A prophecy against Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! – Isaiah 15:1

Today's Scripture Reading (March 26, 2023): Isaiah 15 & 16

I recently had a good discussion with a friend about moving. We were helping to move some mutual friends, and my friend admitted that he wasn't well acquainted with the concept of a daylight move. It was an admission that most of the moves he had experienced as a child were done at midnight and had something to do with the non-payment of rent. One night, his family would just disappear.

It reminded me of another friend that I knew in college. She, too, just disappeared from the apartment building one night, never to be seen again. But her disappearance had nothing to do with a problem with paying rent. She was being hunted by an ex-boyfriend, who was threatening her life and later threatened me, and she decided that the safest thing to do was disappear one night. She didn't tell me where she was going, which was probably wise because I couldn't even unintentionally betray her whereabouts to the man threatening her. She just disappeared in the night.

Ar and Kir of Moab were two strongholds in the country of Moab, a nation that descended from the incestuous relationship between Lot and one of his daughters (Genesis 19). Moab had been a thorn in the side of Israel throughout its existence. Border skirmishes were commonplace events, and Moab had taken land that had initially belonged to Israel and incorporated it into its national boundaries.

But Isaiah looks at Moab and its two strongholds and sees something different. Isaiah sees a nation that will be destroyed in a night. It is an interesting phrase that often connects with the idea of a disappearance during uncertain circumstances, like moves to avoid rent or escape the presence of a threat. They are moves that happen; one moment, people are there, and the next, they are gone, which seems to be the story of Moab.

We don't know precisely what happened to Moab. But sometime during the Persian era of the late sixth century or fifth century B.C.E., Moab disappeared from history. In their place, waves of tribes that had emerged from Northern Arabia began to occupy the area. Moab and her strongholds were gone, disappearing in the night, never to be seen again.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 17