My heart shall cry out for Moab, his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old, for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up, for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction. Isaiah 15:5
One of my sisters had committed an act of indiscretion so serious that our mother took her into the bedroom and administered the board of education to the seat of knowledge. Hearing her cries of pain, one of my other sisters began to laugh. I was shocked that she would find the punishment of our sister funny. As a lad who had also earned the application of the board of education all too often, I knew what our sister was experiencing, and I was sorry for her. She might well have deserved the punishment, but I still felt badly. In our text, Isaiah is also feeling badly for the nation of Moab, because he knows the punishment that those wicked people were about to receive. He was like the Lord Jesus, weeping over Jerusalem’s failure to recognize and receive Him.
We hear of cruel despots being overthrown, and know that they are due for harsh punishment. We see the despisers and atheists around us blaspheming God, and know that their punishment is certain. The immoral, unethical, and dishonest people around us we can recognize as earning the wages of their sin. Even the religious and self-righteous we can see are due for damnation for their trust in themselves and their ordinances. But do we take any joy from this knowledge? Surely our hearts should go out in pity to all of these. The awfulness of the wrath of God should cause our hearts to cry out that there might be deliverance through the Gospel. After all, we were also among those facing God’s wrath not so long ago.
Those who are preaching the Gospel are concerned about the lost. Like Isaiah, they cry out for the lost, through prayer and preaching applying themselves to present sinners with God’s avenue for deliverance. Each of us also has a responsibility in the Gospel. Our life before our relatives, friends, neighbours, and workfellows should be a testimony for our Lord. We should be involved in prayer for the unsaved, in activities that support the furtherance of the Gospel, and in encouraging those who are presenting the message. Not only is this our responsibility, but it should also be our desire. Like Isaiah, we should feel badly about those who are facing the judgment of God for their sin.
Have you cried out to God for any unsaved souls today? Do you care that they are perishing? -Jim MacIntosh