Isaiah 16:6

"We have heard of the pride of Moab, and that he is very proud; even of his arrogance, and his pride, and his wrath; his boastings are naught. Therefore shall Moab wail for Moab, everyone shall wail: for the raisin-cakes of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn, utterly stricken, For the fields of Heshbon languisheth, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have broken down the choice branches thereof, which reached even unto Jazer, which wandered into the wilderness; its shoots were spread abroad, they passed over the sea. Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for upon thy summer fruits and upon thy harvest the battle shout is fallen. And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the fruitful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither joyful noise: no treader shall tread out wine in the wine presses; I have made the vintage shout to cease. Wherefore my heart soundeth like a harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirheres. And it shall come to pass when Moab presenteth himself, when he wearieth himself upon the high place, and shall come to his sanctuary to pray, that he shall not prevail."

The rejection of Moab, whether based upon Isaiah's perception of their deceit and hypocrisy or upon the unwillingness of Moab to seek the true God, appears here to have been founded upon compelling reasons.

We should note the affirmation of scholars like Kelley who considered the gift of lambs from Moab to Jerusalem and their mention of the Davidic kingdom to come as efforts to deceive Israel into giving them refuge.[12] We reject this notion as being absolutely unsupported in the text; and we believe that Moab's failure to get the refuge they needed was due not to Israel's unwillingness to give it, but to Moab's unwillingness to receive it. Throughout this passage, the pride, arrogance, boastfulness and stubbornness of Moab are repeatedly stressed. One may see the duplication of this attitude continually in the unwillingness of evil men to receive the blessing and forgiveness of God.

It is significant that along with such qualities as arrogance, pride, etc., the Moabites' love of "raisin-cakes" was mentioned. This was not a mere food item, but an essential tool of the pagan religion so dear to the people. The raisin-cakes were customary payments received by the sacred prostitutes of their pagan shrines. Isaiah 16:12 cited the pitiful futility of their religious practices.

"The vine of Sibmah ..." This must indeed have been a famous vine. The reference to its branches going into the wilderness and even "crossing the sea" probably refers to the propagation of the plant throughout Palestine and beyond.

"Isaiah could not but lament the destruction to be meted out to all of the fair and smiling countryside of Moab. In vain, her supplicants would besiege the heathen altars of their high places."[13]

We believe that Hailey's analysis of this passage is correct and that we have in this paragraph "The reasons for Moab's rejection of Isaiah's advice and Jehovah's offer of refuge."[14] It lay squarely in the same reasons that wicked men still act upon in their denial of heavenly mercy, their pride, arrogance, stubbornness, boastfulness, and self-sufficiency.