What does Isaiah 16:7 mean?

Judah's response to Moab's request for shelter seems to be a direct "no" (Isaiah 16:6). This answer seems like a response to the Moabite arrogance and audacity demonstrated before the attacks came and laid waste to their cities. It is the Lord who is bringing this judgment in the first place. The Moabites' destroyers were likely the Assyrians.

The prophet now bluntly says to let Moab worry about Moab's hardship: they can cry for themselves. Separately, others can mourn for the tragedy and loss being inflicted. Taken out of context, the command to grieve the loss of raisin cakes seems absurd. How could food compare to the loss of life and homes and all the displaced refugees? On the other hand, to be overwhelmed by a sense of loss for common comforts is often the trigger which opens the floodgate of mourning. Raisin cakes were small blocks of pressed fruit commonly eaten in the surrounding nations.

The notable absence of raisin cakes fits perfectly with the metaphor of the grape vines Isaiah describes in the following verses (Isaiah 16:8–10).