Though the Israelites were related to the Moabites and Ammonites through Lot, a nephew of Abraham, their relations had always been bitter (cf. Num. 22:2–24:25; Deut. 23:3–6; Judg. 3:12–30; 1 Samuel 11; 2 Sam. 8:2; 10:1–19). The policy of Moab and Ammon was to ridicule Judah by scoffing at her precarious situation. When Judah needed political and military support against the Assyrians, Moab and Ammon did not come to her rescue but were intent on protecting their own delicate situation. Their concern for self-preservation and their offensive relations with Judah are the subject of the prophetic oracle of judgment. Yahweh has “heard the insults of Moab and the taunts of the Ammonites” (2:8). Even when God’s people fall short of what he expects, he remains loyal to his covenant. The taunting,…