Isaiah 16:2
2 For it shall be, that, as a wandering [nadad] bird [`owph] cast out [shalach] of the nest [qen], so the
daughters [bath] of Moab [Mow'ab] shall be at the fords [ma`abar] of Arnon ['Arnown]. KJV-Interlinear
2 Then, like fleeing birds or
scattered nestlings, The daughters of Moab will be at the fords of the Arnon. NASB
The wandering bird, is
the idea that is presented in Prov. 27:8, wherein the bird is driven away from
its nest due to the destruction of the nest, and therefore has nowhere to go.
And so too, the people
or citizens, which are here referred to as the daughters of Moab, will have
seen their homes and neighborhoods totally destroyed and therefore they have
nowhere to go.
And their first thought
naturally, is to run and get away.
In Moab, there is only
desert to the south and east, and the destruction of Israel is occurring to the
west, so the natural direction of escape it to the north, where the Arnon River
is located.
The Arnon River is the northern
border of Moab, between Moab and Ammon.
The word for Arnon
means to shout to cry out in celebration and joy, as one would do if escape
seems imminent and certain.
However, we have
already seen that their best course of action is to turn to God, not to some
geological boundary.
We have already studied
how their lives were spent without paying the proper due tribute to the King of
Israel.
That tribute refers not
to money, but to their commitment to their daily spiritual lives, by
first believing in
Christ, then
second by confessing on
a regular basis in order to get themselves into fellowship, then
third by committing to
a daily study of the scriptures, then
fourth by learning as a
result of that daily study, then
fifth acquiring an
understanding of what they learn, then
sixth by applying what
they learn to their daily lives, and then
seventh repeating this
process over and over, again and again every day of their lives.
But this they did not
do. And even in the face of imminent danger
and destruction, they turn to a border for escape, and not to Christ, who is
the one and only legitimate King of Israel.
Israel symbolically
represents the nation of God, made up of believers who are the people of God,
and simultaneously the children and family of God. We simply refer to ourselves as Christians or
believers in Christ.
The fords of the Arnon,
are shallow or narrow portions of the river wherein passage across the river is
much easier, than trying to cross where the water is deep or running swift.
But to escape from Moab
into another country which is not Israel, is like jumping from the pan into the
fire. It is no better, and actually will
be much worse.
These chapters hold the
content of the prophecies of the final days of history, as we have already
established in our prior studies.
In those end days,
Moab, which we are studying now, represents the peripheral regions outside of
Israel, who do not want to get involved, but likewise do not try to help
Israel, but would prefer to profit from the persecutions against Israel.
These events will occur
in the Tribulation, which is still a future time. We already know that our current dispensation
will end with the Rapture, and then the Tribulation will begin. The Tribulation will last only seven years as
the entire world will collapse into near total destruction during that short
time.
Those people will be
anti-God and anti-doctrine. Their only
way out of the destruction will be to commit themselves to God through Christ
by means of their daily studies. But they
won’t. Instead they will be overwhelmed
by the final destruction of history and will run to a river that leads to
nowhere.
This is the same option
that people throughout history, have always had. Turn to Christ or be destroyed by means of
your own foolish decisions.
But unfortunately most
people pretend to turn to Christ, and really prefer their own lifestyle, and as
the Moabites will do in that future time, people now run to many alternate
paths through life, paths that lead to nowhere.
