Isa 15:5 My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.

In Isaiah 15, God caused the prophet Isaiah to write a burden concerning Moab (v.1). A burden is a heavy load. What was the load? Generally in the Old Testament, it refers to a Divine denunciation. Bro Homer Hailey in his commentary on Isaiah wrote: “The word carries the idea of a weighty or weighty pronouncement of doom from Jehovah” (A Commentary On Isaiah, page 131). Indeed, the prophecy concerning Moab contains a "burden" of woe to that city. Did the prophet find joy in condemning a heathen city? Was he glad Jehovah was going to destroy Moab? Read verse 5: “My heart shall cry out for Moab.” Isaiah’s heart cried out for Moab. Preachers, remember this one thing: In denouncing the wrath of God against sinners, do it with tender sorrow and not with condemning spirit of arrogance. How did Paul tell his countrymen about their sins and the condemnation that will follow them? He said: “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved” (Romans 10:1). He had no desire that his kinsmen should be destroyed. Instead, he wished their welfare, and continued to pray for them that they might return to God. He also said: “I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (Romans 9:2, 3). Paul begged that he himself should rather die than that the children of Israel should be destroyed. Paul loved whom he had to correct for their sins. What about Christ? The tenderness of Christ is without a parallel in the history of man. In Matthew 23, we read a long list of condemnation Christ made to the Scribes and Pharisees. How did He feel? He said: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matthew 23:37). Christ wept over the sin city and wished they could just come under His wings. Isaiah had to preach to a sinful Moab and deliver a message of doom to them. Yet, his heart cried out for Moab because, though they were enemies to Israel, they were their fellow-creatures. Brethren, we can’t save the world by having a holier than thou attitude. It therefore becomes us, as God's ministers, to be of a tender spirit, not to desire the woeful day, but to be like our Master, who wept over Jerusalem even when He gave her up to ruin. Without compassion for lost souls, we can never save the world. Do you love the sinners? Our Lord Jesus was filled with compassion for the lost souls: “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). He would commune with them and eat with them. The prideful Pharisees were not so and had no compassion for the sinners that they asked Christ’s disciples this question: “Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?” (Matthew 9:11). The Pharisees had a holier-than-thou attitude; they hated the sinners and their sins. Christ didn’t love the sins committed by the sinners. But, He loved them to want to help them to change and be saved. His heart cried out for their salvation. Let us learn from Christ, Paul and Isaiah: Preach about sin but love the sinners.