refugees,
but instead they hired a false prophet
to preach curses against the nation of Israel.
And so once again,
like that's being reminded of them
there in the book of Nehemiah,
then when we look at Isaiah 16,
what's happening?
The same thing's happening,
there are refugees,
there's another opportunity
to help these refugees, okay?
Not from Egypt, but this time from Assyria.
And you know, Isaiah's begging them,
look, please take them in.
You know, please withhold the judgment of God
on your nation.
As we keep going through Isaiah 16,
obviously they're not going to heed,
they're not going to pay attention.
The total for the sermon again this evening was what?
The pride of Moab.
Okay, does that sound like
they're going to take heed to what Isaiah's saying?
No, of course they're going to go contrary
to what God is asking them to do.
Now, when you look at Nehemiah 13 like that,
just as a reminder,
you might feel like it's a bit unfair
because, hold on,
so the Moabites are not allowed
to come into the congregation?
They're not allowed to go to the temple
of the Lord God to worship?
But again, they're reading from the book of Moses,
one thing that is missing from Nehemiah 13,
if you go back to,
you don't need to go now,
but if you go to Deuteronomy,
the Moabites were not permitted
to be part of the congregation,
it says up to the tenth generation.
So, what we learn there is that
the sins of Moab,
and parents, I want you to learn this,
that the sins we commit as parents
have consequences
down the generations, okay?
The sins of parents have consequences,
and has an impact on the generations to come.
You know, it will definitely affect
you know, your first generation,
and sometimes God speaks of the second
and third generation
as far as the consequences of sin.
And so, you know,
we can't think that we can just get away
with living a wicked life.
You know, if we as parents love our children,
we should try to live a life
that is righteous and holy,
that is pleasing to God,
because we don't want these consequences
to continue in the generations to come.
Like, it's not uncommon,
you know, for someone to have grown up
in a broken home
to end up in a broken home themselves,
and then for the children to grow up
in a broken home,
and for the grandchildren to grow up
in a broken home.
Why? Because they don't get the,
they don't see the example of a,
of a loving father and mother,
they don't see the example of a loving family,
and so they themselves don't know
what they need to do
to make sure that they have a stable
and flourishing family.
But of course, at some point,
that generational curse must be broken.
And the only way to break that, of course,
is to go before the Lord God,
and seek His help, and to seek His aid,
and to walk in His ways,
and God can change that generational curse,
you know, for you.
But, you know, obviously as parents,
we need to be aware.
Our sins will affect our children.
Like, you know, like,
we can't instruct our kids,
hey, you know, kids,
don't be alcoholics,
and there you are drinking beers,
and, and sitting in a horrible example.
You know, your children would simply see
hypocrisy, you know, in you,
and, and the desire to rebel will be there.
So, it's not that God just hates mole bites,
just, just as a people.
In fact, the most famous mole bite is who?
Ruth.
Ruth the mole bite, you know.
If you want, come with me to Ruth chapter 1.
Come with me to Ruth chapter 1, verse number 1.
Ruth chapter 1, verse number 1.
If you want to.
Ruth chapter 1, verse number 1.
The Bible reads in Ruth 1-1.
Now, it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled.
There was a famine in the land,
and a certain man of Bethlehem Judah
went to Sojourn in the country of Moab.
He and his wife,
and his two sons.
So, we have a family because of the, the,
the droughts on the land of Canaan,
they end up going to Moab.
They try to make a better life for themselves in Moab.
Now, they shouldn't have done that,
but that's what they did, okay?
And it says in verse number 2,
And the name of the man was Elimelech,
and the name of his wife Naomi,
and the name of his two sons,
Malon and Chileon,
Ephrath,
Ephrathites, there you go, thank you brother,
of Bethlehem Judah.
And they came into the country of Moab,
and continued there.
And Elimelech's, Naomi's husband died,
and she was left, and her two sons,
and they took them wives of the women of Moab,
the name of the one was Ophr,
and the name of the other Ruth,
and they dwelt there about ten years.
So, one of the sons ends up marrying,
or both sons end up marrying women from Moab,
and one of the sons marries Ruth.
And of course the story goes,
where the son himself dies,
Ruth is a widow,
and the mother-in-law Naomi decides
to return back to the land of Canaan,
and Ruth decides to follow her, you know?
And Ruth makes a very conscious decision,
she says, you know,
your people will be my people,
and your God will be my God.
And so Ruth makes a conscious decision
to turn her back against the false gods
of her ancestors,
and choose the god of Naomi.
And of course, then she meets Boaz,
and Ruth becomes King David's great-grandmother.
Okay, we all know about King David, okay?
So, and not only that, of course,
Ruth, her name, her name Ruth,
is mentioned in Matthew chapter one
in regards to the genealogy of Jesus Christ, okay?
So within the genealogy of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ,
there is a Moabitess, okay?
And so even though they're wicked people,
and God is pronouncing judgment
and wrath that's going to fall upon them,
you must understand,
when it comes to an individual basis,
everybody has the opportunity
to decide whether they're going to make
the God of Israel their God.
And Ruth did so.
And God honors her.
And look, when you read the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
it follows,
it mentions the names of the men.
And every now and again,
God brings in a woman's name,
and God so fits the name Ruth, a Moabitess, okay?
Whose ancestors were so wicked,
you know, and of course,
the generations to come,
God will judge and bring that burden of Moab.
But I just want that to be clear,
because God is not a respecter of persons,
He's not a respecter of races, okay?
God is not a racist.
We're all one blood, okay?
We're all one blood.
We're all God's creation.
And we all need to know the salvation of Jesus Christ,
regardless of who we are.
So come back with me to Isaiah 16, verse number 5.
Isaiah 16, verse number 5.
So, if Moab gives tribute to Judah,
come under the umbrella of protection of Judah,
if they take in these refugees,
you know, from the Assyrian takeover,
we get verse number 5.
It says,
And in mercy shall the throne be established.
Now, I'm not sure if this throne
is a reference to the throne of King Hezekiah,
or if he's just speaking about the throne of the King of Moab.
I think it's the King of Moab,
but as we keep going,
he might be referencing Hezekiah.
It says here,
And he shall sit upon it in truth
in the tabernacle of David.
Of course, that's King David.
Judging and seeking judgment
and hasten righteousness.
So let's just say,
the first reference,
the throne shall be established,
like instead of Moab being destroyed,
they as a nation and as a kingdom
will be established.
Let's take it from that perspective, okay?
And so, what are they required to do?
What is the king being asked to do by Isaiah?
To have mercy, okay?
So you have the refugees.
They're escaping.
Instead of seeing them as some type of enemy,
instead of seeing them as some type of pawn pieces
for the furtherance of their kingdom, okay?
He says, look, have mercy
upon these people that have been
afflicted by the Assyrians.
And then it says,
And he shall sit upon it in truth.
Brethren, we must be people of truth,
and we must be people that have mercy.
Mercy and truth.
Look, God's word is truth, isn't it?
And if God's word is truth,
then we ought to live by the truth
contained in God's word.
But we also should show mercy.
Why?
Because God's shown you mercy?
God's shown you mercy.
He's given you grace.
He's given you salvation.
You know what?
People in church are going to mess you up.
You're going to have conflicts
with God's people from time to time.
You know, you're just going to jump down
someone's throat
as soon as they do something you don't like.
Now look, God wants to show mercy toward people.
And you know what?
Too many churches,
sometimes they're a wicked false brethren,
like wicked reprobates,
wicked pedophiles in churches,
where they harm children,
they harm people, okay?
It's just way too common
for the pastor and the leadership
to want to protect the perpetrator.
Now look, if we're going to show mercy,
we're going to show mercy to the victims.
We're going to protect the victims.
We're going to protect the children.
And I don't care
how much that reprobate
is given financially to the church.
He needs to be cast out of the church
to protect the children in the church,
to protect the victims in the church.
But for some reason,
there are pastors all across Australia
that would rather show mercy
to the perpetrator.
I know.
I know stories.
These things happen.
They even happen
in independent, fundamental Baptist churches.
Look, we need to show mercy to the victims.
The refugees are the victims, aren't they?
Okay?
The Assyrians are the perpetrators,
even though God is using Assyria
to judge the nation of Israel.
But those that are refugees,
that are fleeing the innocents,
or those that are God's people,
they need to be shown mercy,
protection by the Moabites.
So brethren, we need both mercy and truth.
And I believe that if your life
is made up of these two things,
just like it says in verse number five,
and in mercy shall the throne be established,
I believe your life will be established.
I believe your life will be grounded,
solid and secure
if you're able to have these qualities,
people of the truth,
and people that show mercy.
Amen.
I'll keep reading there, verse number five,
and he shall sit upon it in truth
in the tabernacle of David.
So again, that could be a reference
coming under the authority of the king,
the kingly line of David,
which was King Hezekiah at that time.
All right?
Judging and seeking judgment
and hasten righteousness.
Being quick to be righteous.
Moab, do what is right,
is what Isaiah is telling them.
So, do you think Isaiah just wants to see
the destruction of the wicked?
Just, Lord, just destroy them.
Or is he hopeful of seeing them turn,
repent, and get right with God?
That's what we see in Isaiah, don't we?
But then look what he says in verse number six.
It's like he gives up.
He says, we have heard of the pride of Moab.
Like, he's essentially asking Moab,
can you humble yourselves?
Can you come under Judah?
Come under the tabernacle of David.
All right?
I mean...
Like, he's essentially begging them to do this.
But then he turns, I guess he realizes Moab's...
We've all heard, everybody knows
that Moab is a prideful people,
a prideful nation.
In fact, he says, he is very proud.
We all have pride, don't we?
All of us, we all struggle with pride to some extent.
Moab, very proud.
Even of his haughtiness
and his pride and his wrath,
but his lies shall not be so.
So remember, Isaiah's instructing him to sit upon truth.
But when he looks at Moab, he goes,
it's full of lies.
His lies shall not be so.
So, what comes with pride,
you know, when you lift yourself up,
you know, when you hear a sermon of the Lord,
okay, and you know it's the truth of God's word,
and you say, ah, I don't want to do it.
I don't agree with Pastor Kevin on that issue,
even though you can see this from the Bible.
I don't come up with things to preach.
I've got nothing to come up with, okay?
And you go, ah, don't worry, who cares about that?
You know what it is? It's pride.
And when you say, ah, I don't think that's what God thinks,
you're lying.
You're lying to yourself, okay?
And what else do we see associated with pride?
It says, and his pride and his wrath.
You see, when you lift yourself up,
you view others as lowly and as garbage.
You know, it's that anger.
Pride will then, you know,
create anger within you toward other people,
even toward this pastor.
Like, I love you,
and I'm trying my best to just preach you God's word.
I'm not trying to target any individuals
when I come to preach.
I'm just showing you what God's word says,
and it's not uncommon for people to get angry
at the preacher.
Even though I'm doing this out of love.
Even though Isaiah is preaching to them
out of love, isn't he?
But he says, no, you're full of pride,
you're full of wrath, okay?
And you're full of lies.
Now, keep your finger there.
Come with me to Proverbs 16, please.
Proverbs 16.
Proverbs 16 and verse number 18.
Please, please, if you're going to memorize scripture,
memorize this verse, please.
It's not hard to memorize.
Proverbs 16, 18.
Pride goeth before destruction.
So, if Moab is very pride, what's going to happen?
What's next?
Destruction, okay?
And then it says,
and holy spirit before a fool.
Moab is going to fall,
Moab is going to be destroyed
because of their pride,
because of their haughtiness.
Look what it says in the following verse,
verse number 19.
Better it is to be of an humble spirit
with the lowly
than to divide the spoiled with the proud.
It's better to be humble.
Moab, it's better for you to humble yourself
before the Lord God.
Moab, it's better for you to just put yourself
under the protection of Judah.
It's better for you to take on these refugees.
Just humble yourselves
and they'd be safe.
They'd be protected.
And Brevin, as your pastor,
that's my message for you tonight.
All right?
Just take down the pride.
You've got it.
Don't tell me you don't have it.
I've got it too.
We all have it.
And we start seeing the wrath,
anger against others.
You know, maybe other people in church
or what have you.
Look, everybody's got faults.
And if you just want to point faults at each...
Look, if I just spend a week with you,
I don't even need a week.
If I spend a couple of days with you,
I can start making a list of faults in your life.
And if you spend a week with me,
you can start making a list of faults as well.
Sister Carol, you stayed at our house for about a week.
You've probably got all the faults, Pastor Kevin.
Don't tell anyone, okay?
Vice versa.
But isn't that true?
That's easy.
Who doesn't have...
That's the easiest thing to do.
And then we find faults
and we can be lifted with wrath.
We think of people as garbage.
This is why I always say, you know,
I just want to give people the benefit of the doubt.
And when people mess up,
all right, you've got time to fix it.
Just fix it.
Whatever the issue is in your life, fix it.
It's when you decide not to fix it
is when pride comes.
The pride says, I don't need to fix it.
I'm fine.
The problem is with everybody else.
The problem is everybody at church.
The problem is with the Bible.
The problem is with God.
That's pride.
Come with me to 1 John 2, the New Testament.
1 John 2, verse number 16.
The Bible says,
For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes,
and look at this,
and the pride of life.
It says,
Is not of the Father,
but is of the world.
And the world passeth away,
and the lust thereof,
but he that doeth the will of God
abideth forever.
You know, if you want to abide,
if you want to stay strong,
and you want to have an abundant life,
pride has to be taken down.
The pride of life.
You know what that means?
When you succeed,
when you do well,
in whatever it is,
and you start to,
man, I'm so great.
Look at me go.
Look at the size of my bank accounts.
Look at my business.
Look at my successes.
And you start lifting yourself up
instead of giving glory to God.
Brethren, you will crumble.
You will fall.
There will be destruction in your life.
I'm sure there are people in this church
that know that in their own life,
their own experience,
I was once lifted with pride
and God took me down.
You know, instead of learning the hard way,
there are people within this church
that are acknowledged,
hey, listen to what Pastor is saying is true.
100%.
If you've lived long enough,
you know
that pride will destroy you.
You know, when you succeed,
you need to understand,
wow, God's blessed me.
Wow, glory to him
for giving me the ability
to do such a great work.
Whatever it is.
So please don't destroy yourselves with pride.
You know, please be people of a humble spirit.
Come back with me to Isaiah 16 verse number 7.
Isaiah 16 verse number 7.
Moab, howl for Moab.
It's like the...
What's the word I'm looking for?
Lamenting, sorrow, you know.
The people within the nation
are going to be just weeping for one another.
Everyone shall howl
for the foundations of K'aresh
shall ye mourn.
Surely they are stricken.
So it sounds like as the Assyrians
come through this city specifically,
even the very foundations of the city
looks like it's going to be overturned.
Verse number 8.
For the fields of Heshbon languish.
I'm going to come back to Heshbon in a moment
just to remember that word.
It says, and the vine of Sibmah,
the lords of the heathen
have broken down the principal plants thereof.
Now, we get all these names.
It sounds like to me by looking at this
that this is the route
that the Assyrian army is going to go through
as they destroy Moab.
So from Heshbon to Sibmah,
the lords of the heathen,
I guess those are the captains of the army,
have broken down the principal plants thereof.
So they're just destroying the, you know,
the agriculture, the vineyards,
all that kind of stuff.
It says, they are come even unto Jezah.
They wandered through the wilderness.
Her branches are stretched out.
They are gone over the sea.
So I think the sea there is a reference to the Dead Sea.
Okay, so I believe it's just referring to the route
that the Assyrian army is going to come through
and destroy the nation of Moab.
Now, when it says in verse number eight,
for the fields of Heshbon languisheth,
it reminds me, of course, you know,
fields is, you know, growing your crops.
And you may recall,
if you just go back to the previous chapter
and Isaiah 15, look at verse number six.
Remember, it wasn't just the Assyrians
or the Babylonians that would eventually become
the burden of Moab or the judgment of Moab.
It says in verse number six,
for the waters of Nimrin shall be desolate,
for the hay is withered away,
the grass faileth, there is no green thing.
So part of God's judgment of Moab would also be drought.
Remember that?
So when I think of Heshbon,
in fact, I'll cover that in a moment.
Because the reason this jumped out at me this afternoon
was because I just preached last night
with New Life After Church
on Song of Solomon chapter seven.
And Heshbon is brought up
in Song of Solomon chapter seven.
But if you come back with me to Isaiah 16 again,
let's just continue.
Isaiah 16, verse number nine.
Now Isaiah is saying these words.
He says, therefore, I will be wail
with the weeping of Jezah, the vine of Sibmah.
So who's wailing?
Isaiah.
Yeah, see it again?
He sees weeping for these people?
Weeping, I guess God's given him a vision
of the destruction and that's gonna happen.
And he's like, come on guys,
get it right.
Get right with God.
This is like us when we go soul winning.
And we preach, you know,
look, can you just give me a moment
to allow me to give you the gospel of Jesus Christ?
You just have five minutes of time
for me to show you how you can be sure of heaven.
And you know when people say,
I'm not interested, God's garbage, I don't believe it.
It ought to cause.
You know, not just, ah, I just go to hell then.
Let God destroy you then
if you don't wanna give me five minutes of your time.
It should cause us to wail and to weep.
Go, man, these people,
they don't know what they're rejecting.
They don't know the judgment of God
that is coming their way.
That's the right approach.
And again, I told you,
Isaiah's known for his hard preaching.
Like he's a hard preacher.
But he's got love for the lost.
He's got love for the wicked.
He says in, continue in verse number nine,
I will water thee,
because of the drought, remember the drought in the land?
I will water thee with my tears, oh, Heshbon.
He goes, man, it's drought,
but I'm just gonna weep over you.
Like obviously he's weeping a lot.
You know, I mean, of course it's poetic language.
It's not, his tears are not going to bring flourish
in, you know, agriculture on Heshbon.
Then he says, and Elia,
for the shouting of thy summer fruits
and for thy harvest is fallen, okay?
So when I was thinking of Heshbon,
again, the reminder, I'll just read it to you
in Song of Solomon, chapter seven, verse number four.
King Solomon's describing his wife,
he's complimenting his wife for her appearance.
And he says this about her.
He says, thy neck is as a tower of ivory,
thine eyes like the fish pools in Heshbon.
So fish pools is essentially just large water reservoirs, okay?
And so Heshbon, if he's describing his wife
as, you know, the pool, fish pools of Heshbon,
Heshbon, of course, was a place then known for,
you know, its water reservoirs.
I can't even say it, okay?
It's known for, you know, the water.
It's known for flourishing fields,
you know, beautiful fields,
if that's what he's using to describe his wife.
And it's interesting that he describes his wife,
his, her eyes in that way.
And in his eyes, using the same illustration
of his eyes weeping, you know, crying for Heshbon.
Like he's almost, his tears, you know,
might be used to be able to bring forth
the sum of fruits and what have you.
So I just thought that was an interesting parallel there.
But in verse number 10, it says,
as I-16, verse number 10.
And gladness is taken away,
and joy out of the plentiful field.
And in the vineyards there shall be no singing,
neither shall there be shouting.
The treaders shall tread out no wine in the presses.
I have made their vintage shouting to cease.
So as Moab's being overrun,
Isaiah's saying, look, there's going to be
no productivity on the land.
There's going to be no joy.
There's going to be no singing.
Of course, it's sorrow.
It's destruction.
It's a complete, you know, demolition
of the nation of Moab.
Look at what he says again in verse number 11.
Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab,
and mine inward parts for Ker-Haresh.
So of course, the bowels in the Bible
many times has to do with compassion.
You know, like we often say that,
you know, I can feel it in my gut.
You know, you're just talking about your emotions
or something like that, right?
Your instinct or your compassion.
And he says, look, my compassion essentially just,
you know, just falls over that these places,
these cities are going to be destroyed by the Assyrians.
I want to show you something else.
Come with me to Jeremiah now.
Keep again a finger in Isaiah.
Come with me to Jeremiah 48.
Jeremiah 48.
Now, with Jeremiah,
Jeremiah comes a little bit later.
He did operate around the same time as Isaiah,
but Jeremiah came later on the scene.
And when he comes to the book of Jeremiah,
he's not warning against the Assyrians,
he's warning against Babylon.
Okay?
And you may recall last week I said to you,
sometimes I'm not sure if these judgments are,
is Assyria or Babylon or just a mix of the both of them.
But in Jeremiah 48 verse number 29,
I want you to notice what Jeremiah says.
Jeremiah 48 verse number 29.
Jeremiah says, this is, you know,
decades after Isaiah, okay?
He says in Jeremiah 48, 29,
we have heard the pride of Moab.
It's like, you've learned nothing.
Like, not only are they wiped out by the Assyrians,
but then once they kind of rebuild themselves as a nation,
and, you know, Jeremiah's warning them of the,
of the destruction in, you know, by the Babylonians,
he once again says, I've heard of the pride.
Here you are again, doing it all over again.
See, that's what pride does.
Like, that's what pride does.
Like, you know, proud people do not learn their lessons.
Look, if God's hand of judgment and chastisement falls upon you,
you better take heed.
You better pay attention.
God, you've given me a trial, you've given me a difficulty.
What did you want to teach me?
You can't, look, don't turn around and say,
well, who cares, you know,
and just mock at God's judgment and think it can continue.
No, God's judgment is going to fall upon you again.
You better take out the pride.
Look what he says to Jeremiah.
We have heard the pride of Moab.
He is exceeding proud.
His loftiness and his arrogance and his pride,
and the haughtiness of his heart.
I know his wrath, saith the Lord,
but it shall not be so.
His lies shall not so affect it.
So again, it's the same thing that Isaiah said.
Okay, look at verse number 31.
This is now what Jeremiah says.
Therefore will I howl for Moab,
and I will cry out for all Moab.
Mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kherariz.
What did we learn from Jeremiah?
Same thing as Isaiah.
Is he like, ah, just destroy them, Lord?
Even Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet,
but he's not the only one.
Isaiah is weeping for Moab as well.
And I guess what makes, you know,
what makes people like these preachers excessively sorrowful
is when Moab can just fix it.
Like you can just make it right.
Like you're not too far gone, Moab.
Right, if you just humble yourself before God.
And so they weep.
It's like, man, you can just fix it.
Just take down the pride.
Take down the lies.
Come to the truth.
And these men begin to weep.
So I just want to show you again how,
what pride does.
Pride, God can destroy you,
but because of pride,
you just don't learn and you do it all over again.
And God will what?
Have to destroy you again.
Okay, God will bring those lessons once again.
But with Babylon, it was even worse.
The destruction was even worse
than what was by the hands of the Assyrians.
Back to Isaiah 16, verse number 12.
And it shall come to pass
when it seemed that Moab is weary on the high place.
Remember the high places are where they set up idols
to worship false gods?
It says when it is seen that Moab is weary,
so they're like weary,
they're begging their false gods,
can you save us?
It says that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray,
but he shall not prevail.
So their false gods are not going to come to the rescue.
Their false gods are not going to turn the hearts of the Assyrians
and protect the nation.
Verse number 13.
This is the word that the Lord has spoken
concerning Moab since that time.
But now the Lord has spoken, saying,
Within three years, as the years of an hireling,
and the glory of Moab shall be contempt.
The word contempt means to be despised and mocked.
With all that great multitude,
and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.
So God's saying this is all going to happen within three years.
So God set a time for the destruction of Moab
by the hands of the Assyrians.
And then the remnant, those that remain,
says they're very small and feeble.
But then those that were very small and feeble,
they end up rebuilding Moab once again.
And then in Jeremiah we see again,
once again, God saying,
We know your pride.
You don't learn anything.
You're going to be destroyed,
you're going to be despised,
you're going to be mocked
for being, you know, by the judgement of the Assyrians
and ultimately the Babylonians.
So brethren, the title of the sermon was
The Pride of Moab.
And it's when you think you're not proud,
that's when the pride comes.
I'm telling you, we all have it.
We call it ego sometimes.
It's the same thing.
You know, when someone offends you and,
you know, you have the decision,
I can just blow that off, it's not a big deal,
but it frustrates you, the bitterness in your heart,
you know, toward things.
You know, the rejection of hearing God's word,
the rejection of wanting to be in his house
and to learn the truth of God's word.
You know, the desire to just go my way
and not what God says.
Brethren, that's pride.
And what we saw is that pride comes before destruction.
Okay, it's guaranteed.
It's God's promise.
You allow the pride to grow in you,
God will take you down.
Okay, all right, let's pray.