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We're there in Isaiah chapter 15, and we are continuing our study through the book of Isaiah. And we're, if you remember chapter 13 and 14, we're dealing with Babylon. And chapter 15 and 16 is actually dealing with Moab. So this is dealing with Moab, the country of Moab. And basically I just want to read the first four verses there, because basically these chapters are talking about how Moab's going to be destroyed. So it's really kind of the same thing that we dealt with with Babylon. Where Babylon is going to be destroyed. And we'll actually see when I look at, when we look at some other minor prophets, and things that are, judgments that are being brought against Moab, is that this one's also kind of in the farther future, right? Because Babylon, in the timeline of Isaiah, Assyria still hasn't been destroyed yet. And so, and Babylon wasn't going to come until, you know, close to maybe 100 years later. And so that, actually way more than that, because you have after the 70 year captivity and all that. So all I have to say is that this is a pronouncing of judgment against Moab. And verse one there says, The burden of Moab, because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste and brought to silence. Because in the night Kur 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 Midibah. On all their heads shall be baldness and every beard cut off. In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth on the tops of their houses. And in their streets everyone shall howl weeping abundantly. And Heshbon shall cry in Elie Elie. Their voice shall be heard even unto Jeaz. Therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out, His life shall be grievous unto him. So this is not, you know, just a bed of roses for Moab here. So they're obviously going to be judged. But first I want to show you, well who's Moab? Where'd Moab come from? Go to Genesis chapter 19. Now this is not going to be a pleasant introduction to how Moab came to be. But I want you to see where did they come from? So a lot of these, you know, nations if you think about like Egypt, if you think about Assyria even, you can kind of go all the way back to the Tower of Babel and kind of see where they stemmed from. Moab we're going to see stems from Lot, okay? So obviously Israel stems from Abraham. And so this is really Moab and Ammon, the children of Ammon, okay, are coming from Lot, okay? So in verse 30 here I want to read this story. And this is not a fun story. This is a very, you know, gross story if you will. It's in the Bible though. And so I believe that it's important to know that we're dealing with Moab being destroyed. Let's see how they even came to be, okay? In verse 30 there it says, And Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountain and his two daughters with him, for he feared to dwell in Zoar. And he dwelt in the cave and he and his two daughters and the firstborn set into the younger. Our father is old. There is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine and we will lie with him that we may preserve seed of our father. If you know the story, this is where Sodom and Gomorrah had just been destroyed and the cities about them, okay? And so basically it's like an apocalypse to them. They think everybody's dead, okay? And so that's their thinking process, not to justify this or anything like that, but that's kind of the thinking process they're going through is that basically they're the last people alive on the earth. This is the only way that they're going to preserve any inhabitants or whatever, right? So in verse 33, I'm sorry. Yeah, verse 33 says, And they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesterday night with my father. Let us make him drink wine this night also and go thou in and lay with him that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also and the younger arose and lay with him and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bare a son and called his name Moab, the same as the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger, she also bare a son and called his name Benami, the same as the father of the children of Ammon unto this day. So this gross story and you say, well, why is that in the Bible? Because it's important to know where Moab came from. And Moab is a wicked nation, okay? And I'm going to show you some things, not everything because for sake of time, I don't want to go into all the different aspects of Moab, but at the same time, can a clean thing come out of an unclean thing? When you think about how that nation got started, it was off incest, okay? And so it's gross to think about this story, but it's in the Bible for a reason, okay? Every word of God is pure and all scripture is profitable for instruction, for doctrine. And so we need to look at this and know, okay, why did God put this story here? Because he wanted us to know where Moab and Ammon came from, okay? He could have just said that Moab is the son of Lot and Ammon's the son of Lot, but he gave us those details that, hey, this was from incest, okay? So these are nations that basically had that start of just wickedness right there. Now, if you remember, go to Numbers chapter 22, just to give you some idea about Moab or how Moab relates to Israel. Now, chapter 16 is also dealing with Moab, so there's some things that I'm not gonna hit on this week, then we hit on next week, because Jeremiah 48 is actually Isaiah 15 on steroids. Isaiah 15 and 16, okay? So Jeremiah 48 is really the parallel passage to that, which tells you something, right? That what's said in Isaiah 15 and 16 does not happen until after Jeremiah, okay? And when I show you the minor prophets and all that, it'll show you that as well, because why would they be profiting about something that's gonna come if it already happened, okay? Now, in Numbers chapter 22, this is where we get into Balaam, okay? But I want you to see who hired Balaam, okay? And if you know the story, this is where they take out Sihon, the king of the Amorites, and basically after that, this is where Moab's like, we need help, you know? They're gonna be coming after us, okay? So in Numbers chapter 22 and verse four, it says, And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Ziphor was king of the, what? Moabites at that time. He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor, to Pithor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt. Behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me. Come now, therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people, for they are too mighty for me. Peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land. For I what, that he whom thou blessed is blessed, and he whom thou cursed is cursed. And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand, and they came unto Balaam and spake unto him the words of Balak. Now I did a whole sermon on Balaam and how he's a false prophet and, you know, he's wicked. And obviously he's mentioned in second Peter chapter two, he's mentioned in Jude, but they called on this wicked false prophet to do divinations, right? They were gonna pay him to do divinations, and who did that? Moab, okay, the Moabites did that, okay? Now go to Joshua chapter 24, Joshua chapter 24. Joshua chapter 24, it recounts this, this attempt. So if you're in Numbers, that goes on for a few chapters, right? Where Balaam's going back and forth, and basically God won't let him curse Israel. And so, you know, it's a pretty big story, but notice in Joshua chapter 24 and verse eight, it says, and I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan, and they fought with you, and I gave them into your hand that you might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before you. Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, but I would not hearken unto Balaam, therefore he blessed you still, so I delivered you out of his hand, okay? So he's basically saying, you know, he tried, you know, Balaam was trying to curse them, he wanted the money, he wanted the reward of unrighteousness, but God wouldn't let him do it. And so, but I want you to see that what Balak did with Balaam to Israel is something that was affecting believers all the way even in the book of Revelation, go to Revelation chapter two, Revelation chapter two. So the sins of Moab are affecting believers even unto that point, and when you're dealing with the seven churches in Asia, okay? Because notice what it says in Revelation chapter two and verse 14, Revelation chapter two and verse 14. Revelation two and verse 14 it says, but I have a few things against thee because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam who taught Balak to cast the stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. Now think about this, who taught the children of Israel to commit fornication to sacrifice things unto idols? Balak, who was the king of Moab. So you had Balaam who taught Balak, right? That's what it says there, to cast the stumbling block before the children of Israel. So Balaam says, hey, here's what you do. He advised Balak, he says, here's what you do. You can't just openly curse them, but you can cause them to destroy themselves within by teaching them to commit fornication and sacrifice things unto idols. This is where they taught them Moab's main god, if you will. You think of like the Philistines was like Dagon, but Moab's was Chemosh, however you say it. This is where Solomon falls into that trap. He actually builds a grove or an altar or whatever to Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites. This is something that is basically systemic through Israel and it's still even affecting believers in Revelation chapter two. And so something to think about there. Now another thing to think about is just Moab in general. Where is this at? Did you know that that's where Moses died? Go to Deuteronomy chapter 34. Deuteronomy chapter 34. Now this is just more of a geography lesson here. This is where Mount Nebo's at. You probably heard of Mount Nebo or the top of Mount Pisgah, right? I want that mountain. It belongs to me, right? Actually, that's not the mountain that he's going after, who Caleb's going after, but this is where Moses is on top of this mountain and he sees the Promised Land, but he can't go in and that's where he dies, okay? And I just want to bring this up because sometimes it's just good to know where these events happen, right? Where's Moab? Well, it's apparently really close to the Promised Land, okay? Because it was close enough to where he could see the land that they were going to inherit, but he wasn't going to go in, okay? And so if you remember too, that's right before they go into Jericho. Moses dies and then it's like immediately he tells Joshua, all right, it's time to go into Jericho. You're going to go across Jordan into Jericho, okay? So in Deuteronomy chapter 34 in verse one, it says, And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo to the top of Pisgah that is over against Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead unto Dan and all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh and all the land of Judah unto the utmost sea. And the south and the plain of the valley of Jericho and the city of palm trees unto Zoar. Sound familiar, Zoar? Do you remember that when you're dealing with where was Lot at? So just kind of thinking the geography, if they came out of Sodom and Gomorrah, right? And they dwelled in Zoar and then he came out of Zoar and you know all that as far as, you know, they made him drunk, all that story that happens there. And the Lord said unto him, This is the land which I swear unto Abraham, unto Isaac and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed. I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab over against Bethpeor, but no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day. It's interesting too, because if you remember, that's what Michael the Archangel is disputing about with the devil, right? The body of Moses. And they don't know, you know, it's just basically stating here is that no one knows where his sepulcher is at. And if you read that carefully, who buried him? God. Because it says in verse five, it says, Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab. So who's he? The Lord. So the Lord literally buried Moses, and that's why no one knows where he's at. And so just an interesting fact there, that Mount Nebo is in Moab. Okay. And that's where they were at, you know, right before they go into Jericho. Okay. And also, you know, so obviously you have Balaam is hired by the Moabites. But how about the story of Eglon? Okay, go to Judges chapter three. Judges chapter three. So I just want to give you an idea who Moab is, right? Moab started off, the fact that they're even here is through incest. And then they're trying to vex Israel, and literally they caused the stumbling block to come on Israel that was affecting even the churches in the New Testament. Okay. And then you have Eglon, the fat king of Moab. Okay. This is one of my favorite stories. Brother Luke was telling me this is one of his favorite stories. I don't know just because he's left-handed, because Ehud's left-handed, but this is just a fun story. I'm not going to go through the whole story for sake of time, but I just want you to see that Eglon is the king of Moab in the time of the judges. And so in verse 12 there it says, and the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord. And the Lord strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab, against Israel because they had done evil on the side of the Lord. And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel and possessed the city of palm trees. So the children of Israel served Eglon, the king of Moab, 18 years. So you remember the story though. This is where Ehud, he puts a dagger on his right leg. And basically he's left-handed, okay? So if you were thinking about, if you were to carry a sword, right, you'd usually put it on the opposite side so you can draw it. Same thing with the dagger, right? You would put it right here so you could draw it with your right hand, but he's left-handed, and I believe that's how he got it through, you know, security. And this is where Ehud, basically, such a cool story. I should probably just read it, but this is where he tells Eglon, he's like, I got a message from the Lord for you. And he tells everybody to go out. He's like, basically, I got a message for the Lord. And it says that he basically comes up near to him and he reaches with his left hand to his right leg or right thigh or wherever, I think it's leg, and pulls out the dagger and stabs it through his stomach. And he's so fat that the hilt of the dagger stuck in. He couldn't pull it out. And then he died in the parlor, and that's the end of the story. But that's Moab, right? Moab vexed Israel for 18 years. Of course, the Lord used that because Israel was doing evil on the side of the Lord and all that. So I should do a whole story about Eglon or do a whole sermon on Eglon and Ehud. But go to Isaiah chapter 25, because we're going to see some other prophecies against Moab here. Like I said, Jeremiah 48 is kind of like the big one where it's encompassing a lot of these other prophecies. But what I want to show you here is that it wasn't just Isaiah, and it wasn't just Jeremiah, but I'm going to show you other prophets that prophesied against Moab. So Moab, it's a big deal, right? I mean, if you think about these minor prophets I'm going to show you that were preaching against Moab, they were a very proud and wicked nation, okay? The big things you hear, you've heard of the pride of Moab. You've probably heard that phrase that's mentioned a couple times in the Bible. I'll probably be hitting on more of that next week because that's where it's said in chapter 16. But in Isaiah chapter 25, notice what it says in verse 10. It says, for in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest and Moab shall be trodden down under him even as straw is trodden down for the dung hill. So that's quite a comparison, right? Basically trodden down as a dung hill. And it just reminds me of, you know, I believe it's, is it Darius that basically says that their house will be a dung hill or it's Nebuchadnezzar, it's one of the two. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, it says if anyone speaks against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, I believe it basically says their house will be made a dung hill. So that comparison is used a lot as far as, obviously that is quite a judgment there. Now verse 11 there says, he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them as he that swimmeth spread forth his hands to swim and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands and the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground even to the dust. Okay, so we see Isaiah brings up Moab again later on in the book of Isaiah. Go to Ezekiel chapter 25, Ezekiel chapter 25. So we're gonna see Ezekiel talk about Moab, we're gonna see Amos talk about Moab, we're gonna see Zephaniah talking about Moab. So Ezekiel chapter 25 there, Ezekiel chapter 25 and verse eight, it says thus saith the Lord God, because that Moab and Seir do say, behold the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen, therefore behold I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshemoth, Baal-mion, and Kirithayim unto the men of the east with the Ammonites and will give them in possession that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations and I will execute judgments upon Moab and they shall know that I am the Lord. Okay, so the Ammonites are being taken out as well and go to Amos chapter two, Amos chapter two. So we see that, why is he doing that? Because they said that the house of Judah is like all the other heathen, okay? And basically equating Judah with all the other nations, okay? Amos chapter two, Amos chapter two and verse one. This is probably not going to be a very long sermon, I just kind of want to show you these different judgments that are being brought across here and then in chapter 16, I'm going to be getting into more of Jeremiah 48 in that. And so in Amos chapter two and verse one it says, thus saith the Lord for three transgressions of Moab and for four I will not turn away the punishment thereof because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime. But I will send a fire upon Moab and it shall devour the palaces of Keroth and Moab shall die with tumult with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet and I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof and will slay all the princes thereof with him saith the Lord. Okay, so Amos is bringing this up. If you remember the book of Amos, there's a lot of judgments that are being brought forth, right? And this is where you see that phrase for three transgressions and for four. Now this is a poetic way of basically saying for four. Okay, basically it's kind of like, you know, for one, two, three, four transgressions, you know, it's kind of like a poetic way of saying it. Okay, and so it's kind of like in Proverbs chapter 30 where it talks about, you know, three things, yea four or even Proverbs chapter six where it talks about these six things that the Lord hate, yea seven or an abomination. It's a poetic way. It's not that seventh one he doesn't hate, right? Because obviously if something's an abomination, he detests it, okay? But it's just a poetic way of saying it. Go to Zephaniah chapter two, Zephaniah chapter two. And so in Amos it talks about him burning the bones of the king of Edom into lime. So that's interesting. Just these different things that they did. Zephaniah chapter two in verse eight, Zephaniah chapter two in verse eight. Now Zephaniah is in Josiah's day. We know that Jeremiah is after Josiah really because he's really dealing with Josiah's sons. Ezekiel is in the captivity, right? So you think of Jeremiah, right? Jeremiah is before the captivity and then he goes into captivity, right? He's kind of dealing with it. Ezekiel starts off in the captivity. And so really Ezekiel is where you get to the furthest point as far as when their judgment's coming. In Zephaniah chapter two in verse eight it says, I have heard the reproach of Moab and the reviling of the children of Ammon. Notice how they're always brought up together, right? Moab and Ammon. Isn't that interesting? Why? Because they're brothers. They're brothers of incest. These nations have never been talked about in a good manner, okay? Besides, I'll show you that God wanted to be merciful unto them and wanted them to not be wicked, okay? Zephaniah chapter two and verse eight reading on there, it says, whereby they have reproached my people and magnified themselves against their border. Therefore, as I live, said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, surely Moab shall be as Sodom and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah. See how that came full circle, right? Because what happened? Where did Moab and Ammon even come from? You know, they're children of Lot that were saved out of Sodom and Gomorrah and now we're going back to his children are going to be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah. Even the breeding of nettles and salt pits and perpetual desolation, the residue of my people shall spoil them and the remnant of my people shall possess them. This shall they have for their pride because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the Lord of hosts. The Lord will be terrible unto them for he will famish all the gods of the earth and men shall worship him, everyone from his place, even all the isles of the heathen. And obviously that's a prophecy about the Gentiles and how, you know, all nations, you know, the New Testament, all that stuff that's going in there. But we see here that, you know, the pride because they magnified themselves against the children of Israel. And if you think about it, even in Ezekiel, what it'd say is it because they said that the house of Judah is like unto the heathen. Okay? So they're likening, it'd be kind of like this if a group of people were enlightening Christians unto heathens, right? Which is today the way it is, right? Because Christians are bad and not moral. We're the immoral, hateful, wicked people in this world today. Because we live in the twilight zone. You know, when they call things sweet things bitter and bitter things sweet, they call good evil and evil good. They call things that, you know, it's just light is darkness and darkness is light in this world. But you know what? There's nothing new under the sun, okay? Moab was doing the same thing with the children of Israel. They're basically saying the children of Israel are a bunch of heathens. You know, and obviously we're talking about Judah which actually had the right religion and they would go back and forth with that obviously. As far as being good and bad and falling out of it, getting back into it. Now what's interesting about this chapter is that you see just judgment coming on Moab. But then in verse five it's interesting what's said here, okay? This is what kind of caught, you know, usually you're reading through here just like judgment, judgment, judgment. But what God says here in verse five is very interesting to me. 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 Lewith with weeping shall they go it up. For in the way of Horeneam they shall raise up a cry of desolation. For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate. For the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing. Therefore the abundance they have gotten and that which they have laid up shall they carry away to the brook of the willows. For the cry has gone round about the borders of Moab, the howling thereof unto Eglaim. And the howling thereof unto Birlaam. For the waters of Dimin shall be full of blood. For I will bring more upon Dimin, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab and upon the remnant of the land. What's interesting is that it talks about the Lord shall cry out for Moab, okay. And you say, well, is this just talking about like crying out, like crying aloud? No, when you read the other passages on this, it's talking about him weeping. His heart is mourning for Moab, okay. And I want you to see this first of all is that we're reading about Balaam and Balak and how Moab basically hired Balaam and all that. But what they didn't know is that God didn't want to destroy them. He didn't want to vex them. He actually just wanted, he wanted to give them their land and let them possess that. And notice Deuteronomy chapter two, Deuteronomy chapter two. So they took out the Amorites, right. They took out Bashan, right. Those are the two that you always remember, right. Og, the king of Bashan and Sihon, the king of the Amorites, right. But they weren't, God told them not to do anything to the Moabites or to the children of Ammon, okay. And so in verse 17 it says, the Lord spake unto me saying, I'm sorry, that the Lord spake unto me saying, thou art to pass over through Ar the coast of Moab this day. And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not nor meddle with them, for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession. So notice that when they were going through all these lands and they're basically saying, just go through it and don't mess with it, okay. But Moab's like, no, they're gonna destroy us. They're gonna lick us up like the cow, you know, like the cattle and the ox licketh up the grass of the field and they were afraid and they hired Balaam to try to curse Israel and then they sent that stumbling block there and all along God was just like, you know, just let them be. So you can see here that God wasn't out to destroy Moab and Ammon. And the thing that I wanna get across here is that God doesn't take pleasure and people and the death of the wicked. I wanna show you this passage. Go to Ezekiel chapter 33. Now people take this out of context, okay. Or they take it too far, okay. I'm gonna explain this. But I wanna explain why he would be weeping, why he'd be mourning for Moab, okay. Because I believe what it really comes down to is he wanted Moab to get right. He didn't want Moab to be destroyed, but ultimately that's what it came down to, okay. And so in Ezekiel chapter 33 in verse 10 here, it says, therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel. Thus ye speak, saying, if our transgressions and our sins be upon us and we pine away in them, how should we then live? Say unto them, as I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live, turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die, O house of Israel? Now this passage is talking to the house of Israel, okay. And people take this whole passage out of context, Ezekiel 18, Ezekiel 33, to say you gotta repent of your sins to be saved. This is not talking about eternal salvation. This is talking about, you know, not being punished physically on the earth. And it's more so dealing with the chastening of the Lord, okay, and the fact that we reap what we sow, okay. But people take this out of context and say, well, you know, he has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, so we should never rejoice when a wicked, you know, like some reprobate dies, okay. Okay, well that would negate other verses where it says he'll mock when their fear cometh and he'll laugh at their calamity, right. And the other passages in Psalms where it talks about how we're gonna rejoice in the death of the wicked and we're going to wash our feet in the blood of the wicked, okay. Meaning that, well, what does that mean? Get context. It does not just say that the Lord, that I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, period. What does it say right after that? But that the wicked turn from his way and live. Can a reprobate turn from his way? No, a reprobate is under every good work reprobate. So this is not talking about reprobates, okay. This is talking about people that could actually turn, right. And in context, in reality, he's talking to the children of Israel. So spiritually speaking, you're talking about believers. And he's basically saying, hey, if you're a believer and you're doing wicked things and you're not doing righteousness, he doesn't take pleasure in the fact of you dying. I don't believe he took pleasure when Saul died that day. He wanted Saul to get right. He didn't want him to, you know, to come that far, right. And same thing with any Christian that would get to that point. I even, I believe this to even be the case with unbelievers that aren't reprobate, right. And they do wrong things and they do wicked things and then they're just taken out. You know, ultimately he wanted them to get saved. Now reprobate, I believe that's what Proverbs chapter one is talking about, okay. Because it talks about that in Proverbs chapter one, let's just read it, you know, just for, just to make sure I'm not misquoting it or anything like that. Because here's the thing, when you look at passages like this, you can't just throw one out, okay. They're both right, but when it's talking about the fact that I will have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, you can't just stop there because it says right on there, because why? Because he wanted them to get right, okay. And what it comes down to is that someone that is past feeling, that has their conscience seared with a hot iron, that is without natural affection, that is filled with all unrighteousness, they're not gonna get right, okay. So how would that apply to them? It doesn't apply to them, okay. Mostly it applies to Christians and there is a secondary, I believe, application to just people in general that he doesn't take pleasure in them dying because he wants them to get saved, he wants them to get right with God. Now, I want to read before just, so it's in verse 26 there, but I want to make sure I'm getting, verse 22. How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity and the scorn or delight in their scorning and fools hate knowledge. Turn ye, turn ye at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you. I will make known my words unto you because I have called and you refused. I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded, but ye have said it not all my counsel and would none of my reproof. He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck and that without remedy. That's what the Bible talks about and that's who you're dealing with right here, okay. And what does it say right after that? It says, I also will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh, when your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer. They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. For that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely and shall be quiet from fear of evil, okay. So I wanted to show you that difference, okay, is that when you're looking at Ezekiel 33, Ezekiel 18, when it says I'll have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, he's not talking about reprobates. He's not talking about haters of God, okay. He's talking about normal people. You know, specifically in Ezekiel 33, he's talking about the children of Israel, which represent the saved, okay. Now we know that not everybody in Israel was saved, but that's who he's speaking to, right. It's talking about being chastened. If we, he that soweth to the flesh, of the flesh reap corruption. God is not mocked. Whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap. And the Bible talks about whom the Lord loveth, and he loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgetheth every son whom he receiveth, okay. And so he's talking to his people, but I do believe there's a secondary application of just people in general, but I don't believe he's talking about reprobates because then tell me how a reprobate's going to turn from their wicked way, okay. When it talks about the fact that they're full of all unrighteousness, because it talks about that they're unto every good work reprobate. So how are they going to turn from that? So if they can't turn from that, then guess what doesn't apply to them? The fact that he takes no pleasure in the death of them, okay. Now go to Jeremiah chapter 48, because I want to make it very clear that God is mourning over Moab, okay. Because it's not like he just had it out for Moab, okay. He wanted to bless Moab with an inheritance and Ammon. But Moab just kept doing wickedly and doing wickedly and just coming after his people, speaking evil of his people, speaking evil of him himself. They magnified themselves against God, okay. They had their false gods. And so ultimately this is really showing how compassionate God was, even for nations that came out of incest, okay. And because here's the thing, those people that are in this story, that he's talking about the judgment coming upon, they didn't have a choice in that, how that started. They didn't have a choice in what their great grandmothers did. And so you can't blame them and God's not putting it on them. He's not putting the sins of the fathers on them, right. And so same thing with Edom. It's not like, when it talks about Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. He's talking about the nation because the nation itself ended up making itself reprobate. And Edom wasn't always doing, it's not like everybody in Edom went to hell. No one ever got saved from Edom. Same thing with Moab. You know who got saved in Moab? Ruth, okay. And so obviously, I mean good night, there's a Moabitess in the lineage of Jesus, okay. There's Rahab the harlot of Jericho in the lineage of Jesus. So you know it's not that God didn't care about the Moabites and he didn't care about Jericho or even Edom for that matter, okay. But obviously it came too far. They just kept pushing it, pushing it, pushing it, pushing it. And but go to Jeremiah chapter 48 and verse 31. Jeremiah chapter 48 and verse 31. It says, therefore will I howl for Moab and I will cry out for all Moab. Notice this, mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kiraritz. I think this is you know like kur and ar, right. It's shortened, okay. Ar and kur is a shortened version of like Arnon and Kiraritz. They probably shortened it because it's not easy to say. So but he's basically saying mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kiraritz. So he's mourning for the men of Moab. Oh vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jezer. Thy plants are gone over the sea. They reach even to the sea of Jezer. The spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage. And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field and from the land of Moab. And I have caused wine to fail from the wine presses. None shall tread with shouting. Their shouting shall be no shouting. From the cry of Heshbon even unto Eliele and even unto Jez. Sound familiar? This is really pretty much just quoting what Isaiah 15 said. Have they uttered their voice from Zoar even unto Horenaam as an heifer of three years old for that the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate. Moreover, I will cause to cease in Moab, said the Lord, him that offerth in the high places and him that burneth incense to his gods. So you know a lot of this has to do with their false gods that they're pushing. Chemesh in particular and obviously all the other wickedness that they've been doing. And they were causing Israel to do that. They caused Judah to do that into those whoredoms. Verse 36, therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes and mine heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirheraz. Because the riches that he hath gotten are perished. For every head shall be bald and every beard clipped. Upon all the hands shall be cuttings and upon the loins sackcloth. There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab and in the streets thereof. For I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, said the Lord. But notice the compassion. He's not just saying I'm laughing at your calamity, I'm mocking. He's basically saying my heart is broken that it came to this. And so it's just an interesting story with Moab that they did all this wickedness. But ultimately, God wanted them to get right. God did not want that to happen. Okay. And he wanted them to come to their side. He wanted them, I guarantee he wanted the Moabites to be saved. I mean, think about it. I mean, Ruth got saved. It's not like they were all reprobate. And just the heart of God there. And I think it's interesting with Moab in that aspect. And also the fact that it came down to where they're going to be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah. So obviously, they did enough to where they're going to be completely desolated to where no one's inhabiting that place again. Okay. And so I just think that's an interesting thing to see there. It really reminds me of the verse in Ezekiel where it talks about he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. But I did want to explain that because people take that too far, right? Because they're just like, I can't believe you rejoice if some pedophile dies. You better believe I rejoice in that. I wish every pedophile would die tonight because they're wicked reprobates and children will be safer because of it. Okay. But that's different than the person out there that's doing wicked things. Let's say someone's fornicating, they're into idolatry. You think of all the Hindus out there, right? You think of all the Muslims out there that are committing murder, they're committing fornication, they're doing wicked things. A lot of times there's idolatry, there's blasphemy that's going on. And I believe God's heart isn't kill them all, okay? His heart is they need the gospel. They need the gospel and they need to get saved, they need to get right with God. And you know what? He doesn't take pleasure in that, okay? When the demise of them, you know, when it ultimately comes to that. Now in the end times, you're dealing with the Antichrist and all those that take the mark of the beast, okay? So when you see a lot of these passages about end times and how we're going to execute judgment upon the ungodly and we're going to rejoice, you're talking about complete reprobates because there's no redemption for them. I mean, they've sealed the deal. I mean, they are just dead men walking. And so, guess what? That compassion has left them, okay? Because at that point, they are, they're without hope of salvation and they just need to be, they're brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed is what that comes down to. That's where Proverbs chapter one comes in. That's where Psalm 55 comes in. That's where a lot of these other places come in where it talks about that. So this is where you really need to rightly divide the word of truth, okay? Because you'll see some places, you know, where it's just like, you know, he's laughing at what, you know, and, you know, he's basically washing his feet, he's wetting his sword, and there's just like no idea of mourning at all, right? But then with Moab, it's interesting. I just find that very interesting that with Moab, he's just like, he's mourning over it. They're howling and mourning, but he's mourning with them in that, knowing that this has to happen, you know? They have to go down. But he didn't want it to come to that. Ultimately, he wanted them to get right with God. He wanted them to be a righteous nation. And it's also very interesting, too, because you have this dispensational, like, idea that God didn't care about any other nation but Israel. Even though Jesus debunked that when he talked about the woman of Zareptah and about Naaman, the Syrian, and how he's like, I didn't send them to anybody else but them. They're both outside of Israel, right? But then you see this passage about Moab in Isaiah, and he's weeping with them. He's mourning with them. He didn't want that to happen, but that's what happened, and he still sent the lions after them, right? If you think about the very end of chapter 15, right? The end of chapter 15, it talks about the fact that those that escaped the remnant, it says in the very last verse there, it says lions upon, it says that for the waters of diamond shall be full of blood, for I will bring more upon diamond, lions upon him that escape as a Moab and upon the remnant of the land. So he's basically just chasing them out with lions. But, you know, obviously God, you know, he wanted better for Moab, and he didn't just have it out for Moab or Ammon. He wanted them to get right with God. He wanted them to have a possession, and you know what? They just kept sinning. It's kind of like if you're like, hey, I want to give you a gift, and they slap you in the face because they think that you're going to try to hurt them or something like that, and you're like, I'm trying to help you. And the same, this stuff keeps going over and over again, and then they just keep infecting God's people with their wickedness to the point where God's like, all right, I'm done. And same thing with Saul. You can kind of think that with Saul, you know, who was a saved person, but just came to the point where he's like, all right, you're done, no more. And so Moab, the burden of Moab in chapter 16, we'll be getting into more with that. Some interesting stuff in there too. Especially when you look at Jeremiah chapter 48. So next week, we'll be getting into more of the correlation of Isaiah 16 with Jeremiah 48, and it gives a lot more information. Okay, and so I'm kind of saving that for next week. So definitely interesting about Moab. Let's end with a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for today. Thank you for your word. Just pray that you be with us throughout the rest of this week, and just pray that you'd help us to use these stories in the Bible to learn about who you are, about your compassion, about your vengeance and your wrath, but also ultimately just how much love and compassion you have for the world. And Lord, we just pray that we could be more like you. And Lord, we just pray to be with us this week, be with our jobs, be with our incomes, help us to provide for our families. And Lord, we do pray for the Soloning Marathon coming up this Saturday. Just pray that nothing would impede that. And Lord, that we'd see many saved for your glory. And Lord, we love you. We pray all this in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.