We're in Isaiah chapter 15 now, and we were in Isaiah 14 last week.
And in Isaiah 14 it was the second part of Isaiah's burden of Babylon.
If you remember, he started these sort of burdens of different places, these prophecies,
preaching about these places, bad things which are going to happen, hence the word, the name
being burdens.
The first of these was where he prophesied of destruction coming to Babylon around 200
years on from when Isaiah was prophesying, so it was a future prophecy.
But there was also a lot of dual prophecy with the Babylon of the end times also being
prophesied of, which will be followed straight after by the millennial reign.
We saw that being alluded to as well, we saw some pictures of that and some things which
corresponded with that.
There was a long passage about the king of Babylon which was also to be applied to Satan
or was named Lucifer, son of the mourning.
How he won't be some hero in hell but rather the opposite, no glory but rather scorned
contrary to probably a lot of popular belief out there, thinking he's some sort of king
of hell.
No, he's going to be downtrodden in hell as well.
We saw how it was pride and the need for recognition to be lifted up which defined him and it also
defines his children with them being called the proud and we saw that, we saw the similarities
there.
Finally, Isaiah finished with what seemed like a subject change to Assyria but was really
just a reminder of the Babylonian Empire coming on the back of the Assyrian Empire with only
the poor of the land seemingly doing okay out of it all.
It said in verse 29 of Isaiah 14,
And then Isaiah 15 and verse 1 begins with this,
And I'd like to pray before we get going with this chapter.
Father, thank you for your word, Lord, thank you for this chapter of the Bible and a short
chapter with, you know, maybe it's, you know, there's not obviously, you know, a great deal
in here for some with first glance, Lord.
However, there's some principles, some teachers we can get out of this and I've decided to
preach on today so please just help me to preach them accurately, clearly and boldly
today, Lord, and help everyone to have attentive ears and to really want to hear what your
word's got to say and in Jesus' name probably this, Amen.
Okay, so we saw the burden of Moab because the night of Moab is laid waste and brought
to silence because the night care of Moab is laid waste and brought to silence.
Now just a reminder of where we're at now.
In the last chapter, I ended with this bit of info, Isaiah 14, 28 said,
In the year that King Ahaz died was this burden, so that was verse 28 of the last chapter said
in the year that King Ahaz died was this burden.
Now King Ahaz was succeeded by King Hezekiah, so we're likely somewhere around the beginning
of King Hezekiah's reign, it seems, right?
While he's going through these burdens, this is now the second one, somewhere around the
beginning of King Hezekiah now, which coincides with the spreading of the Assyrian Empire,
which is who is to carry out this burden upon Moab?
That's what we're going to read of is the burden upon Moab of the Assyrian Empire, Moab
being Israel's neighbors on the other side of the Dead Sea, in case you're wondering
in the region that we would now call Western Jordan.
Have a look at chapter 16 at the end of this prophesied burden.
So chapter 16, the next chapter on is the end of this burden that we're looking at now
on Moab, so it continues for two chapters, so it says in verse 13 of chapter 16, verse
13 says, This is a word that the Lord has spoken concerning Moab since that time.
But now the Lord has spoken saying, Within three years is the years of an highling, and
the glory of Moab shall be contempt, with all that great multitude and the remnant shall
be very small and feeble.
So yes, there's a remnant that are eventually destroyed by the Babylonians, we're going
to look at later, but this first burden is of the coming destruction by the Assyrians.
Notice he said within three years, okay, this is what's going to happen, the glory shall
be contempt, with all that great multitude and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.
So it's definitely talking about the Assyrian Empire carrying out this first burden here,
and it seems to have been a pretty sudden one too.
Look at verse one again, it said back in verse one of chapter 15, the 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.
So Ar was one of the chief cities on the east coast of the Dead Sea, it was Kir being a
bit more inland, and both of these cities were destroyed in the night, which is a common
theme in scripture, if you think about it, if you've noticed this in scripture, turn
to John chapter 11, by the way, John chapter 11, obviously keep a finger here, in Daniel
530, for example, we see that the drunkard king of Babylon was killed in the night.
It happened in a night that Babylon was taken over by that Medo-Persian Empire.
It says in, it says, sorry, back in Daniel, I think it was 5 and verse 30, it says, in
that night was Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldean slain, it was in a night that they
came in and even managed to kill him in that night.
Psalm 30 and verse 5, you're going to John 11, but Psalm 30 and verse 5 contrasts the
night and the day, it says, for his anger endures by the moment in his favour his life.
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
There's a contrast, we see a lot in scripture, John 11, 10 says it like this, John 11, 10
says, then after that saith he to his disciples, talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, let us
go into Judea again.
His disciples say unto him, Master Jesus of late sought the stone, he can go south thither
again.
Jesus answered, are there not twelve hours in a day?
If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, but he seeth the light of this world.
But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth because there is no light in him, with there
of course being a spiritual application, however, we're children of the day and not of the night.
Okay, the Bible says that clearly first, Thessalonians 5, 5 says, ye are all the children
of light and the children of the day, we are not, sorry, ye are all the children of light
and the children of the day, we are not of the night nor of darkness, okay.
And aside from the spiritual application, and obviously you could go into length in
the spiritual application of that, there's a simple physical application too.
The night is when people stumble most, okay, that's just a fact of not just scripture,
that's just a fact of light.
The night is when people stumble, the night is when people are laid waste, the night was
when Ah of Moab was laid waste, the night was when Kirah of Moab was laid waste, and
the night is when people, believe us or not, are usually laid waste, okay.
And the night, for example, is when the bars, the clubs, the parties are at their fullest
and their worst and when people are laid waste, literally, right, they end up getting wasted
at night.
It's the night time when the worst stuff goes on, isn't it?
It's the night time when people are in the most sin.
It's the night time when the stuff that people don't really want you to see doing, they end
up doing a lot of the time.
The night is when most drunk driving accidents happen, isn't it?
Yeah, if you, let's be honest, if you did it, if you looked, I didn't even bother looking
at the stats because it's so obvious, because we know that's the case because usually a
lot of drunk driving accidents happen at night.
A lot of the time you might see a car just abandoned somewhere because the person who
drove it and smashed it and fortunately didn't kill someone was probably drunk and then abandoned
it afterwards so they could come back and claim, oh, I just don't know what happened.
Someone must have stolen it or something else, right.
You see that happen, you wait, you get up in the morning sometimes and see some car
smashed up somewhere.
The night is when that happens, the night is when crime is rampant, isn't it?
That's when a lot of crime happens, isn't it?
Different types of crime, assaults, robberies, things like that.
It's when nasty, seedy parts of town are busiest in whatever city, town, that's when
they're busiest, it's under the cover of night.
It's the night time, it's the night time when so much bad stuff happens.
The night is when the casino is full up, isn't it?
The night time's when the casino is full into the small hours, when gentlemen's clubs, like
what a ridiculous name, right, when whoremonger clubs, when pervert clubs are busiest.
Is it night time?
You don't see people going in and out of them if you've ever driven past them in the day,
but you'll see that happening at night.
Suddenly it seems to be acceptable.
Suddenly people that would never have been seen dead near those places are happy to go
there at night.
And of course alcohol obviously is added to the mix a lot of the time as well, but that's
when this stuff suddenly seems okay.
It suddenly seems okay to be knocking back ten pints of beer when it's night time.
But you do that in the daytime and everyone will call you rightfully an alcoholic, right.
But is there any difference?
What's the deal?
At night time.
The night is when the predators come out, isn't it, as well.
You hang around here at night time, you hang around anywhere at night time and you'll see
a lot of wicked people out.
You'll see predators out, you'll see weirdos out, you'll see some pretty vile predators
out there.
You go around bars and clubs and things, I'm not telling you to do that, but if you did
at night time you'll see some people loitering, hanging around the bar looking for people
looking for not just women, but often women that look a bit drunk to then take advantage
of, to offer them more drinks, they're just basically sexual perverts stalking places
at night.
I mean, what a crazy thing is it that you get these people sending their kids out, teenagers
out to these places to just like, with people just waiting to prey on them.
It's horrendous, isn't it?
And when is it?
It's at night time, right?
It's at night time.
Turn to Proverbs chapter four, Proverbs chapter four.
The night was when the UK's most prolific serial rapist, Reynard Sinaga, anyone heard
of this guy?
The Indonesian guy?
Reynard Sinaga committed the 136 rapes of young men, the ones that he was at least convicted
of, 136 in Manchester a few years back, between I think it was 2015, maybe 2019, something
like that.
This guy was, do you know what he did?
He used to just prowl at night and find drunk young men on their way home and offer them
somewhere to stay, offer them to charge their phone, just basically took them back to his
place, filmed this, it's horrendous.
I mean, and the thing is, most people don't even know this name.
I mean, this guy is a famous, like one of the most vile people that's ever lived.
And hardly anyone even knows the name.
Reynard Sinaga in the UK, in Manchester, there were 136 rapes that he was convicted of and
they think there were many, many more, probably before he even came to the UK from Indonesia
this guy was an absolute stinking piece of filth.
And when did he strike?
At night.
At night time.
Because it's a night when the wicked are prowling most.
That's what the night's about.
You hang around places at night, you're going to see wicked people.
And sadly many of us could look back to previous years, maybe years before you were in the
Word of God, years before you got saved and wanted to start living for God, and you look
back and you think, wow, there are a lot of wicked people out at night, aren't there?
If you hang around these sorts of places, places that are popular at night time, there's
a lot of bad people, people that just want to just pick on people and beat them up.
People that just want to abuse women, abuse men.
People that just want to rip people off, people that want to con people, people that want
to take advantage of people in one way or another.
It's everywhere and it's at night time.
Proverbs 4 says it like this in verse 14, Enter not into the path of the wicked, and
go not in the way of evil men.
Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
And one way that you avoid it is by generally avoiding the night.
Okay, that's an easy way, because look at verse 16, For they sleep not, except they
have done mischief, and their sleep is taken away unless they cause some to fall.
For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
So wicked people, let's talk about the worst types of people, let's talk about reprobates,
psychopaths, are out causing mischief, and that's not like cool stuff, that's not like
things that teenage boys get up to necessarily, let's talk about evil, bad stuff, they cause
people to fall, they're out there, not just because they want to get up to stuff because
they get pleasure, they get pleasure in them that do it, right, they get pleasure in other
people falling, but it's not just the wicked.
So there's obviously that, the night time, they're children of the night, these people
are often out at night causing people to fall, it's not just the wicked though, turn
to 2 Samuel chapter 11, 2 Samuel 11, The night is when God's people are most likely to stumble
too.
The night, even if you don't necessarily go outside the confines of your home, the night
is when God's people are most likely to stumble.
It's when we're generally less busy, and therefore more susceptible to temptation.
In 2 Samuel 11, we see David stumble from that time of evening tide, or dusk we might
say onwards, okay, so it starts at evening tide, and it continues.
It said in verse 1 of 2 Samuel 11, and it came to pass after the year was expired, at
the time when kings go forth to battle, David was the king, and should have been going forth
to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed
the children of Ammon and besieged Rabah, but David tarried still at Jerusalem.
And it came to pass in an evening tide, okay, so it's the evening now, that David arose
from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house, and from the roof he
saw a woman washing herself, and a woman was very beautiful to look upon.
And David sent and inquired after the woman, and one said, Is not this Bathsheba the daughter
of a lion, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
And David sent messages and took her, and she came in unto him, and he lay with her,
for she was purified from her uncleanness, and she returned unto her house.
So he committed adultery with the wife of one of his mighty men.
And if anyone's not aware of that, Uriah the Hittite was described, he was in the list
of David's mighty men, and he not only committed adultery with her, it then gets even worse
to then try and cover it up, he tries to get him to come and lie with her.
This guy's so honourable, he's saying, I'm not going to go and lie with my wife while
my buddies are out on the battlefield, I ain't doing it.
So he then ends up sending him to his death, and it just gets worse and worse and worse.
But David was a man of God.
But it was at night time that he stumbled, and then it just snowballed from then.
And it's at night time that we often stumble, isn't it?
Isn't that when so many children of God, so many of God's people stumble?
The night time is when people are more likely to look at things that they shouldn't on whatever
electronic device, isn't it?
The night time is when people are more likely to look at something they shouldn't.
Whether it's pornography for many, or at least some version of some, at least whatever level
it is.
Some it might be, well, it's when they're going to start scrolling through the social
media and what's it full of usually whores, harlots, you know, wearing next to nothing.
It might be full on pornography.
Maybe it's borderline.
Maybe it's just trash movies.
Maybe it's a night time when they're more likely to just watch a load of rubbish, a
load of filth, a load of smut, a load of brainwash.
Maybe it's night time when they're more likely to watch one after another episode of some
complete rubbish series because it's night time and it's just, well, that's okay now
because it's night time.
But they're probably not going to do that in a day.
Maybe it's just some gore, some sort of just mindless violence where it's just, and nowadays,
I mean, I can remember what it was like several years ago on some of these things, some of
these series where, I mean, it was just pointless gore.
Things which were aimed at teenagers, sort of like Marvel comic type stuff.
And it's just disgusting stuff, people's guts coming out and things.
It's like, where on earth did that come from?
It's meant to be about Batman or something, you know, or something else.
And suddenly there's like the most horrific thing you've ever seen in your life suddenly
on the screen.
You're like, what on earth, you know?
There's meant to be some blind guy called Daredevil running around killing people.
And the next thing you know, it's like, it's horrendous, right?
But that's the sort of thing that people start watching at night time.
The night time is when people are more likely to have a social drink on their own.
You know, one of those social drinks, the old social drinker that sits on their own
drinking socially.
That's when they're more likely to do it, isn't it?
It's at night time.
The night time is when people are more likely to smoke weed.
Oh, well, it's night time.
And then come out with the excuses, it helps me to sleep.
Oh, of course, of course, I mean, how would you sleep without smoking weed?
Do you know what?
By stopping smoking weed and then you might find yourself sleeping without needing to
smoke weed.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I know, it's complicated, that sort of concept, isn't it?
Maybe to hit the prescription painkillers.
And that went night time.
And I say that because there are a lot of people that, oh, well, they've got their prescription
painkillers and it's at night time when I just need, I'm in a bit more pain, I need
a few more of these.
Why?
Because really there's something about the night time which draws you to something that
you know really, you didn't really need them.
And just for any Americans or American viewers here, when I say painkillers, I'm talking
about things like prescription morphine and things like this.
Just to make it clear, because when we were out in America, Adam asked for some painkillers
and they were like, whoa, because they're talking about some pretty strong stuff, right?
And they thought he was a drug addict, although I don't know why he needed the painkillers.
No, I'm kidding, I'm kidding.
But the night time is when people are more likely to gorge on junk food as well, isn't
it?
Night time when it's that little bit harder, it's like, well, it's night time now.
It's okay to eat five bars of chocolate.
The night time, it's okay to just kind of just be hammering bag after bag of crisps
and whatever else, right?
The night time is when this stuff happens.
The night time is when God's people are really more likely to just start backsliding one
way or another.
It's night time.
Night time is when it's so much more likely, again, if you could get some stats on it,
anyone think we're not going to see that the majority of this stuff is going to be done
at night time, isn't it?
Okay, that's just the way it is.
So what's the answer?
Move to Norway in the summertime?
If anyone's wondering, apparently Norway, they have some 24-hour days over there in
the summertime, right?
Sounds pretty good if it wasn't so cold.
Oh, is it cold, isn't it?
Is Norway cold in the summer?
Maybe it's warm, I don't know.
What's your thoughts, Andrei?
It's all right.
It's all right, okay.
Norway in the summertime.
Sorry, let me just change this sermon.
Down the old southern hemisphere in the winter, yeah, you get some long days down there.
I'm talking to the southern hemisphere guys here in the winter, yeah, especially if you
go pretty south, I'd imagine, right?
Yeah, you get some long days in what we would call winter, right, down December or so.
So you could maybe, like, split your time between the southern and northern hemisphere,
or you could do an easier answer, which is to reduce your night time.
Reduce the time that you're up at night.
Yeah, that would be the obvious answer, wouldn't it?
Just reduce the time you're up at night.
You go, well, how do you do that?
I mean, this is, I know this is getting a bit complicated.
If you need to write notes and stuff, you can, okay?
I'll tell you the way, you get up early and then you go to bed early.
Pretty simple, we're children of the day, not of the night.
Get up early, you go to bed early.
First thing in the morning isn't usually a time of temptation, let's be honest, right?
I don't think many people are getting up in the morning just going, right, what sin can
I get into?
But you start getting into the evening and the night and the temptation rises, doesn't
it?
First thing in the morning is a great time to be getting up.
Turn to Exodus chapter eight, and this isn't just an obvious way to, you know, this isn't
just, sorry, an obvious way to avoid the perils of the night time, but it's something that
the Lord Jesus Christ actually shows us by example and it's something that we see many
of the prophets doing and even being commanded to do so.
So it's a command in the Bible, we see two prophets to get up early.
You're in Exodus chapter eight, we're going to look for verse 20 where Moses was told
to get up early to speak to Pharaoh and warn him about flies.
Okay, it says in Exodus eight, 20, and the Lord said unto Moses, what did he say to him?
Rise up early in the morning.
Now it was a command, wasn't it?
He said rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, lo, he cometh forth to the
water and said unto him, thus saith the Lord, let my people go, they may serve me.
So Moses was commanded to get up early, he said get up Moses, yeah, get up early.
The same in Exodus chapter nine and verse 13, to warn him of the hail, says in Exodus
nine, 13, and the Lord said unto Moses, rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh
and say unto him, thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, let my people go that they
may serve me.
So Moses continues to get up early, by the way, without needing to be commanded to.
So it's not that, well, if only I had the Lord as an alarm clock.
If only God came and said to me personally, get up early, then I probably would, but otherwise
I just quite like my bed and, you know, it's just a nice place to be in the morning.
Well, in Exodus 24 and verse four, Exodus chapter 24 and verse four, Moses got up early
before sprinkling the blood of the covenant on the people.
He's like, I'm going to splash some blood about, I'm going to get up early for this,
says in Exodus 24, four, Moses wrote all the words of the Lord and rose up early in the
morning.
He rose up early, didn't he?
And builded an altar under the hill and 12 pillars according to the 12 tribes of Israel.
Maybe he got in a good routine from when he was going and speaking to Pharaoh.
Now same again happened in Exodus 34 and verse four to write the commandments the second
time after, you know, he was the only person to have broken all 10 commandments at once.
He got up early in Exodus 34, four, it says, and he hewed two tables of stone like unto
the first, Moses rose up early in the morning and went up unto Mount Sinai as the Lord had
commanded him and took in his hand the two tables of stone.
And do you know what Moses wasn't doing at night?
Trying to find non-sinful ways of occupying himself and while away the hours, was he?
I'll tell you why, because he was up early in the morning.
And after one or two of those, he's going to be tired at night.
He's not going to be staying up, Moses wasn't just going, what can I do with my time, man?
You know, let's find something to get on with, I'm trying to find something that's not sinful
but I'm getting a bit bored.
He was up early and it wasn't just Moses, okay, Abraham was up early in the morning
to see the remains of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19, if you want to turn there quickly
you can.
Genesis 19, 27 to 28, let's see, I'm not making this up, okay, one after another we're going
to see here.
It says in Genesis 19, 27 to 28, and Abraham gapped up early in the morning to the place
where he stood before the Lord and he looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all
the land of the plain and beheld and lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke
of fire.
So you might go, well he was just worried about Lot, he got up early, probably couldn't
sleep.
He had a bit on his mind thinking this whole place getting razed to the ground, I wonder
if there were those 10 righteous that, you know, I found out he would have spared it
for.
Whoa, turn to Genesis 22 and verse 3, Genesis 22, 3, because he also gets up early to even
going off for his son Isaac as a sacrifice.
Now that's something that most people wouldn't have got up early for.
I think most people would have stayed in bed and thought I really don't want to have to
do this and it probably would have been a late start that day, not Abraham, Abraham
got up early.
It says in Genesis 22, 3, and Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his ass
and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son and claved the wood for the
burnt offering and rose up and went on to the place of which God had told him.
Was it just Abraham?
Jacob rose up early in Bethel before meeting his future wife Rachel in Genesis 28, 18,
Genesis chapter 28 and verse 18, you can turn or you can't, it's up to you.
It says, and Jacob rose up early in the morning and took the stone that he had put for his
pillows and set it up for a pillar and poured oil upon the top of it.
And if you find it hard, try getting a stone for a pillow.
That might help you to get up early.
I reckon he must have had something on the top of it.
I think that was just the raised bit.
If you do, if you're like, I just can't get up, get a stone for a pillow.
Yeah, that'll get you up early.
Joshua.
What about Joshua?
He's a great man of God.
Okay.
Joshua, he's a Christ picture.
We see very little mistakes recorded of Joshua in the Bible.
Joshua chapter three, Joshua chapter three, verse one, Joshua three, one says of Joshua,
this Christ figure, and Joshua rose early in the morning and they were removed from
Shittim and came to Jordan.
He and all the children of Israel are lodged there before they passed over.
So Joshua rose up early in the morning.
And by the way, it wasn't just him.
It says he and all the children of Israel, the whole lot of them, the whole lot of them
were rising up early in the morning.
Joshua six, twelve before destroying Jericho in Joshua six, twelve, it says in Joshua rose
early in the morning and the priest took up the Ark of the Lord.
So again, he's rising up early.
Joshua seven, sixteen to deal with Achan and the cursed thing, it says.
And again, probably wasn't a nice thing to have to deal with, however, so Joshua rose
up early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, the tribe of Judah was taken.
And in Joshua eight, ten to defeat Ai and Joshua rose up early in the morning and numbered
the people and went up.
He and the elders of Israel before the people of Ai.
Now I could keep going with this, but I'm just going to tell you a few others.
Samuel's parents, Elkanah and Hannah were early birds worshipping God.
Saul and Samuel were up early before Saul's anointing by Samuel.
David rose up early before killing Goliath.
Hezekiah rose early before going to the house of the Lord to set things straight again.
Job rose up early to offer burnt sacrifices in case his children sinned.
In Job one, five it says, and it was so when the days of their feasting were gone about
that Job sent and sanctified them and rose up early in the morning.
What a great man of God Job was to lead by example and offered burnt offerings according
to the number of them.
All for Job said, it may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts, thus
did Job continually.
Job's like, look, I'm going to sacrifice my kids just in case they've sinned.
And you know, when I'm going to do it, I'm going to get up early and get on with it.
They came early in the morning to hear Jesus preached, by the way, in Luke 21, 38 says,
and all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple for to hear him.
And they came early to the Sepulchre before seeing the resurrected Christ in Mark 16.2
says them very early in the morning.
The first day of the week, they came under the Sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
The apostles were up early teaching right after their jailbreak in Acts 5.21.
And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning at all.
And if you turn to Mark one, Mark chapter one, turn over to Mark one, our ultimate example,
who was tempted like we are yet without sin, gone up early, okay?
He got, he was tempted, you know what?
He was tempted like we are.
He was tempted to stay in bed and avoid his morning Bible reading, like we are.
Yeah, he, I'm sure that bed was warm.
I'm sure Jesus Christ's bed was warm.
I'm sure that he was tempted to maybe just miss out the prayers this morning because,
you know, I could probably get an extra half an hour sleep or maybe I could do something else.
He was tempted like as we are yet without sin.
He got up early.
He actually got up extra early, which tells me that he wasn't up at night twiddling his
thumbs wondering what to do to relieve his boredom.
Mark one and verse 32, Mark one, 32 says in it, even when the sun did set, they brought
unto him all that were diseased and then them that were possessed with devils and all the
city was gathered together at the door.
This is verse 34 now, Mark one, and he healed many that were sick of diverse diseases and
cast out many devils and suffered not the devils to speak because they knew him.
So he worked late in the evening.
Isn't that time for a lion then?
He's worked late in the evening.
Better have a lion.
It's been a bit of a rough evening.
Better get up late and then wonder why he can't sleep the next night.
He might as well just sleep in that morning and then just wonder why the next night.
Now I can't get to sleep because I've just had a lion because I was up late working.
No, look at verse 35, and in the morning, rising up a great while before day.
He rose up a great while before day.
He went out and departed into a solitary place and there prayed.
You'll notice, by the way, in the morning, it was still called the morning even though
it was a great while before day because he was rising up to get up.
And some might look at that and go, well, that's the Lord Jesus, right?
Yeah, but aren't we supposed to follow his example?
Isn't he our ultimate example to follow?
Well, it seems that some did.
Look at verse 36, and Simon and they that were with him followed after him.
Yeah, they got up as well.
They got up a great while before day in the morning.
And do you know the best time to find the Lord?
It's in the morning, isn't it?
Let's be honest, the best time to find the Lord is in the morning.
The best time to open your Bible is in the morning.
The best time to pray to God is in the morning before all the distractions, all the other
things come in.
You go, well, I'll do my Bible reading in the evening.
Again, I know I've kind of got stats on my mind right now, yeah.
I reckon if you saw some legitimate, honest, maybe you could ask God for a readout when
you get to heaven on this one, but I reckon, yeah, I'm going to stand by.
If you found all the people that go, well, I do my Bible reading only in the evening,
versus, you know, I believe you meditate day and night.
You should be in the morning.
You should be in the evening.
Okay.
But say you get those people that read there, try and read there by once day, and there's
those that go, I'm just going to read my Bible in the evening.
That's how it works for me.
And you get those that go, I read my Bible in the morning.
I would guarantee you that the morning readers will be more consistent, a hundred percent.
You get up before the distractions, before the issues, do you know what happens in the
evening?
Distractions come in, or you start to feel tired, or something else.
It gets put off, and then it doesn't happen.
Well, here, it says, and Simon and they that were with him followed after him, and when
they had found him, they said unto him, all men seek for thee.
You know what?
If you seek for the Lord Jesus Christ, get up early, get up early, and read the Word
of God early.
Get up in the morning, read, pray to him, and all that to say that there's a simple
way not to be laid waste in the night, not to be destroyed at night, it's to get up early.
All that to say that, if you don't want to be like, we see the Moabites here, in verse
1, back in Isaiah 15, you don't want to be laid waste in the night, then just get up
early.
And you're going to have less time to do stuff at night, you're going to have less time to
be tempted.
And look, of course, it's not that you can't have wind down time, it's not that you can't
relax.
You know, you probably would find, especially if you've got kids and stuff, that your relationship,
husbands and wives might be a bit grim if it's like, right, 7.30, kids go down, and
me too, and I'm getting up at 3am or something, you know, and then getting on with my day.
You need some time together and stuff, and sometimes it's nice to have time without the
kids there.
However, the reality of it is, if you're up till 11, 12, 1, like sadly so many people
are, you're just going to have more temptation, there's more chance of you being laid waste.
Verse 1 said, The 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.
He has gone up to Bejeth and to Dibon, the high places to weep.
Moab shall howl over Nebo and over Mediba, and all their heads shall be baldness, and
every beard cut off.
So these are all towns and cities with Dibon going for Reuben's possession to the Moabites
at some point, with both Bejeth and Dibon, it seems, being elevated, and said to the
high places here, and seemingly a place of idol worship, which is what the high places
are consistently throughout the Bible.
The high places are places of idol worship.
And the point is that they were idolaters, okay, the Moabites were idolaters.
Their response to invasion was to weep and howl toward their idols.
The baldness and cut off beards was a custom when mourning occurred, to cut off the hair,
it's an outward sign of mourning.
You'd have to turn to Amos 8, 10, Amos 8, 10 says, And I will turn your feasts into
mourning, and all your songs into lamentation, and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins,
and baldness upon every head, and I will make it as a mourning of an only son, and
the end thereof as a bitter day.
So the sackcloth being a coarse fabric, apparently goat's hair, worn by mourners as a sign of
their mourning.
It says here in verse 3, In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth,
on the tops of their houses, and in their streets everyone shall howl, weeping abundantly.
So it's an outward show of mourning, okay, the sackcloth, the shaving of the head, the
beards.
And in our culture people do, they want an outward sign of mourning often, and the common
one throughout probably a more recent history at least has been black clothes, hasn't it?
People wear black when they're mourning, and that could be for a long time sometimes.
You might get a widow mourning in black for a long period of time, and especially in certain
cultures, people would have said, okay, we can see that person's in mourning, they're
wearing all black.
The black armband is something that you might see as well, and you see it in sports teams,
things like that.
People wear that as a sign of mourning, a show of not only respect but just an outward
sign to say, look, I'm mourning, I'm upset, I'm aggrieved.
And here it was the shaving of the head, the shaving of the beard, the wearing of this
sackcloth.
And it's some sort of, I suppose going through some sort of outward pain as well, which sometimes
in a way does make people weirdly feel a bit better, doesn't it, when you go through something
inside is to have an outward sign of that and an outward suffering.
But they're mourning because their idols can save them from the Assyrians.
And there's a bit of a contrast here as well in what happened here, because the contrast
is with God saving Hezekiah's Judah from the Assyrians as opposed to the false gods, the
idols of the surrounding nations.
Because Hezekiah's Judah is saved from the Assyrian Empire, and we see him come through
for them, whereas the surrounding nations who are idolaters and going to their false
gods, to their idols, aren't saving them.
And you know why?
Because the idols of this world are not saving people from destruction.
It ain't happening.
It didn't happen then, it ain't going to happen now, okay?
Your idols in the world, the world's idols out there are not going to save them from
destruction.
The idols of false religion aren't saving anyone from eternal destruction, are they?
Whatever idol it is, whatever false religion it is, it's not saving people from eternal
destruction.
The idols didn't save them.
God saved Judah, the idols did not save the surrounding nations.
Mary is not saving anyone from hell.
The idol Mary is not – the idol Mary, that is, this isn't the Mary from the Bible, I'm
not saying the lazy Mary, okay, the idol, as in the false god Mary, okay, this false
queen of heaven, God, ain't saving anyone.
She ain't a mediatrix, she's not someone to pray to, she's a false god, she's an idol,
and you will not be saved from hell by praying or by asking Mary to intercede for your whatever
other crazy, unbiblical, bizarre stuff the Catholics have made up, you know, that Mary
will apparently do.
But in the same way, the false god, the idol Allah, the moon god, isn't saving anyone from
hell.
Okay, however many pillars of Islam you try to keep, you double it and go for another
five pillars and find some other pillars, okay, you ain't getting saved by the false
god Allah, he's an idol, he's a false god, you're not getting saved from hell by Buddha.
Buddha ain't saving – oh no, no, no, no, Buddha's just, you know, they don't really
worship Buddha, yeah they do, yeah they worship Buddha, I've seen, I've been to these places,
I remember in Thailand, going up to some sort of Buddha temple and they're all bowing
in front of stupid statues of Buddha, he's an idol, he's a false god, he's an idol,
he ain't saving them from destruction, the Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, the Hindu idols, and
the million other ones, whatever they've decided to make up, I'm sure there's ones
being made up as we talk right now, anything they can think of they'll make an idol of,
I mean that is just full idolatry, isn't it, ain't saving them, it's not saving
them.
And then do you know who else, do you know another idol that I like to bring up a bit,
just because it's an idol, ain't saving no one is a repent of your sins Jesus, that's
a false god, it's an idol, it's a fake god, and he ain't saving no one, you'll
repent of your sins and faith, Jesus is a false god, he's an idol, so is your losing
salvation Jesus that requires you to maintain your salvation, that's a false god, it's
an idol, it's not how Jesus is revealed to us in the Word of God, it's an idol,
and he ain't saving no one.
But the idols of life also won't save you in times of sudden physical destruction,
so as well as eternal destruction, physical destruction, people think their idols are
going to save them, the idols of life didn't save those that have been invaded over the
years by foreign powers, and there've been some wars and there've been some invasions
and we might not get it so much here, although it's been closed at times and obviously
back in history there was, but look, you know, even more recently there've been some invasions,
I mean there's certain parts, for example, a place in Africa where there's been some
pretty recent wars, invasions, and your idols aren't saving you, your idols aren't saving
you from certain death when the tsunami struck, those idols of life didn't save people
that have suddenly become diseased by some horrible disease going through their society.
The big home doesn't save you in those situations, does it?
Because that's an idol for many people.
The new car doesn't save you, doesn't matter how fast that car is, when that tsunami came
they were getting washed up, weren't they?
When that invading force comes you ain't outrunning them in a Ferrari.
You know, when, just reality, when the sickness comes in, when the horrible disease goes through
everyone, the big home, the Ferrari, the wealth, the fame, whatever it is, it ain't
saving you.
The guru.
So many people love an idol, a guru of some sort or other that they can bow at their feet
and just hang off every word, they ain't saving you.
You'll be howling and weeping abundantly, the only thing that's going to save you
is the Lord Jesus Christ.
The only person, the only God, the only true God.
Take away the odd is the only true God that's going to save you also from physical destruction
is the Lord.
He's a sakura to many.
Verse 4 said, and Heshbon shall cry.
These are people, they're all idolaters, and Eli, Eli, their voice shall be heard even
unto Jehaz, therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out, his life shall be grievous
unto him.
Jehaz being one of the more eastern cities, and you can imagine that being an armed soldier
maybe had its perks at times if you were that way inclined.
If you were kind of into that sort of thing, you know, for different reasons, but you can
imagine the armed soldiers of Moab maybe at times have plenty when they are, you know,
probably quite high, at least maybe high up compared with some in society, they're armed
soldiers at the end of the day.
Maybe it was good, right, but when you're being suddenly invaded by a world empire,
I can imagine that's not a pleasant job then, is it?
So it's all well and good, it's all rosy when maybe you're at times of peace, it's
all rosy when maybe, you know, and think about it today, being in the forces is all good
when you're just, you know, you're just invading sort of very poor countries with the might
of America and NATO and everything else behind you, it's probably quite a cushy number a
lot of the time, right?
Especially when it's peace time, especially when you're not really doing too much, when
really kind of, well maybe it's mainly bombs and stuff, you don't really have to do too
much, but when you're suddenly being invaded by a world empire, not so much for a pleasant
job is it?
Not so great.
When you're suddenly getting invaded and you're meant to be fighting now and you've got, you
know, you've got the world empire of the Assyrians invading you, that job's not so good, and
for me that's just, you can, we could have a quick reminder here that we as God's people
have no business fighting for the armies of the world.
Look, you kids growing up, don't get conned by the exciting, you know, you can get a machine
gun there or the kind of, you know, because we've got, look, I got tempted by this when
I was young, I know many others would have done and have done, you know, and there can
be that, especially, that's why they recruit you at 16 years old, because at 16 years old
you watch GI Joe on the TV and you're like, brilliant, sign me up, you know, that should
not be a decision for a child, should it?
16 years old to give your life, or at least part of your life, and it can be your life,
to your government, to your corrupt government, to your government who seem to be just stooges
for very rich people around the world for international jewellery and the rest of it,
I mean, what on earth, right?
But so many do, and they give up their lives and they give themselves to that and it all
seems rosy, you know, like this is good fun, we're just doing training exercises and,
you know, and some of this is exciting, you're on some pretty cool assault courses I'd
imagine, some of those shooting ranges must be pretty fun, you know, some of the other
stuff you can do in it must be pretty fun, however, when the invading power comes in,
or maybe even, look, for some ex-servicemen, their lives, as we see here in a minute, or
we've just seen here tonight, said his life shall be grievous unto him, sometimes their
lives are grievous to him.
The ones that have had to kill people, the ones that maybe put two and two together and
after they went into Iraq and just killed a load of women and children and were part
of that, they might have come back and actually thought, what on earth, what have I been led
into, what am I a part of, how have I ended up being basically just, like, weapons of
mass destruction, what a load of nonsense, we just invaded a nation to steal it for someone
else, to steal their resources, to keep going towards a one-world government even more,
I mean, some people are going to get a conscience about that stuff, aren't they, and then suddenly
their lives are grievous unto them.
Look, you've got no business, kids growing up, you've got no business getting involved
in wars for some wicked, worldly nation, whatever nation it is, okay, that's not our job.
First Peter 2.11 says, Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims abstaining from
a fleshly lust which war against the soul.
Okay, we're strangers and pilgrims here, and I'll tell you a fleshly lust is going and
fighting for some, going and thinking, this is so exciting, let's go and get involved
with that, that's a fleshly lust, and again, like I said, especially as a youngster, that's
something that you're going to be tempted by, aren't you, and don't get involved with
that stuff, okay, we've got much more important things to fight for, like people's souls.
One of those fleshly lusts is the excitement of running around and shooting at people and
getting shot at.
For some, that's exciting, isn't it, I mean, you watch that stuff on TV and you're thinking,
this looks great, you know, because they don't, you know, all that nowadays probably does
get a bit gory, it might be a bit less exciting, but in the old days, I mean, you watch the
A-Team, no one even ever got killed, I don't think anyone ever died in that, did they,
they just like shot stuff, and then that was it, and then, you know, everyone, then they
gave up in the end, it looked exciting, it looked fun, the reality is very different.
Verse five says, my heart shall cry out for Moab, his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar,
and Heifer of three years old, for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they
go it up, for in the way of Horenayim, they shall raise up a cry of destruction.
Just last point in that, in case anyone's sitting there going, hmm, say all that past
the tavern, if it wasn't for the people of old, we would all be speaking German, or whatever,
you know, they come out with this stuff, yeah.
It's like, look, I'm not disrespecting people that have gone, look, they've gone,
maybe they thought that they were doing the right thing and everything else, that's
still not our job, we're strangers and pilgrims, okay, leave it to the world's people to
fight against the world's people, we're here to get people saved, yeah.
So here, he said, my heart shall cry out for Moab, his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar,
and Heifer of three years old, for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they
go it up, for in the way of Horenayim, they shall raise up a cry of destruction.
So Zoar being that small town, if you remember where Lot and his daughters fled, it's just
south of the Dead Sea now, and Heifer is a young cow.
And three years old being what was requested, and we're not going to go there, but of God
by Abraham in Genesis 15, you see him requesting a Heifer of three years old, and probably
a fairly standard age, I'd imagine, for the sacrifice, with it probably symbolizing
maybe the fleeing Moabites as defenseless, about to be killed, they're no better than
a sacrifice.
Luhith and Horenayim, it said here, being towns or cities on the way to Zoar, it said,
for the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate, for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth,
there is no green thing.
So the waters of Nimrim are a stream on the way to Zoar, verse 7 says, therefore the abundance
they have got in, and Zoar being right, basically down in the south west of Moab, sort of the
furthest point from, you would say, Nineveh and Assyria.
Verse 7 says, therefore the abundance they have got in, and that which they have laid
up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows, which seems to be some area in
the south that they're fleeing to, with their possessions.
Said in verse 8, for the cry has gone round about the borders of Moab, the howling thereof
unto Iglaim, and the howling thereof unto Birelim.
Now both the place in the south near Zoar again, and the point being that the whole
of Moab was to get invaded, okay, so they're all fleeing, but it says it's all everywhere
it seems to be getting invaded, there is no escaping.
Said in verse 9, for the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood, for I'll bring more
upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.
And like we saw previously, the judgment of these nations meted out by the Assyrians was
ultimately of God.
Dimon was a stream in Moab, okay, it's God bringing this punishment upon them.
With a follow-up here it said of lions, okay, he said I'll bring more upon Dimon, lions
upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.
But as opposed to literal lions here, the lions upon those that escape and the remnant
I believe is referring to the follow-up destruction by the Babylonians, because there's an interesting
fairly parallel passage in Jeremiah 48, we're not going to go there yet, which is written
long after Isaiah's prophecy and the fulfilment of it.
So like we've just seen, he said this was going to happen in three years time.
Isaiah 16, remember, said this is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning Moab since
that time.
Verse 14 says, but now the Lord has spoken saying within three years, as the years of
it Hiling and the glory of Moab shall be contempt, with all that great multitude the remnant
shall be very small and feeble.
Well the remnant is then destroyed by the lions of Babylon as prophesied by Jeremiah
over a hundred years later.
However, this second time is the final time for the nation, if you turn to Jeremiah 48.
So this is now the second time they're invaded, it is about a hundred plus years after Jeremiah
48 you're turning to.
We've just seen him say, for I'll bring more upon demon.
Lions upon him that escapeth of Moab.
So how have they escaped at the time of the whole invasion and upon the remnant of the
land?
Notice the remnant there as well.
Well look at Jeremiah 48 verse 1, it says against Moab thus saith the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, woe unto Nebo for it is spoiled.
Kiriathaim is confounded and taken, Mizgab is confounded and dismayed.
There shall be no more praise of Moab, in Heshbon they have devised evil against it,
come and let us cut it off from being a nation.
Also thou shalt be cut down a madman, the sword shall pursue thee.
So why is it going to be cut off from being a nation eventually then hundred years in
the future?
So why does this happen?
And Jeremiah is clearly prophesying in the future okay, because Jeremiah he comes about
long after the Assyrians.
Well Jeremiah 48 7 tells us why then we see this second sort of ending and the final ending
of it as a nation.
Yeah there's the odd person afterwards, we hear the odd Moab after the return from captivity
but Moab ceases to be a nation it seems from the point of the Babylonian invasion.
Well Jeremiah 48 7 says this, Jeremiah 48 verse 7 says for because thou hast trusted
in thy works and in thy treasures thou shalt also be taken and Kimah shall go forth into
captivity with his priests and his princes together.
Verse 29 says we have heard the pride of Moab, his exceeding proud, his loftiness and his
arrogance and his pride and the haughtiness of his heart.
Verse 35 said moreover I will cause to cease in Moab saith the Lord him that offereth in
the high place and him that burneth incense to his gods.
Verse 42 says a Moab shall be destroyed from being a people because he had magnified himself
against the Lord.
So you've got works salvation and what have you got with that pride, arrogance, idols
magnifying himself against the Lord and that stuff always go hand in hand pretty much right.
The works salvation we see in verse 7 because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy
treasures then we see combined with the pride in verse 29 the loftiness, the arrogance,
the pride, the haughtiness.
Verse 35 it's idolatry because the works salvation is an idol, it's the work of men's hands,
it's a false god and verse 42 it's because he's magnifying himself against the Lord which
is ultimately what works salvationists are doing and isn't that the majority of people
out there, that's the majority of people in this nation, that's the majority of people
in most nations, haughty, prideful, idolatrous works salvationists yeah and eventually there's
a destruction coming isn't there and here there was a destruction coming they got that
reprieve they had the remnant and still a hundred years later it's just the same old
stuff and and it doesn't seem to matter does it or what happens what goes on with the majority
of the world it's just back to haughty arrogant prideful works salvation across the board
pretty much and that's why there's a destruction coming here as well and yeah there's a there's
a remnant here of people that aren't but the majority is just works salvationists and if
this place ended up if the UK just got just got smashed and crushed could you really complain
I mean there's some pretty wicked people out there aren't there I had three heavy metallers
today trying to mock God trying to mock me sniggering and you know kind of chuckling
to themselves while I was trying to just you know lead into trying to encourage them to
want to hear the gospel I mean their hair was down to here three boys curly hair like
this one had bones in his nose that their band was called the type of heavy metal it
was speed black speed black metal or something it just they gave me a flyer for their heavy
metal band well they said we'll swap you know and we had a bit of a chat and they were trying
to snigger and one of them eventually told you know well it's just we don't believe you
know and I they just thought it was so funny at the beginning but eventually they kind
of shut up in the end you know once a hearing yeah we're not you know we're not kind of
conned by your nonsense by your pride and everything else but could you really blame
God for smashing these people they're they're bands with oh it's nuts isn't it and then
that's just one one flavor isn't it because it's just all different flavors of God rejectors
everywhere and there's a destruction coming for them isn't it prideful work salvationists
he said in verse eight back in isaiah 15 for the cries gone round about the boards
of maya the howling thereof unto eglaim and howling thereof unto berulim for the waltz
of demons shall be full of blood for i will bring more upon demon lines upon him that
escape the mob and upon the remnant of the land and that was a burden or the first chapter
the burden of my and on that we're going to finish in a word of prayer father thank you
for well the the warnings you give us there the warnings that can go out to the world
but also you know to us knowing that those you know we have loved ones we have family
we have colleagues we have people that we care about around us lord that sadly seem
to be you know these types of people and seem to be prideful and haughty and trusting that
if there is a heaven they're good enough lord will help us to reach them with the gospel
help us to to find a way in to find a way to encourage people to want to hear your gospel
lord and uh and to do it at receptive times for those around us lord help us to to uh
to just reach reach our nation lord um and other nations too lord help us to just reach
people out there with the gospel open the doors for us lord close the doors where you
don't want us to go and help us to just be as effective as we can as a soul winning church
lord um help us to just stay strong in our faith lord and help us to stay strong um going
into the end of this week lord and to all return on sunday um for another day in your
house in jesus name pray all of this amen