Run for Your Lives! (Isaiah Sermon 17)

As we come to Isaiah 15 and 16, I acknowledge here before you the challenge of expositional preaching. It is quite possible that there’s no congregation on the face of the earth that has had Isaiah 16:4 projected up on the walls as we did this morning, talking about fugitives from Moab and finding refuge in Christ. That’s the challenge of exposition and the joy as well. “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” (2 Tim 3:16) Amen.

Jesus said, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Mt 4:4) Now, my brother and good friend, Andy Winn, had John 3:16 last Sunday. I get Isaiah 15 and 16. He did a wonderful job and I was greatly encouraged. But frankly, the more I studied these two chapters that we’re looking at today, the more relevancy I saw in my own personal life. I don’t know that this is something where you’re necessarily going to take a verse from it and memorize it, or something like that. Yet, it is the word of the Lord to us today. And I pray that God will enable me to preach it with power and with conviction so that our lives might be transformed.

I’ll never forget the summer of 1987, when I had the privilege of ministering to refugees who had fled from the invading Russians in Afghanistan. They were across the border in Pakistan, and we went to the city of Peshawar and we ministered to them. They were the most miserable and destitute people I’d ever seen in my life. And it’s still the case. I’ve seen some poverty in Asia, in India, in Haiti, but I’ve never seen the kind of misery and pain that I saw etched on the faces of these people that had run for their lives from Russian helicopter gunships. Many of them had seen relatives and friends killed before their very eyes. Their prospects were limited. They were not incredibly welcome in Pakistan. They were safe, at least for the time being, but their prospects economically were dim.

Very few people were ministering to them. They had a hard time eating and caring for themselves. And again, the future looked dim. What a joy and privilege it is to go into a situation like that and minister the gospel of Jesus Christ! Amen! To be able to bring hope where, other than the ministry of the Gospel, there would be no hope. But the 20th century really was a century of refugees. Look at World War I. Look at World War II. Look at grainy old black and white photos from World War I and footage of German dive bombers, strafing columns of refugees that are fleeing from Belgium, or fleeing from Poland, or fleeing from Russia or Ukraine. You can see a picture in your mind of what it is to be a refugee. It’s a terrifying situation to be in, to lose everything that you have except what you can carry with you.

I remember a picture of an elderly French woman. She’s got a mink stole on and she’s got an evening gown and a valuable painting. She’s got it in a baby buggy and she’s pushing it down a muddy road. It’s all she has left of a former way of life. Everything that she has, she’s carrying with her. You get the sense that it won’t be much longer and she won’t even be pushing that baby buggy. She’ll be stripped of everything. So it is to be a refugee. The more I meditated on Isaiah 15 and 16, the more I saw the relevance to our lives. I don’t know that any of us will ever be refugees. I do know that the United Nations High Commission on Refugees said there were sixty-five million displaced persons in 2007.

So there’s a lot of refugees around the world. There’s an opportunity for us as a church of Jesus Christ to minister. We had an opportunity to minister to some refugees who came to us from Vietnam. What a great privilege that was! We may well have a practical ministry to refugees. It could be that, if we are in fact the final generation, and some of the events that are recorded in the Book of Revelation take place, then we will actually know what it means to flee for our lives and to dwell in caves, and to look for a place of refuge from an encroaching terror that’s coming to hunt us down. We may know that. If the Lord tarries, we may never know that.

But there are people, even brothers and sisters in Christ, in the Sudan and other places in the world, that are actually going through this right now. So at the physical level, I think there’s a relevance to this text. But I also see a spiritual connection. I don’t think it’s hard to find because what happens in this text is a judgment on Moab. Some unnamed invader comes into their country and the people of Moab have to run for their lives. Their military strength is gone. They have nothing left. Their religious strength is gone and they run for their lives. They actually turn, at that point, to their former enemies in Judah, the Jews. They want to see if it’s possible that they might take them in. As a matter of fact, Isaiah the prophet says that it’s the only refuge they’re going to have.

I’m going to talk about who the invader could be. We don’t really know who it is. But if in fact the invader was Assyria, and if they came in during a certain time, it could be that, literally, physically, the only refuge there could be would be in Zion, in Jerusalem, with godly King Hezekiah. This, in the end, becomes a picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Jesus, the descendant of David, the King, the Davidic King, mentioned in the middle of Isaiah 16, is in fact the only refuge there is from the coming judgment. So there is a beautiful spiritual picture of the gospel as well.

The Bible does this over and over. Oh, how the Lord wants us to flee to Christ! How many different ways does it give us incentive so that we would run for our lives, run to the only refuge there is, the refuge of Jesus Christ? There are pictures again and again in the Old Testament of a place of refuge. If you go there, you are going to be safe from the coming judgment and the coming wrath. But, if you go outside of it, you’re going to be killed. You’re going to perish.

Noah’s ark is a picture of that. If you’re on the ark, you’re safe. If you’re outside the ark, you are lost. Also, during the time of Passover when the Jews painted the blood of the sacrificial lamb over the door posts, the angel of death passed over. If he saw the blood on the house, everyone inside the house was safe. But if you were outside the house, your blood was on your own head. That meant you were going to die. So there’s a place of refuge, a place of security and safety, and outside there is none. Or again, we have Rahab’s house nestled in the walls of Jericho. The promise of a scarlet cord hanging down was that she and all of her relatives would be safe if they stayed in the house. But if they went outside the house, their blood would be on their own heads. They would die. It is also a picture of a place of refuge, which you have to be inside. That’s where the refuge is. Outside there is none. In the Law of Moses, there is a provision for cities of refuge where, if you accidentally kill somebody, you can run for your life. If you get there before the avenger of blood comes, you’ll be safe. They’ll protect you and keep you safe until the death of the high priest. It was a picture, again, of a place of refuge.

Don’t you see how all of these are pictures of Jesus Christ? Don’t you see Christ in all of this? Don’t you see the need to run for your life? Don’t you see that there is a judgment coming, worse than the flood of Noah? It’s an eternal judgment, an eternal fire. What we stand to lose is not just our mortal lives, but our souls. We are encouraged again and again and again to run for our lives to the place of refuge, and that is Jesus Christ. So there you have it. There’s the sermon in a nutshell. What we have is a current event that’s not so current.

I. Moabite Refugees Fleeing in Terror

We have, in this section of Isaiah, the oracles against the nations. Isaiah the prophet is giving an oracle, or a saying, a prophecy concerning Moab. From Isaiah 13 through 23, one nation after another is addressed through the prophetic voice. Isaiah the prophet is speaking here to the little country of Moab. We’ve had oracles against great nations like Assyria and Babylon. Last time, we looked at an oracle against the Philistines, a smaller nation. Here, the Moabites were even smaller. The Sovereign God who rules over all the earth is orchestrating the events of all the earth. He speaks an oracle through his prophet to the people of Moab, the Moabites.

Now, who were the Moabites? They were descended from Lot, Abraham’s nephew. When, in another picture of refuge, Lot fled from Sodom and Gomorrah to the little town of Zoar, he was able to survive the fire and brimstone. This is a picture, again, of refuge, fleeing for your life. But then, thinking that it was the end of the world, they took up refuge in a cave. Lot was there with his two daughters. And the daughters, thinking that they wouldn’t know any more people on the face of the earth, perhaps with the memory of the flood still very fresh in their minds, induced their father through wine to lay with them. Each of them had a son by their own father and from this came two peoples, the Moabites and the Ammonites.

The Moabites took up residence on a tiny piece of land east of the Dead Sea, stretching from the Arnon River, which dumps into the Dead Sea, to the Zered River, on the border with Edom. It’s a small piece of land, thirty miles by thirty miles. It’s really small. The Moabites were not a mighty and significant people. They were usually enemies of Israel, usually in opposition to the people of God. They would fight against them. For example, during the Exodus, they would not allow the Israelites to pass through their territory, they had to go around. They hired Balaam to curse Israel, and you remember what happened with that. The Moabite women seduced the Israelite men to worship Baal of Peor through sexual immorality. It was the Moabite women that did that. As a result of all of these things, the Law of Moses forbad any of them to enter the assembly of the Lord down to the tenth generation. They were forbidden to enter.

During the time of the Judges, God gave Israel over to a Moabite king, Eglon, the fat man. Eglon was murdered by one of the judges, Ehud, a left-handed man. These were the Moabites. They were the enemies of the people of God. It was Moabite wives that seduced King Solomon to worship foreign gods, to worship Chemosh, their detestable god. They occasionally organized armies to fight against the Jews, and they usually lost. They were the enemies of God’s people. By the end of Kings and Chronicles, Moabite raiders were still plundering Israel.

Yet, for all of that, it was a godly Moabite woman, Ruth, who said to Naomi, “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God… May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” (Ru 1:16-17) From Ruth came David, and through David, ultimately, came our savior Jesus Christ. Therefore, we see the grace of God in dealing with pagan people. We also see God’s saving intentions to the Gentiles and to every tribe and language and people and nation, everyone on the face of the earth.

These are the people, the Moabites, who are running for their lives in these two chapters. It’s the Moabites who are running now. Why are they fleeing? Look at Isaiah 15:1, “Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night!” By the way, if you see Keith Pendergraff, thank him for that reading. There’s something like twenty proper nouns in that. He did a phenomenal job. I don’t know that I’m going to do as well. I was adjusting my pronunciation as I listened to him read the scripture. So thank you, Keith. We thought about that at our staff meeting, “Now, who’s going to do this reading? Please urge them to practice ahead of time.”

But what is going on in Isaiah 15:1? Well, these are two cities in Moab, Ar and Kir, and both of them are destroyed in a night. They’re gone. These are their strongholds, their high places, their walled fortresses. They are nothing to the unnamed invader. In a single night, they are gone, both of them have fallen. Furthermore, their religion has proven to be empty. They turn to their high places. Verse 2 says, “Dibon goes up to its temple, to its high places to weep.” If you look all the way over to Chapter 16:12, it says, “When Moab appears at her high place, she only wears herself out; when she goes to her shrine to pray, it is to no avail.” Chemosh cannot help them. You know why? Because Chemosh does not exist.

He’s an idol of their own imagination and Chemosh cannot save them. So they are running for their lives. They are fugitives. Look at Isaiah 15:5, “Her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath Shelishiyah. They go up the way to Luhith, weeping as they go; on the road to Horonaim they lament their destruction.” You see a picture of a train of refugees, crying, running, leaving possessions behind, stuff strewn along the roads. That’s what’s going on. The Moabites are running for their lives. Like all refugees, they try to carry whatever they can of their possessions. Verse 7 says, “So the wealth they have acquired and stored up they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.”

They’re going to carry their gold and silver with them. Well, how long is that going to last? It’s heavy. There comes a point where they will leave it behind. The army that’s going to come after them will pick it up and plunder them. So that’s what is happening. These are refugees leaving behind their old way of life, and the slaughter is terrible. Look at Isaiah 15:9, “Dimon’s waters are full of blood, but I will bring still more upon Dimon – a lion upon the fugitives of Moab and upon those who remain in the land.” Whether it’s a literal lion or it’s just more military conquest coming on this straggling line of refugees, it doesn’t matter. The fact of the matter is, it’s just a miserable, horrible time for these Moabites. The rivers are filled with blood. You see the image of their women in 16:2, “like fluttering birds, pushed from the nest, so are the women of Moab at the fords of Arnon.” As they’re trying to cross this river, they are panicking and weak and defenseless, a picture of the refugee.

At this point, they turn to Judah for help. This is the only place they can turn. Frankly, this is what Isaiah wants them to do. If you look at Isaiah 16:1, it says, “send lambs as tribute to the ruler of the land, from Sela, across the desert.” Where? “to the daughter of Zion.” Reach out to the Jews. Why? Because salvation is from the Jews, your ancient enemies. Reach out to the daughter of Zion. That’s the advice that Isaiah’s giving. It’s really that God is giving it. Reach out to the Jews in your moment of distress.

Now, I have no idea, historically, what this is referring to. Nobody really knows. I have a sense of what’s going on, but nobody really knows. Of course, the big bully of the time was Assyria. It could be that in 715 BC, the Assyrians were coming down and dealing with some Arabian raiders that were making commerce difficult. As they did, they passed through little Moab. And what do the Assyrians do when they pass through somebody’s land? They do this kind of thing, this kind of conquest, this kind of bloodshed, this kind of plundering and pillaging. It could be that’s exactly what was going. The end for Moab is quite near.

Look at the end of our reading for today. Isaiah 16:13-14 says, “This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. But now the Lord says: ‘Within three years, as a servant bound by contract would count them, Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised, and her survivors will be very few and feeble.” It’s a time table, three years as for a servant bound by a contract, meaning counting the hours. It’s going to be very accurate. Within that time, three years, Moab will be finished. That’s what’s going on. Look at Isaiah’s reaction, weeping for the refugees.

II. Weeping for the Refugees

I find it fascinating, the emotional response of Isaiah to these, who are supposedly his enemies. I tell you that God does not willingly afflict anyone. He doesn’t willingly bring suffering on anybody. So says Lamentations 3:32-33, “Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.”

The consistent teaching of scripture is that it is, in fact, God that brings these disasters. There’s not a subset of disaster that didn’t come from God and had nothing to do with God. He does everything. He’s King of the Universe, but He doesn’t delight in bringing suffering. That’s not what He’s doing. It’s called in Isaiah 28:21, “His strange work” and “His alien task.”

It’s not his home base. He does it for a reason, for a purpose. I believe He afflicts the nations to get them up out of their self-satisfied, self-worshipping rut, and to cause them to seek a Savior, who they would never seek if God didn’t afflict them. As King Hezekiah says as he is recovering from his illness, “Surely it was good for me to have been afflicted.” It’s a good thing, then, to be afflicted if, in the end, it means salvation for your soul. And I think that’s what’s going on here. God brings these kinds of afflictions because there is no way the Moabites will seek a Savior from the descendants of David, unless they are desperate and running for their lives.

God brings this kind of affliction into lives, but you see the emotion, you see the compassion of God through His spokesman Isaiah. You see Him weeping for them, and it’s really quite surprising. Look at Isaiah 15:5. He says “My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath Shelishiyah. They go up the way to Luhith, weeping as they go; on the road to Horonaim they lament their destruction.” He’s weeping for them. He has compassion for them. In chapter 16:9-11, it says, “So I weep, as Jazer weeps… the shouts of joy… are stilled. Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards; no one sings or shouts in the vineyards; no one treads out the wine at the presses, for I have put an end to the shouting. My heart laments for Moab like a harp, my inmost being for Kir Hareseth.”

This is Isaiah. Isaiah is speaking. He is a man. He is reacting to his own prophecies. He’s reacting emotionally to what he is writing. But in so doing, he is God’s mouthpiece, and it is really God’s own reaction to what the Moabites are going through. That’s quite remarkable. You have to look carefully, but look at verse 10, and then on into verse 11 of Chapter 16. It says, “Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards; no one sings or shouts in the vineyards; no one treads out wine at the presses.” Why? “For I have put an end to the shouting.” Do you see that? The word “I?” Isaiah didn’t do that. It’s not Isaiah’s work that put an end to anything. He’s an announcer. He’s a messenger. This is God speaking. Therefore, the very next verse is God speaking as well. “My heart laments for Moab.”

This is the nature of our God. He brings the affliction, but He weeps at the effects. Surely, God’s ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. They are so infinitely high above us, what God is doing in the world. But I believe He does it out of compassion. I believe He does it so that people will turn from their sins and cry out to a Jewish Savior, cry out to Christ and be saved. That’s why He does it. And unless some harsh treatment comes in most of our lives, if not all, we will never do it. We will never do it.

Christ wept for His enemies, didn’t He? Didn’t Christ stand over Jerusalem and weep for the coming judgment that would come on that city? Didn’t He say, concerning the men that were murdering Him, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34) Do you see His heart there?

Do you see the Apostle Paul, in Romans 9, testifying that he has a great sorrow and unceasing anguish over the Jews who are making his life utterly miserable and who would love to kill him as well? He testifies solemnly that he would trade his salvation for theirs, if he could. Amazing compassion!

What about us? What about me? Every time I come to the issue of my level of compassion for the lost, I’m brought up short and convicted. I realize that I have to cry out against the stoniness of my own heart and I realize that I just don’t care enough about fugitives, refugees. I don’t care enough about the lost, the idolaters around me.  I don’t care enough. And I have to fan a little ember into a flame, by a biblical meditation on what hell is actually going to be like. I have to do it.

The scholarly pastor Andrew Bonar, in Scotland, lay on his bed Saturday nights. Down in the street, below his window, he could hear revelers tramping back and forth, going to the bars and the shows, an empty searching for something. He used to get out of his bed and weep over their souls and cry out, “Oh, they perish, they perish!” He would weep for them. Oswald J Smith, who brought the Gospel to over 50 countries, this is what he said, “Can we travail for a drowning child, but not for a perishing soul? It is not hard to weep when we realize that our little one is sinking below the surface for the last time. Anguish is spontaneous then. Nor is it hard to agonize when we see the little casket containing all that we love on earth borne out of the home. Ah, no; tears are natural at such a time! But oh, to realize and to know that souls, precious, never-dying souls are perishing all around us, going out into the blackness of darkness and despair, eternally lost, and yet to feel no anguish, shed no tears, know no travail! How cold are our hearts! How little do we know of the compassion of Jesus!”

I take solace from the fact that you can even see that Oswald J Smith, who brought the gospel to over 50 countries, saw that weakness in his own heart. It’s not natural for us, but we ought to weep over the kind of judgments that come on the lost. We ought to travail for their souls. We see the sorrow of Isaiah and, really, the sorrow of God over the affliction necessary to save them.

III. The Great Advantage of Refugees

We also see the great advantage for these refugees. Now, you might say what advantage can there be in being a refugee? Well, on an earthly basis, at a purely secular level, I can’t possibly see any advantage. As I said, these were the most miserable people I’d ever seen on the face of the earth. I don’t mean that in terms of their emotional state. I just mean in terms of their circumstances.

As I look at the hierarchy of suffering, the only think that I think is worse than running for your life before an invading army is being captured and held by a malicious tyrant who loves to torture you, with no escape or death. I think that’s probably the worst earthly circumstance you could be in. Of course, none of this compares to hell, because there is always some escape from any misery here on earth. But there is no escape from hell. Still, I think being a refugee is a horrible situation. Yet there is an advantage if, in the end, you come to your senses and come to faith in Christ, if you realize you’re really running for your life. And by that, I mean your eternal life. If you realize that your ordinary way of life was only going to lead you to hell, and something caused you to get out of that rut that was drawing you right down into hell, to get up out of that and say, “Where am I going?” If you then come to your senses and say, “I need a savior,” then it’s worthwhile.

There’s some advantage, then, in being a refugee. Foundations are removed. All the things you counted on and relied on are taken away. You have to think about everything anew and afresh. Everything’s been tossed up for grabs.

Pride has been removed. Oh, that’s important. Look at Isaiah 16:6. It’s mentioned right there, “We have heard of Moab’s pride – her overweening pride and conceit, her pride and her insolence – but her boasts are empty.” Oh, they’re empty now! Now whoever it is has come in, the Assyrians, let’s say. Oh, there’s nothing left to be proud of now! Now they’re beggars looking for some place of refuge. Actually, that’s good, because Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:3) It’s good to get to the point where you realize you have nothing in your hands to give to the king. You’re just begging for a place of refuge. That’s a good thing.

Pride has been destroyed. It’s amazing how proud we are, isn’t it? But what do we have to be proud of, really? We’re just created beings. Everything we have we receive from God. What do we have to boast about? Yet it’s in there, that worm of pride. It’s so ugly when you see it in someone else, isn’t it? It’s so ugly when you see it in another person, but it’s ugly if you can see it in yourself too. I was reading a quote by the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. I can scarcely read this without feeling a curdling effect in my stomach. He said openly what most people would never parade. Pride is just oozing from this paragraph. Listen to what he said:

“What could your miseries have in common with mine? My situation is unique, unheard of since the beginning of time. The person who can love me as I can love is still yet to be born. No one has ever had more talent for loving. I was born to be the best friend that ever existed. Show me a better man than me, a heart more loving, more tender, more sensitive. Posterity will honor me because it is my due. I rejoice in myself. My consolation lies in my self-esteem. If there were a single enlightened government in Europe, it would have erected statues to me.”

Wow! Listen, bro. Let’s sit down and have a conversation. Let’s get the scripture and find out what the truth really is. What’s so sad is that we’re like this, though we don’t admit it. We’re not going to bring it this far, but we think, “Has anybody ever suffered like me? Nobody loves like I love. If I really got what I deserved, they’d be erecting a statue.” I don’t know if we carry it that far, but the pride, it’s really laughable. It’s actually good to laugh at yourself. But, you know, to actually get cured from it, sometimes it takes this level of affliction. To run for your life strips you of pride. What do you have left? Where then is your resume? Where then are your possessions? Where then is your glorious future? You’re running for your life, and that’s what it’s done. So there’s a great advantage to being a refugee.

IV. The Only Safe Refuge: Christ

It’s good if you know the refuge. Amen? If you know where to run to, now that’s a benefit. And I say to you, the only safe refuge is Jesus Christ. He’s mentioned in the text, though indirectly. With their pride stripped, the Moabite refugees have nowhere to turn but to Judah. As we already mentioned in Chapter 16:1, they’re urged to “send lambs as tribute to the… mount of the Daughter of Zion.” That’s Jerusalem. They begged for help from the Jews. Verses 2-4 of Chapter 16 say, “Like fluttering birds pushed from the nest, so are the women of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. ‘Give us counsel, render a decision. Make your shadow like night – at high noon. Hide the fugitives, do not betray the refugees. Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you; be their shelter from the destroyer.’ The oppressor will come to an and, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the land.”

Here we have a stunning and beautiful prophecy: a ruler from the house of David. Look at verse 16:5, “In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it – one from the house of David – one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness.” Oh, how sweet is that promise of Jesus Christ! This isn’t any one of the Davidic kings. Yes, Hezekiah was a godly man, but he was no final refuge. He’s a picture of A refuge, but he’s not The final refuge. Oh no. The final refuge is Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. He’s the refuge. Therefore, Isaiah predicts the establishment of a Davidic throne that will reign in righteousness. This Davidic king will bring justice to the nations. It is Jesus Christ then at last, who is every refugee’s place of safety. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and find refuge.

Jesus is the name of the Lord. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. You run to Him and you find refuge. What refuge is there? The foot of the cross, where Jesus shed His blood for sin. The real danger is not the Assyrian army or any army. The real danger is the wrath of God. “’Do not fear those who kill the body and after that can do nothing to you. I’ll tell you the one to fear,’ said Jesus, ‘fear the one who has the power to destroy both soul and body in hell.’” We need a refuge from hell. We need a refuge from the judgment of an all-seeing God. We need a refuge from judgment and wrath. That’s what we need.

Jesus Christ is the place of refuge, amen? We can flee to Him and find safety. There is no other, there’s no other place. God didn’t ordain that Noah and five other people each build an ark. There was one ark, there was one place of refuge. And so it is with Christ. In the Old Covenant, the Moabites were excluded to the tenth generation. Oh, but praise God for the New covenant, Amen? In the New Covenant, anyone who repents and believes is welcome.

“All that the Father gives me will come to me,” said Jesus, “and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” (Jn 6:37) There is your welcome. There is your place of refuge. Jesus Christ is saying, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Mt 11:28) So He is the place of refuge mentioned right here in Isaiah 16:5.

What’s the connection to our lives? Are we ever going to be refugees? Well, I can’t say. I cannot say. I do know, though, there will come a time when every nation on earth will run for their lives. If you’re alive at that time, you’ll run too. You will run too. That’s all you can do. This is what the Lord says in Isaiah 13:13-14, “Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the Lord Almighty, in the day of his burning anger. Like a hunted gazelle, like sheep without a shepherd, each will return to his own people, each will flee to his native land.” Haggai 2:6-7 says, “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations.’” Isaiah 30:27-28 says, “See, the name of the Lord comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke; his lips are full of wrath, and his tongue is a consuming fire. His breath is like a rushing torrent, rising up to the neck. He shakes the nations in the sieve of destruction.” Hebrews 12:26-27 says, “At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ‘Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’ The words “once more” indicate the removal of what can be shaken – that is, created things – so that what cannot be shaken may remain.”

God himself is going to shake the nations in a sieve of destruction. All the nations that live at that time will run for their lives. So you will be a fugitive if you live in the final generation. It is your future and mine if the Lord tarries. It is a terrifying thing. The prediction is plain in Revelation 6:12-17,

“I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’”

Run for your lives! It’s going to be literal at that point. But the real danger is nothing on earth, friend. No, the real danger is Judgment Day. That’s the real danger. When you stand before Him who knows everything you ever said, everything you ever did, who knows the inclinations of your heart, who remembers everything perfectly, that’s the danger. As John the Baptist said to his Jewish enemies, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” Has anybody warned you to do that, to be a refugee from the coming wrath? Have you learned to do that? To flee from the wrath to come?

Jesus Christ is the only refuge from that wrath to come. It says in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, “Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” Amen? He is a safe refuge from the coming wrath. It says in 1 Thessalonians 5:9, “God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” So run for your lives! In the beginning of Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian realizes that he actually lived in a place called the City of Destruction. He started to be worried about the future. Wouldn’t you if you lived in a place called the City of Destruction? He’s reading about it in the book, in the Scriptures, and he has a terrible burden on his back, a sense of guilt for his own sins that are going to press him down to hell. He talks to his wife, but she doesn’t believe. She thinks he’s crazy. The children don’t believe, they think he’s crazy. His neighbors think he’s crazy. Then Evangelist tells him to go to a wicket gate and to a flashing light, and he begins to run there. He’s running, and he’s got his fingers in his ears so he doesn’t listen to the cries of his unbelieving family and his mocking neighbors. He runs and runs for the distant salvation, running for that gate, so that his soul can be saved. Run for your lives. Do you live in the City of Destruction? Yes, you do. So do I. So we’re called on to run this race with endurance, to keep running until we’re done, to run for our lives spiritually.

V. Applications

What application do we take from this? First, nothing you see around you is eternal. Don’t be deceived. Did you say, “What? We heard a strange sermon today on being a refugee for Christ. I don’t think that’s going to happen to me.” Well, be careful, friend. Be careful, because someday you’re going to lose it all anyway. You are. And it’s good to know it. I don’t know the specific political and military situations, or earthquake, or hurricane that will cause you to be a displaced person. I don’t know whether that will ever happen to you. But I do know this, you ought to live with that kind of mentality. Live as an alien and a stranger on earth, looking ahead to a city with foundations whose builder and maker is God. Run for that place, the celestial city. Nothing will ever remove that. It cannot be shaken. Run for that.

Hold on to your possessions loosely. Live a holy life worthy of that final day, since is says in 2 Peter 3:11-13,  “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” So live a holy and godly life. 1 Peter 2:11  says, “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in this world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.”

Thirdly, I would urge you to cry out over your own hardness of heart, as I do over mine. Cry out that you don’t care about the plight of the lost. Be like God. Be like Paul. Be like Andrew Bonar and Oswald J Smith. Be like these men and women who learned to weep over the condition of lost friends and relatives and co-workers. If you don’t care much, know that God knows you don’t care. He knows, however, if you’re a believer, that you want to care. You want to be healed from your hardness of heart. You want to care about the poor and the needy. Go to Him and ask Him for it. Be a spiritual beggar for that, too. Say, “Lord, change my heart. Give me tears to cry over lost people.” And stay there until He does. Meditate in depth on passages about hell. That might help you.

Finally, consider in a practical way a ministry to refugees. We’ve already had some in this church that have sacrificially given to refugees from Vietnam. It’s been a sweet experience for them and for the church. You can give money to Persecution Project, which ministers to Christian refugees in the Sudan, especially in Darfur. You can minister to refugees that are non-Christians, as we did in Pakistan. Those were Muslim refugees. Perhaps God might call you to that kind of a practical ministry. In any case, whatever God calls you to do, live your life as a refugee here on Earth until God takes you to heaven. Close with me in prayer.

I will never forget the haunted look in their eyes… the most pitiable people I’ve ever seen in my life. They were refugees from Afghanistan in the summer of 1987, and we were ministering to them in Peshawar, Pakistan

Over seven years before that, on December 27, 1979, Russian paratroopers landed in Kabul, Afghanistan, to prop up a tottering communist regime. Over 100,000 troops followed, pouring in from the north, and the Soviet Union entered a war that became for them as deep a quagmire as Viet Nam had been for the U.S.

The Soviet invasion had a devastating effect on the Afghan people. Because the rural population fed and housed the mujahidin, the Soviets tried to eliminate or remove civilian populations from the countryside where resistance was based. Soviet bombing destroyed entire villages, crops and irrigation, leaving millions of people dead, homeless or starving. Land mines maimed unsuspecting Afghans, especially children who mistook them to be toys.

Refugee camps around Peshawar, Pakistan sprang up and quickly became overcrowded, unsanitary and insufficiently supplied. The total number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan rose to over three million. These were the people we had gone to minister to. They barely had the clothes on their backs; many of them had seen loved ones killed by the Russians or by the mujaheddin… by landmines or by other tragic accidents. They were not really welcome in Pakistan and had dim prospects for the future.

Since that time I have seen many poor places around the world… in India and in Haiti especially… but I have never seen destitution, terror, and hopelessness like in the refugee camps around Peshawar.

Refugee… a word that evokes a strong reaction based on the horrors of the last century

Documentaries of WWII show seemingly endless lines of European refugees fleeing Hitler’s war machine… pathetic lines of people with a similar haunted and terrorized look on their faces… an elderly woman pushing a baby carriage with a framed painting, a lamp and a party dress down the road in France in the summer of 1940… that was all she had left of her former life before the Germans invaded

Even worse, the lines of refugees being strafed by Nazi dive bombers… innocent civilians machine-gunned in the road, with nowhere to hide. This is the image we have of refugees: terror-stricken people clinging to tatters from a formerly comfortable and prosperous life… now all they want is simply to live and not die

Chinese people running in Manchuria from the invading Japanese… Russian peasants running from the Germans in the Ukraine… Polish people fleeing the Germans at the beginning of the war and the Russians at the end… European Jews fleeing everywhere, trying to escape the concentration camps

Refugees… fleeing hearth and home, possessions and comfort, stripped of everything of value, hearts beating wildly, looking for a safe haven where they can simply survive

The modern refugee scene is more complex, but just as overwhelming

The United Nations High Commission on Refugees estimates that there were over 65 million displaced persons in 2007… some fleeing wars, some fleeing for political reasons, some fleeing religious persecution… some fleeing the effects of natural disasters like tsunamis and earthquakes

That is the issue that faces us in Isaiah 15-16… the little Gentile nation of Moab was crushed by some unnamed invading force and they ran for their lives… a terrified little flock of refugees seeking asylum from Judah, their ancient enemy

It is a picture of salvation in Christ for every person

I.   Moabite Refugees Fleeing in Terror

A.  Prophecies Against the Nations

1.  Isaiah 13-23: one oracle after another from Almighty God over the nations

2.  the Sovereign God rules all the earth, orchestrates the issues of all the earth

3.  here he speaks an oracle concerning the tiny, ancient people of Moab… the Moabites

4.  for according to these two chapters, within three years of the oracle, the Moabites would become refugees, fleeing for their lives

B.  Who Are the Moabites?

1.  descended from Lot, Abraham’s nephew

2.  Lot himself was a refugee, fleeing from the wrath of God poured out on Sodom and Gomorroh

3.  his wife turned back and looked and became a pillar of salt

4.  his two unmarried daughters fled with their father to a cave where they survived the fire and brimstone

5.  the daughters thought the whole human race had been extinguished, and they induced their father to drink wine; then each of them had a son by their own father

6.  those two sons became the heads of two peoples—the Moabites and the Ammonites

7.  the Moabites took up residence in a tiny piece of land east of the Dead Sea… stretching from the Arnon River which dumps into the Dead Sea to the ZEred River on the border with Edom… a small piece of land no more than thirty miles long by thirty miles wide

8.  the Moabites were usually enemies of Israel

a.  during the Exodus, they refused to allow Israel to pass through their territory

b.  they hired Balaam to curse Israel

c.  it was Moabite women who seduced Israel to worship the Baal of Peor, bringing terrible judgment on Israel

d.  as a result, the Law of Moses forbade any of them to enter the assembly of the Lord

Deuteronomy 23:3 No Ammonite or Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even down to the tenth generation.

e.  During the time of the Judges, God gave Israel over to the Moaite kind Eglon for 18 years, till Ehud killed him

f.  David defeated the Moabites and only allowed a third of their soldiers to live

g.  Moabite wives seduced King Solomon and led him to worship Chemosh, their detestable god

h.  Moab occasionally organized armies to fight Israel or Judah, but they usually lost

i.  At the end of Kings and Chronicles, Moabite raiders were still plundering Israel

9.  Yet it was a godly Moabite woman, Ruth, who was David’s great grandmother, included in the genealogy of the Messiah, Jesus Christ… a picture of God’s saving intention toward even His corrupt enemies

10.  these are the people who are running for their lives!!

Isaiah 15:1-5 An oracle concerning Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! 2 Dibon goes up to its temple, to its high places to weep; Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba. Every head is shaved and every beard cut off. 3 In the streets they wear sackcloth; on the roofs and in the public squares they all wail, prostrate with weeping. 4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out, and their hearts are faint. 5 My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath Shelishiyah. They go up the way to Luhith, weeping as they go; on the road to Horonaim they lament their destruction.

C.  Why Are they Fleeing?

1.  destruction has come on Moab suddenly

Isaiah 15:1 Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night!

a.  Ar-moab is their most powerful citadel… a walled fortress, their ancient capital city

b.  Kir in Moab was situated on a steep mountain in the midst of the land… seemingly powerful

c.  BOTH have fallen in a single night

d.  Night time terror the worst of all… imagine running for your lives in the middle of the night

2.  the people resort to their false gods and their high places, but they come up empty, for they are no gods at all

Isaiah 15:2 Dibon goes up to its temple, to its high places to weep

Isaiah 16:12 When Moab appears at her high place, she only wears herself out; when she goes to her shrine to pray, it is to no avail.

a.  Chemosh, their detestable god can do nothing to help them

b.  The foundations of their hopes are swept away in a single night

c.  Military strength gone, religious hope gone

d.  The shock leaves them shaving their heads, weeping pleading… no avail

e.  Nothing left to do but to run for their lives

Isaiah 15:5 her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath Shelishiyah. They go up the way to Luhith, weeping as they go; on the road to Horonaim they lament their destruction.

f.  Like all refugees, they carry whatever they can of their possessions

Isaiah 15:7 So the wealth they have acquired and stored up they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.

g.  The slaughter is terrible

Isaiah 15:9 Dimon’s waters are full of blood, but I will bring still more upon Dimon–a lion upon the fugitives of Moab and upon those who remain in the land.

h.  They run from one threat only to face another… an army chases them, a lion awaits them

i.  The image of their women running for their lives brings tears to our eyes

Isaiah 16:2 Like fluttering birds pushed from the nest, so are the women of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.

D.  Turning to Judah for Help

Isaiah 16:1 Send lambs as tribute to the ruler of the land, from Sela, across the desert, to the mount of the Daughter of Zion.

1.  In utter desperation, they seek refuge from Judah, their ancient enemy

E.  Historical Details

1.  No clear indication of what is happening here

2.  No mention of this event in archaeology

3.  Probably in 715 B.C., the Assyrian army tramped through little Moab en route to a conquest of the Arabian tribes that were in revolt… as the Assyrians swept through, they did what they always do: slaughter innocent people and take their possessions

F.  The End is Near

Isaiah 16:13-14  This is the word the LORD has already spoken concerning Moab. 14 But now the LORD says: “Within three years, as a servant bound by contract would count them, Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised, and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”

II.   Weeping for the Refugees

A.  God Does Not Willingly Afflict People

Lamentations 3:32-33 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. 33 For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.

1.  the consistent teaching of Scripture:

a.  God brings these disasters

b.  But He does not delight in the misery they cause

c.  It is not God’s home base to use His sovereign power to bring suffering

Isaiah 28:21 The LORD will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon– to do his work, his strange work, and perform his task, his alien task.
The “strange work” or God, His “alien task” is judgment, affliction, suffering, death God does not delight in the misery He brings on the nations

d.  Rather He afflicts the nations to teach them their need of a Savior… to get them to consider something they would never consider any other way

e.  The Moabites were enemies of the Jews… but salvation is from the Jews

f.  The pride of the Moabites would have prevented their fleeing to Christ

g.  But when you’re a refugee, it’s hard to have pride!!

2.  so God seems to weep while bringing suffering on people

a.  Isaiah is God’s spokesman

b.  And Isaiah weeps for the Moabite refugees here

c.  How much greater compassion does God have for them?

B.  Isaiah Weeps for the Nations

Isaiah 15:5 My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath Shelishiyah. They go up the way to Luhith, weeping as they go; on the road to Horonaim they lament their destruction.

Isaiah 16:9-11 So I weep, as Jazer weeps, for the vines of Sibmah. O Heshbon, O Elealeh, I drench you with tears! The shouts of joy over your ripened fruit and over your harvests have been stilled. 10 Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards; no one sings or shouts in the vineyards; no one treads out wine at the presses, for I have put an end to the shouting. 11 My heart laments for Moab like a harp, my inmost being for Kir Hareseth.

1.  one of the most striking aspects of these prophecies… Isaiah’s astonishing compassion for the Gentile nations who were enemies of Judah

2.  he actually says he weeps for them as much as they weep for themselves

3.  in so doing, he is actually moved by God’s own compassion

a.  notice the use of the word “I”, “my” in these verses

vs. 9 So I weep, as Jazer weeps, for the vines of Sibmah. O Heshbon, O Elealeh, I drench you with tears!

b.  Who is weeping? Is it Isaiah the prophet? Yes… but in the Spirit of the Lord

c.  For it is the same one who puts an end to their joyful celebrations that also weeps for them… and Isaiah had no power to put an end to the shouting!! That was God alone:

Vs. 10-11 Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards; no one sings or shouts in the vineyards; no one treads out wine at the presses, for I have put an end to the shouting. 11 My heart laments for Moab like a harp, my inmost being for Kir Hareseth.

i)  The word translated “inmost being” refers to the stomach

ii)  Like a feeling in the pit of his stomach, Isaiah feels the passion the Lord has for the Moabites… even though they live like enemies of God

C.  Christ Wept for His Enemies

1.  God has no body… he has no “stomach” to be moved

2.  yet when Christ became incarnate, He took on a body… and the most common emotion He felt was deep compassion for suffering sinners

3.  He even displayed that compassion for His enemies

a.  For the rebellious city of Jerusalem

Luke 19:41-44 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace– but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

b.  For the men who were murdering Him

Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

D.  The Apostle Paul Wept for His Enemies

Romans 9:1-4 I speak the truth in Christ– I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit– 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel.

E.  Do We?

1.  do we grieve at the great sufferings that people go through in China, with an earthquake that displaces tens of thousands of people

2.  do we weep at the miseries of Muslim refugees in Bosnia… even though they are Muslims?

3.  above all, do we weep for the lost… for those in darkness?

The scholarly pastor Andrew Bonar lay on his bed on a Saturday night in Scotland, and as people below tramped the streets from taverns and shows, he used to call from his tortured heart: ‘Oh! they perish, they perish!’

Oswald J. Smith, brought the gospel to over fifty countries:

Can we travail for a drowning child, but not for a perishing soul? It is not hard to weep when we realize that our little one is sinking below the surface for the last time. Anguish is spontaneous then. Nor is it hard to agonize when we see the casket containing all that we love on earth borne out of the home. Ah, no; tears are natural at such a time? But oh, to realize and know that souls, precious, never dying souls, are perishing all around us, going out into the blackness of darkness and despair, eternally lost, and yet to feel no anguish, shed no tears, know no travail! How could are our hearts! How little we know of the compassion of Jesus!

Isaiah the weeping prophet represents the desire of Almighty God to allure even pagan Gentiles like the Moabites to safety in Christ

But to accomplish it, the Sovereign God brings great suffering on the nations… to strip them of their astonishing pride

III.   The Great Advantage of Refugees

A.  Advantage? How Can It Be?

1.  the most pitiable people I’ve ever seen in my life… these Afghan refugees

2.  what advantage can there be to running for your life, leaving everything you ever cherished behind, wondering if you will survive the night?

3.  well… it strips you of the greatest obstacle to salvation: pride

B.  Foundations Removed

1.  military power gone… their fortress citadels were destroyed in a night

2.  religious hope gone… their highplaces and false gods—like Chemosh—cannot help them

3.  possessions gone… the invading army has taken whatever they left behind… the only wealth they have left is what they are carrying with them

4.  God has maneuvered them exactly where He wants them

C.  Pride Removed

Isaiah 16:6 We have heard of Moab’s pride– her overweening pride and conceit, her pride and her insolence– but her boasts are empty.

1.  unless these invaders had come, they never would have fled to Judah for refuge

2.  and unless we suffer affliction, we will never think we need a Savior

3.  every human being naturally STINKS…REEKS … with pride

French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau was bold to proclaim the arrogant, overweening pride that most of us learn to conceal with false humility:

What could your miseries have in common with mine? My situation is unique, unheard of since the beginning of time. The person who can love me as I can love is still to be born. No one has ever had more talent for loving. I was born to be the best friend that ever existed. Show me a better man than me, a heart more loving, more tender, more sensitive. Posterity will honor me because it is my due. I rejoice in myself. My consolation lies in my self-esteem. If there were a single enlightened government in Europe, it would have erected statues to me.

Uggh!! Yet within every human heart lurks this same monster!

What has the power to cause us to abandon our fortresses of power and money and false religion and success and RUN FOR OUR LIVES to a Jewish Messiah for salvation??

4.  only affliction and the Law of God cures us of this pride and causes us to seek a Jewish carpenter as a Savior from our sins

D.  Nowhere Else to Turn… So they Turn to Judah

IV.   The Only Safe Refuge: Christ

A.  An Invitation for Refuge

1.  with their pride stripped, the Moabite refugees have nowhere to turn but to Judah, their ancient enemy

Isaiah 16:1 Send lambs as tribute to the ruler of the land, from Sela, across the desert, to the mount of the Daughter of Zion.

2.  they beg for help from the Jews

Isaiah 16:2-4 Like fluttering birds pushed from the nest, so are the women of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give us counsel, render a decision. Make your shadow like night– at high noon. Hide the fugitives, do not betray the refugees. 4 Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you; be their shelter from the destroyer.” The oppressor will come to an end, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the land.

B.  A Stunning Prophecy: A Ruler from the House of David

Isaiah 16:5 In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it– one from the house of David– one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness.

1.  Isaiah predicts the establishment of a throne that will rule in righteousness

2.  one from the house of David who will bring justice to the nations

3.  there at last is every refugee’s place of safety

4.  there at last can every terrified sinner find refuge…

5.  in the shadow of Christ’s eternal throne every terrified refugee can find eternal life, security… and no one will ever make them afraid again

6.  in the Old Covenant, no Moabite could ever enter the assembly of the Lord even to the tenth generation

7.  but in the New Covenant, every Gentile people will have a representative around the throne in heaven

8.  and only affliction, suffering, sadness, death… and even being a refugee… can bring proud sinners to the point at which they come to Christ

C.  Someday the Whole World Will Become Refugees

1.  the Lord will upend all nations and shake them out

Isaiah 13:13-14 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty, in the day of his burning anger. 14 Like a hunted gazelle, like sheep without a shepherd, each will return to his own people, each will flee to his native land.

Haggai 2:6-7 “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations

Isaiah 30:27-28 See, the Name of the LORD comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke; his lips are full of wrath, and his tongue is a consuming fire. 28 His breath is like a rushing torrent, rising up to the neck. He shakes the nations in the sieve of destruction

Hebrews 12:26-27 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken– that is, created things– so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

2.  the ground beneath their feet will be moved from its place

Hebrews 1:10-12 He also says, “In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 11 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. 12 You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”

3.  everyone will be moved from their earthly home to their final home

4.  nothing will remain of all they ever knew

5.  the people will be fleeing a terror unlike any they have ever seen in history: the wrath of God and of the Lamb, Jesus Christ

a.  a “refugee” is one fleeing something terrifying

b.  the Afghan refugees were fleeing the Russian army, the invading force that came with overwhelming power… including the terrifying Hind helicopter gunships that would appear out of nowhere and strafe columns of fleeing refugees

c.  at the end of history, during the tribulation, people will flee the pouring out of wrath

Revelation 6:12-17 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

The whole world will be fleeing the wrath of God at that point… refugees, every last one of them!!

d.  but the coming wrath is Judgment Day… and that terror should make refugees of us all

Isaiah 13:9 See, the day of the LORD is coming–a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger– to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.

Matthew 3:7 Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

The real issue is Judgment Day… at the wrath of God poured out not for a day but for eternity, in hell

Fleeing from the wrath to come should make refugees of us all!!

The question is always, “Where should we run? To whom can we flee?”

D.  Christ is the Only Refuge for Spiritual Refugees

1.  the wrath of God is coming for sins

2.  but the wrath of God has already come once before

a.  Christ suffered and died on the cross that He might propitiate God’s wrath

b.  Christ is the only refuge that will enable refugees to survive that coming terror

3.  Christ has promised to rescue us completely from that coming wrath

1 Thessalonians 1:10 wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead– Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

1 Thessalonians 5:9 God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

E.  Run for Your Lives!! Flee to Christ

At the beginning of Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian realizes that the city he’s living in is rightly called the City of Destruction, and that to survive he must leave behind everything he’s ever loved and known and go on pilgrimage. So he puts his fingers in his ears so he can’t hear the pleas of his unbelieving family and the taunts of his mocking neighbors. He then runs with all haste, fleeing the coming wrath… running toward Christ, running for his life!!

This world is going to be destroyed and everything in it

We ought to be living as Christian did in Pilgrim’s Progress… as on pilgrimage through hostile territory… with only occasional moments of refuge from Christian brothers and sisters who also know that we are in an alien world

Martyn Lloyd-Jones: the clearest mark of a Christian is found in how he looks at this world

V.   Applications

A.  Nothing Here is Eternal… So Flee Every Day to Christ

1.  look at your possessions differently

2.  look at your time here on earth as a refugee just passing through

Hebrews 11:13-16 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country– a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

3.  understand the constant need for Christ’s protection from the wrath to come

B.  Live a Holy Life Worthy of Our Future Home… Personal Holiness

2 Peter 3:10-13 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

1 Peter 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.

C.  Cry Out over our hardness of heart

1.  why do we not weep for the lost as Isaiah wept for the Moabite refugees?

2.  why do we not weep for the lost as William Carey for the heathen of India?

3.  why do we not weep for the lost as Andrew Bonar did for those tramping to and from the tavern on a Saturday night?

4.  simple answer: our hearts are hard

5.  cry out against the hardness of your own heart as I dry out for mine… until we show the kind of compassion Isaiah, Paul and Christ did

D.  Consider a Ministry to Refugees

1.  hundreds of thousands of Christians have fled for their lives all around the world, persecuted

2.  Persecution Project specializes in ministering to Christian refugees… especially in Darfur