“Let mine outcasts dwell with thee Moab : be thou a convert to them from the face of the spoiler : for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land” (Isa. 16:4).
After the recent election in Lebanon in which Major General Fuad Chehab was elected to the position of president, successor to Camille Shamoun, events were quieting down. The presence of United States troops in that area undoubtedly lent a sense of expediency to conditions, which hurried along the voting. The new government is attempting in every way to organize itself and display to the world that their only intention is a deep and sincere desire for the betterment of Lebanon.
The state of affairs has been accepted so matter-of-factly by most of the citizens, that at the time this paper goes to press, U.S. Marines are beginning to pull out. It has been rumoured, however, that they are retreating only to their ships and might stay in the vicinity for an indefinite period of time.
World attention has been shifted to the situation in Jordan, where King Hussein sits on an extremely shaky throne. The King is so apprehensive about the possibility of a coup as experienced in her northern neighbour, that extreme care is being taken on every hand to prevent it.
There are several check points along the road between Amman and Jerusalem, where travellers are thoroughly searched for weapons. Hussein depends soley on his army for his very existence. In spite of the precautions taken by the government, it is commonly known that public sympathy lies with Nasser and the Arab confederacy. The king has been severely criticized by his citizens for allowing British occupation troops to land on Jordanian soil.
On a recent visit to Jordan by U.S. Presidential Envoy Robert D. Murphy, Hussein’s hope of American support was shattered. His government had hoped that the United States would render military aid to the distressed nation.
Murphy made it clear that no such military aid would be forthcoming. Hussein had also expected the United States not to officially recognise the new Iraqi government. But the U.S. had done just this immediately after Great Britain recognised it. With this possibility of military aid cut off. the Jordan government fears invasion by the United Arab Republic after withdrawal of British troops.
If the government does topple, it is expected that Israel and the Arabs will step in and fight over the pieces. Ben Gurion is determiner that Israel’s population be doubled and, in spite of denials, will undoubtedly make room for the expansion by pushing her borders eastward.
As we mentioned before in this column, from prophecies dealing with Israel in the last days, it seems that she is to be in complete possession of the city of Jerusalem before the advent of Christ. Jordan, at the present time. takes a very unnatural dip into Israel territory, and should the opportunity present itself, the Jews will no doubt push eastward.
A Time Magazine correspondent recently wrote about the current situation: “If the British should pull out of Jordan, and Hussein’s kingdom should fall into the hands of Nasserites, war could break out between Arabs and Jews over Jordan. Israel said long ago, it would not “look indifferently at the dismemberment of Jordan. In such a situation, Israel might strike for the west hank of the Jordan to give itself a more easily defended border.”
What will the outcome be ? Is Jordan’s destiny to be divided among the Arabs ? Although Jordan is assuredly anti-Jewish, she is still pro-Western, just as Israel is. Under extreme pressure and common fear, Jordan and Israel might be forced to fight on the same side. Israel, under any circumstances, would much rather see Jordan in possession of that area than Nasserites, and would be expected to fight to insure it.
What does prophecy have to say about Jordan in the latter days? Is she mentioned at all ? At the beginning of this article is a quotation from the 16th chapter of Isaiah, where the prophet addresses Moab, and instructs her to be a place of hiding for His outcasts. Could Jordan be the Moab referred to by Isaiah, or perhaps Great Britain in occupation of this land in the last days fills the role. Some very definite facts are set forth in the Scriptures concerning Moab in the time of the end during Jacob’s trouble, which might answer the dilemma.
According to Daniel 11:41 Moab is to escape the hand of the king of the north as he drives southward into the land of Egypt. Why has God decreed that she should escape? Can it be that Russia has no interest there ? Or perhaps. British and American concentration of troops and arms in that area make it invulnerable to attack.
Christadelphians have long contended that Britain would be in possession of this area in the last days, and thus fulfill this role. It is almost certain that whoever it is, they are to befriend the Jews in the time of their desperate fight for survival.
Moab, that area now occupied by Jordan, is to escape for a definite reason, although Daniel does not at this point divulge what that reason is. I believe that reason is clearly set forth in the 16th chapter of Isaiah, verses 1-5, where the prophet describes some of the details of Jacob’s deliverance from the northern horde: “Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion. For it shall be that as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon. Take counsel, execute judgment ; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday ; hide the outcasts : betray not him that wandereth. Let mine outcast dwell with thee, Moab : be thou a convert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land. And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.”
The sending of the “lamb” to the ruler of the land speaks of an offering of peace. It is sent to the ruler who sits on the throne of David in the mount of the Daughter of Zion. There is no mistaking the meaning here. The one sitting on the throne in truth, hasting judgment and righteousness is none other than Israel’s Messiah. Jesus. He is engaged in the dispersing of the spoiler of Israel, and the destruction of her enemies.
Moab, her latter day counterpart, is destined to be a place of refuge of those Jews, who as wandering birds cast out of the nests, seek safety from the hand of the spoiler. The identification of this spoiler is not difficult, since the same term is used elsewhere of Israel’s latter-day enemy in Ezekiel 38:10-12; “. . . thou shalt think an evil thought . . . I will go up to the land of unwalled villages . . . to take a spoil.” Isaiah seems to depict the same period of time, when in the midst of Israel’s slaughter, Christ appears to pour out his wrath on the Gogian host. The distraught Jews, fleeing the face of the spoiler, find a place of hiding in Moab or the Jordan region until the indignation of the Lord is past.
Regardless of immediate developments, these prophecies seem to indicate that the area to the east and south of Israel is to be in the hands of a friendly nation when Russia meets her end at the hand of the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One