Page 37 - Isaiah Student Worktext

But the broader application is to the devil, who will ultimately be cast into the lake of fire.

We may wonder why God will wait until the end times to bring an end to the source of evil. It all has to
do with free will. If God removed the source of temptations and evil, people would not have the
opportunity to choose to do right, to choose to follow God. One choice is not really a choice.

V. 18-23 This reiterates the idea that all evil will have an end. He will leave their possessions for the
‘porcupine’ and sweep it with the broom of destruction.

V. 24-27 This chapter details destruction for Babylon, Assyria and Philistia. There have been several
verses where God says that His hand is ‘still stretched out’, and generally that has been an indication
that repentance will bring welcoming.

In this message to Assyria, His hand is stretched out, but not for any peaceful or welcoming purpose. It
is to extend punishment.

V. 28-32 King Ahaz was an evil king, which meant that the people of Judah would have been rejoicing to
see him go. But Philistia need not rejoice because he was gone. The king may have been dead, but the
omnipotent God was still on His throne.

God tells the Philistines that ‘all you of Philistia are dissolved’. There would be no remnant here, and
there is no Philistia today.

Chapter 15-18 Main Idea: God rules over the nations to accomplish His purpose: extending
salvation to the ends of the earth.

Refugees are a controversial thing in our world today. Back in WW II, there were refugees from several
of the nations that Hitler conquered, all looking for safety and protection. Some found it, most didn’t.
There is the famous incident of the ship ‘St. Louis’ in 1939, with nearly 1000 Jewish refugees who came
to the US. They were turned away and sent back to Germany, where they presumably met their deaths.

What is our responsibility? Chapter 15-16 show us the dilemma from the past.

The tiny nation of Moab was another of the traditional enemies of Israel and Judah. They were
descended from the daughters of Lot, who you may recall fled Sodom and Gomorrah with their father
and their mother, who didn’t make the entire trip because she looked back. Genesis 19: 30-38.

Because the daughters feared the whole world had been annihilated except for them, they got their
father drunk and slept with him, hoping to raise children and re-populate. The result was the Moab
nation.

In Chapter 15, it appears that Moab has come under attack from another of the traditional enemies,
probably Assyria.

V. 1-2 describe the destruction of two cities, Ar and Kir, laid waste in the night. So, Moab went us to the
temple of their god, not named here but his name was Chemosh. Cutting off the hair and the beard was
symbolic of mourning, as are the sackcloth and ashes in V. 3.

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