Mercy Comes

Read Isaiah 15-16
 
Isaiah 16:3-6 “Help us,” they cry. “Defend us against our enemies. Protect us from their relentless attack. Do not betray us now that we have escaped. 4 Let our refugees stay among you. Hide them from our enemies until the terror is past.” When oppression and destruction have ended and enemy raiders have disappeared, 5 then God will establish one of David’s descendants as king. He will rule with mercy and truth. He will always do what is just and be eager to do what is right. 6 We have heard about proud Moab – about its pride and arrogance and rage. But all that boasting has disappeared.
 
ISAIAH 15-16 describes Assyria’s assault on Moab, Judah’s pagan neighbor to the north. The Moabites were fleeing the country. They were fugitives as so many are today when foreign oppression devastates a land. Most of them fled to the south past Judah to the desert regions of Edom. That means they were in need of food, water and shelter. They faced the dilemma of many fugitives.
   They could have gone to Jerusalem, where it was safe. God had promised Isaiah that Jerusalem was under the LORD’s protection for a time. But the Moabites would need to submit to Judah’s king. Fugitives submit to the country where they live. But that meant Moab also needed to submit to Judah’s God. They refused, so they suffered. As Moabite women pleaded for help and all of Moab wept, they still refused to worship God. Their pride became their destruction.
   This is the familiar story of the human choice, isn’t it? Obey God or obey self, which do you prefer? Which will release you from oppression?
   Then God spoke a plan for all throughout time who are fugitives from pride’s oppression. The LORD promised he would establish a king. He will rule with mercy and truth. He will always do what is just and be eager to do what is right. Only one king has always done and will always do what is right. He is the King of Kings, the Lord Jesus Christ.
   In some sense, we are all fugitive from some oppression, seeking shelter from some form of life’s storm. And yet, in God’s mercy, we can find our refuge in him – submission required for admission to God’s care.
   Where, then, is your hope? Are you submitting to the LORD, who has prepared his eternal shelter for you? Look inside to see where your pride is. Put it aside to seek the fullness of God’s protection. Psalms 121:3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. What joy awaits you to know the eternal God watches over you.