Isaiah 15:2
2 He is gone up [`alah] to Bajith [Bayith], and to Dibon [Diybown],
the high places [bamah], to weep [Bakiy]: Moab [Mow'ab] shall howl [yalal] over Nebo [Nabow], and over
Medeba [Meydaba']: on all their heads [ro'sh] shall be baldness [qorchah],
and every beard [zaqan] cut off [gada`]. KJV-Interlinear
2 They have gone up to the temple
and to Dibon, even to the high places to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba;
Everyone's head is bald and every beard is cut off. NASB
Two more important cities
are mentioned, both Nebo and Medeba, both of which are destroyed.
The first two
references are of cities, Bajith and Dibon, where temples of the false gods of
Moab were located. A reference to the
high places suggests the places of prayer and worship in honoring the gods of
Moab.
Hair on the heads and
beards being cut off, indicates tremendous grieving. The hair and the beards are symbols of honor
and status and to cut them off would not be heard of unless there were very
extreme circumstances.
The combination of
these first two verses, indicates that the people of this region, or of earth
in general, when compared to the many descriptions in Revelation, were not
expecting anything to happen to them.
After all, they had the anti-christ and his promises of a better world,
once of course, the Jews, the ones being blamed as the cause of their problems,
were exterminated.
But such will not be.
When disaster comes
upon them, the Moabites, etc., they will not turn to God or Christ, but they
will in turn, turn to their false gods, their false beliefs, to their false
expectations for a way out of their predicament. And even in spite of their extreme grief, as
denoted by their symbols of grief, they will still reject God, in favor of
their false gods and false beliefs.
Not only is Isaiah foretelling
of the demise of this region, but he is also describing the attitudes and the
reactions of the people and the very basis as to why they are being judged and
destroyed.
They have rejected God
and Christ. They are indifferent toward
the destruction being waged against Israel.
And they are not only, not going to get involved, but they are certainly
expecting to benefit by Israel's hardship or destruction.
