The Cry of Distress

by Zeke Flores

"For the cry of distress has gone around the territory of Moab, its wail goes as far as Eglaim and its wailing even to Beer-elim" (Isaiah 15:8).

Reading through the judgment oracles of Israel's foreign neighbors sometimes seems like a chore. We might hurry through these chapters believing there’s nothing in them for us.

But there is.

Isaiah 15 begins the omen against Moab, a small region east of the Dead Sea. As God speaks through the prophet, He reminds them that neither their gods nor their armies can save them. As the realization becomes clear, their helpless cries reverberate throughout the land. But God has compassion for Moab and allows some fugitives to escape. Presumably, they escape destruction even as they weep for their compatriots.

So, what’s this got to do with us? Simply this. When God proclaims judgment on those who reject Him, no amount of confidence in other resources can save them. The only salvation from utter destruction is to flee the influence of those things that God abhors. Man doesn’t have to lament his doomed condition or be resigned to the fate of the rebellious. There is an answer.