How Long

Isaiah 16:14 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.”

With all the talk of when to end the ‘stay at home’ orders around the country and the world, timing seems to be important. And of course we all want to know when life will get back to normal. We all want to know the date things will begin again.

But like so many things in life, the precise timing isn’t known. I think the safe bet is to bet on every date available, that way you can say you predicted it correctly. But rarely in life do we have an exact date. Think of all those graduations that were cancelled. All those proms. All those sporting events. All those reunions and anniversaries.

Dates were important in the ancient world as well. They were people with many of the exact same feelings and struggles we have. They wanted to know how long their misery would last. They wanted to know when life would get back to normal.

So part of what Isaiah said was directed toward the nations who were Israel’s enemies, their historic foes. The LORD was concerned for their eternity as well. He wanted them to know Him as LORD. His plan included their reconciliation.

So the LORD predicts, no more than predicts, determines that one of the foes, Moab, would know the reality of the LORD. Three years were put on the countdown clock. Precisely three years. He did this as a sign to all who would see that He was in charge of the timing of these events. He puts Himself and his reputation on the line.

Notice he uses the three years “as a servant bound by contract” would count them. That is pretty exact. I know when I have been under contract, I counted the days down until it was over. In the military we had Excel spreadsheets that calculated the exact moment we would be released.

So next time you are thinking about the end date remember, the LORD hasn’t spoken on this subject yet, at least not that I know of. So all the dates are fluid. But if the LORD does speak, you can know for certain. Until then, certain just doesn’t exist apart from Him.