“The oracle concerning Moab. Surely in a night Ar of Moab is devastated and ruined. Surely in a night Kir of Moab is devastated and ruined.” (Isaiah 15:1)

God revealed in Isaiah 15 His impending judgment on the nation of Moab, a neighbor of Israel, and He specifically mentioned Ar and Kir. “Kir is usually identified with the capital of Moab, which was in the district of Ar.” (Smith, NAC)  The prophet foretold that one day Kir would be a strong, thriving city, the capital of a region or country — and the next, it would be gone: ruined “in a night.”

Those words “in a night” are key. They teach us that things can change suddenly. One day, a city can thrive, but overnight, it can be destroyed.  We need to realize that things can change quite suddenly. Many of us take comfort in the routine, and we can be lulled into a false sense of security, and complacency.  Isaiah later warned that we should not be like those who say that “tomorrow will be like today, only more so.” (56:12)  Don’t take things for granted.  Homes can be burned, stocks may plunge, successes can be reversed, safety compromised, health lost — and all in a moment, even “in a night”.

The lesson is not that we are to constantly dwell in a morbid state, or continually look over our shoulder, waiting for disaster to happen.  Rather it is a reminder not to put our trust in temporal things, but in God, who holds what is to us an uncertain future, in His hands.  All “these things” will perish, if not this night, in another.  Make sure that your confidence and hope are in Him, not in someone or some thing that can be taken away “in a night.”