Isaiah 22: 15-18

¹⁵ Thus says the Lord God of hosts,

“Come, go to this steward,
To Shebna, who is in charge of the royal household,
¹⁶ ‘What right do you have here,
And whom do you have here,
That you have hewn a tomb for yourself here,
You who hew a tomb on the height,
You who carve a resting place for yourself in the rock?
¹⁷ ‘Behold, the Lord is about to hurl you headlong, O man.
And He is about to grasp you firmly
¹⁸ And roll you tightly like a ball,
To be cast into a vast country;
There you will die
And there your splendid chariots will be,
You shame of your master’s house.’

There is more to Isaiah, Chapter 22. With the close of verse 14, we did not reach an end in the prophecy of Jerusalem but a pause. If the first 14 verses were the lead article, verse 15 might be the beginning of a sidebar. Isaiah has been speaking to all of Jerusalem when God touches him on the sleeve, figuratively, and says, "Come...." There is more to be said, and we discover more of the problems that plague Jerusalem through one of its servants.

Shebna is a "steward...in charge of the royal household." What my study Bible calls 'steward' the King James Version and Amplified Bible call 'treasurer'. We know, then, that Shebna handled money. Being in charge of the house is like being chief of staff or prime minister. He was someone with very high authority, as in not the king, but close.

We also know from Scripture that he was a scribe.

"When they called to the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, came out to them."

--II Kings 18:18

This is the time when King Hezekiah's intermediaries met the liaison from the Assyrian delegation that had parked itself outside Jerusalem's gates. Shebna and his fellow servants to the king called for calm at a time when Sennacherib's forces wished to rock the city walls down and scare all the people--which is exactly what the Assyrians did. At this point in time, Shebna appears to be fulfilling his role.

But, the prophecy from Chapter 22 describes a different time and situation, before the time Shebna faces Sennacherib's folks. In fact, we will learn next week that Shebna is demoted to scribe (Isaiah 22:19). In his higher position as steward, it seems Shebna ran into difficulty with his integrity. In verse 16, Isaiah questions him: Who are you? "You who hew a tomb...." [Say that 10 times fast!] Really, it's who do you think you are, Mister Big Stuff?! Shebna decided that he was worthy of a burial place fit for a king, quite literally. Do you remember reading about the fallen pompous kings of Sheol in Chapter 14? These verses sound so much like that.

"But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north.
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.'
Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol,
To the recesses of the pit."

--Isaiah 14: 13-15

Shebna arranged to have a tomb carved from rock. Not just any rock, but rock that was of considerable height. ("A tomb that may be Shebna’s, cut in the rock, has been excavated in the Kidron Valley."--Reformation Study Bible) This would have involved calling in some craftsman.

"So very nice and curious was it that it seemed rather to be the work of an engraver than of a mason or carpenter; and it seemed engraven in a rock, so firmly was it founded and so impregnable was it. “Nay, thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre,” as if he designed that his pomp should survive his funeral."

--Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible

 
"What right do you have here...?" Isaiah asks. Indeed! A man in the position that Shebna held should not have expected the benefits of the king for himself. We can make a reasonable guess that Shebna had a problem with pride. He may have been more caught up in his titles than he was in the work of guiding the people of Jerusalem. There is suggestion in commentary that he may have been writing to Sennacherib--corresponding with more than the regular payment of the tribute. Under such a Godly influence as Hezekiah, Shebna would have had the opportunity to have found great blessing in serving. The larger error, of course, was his disobedience to the God he was supposed to be honoring in his word and deed.

With verse 17, Shebna's fate is revealed in graphic description. I'm sorry to say that I'm stifling chuckles because I have these pictures of cartoons and mythical movies in which the "giant" scoops up the small trouble-in-its-way, balls him in its hands, and throws him off the screen. As a little kid, you don't know any better. I do know, now, though--this isn't funny. Isaiah is saying that Shebna thought himself so high that it would be the Lord's doing to hurl him down from the heights he thought he was at! He will be thrown "to a vast country." Unnamed, but not Judah. "There you will die...." You and the "splendid chariots" you somehow found time and funds to create for yourself with which to get around the city. No, not funny at all.

It is not known exactly what happened to Shebna, either. Perhaps he was taken by the Assyrians. Hezekiah may have tossed him out, as part of his reforming work. There's even a report that Shebna developed leprosy ("which was a disease commonly supposed to come from the immediate hand of God’s displeasure, particularly for the punishment of the proud, as in the case of Miriam and Uzziah"--Matthew Henry), and left the country in disgrace. "You shame of your master's house." Two masters, really.

Jerusalem's people were certainly at fault in their disobedience. The first of this chapter makes that clear to us. God grants us a look at the inner failings of a governmental system through one of its leaders. When we ask why Hezekiah couldn't pull off total reform of his city, of his country, perhaps this is another reason why? Even so....

"It is likewise a confirmation in general of the hand of divine Providence in all events of this kind, which to us seem contingent and to depend upon the wills and fancies of princes. Promotion comes not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south; but God is the Judge...."

--Matthew Henry

Out with the old, in with the new. Goodbye, Shebna! ....'Til next week!

Photo: adventure.howstuffworks.com

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Next week:  Isaiah 22: 19-21
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 22: 6-11

⁶ Elam took up the quiver
With the chariots, infantry and horsemen;
And Kir uncovered the shield.
⁷ Then your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
And the horsemen took up fixed positions at the gate.
⁸ And He removed the defense of Judah.
In that day you depended on the weapons of the house of the forest,
⁹ And you saw that the breaches
In the wall of the city of David were many;
And you collected the waters of the lower pool.
¹⁰ Then you counted the houses of Jerusalem
And tore down houses to fortify the wall.
¹¹ And you made a reservoir between the two walls
For the waters of the old pool.
But you did not depend on Him who made it,
Nor did you take into consideration Him who planned it long ago.

I suspect your questions as to a time period for Isaiah's latest prophecy to Judah continue with our passage today. Though we can see references to Assyrian King Sennacherib's invasion of the country and threat to Jerusalem, we can also see references to Jerusalem's demise at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. Let's keep reminding ourselves that, sometimes, God has multiple fulfillment of His word in mind. What we do receive in reading these verses is a continued look into the mindset of Jerusalem at this time.

With verse 6, we are re-introduced to Elam and Kir. We just looked at Elam in the last chapter of Isaiah, with the nation called to take on Babylon. ("The treacherous one still deals treacherously, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, Elam, lay siege, Media...." (Isaiah 21:2) Kir is another country east of Babylon which became home to the exiles of Damascus after Assyria invaded it and put its king (Rezin) to death. (II Kings 16:9; also, Amos 1:5) The countries have been called to gear up their armies and armament; "chariots" and "horsemen" (vs. 7) to take up position "at the gate."

Jerusalem was crafted with great care--under David's and Solomon's leadership--with multiple named gates marking entryway into the city, and high walls to keep out the enemies. But, with armies of horsemen with artillery literally at the gates, "in fixed positions," that was a huge threat to the city, on top of Assyria's already threatening reputation.

"The fenced cities of Judah were a covering to the country; but these, being taken by the army of the Assyrians, ceased to be a shelter, so that the whole country lay exposed to be plundered. The weakness of Judah, its nakedness, and inability to keep itself, now appeared more than ever; and thus the covering of Judah was discovered."
--Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible

In verse 8, Isaiah says, "And He removed the defense of Judah." 'Defense' is the same word Matthew Henry means when he says 'covering'. Whatever hedge of protection Jerusalem thought it had through its fortified city was about to be lifted. (Isaiah expounds on this in the next few verses.) Even though the prophet tells us who the enemy is at the door, note that the one who removes the hedge is God. In this, as Henry points out in quoting fellow Biblical commentator Dr. John Lightfoot, there is greater meaning to this verse:

"Dr. Lightfoot gives another sense of it, that by this distress into which Judah should be brought God would discover their covering (that is, uncloak their hypocrisy), would show all that was in their heart...."

--Matthew Henry 

Recall last week's post, the beginning of the chapter, in which the people were partying on their rooftops. The people of Jerusalem celebrated not being in harm's way while the rest of their country had fallen. There was a pervasive attitude of, "Hey, we're fine. We don't need help. We've got everything we need." This is what brought Isaiah to tears ("...Let me weep bitterly...," 21:4) and to a point of frustration, really: "But you did not depend on Him who made it, nor did you take into consideration Him who planned it long ago." (vs. 11) This is the greater uncovering, to me.

The people of Jerusalem had it wrong even though their king at the time, Hezekiah--for a change--had it right. We don't see this example enough in modern times, do we, when the one in charge honors God, follows His way, yet still can't quite steer all of his leadership nor his people in the same? Hezekiah took the Assyrians seriously, and he attacked the problem with a two-pronged approach: Turn to God and do what you have to do with the resources that He has provided you. So, what did Jerusalem have?

Verse 8 says, "...You depended on the weapons of the house of the forest." It's not capitalized, but "house of the forest" was an important part of Solomon's palace that he built in the days of his kingdom.

"He built the house of the forest of Lebanon; its length was 100 cubits and its width 50 cubits and its height 30 cubits, on four rows of cedar pillars with cedar beams on the pillars. He made 300 shields of beaten gold, using three minas of gold on each shield, and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon."

--I Kings 7:2 and 10:17

The elaborately built cedar weapons storehouse remained in Hezekiah's day. Indeed, Hezekiah added to the supply: "...and made weapons and shields in great number." (II Chronicles 32: 5) Jerusalem rested in the knowledge of a well-stocked armament. But, was that enough?

In verse 9, we read that there were breaches--"many"--in the city walls. Certainly, that is a perilous situation for an otherwise fortified city. But, here, too, Hezekiah stepped forward. "And he took courage and rebuilt all the wall that had been broken down and erected towers on it, and built another outside wall and strengthened the Millo [rampart or mound, part of the physical defensive landscape of northern Jerusalem (Smith's Bible Names Dictionary)] in the city of David...." Verse 10 further says that houses were torn down to make these improvements. Hezekiah did what was proper and necessary in his physical realm to make sure the city was safe. Jerusalem rested in the knowledge of a secured city wall. But, was that enough?

The end of verse 9 and verse 11 talk about Jerusalem's water supply. So significant is this fact that II Kings 20:20 documents Hezekiah's work here as part of his legacy: "Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and all his might, and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?" They are, and we will visit a verse from there momentarily. First, some background on Hezekiah's project from my study Bible. (To see where this is, look at the map of Jerusalem above and zoom in to the lower right-hand corner):

"A 1,700 foot long tunnel cut through solid rock (below Jerusalem) redirected water from the spring Gihon outside of Jerusalem (to the E) toward the S of Jerusalem into the pool of Siloam within the city to provide water in time of siege. The tunnel was a remarkable feat of engineering and boring skill, often 60 feet below the ground and large enough to walk through."

As part of his strategy, Hezekiah takes great pains to keep his people from thirsting while dehydrating the enemy.

"...He decided with his officers and his warriors to cut off the supply of water from the springs which were outside the city, and they helped him. So many people assembled and stopped up all the springs and the stream which flowed through the region, saying, 'Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?'"

--II Chronicles 32: 3 and 4

Jerusalem rested in the knowledge of a plentiful water supply. But, was that enough?

Hezekiah knew that even with all of the physical reinforcements, the preparations, the fortification of supplies, the strategic planning, that, no, all of this effort was not enough in and of itself. Was it necessary work? Absolutely! Time and time again in Scripture we read of how important it is to use that which God has given us, being material, time, talent, direction, gift. God expects us to use the investment He has made in us. (And if you need a reminder of the consequences of not doing so, read Jesus' "Parable of the Talents," Matthew 25: 14-28) He also expects, as the Steven Curtis Chapman song says, that "you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you...." (I Corinthians 10:31)

Hezekiah trusted God, sought His counsel and prayed in earnest--not for his own sake, but for the sake of the people of God. "With him [Sennacherib] is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.'" (II Chronicles 32:8a)

Though Jerusalem would be spared a raid by Sennacherib, the city will have forgotten the saving work of its king. (And even Hezekiah would have his moment of pride.) The city will have rested in the knowledge that its enough was enough.

"You looked and looked and looked, but you never looked to him who gave you this city, never once consulted the One who has long had plans for this city."

--the end of verse 11 from The Message

"They did not design his glory in what they did. They fortified Jerusalem because it was a rich city and their own houses were in it, not because it was the holy city and God’s house was in it. In all our cares for the defence of the church we must look more at God’s interest in it than at our own."

--Matthew Henry

You may party "like it's 1999," but there's more ahead, and it's not good. ...'Til next week!

Photo:  forums.totalwar.org ; http://www.generationword.com/jerusalem101/22-solomon-walls.html

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Next week:  Isaiah 22: 12-14
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 22: 1-5

 

The Valley of Vision

¹ The oracle concerning the valley of vision.

What is the matter with you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops?
² You who were full of noise,
You boisterous town, you exultant city;
Your slain were not slain with the sword,
Nor did they die in battle.
³ All your rulers have fled together,
And have been captured without the bow;
All of you who were found were taken captive together,

Though they had fled far away.
⁴ Therefore I say, “Turn your eyes away from me,
Let me weep bitterly,
Do not try to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
⁵ For the Lord God of hosts has a day of panic, subjugation and confusion

In the valley of vision,
A breaking down of walls
And a crying to the mountain.

With the completion of Chapter 22, we will officially be one-third of the way through Isaiah. WOW! Thinking I have learned so much, and also thinking, gee, there's a LOT more left to learn! It's all good. Praising God for His enlightenment over this study! Have to celebrate those mileposts when you reach them. This is a significant one on the journey.

Chapter 22 is called "The Valley of Vision" in my study Bible. Not a real place. But, after all the nations, towns and oases we have studied over these weeks, who's to say there wasn't a Valley of Vision? Bible scholars generally agree that this refers to Jerusalem--which received numerous visions, through prophets like Isaiah, as a chosen communication vehicle of God.

"Fitly enough is Jerusalem called a valley, for the mountains were round about it, and the land of Judah abounded with fruitful valleys. ...But most emphatically is it called a valley of vision because there God was known and his name was great, there the prophets were made acquainted with his mind by visions, and there the people saw the goings of their God and King in his sanctuary."

--Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible

This is not a note of encouragement to Jerusalem, however, as verse 1 begins (as so many other chapters we have read in Isaiah), "The oracle concerning...." The other nations have received their strong words. Jerusalem would now receive some of its own, through its home prophet. There is some question as to what time frame this prophecy references. The thwarted takeover (by God) by Sennacherib of Assyria is one possibility (II Kings 19). The destruction of the city by Babylon's Nebuchadnezzar is another. One can even make the case for an end-times double-fulfillment prophecy. What we can decide is that the actions of Jerusalem are not ignorable.

Finishing out verse 1, Isaiah asks the people why they are up on their rooftops. "What is the matter with you, now....?" If you are afraid of the enemy and you live in a valley, heading up to the roof would provide you with a better view of your surroundings. Judah had some looming enemies. Isaiah, in Chapter 15, makes reference to the people of Moab being on their housetops in a state of mourning:

"In their streets they have girded themselves with sackcloth; on their housetops and in their squares everyone is wailing, dissolved in tears."

--Isaiah 15:3

Another possibility, and, likely, Isaiah's point-of-view, is a popular choice even today--Party time! If this is post-Sennacherib's visit and the city was not destroyed, then it's time to celebrate. It's not that Isaiah doesn't understand the response of his people. Isaiah understands far too much more about the situation of his people to condone this response. "Your slain were not slain with the sword, nor did they die in battle," he says in verse 2. Jerusalem celebrated as if it contained a nation full of victorious soldiers who had endured a hard-fought battle. We know this isn't how the story went. [Do read II Kings 19 if you don't recall what we've looked at here over several chapters. King Hezekiah was on his knees in prayer for a reason!]

Isaiah's cry of "What is the matter with you?" might be on the same level as Jesus looking over Jerusalem centuries later. "When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, 'If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.'" (Luke 19: 41 and 42) Isaiah's deep sorrow over Jerusalem's lack of response to their Lord for His work in saving their city leads him to express himself outwardly ("Let me weep bitterly. Do not try to comfort me...," verse 4), as well as to give a picture of how their lack of faithfulness and honor to God will play out in their future.

"Her adversaries have become her masters,
Her enemies prosper;
For the Lord has caused her grief
Because of the multitude of her transgressions;
Her little ones have gone away
As captives before the adversary."

--Lamentations 1:5

Verse 3 may well refer to Jerusalem's takeover by the Babylonians, not too much further down the road. King Nebuchadnezzar started with the outer layers of Judah before coming in to take over the city completely, burning it and pillaging the temple. "All your rulers have fled together...." (vs. 3) In reading the account of King Neb's closing campaign in II Kings 25, you will discover that a famine has left Jerusalem without food. This causes Neb's men to rush in to take the city in its weakness and Judah's King Zedekiah to make a last-ditch run for cover.

"Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls beside the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans [Babylonians] were all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho and all his army was scattered from him. Then they captured the king and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and he passed sentence on him."

--II Kings 25: 4-6 (my addition)

Interestingly, The Message paraphrase entitles Isaiah 22 "A Country of Cowards." Even under King Zedekiah, folks were being taken into Babylonian captivity. The literal loss of leadership in Jerusalem (Zedekiah's sons were killed before him, ending the family reign, and the Babylonians speared out his eyes before carting him away) led to the complete collapse of the city, except for the most poor and the unskilled to labor in the fields. "All of you who were found were taken captive together...." (vs. 3)

Isaiah reiterates that a ceasing to the celebrations is warranted as "the Lord God of hosts has a day of panic, subjugation and confusion" in His plans. (vs. 5) The Amplified Bible says, "a day of discomfiture and of tumult, of treading down, of confusion and perplexity...." Always illuminating to do a word study (with definitions from the Online Etymology Dictionary). 

• 'Subjugation' means, most literally "to bring under a yoke." No doubt for the captives of Judah, the stories told for generations of freedom from the yoke of slavery of Egypt arose once again. Why do all those leaders and prophets, the songs and psalms, use words of remembrance? Because we forget! And forgetting some things--the most important thing!--is costly. Not recognizing God's provision, not to mention His authority and sovereignty, led Judah to experience that from which it had already come. 

[How Jesus' words should have carried such weight with the Jews when He spoke: "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:29 and 30) Do you not remember the days of Babylon?]

• 'Panic' means "of Pan." Do you remember Pan? I only remember him for his flute, and we still have pan flutes today (a series of multiple-length tubes banded together). He was the Greek god of woods and fields. What I had forgotten was probably the more important part of his nature--"the source of mysterious sounds that caused contagious, groundless fear in herds and crowds, or in people in lonely spots." Now you see where we get 'panic' from! If Judah had trusted in God, they would not have experienced the contagious, groundless fear that kept them herded together in their blind following of sin and misguided decisions.

• 'Confusion'--means to "overthrow, ruin," "to pour together," also "to confuse" (or confound--See this post for another picture of this.) There will not just be the sense of disorder; there will be perplexity--Why? Why us? Why this? Why God?! Why??!?....

Unfortunately for Jerusalem, Isaiah has only begun to tell of the city's future discomfiture.

The forces are gearing up against Jerusalem ...'Til next Wednesday!



Photo: www.urbanchristiannews.com
 

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Next week:  Isaiah 22: 6-11
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 20

Prophecy about Egypt and Ethiopia

¹ In the year that the commander came to Ashdod, 

when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him 

and he fought against Ashdod and captured it,  

² at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, 

“Go and loosen the sackcloth from your hips and take your shoes off your feet.” 

And he did so, going naked and barefoot.  

³ And the Lord said, “Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked 

and barefoot three years as a sign and token against Egypt and Cush, 

⁴ so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt 

and the exiles of Cush, young and old, 

naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.

⁵ Then they will be dismayed and ashamed 

because of Cush their hope and Egypt their boast. 

⁶ So the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, 

‘Behold, such is our hope, where we fled for help to be delivered 

from the king of Assyria; and we, how shall we escape?’”

In this short Chapter 20, and very clear (and fulfilled!) prophecy, we also see the unquestioned devotion that Isaiah the prophet had in serving God. There is a time-shift in this prophecy between the first two verses and the rest of the chapter. Isaiah has forthtold the word for three years, and, then, God explains the why of what Isaiah was doing in that time. The details of the prophecies that we have already read about Ethiopia and Egypt are not as defined, so this is a treat, of sorts.

Although this is a prophecy about Egypt and Ethiopia, or Cush, we need to remember that Isaiah was always a prophet to Judah. This message is for Judah as much as it is about those other nations. With verse 1, a timeframe is established, and we need some definitions as we move forward.

The city mentioned, Ashdod, is one of the largest Philistine cities. Philistia was a region located to the southwest of Judah, toward Egypt and Ethiopia. This verse contains the only mention by name of Sargon, the king of Assyria. There is some question among commentators as to which Sargon this refers (there were two) or if 'Sargon' doesn't in fact refer more generically to a king of Assyria. (Meaning, Sennacherib, the king we have mentioned often in posts here, might be the king referred to as Sargon in this passage.) Reading on in verse 1, Ashdod is taken by Assyria. History tells us that this indeed did happen in 711 B.C.

Recall that we have already looked at the reaction of Judah in response to the Assyrian presence. King Hezekiah's staff received a threatening visit from Assyrian commanders prior to their taking down Ashdod.

"Now behold, you rely on the staff of this crushed reed, even on Egypt; on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him."

--II Kings 18:21

The Assyrian commanders seemed to be presenting Godly counsel here in that Judah and Egypt were in an alliance. But the Assyrians did not have Godly intent in their hearts. We have come back to this passage in II Kings 18 quite often over the course of looking at these prophecies. Assyria wants to take Judah--however possible--but uses lies and taunts against Egypt and Ethiopia instead.

It is when Assyria moves into Ashdod that God moves in calling Isaiah to a new task. "Go...," He says to Isaiah, in verse 2, and, basically, change your outfit. God tells Isaiah to remove his sackcloth, which is a garment worn by mourners, but may indicate, simply, the uniform of a prophet. This is coming off along with any additional outer garments worn by Isaiah (though he likely would have kept on a basic inner garment, or loin cloth) and his shoes. He was now considered "naked and barefoot." God not only hands Isaiah the tough word about the impending trouble for Egypt and Ethiopia, but He tells Isaiah to live out the news through his wardrobe.

Wearing sackcloth in mourning and out of compassion was already not an easy task. Releasing the outer garments and removing sandals from feet already prone to too much dirt does not land one on the pages of Cosmopolitan Prophet. God wanted Isaiah to fully and completely demonstrate for Judah--as a physical, visible sign--the degree of humiliation and disgrace Egypt and Ethiopia would be brought at the hands of the Assyrians. The Reformation Study Bible suggests that his clothing was to resemble that of the captive going into exile. This is a picture of shame and devastation, for the "young and old." (vs. 4) Egypt, Ethiopia...to go down in defeat? Exiled to Assyria? It wasn't an option in the minds of those nations (nor in Judah's). But could you ignore the sign? [Sadly, yes. We know the outcome here, too....]

 

"Three years as a sign and token," God says of Isaiah's getup and ministry. There is also question of interpretation here. Was Isaiah "naked and barefoot" for all three years? That is one interpretation. Another might be that although he did dress that way for a time that it wasn't until three years following this period that people recognized to what the sign referred. Regardless, to me, it meant Isaiah really went the distance for God in trying to get His message to His people. What's the equivalent of being "naked and barefoot" today? If God called you to that, would you go? That's what we have to ask ourselves in the midst of this.

 

"This was a great hardship upon the prophet; it was a blemish to his reputation, and would expose him to contempt and ridicule; the boys in the streets would hoot at him, and those who sought occasion against him would say, The prophet is indeed a fool, and the spiritual man is mad, Hos. 9:7. It might likewise be a prejudice to his health; he was in danger of catching a cold, which might throw him into a fever, and cost him his life; but God bade him do it, that he might give a proof of his obedience to God in a most difficult command, and so shame the disobedience of his people to the most easy and reasonable precepts."

--Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible

"...'Behold, such is our hope....'" says the "inhabitants of this coastland," or Judah, in verse 5. Her strong, trusted allies are to be hauled off into captivity. The Amplified Bible puts verse 5 this way: "And they shall be dismayed and confounded because of Ethiopia their hope and expectation and Egypt their glory and boast." It is here that we see Judah's fatal error in her alliance with foreign nations. What looks good on paper doesn't always measure up, much less hold a candle, to having a plan from and relationship with Almighty God.

"Thus says the Lord, 'Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,' declares the Lord."

--Jeremiah 9: 23 and 24

Judah had not understood. Indeed, Esarhaddon, who became king of Assyria after Sargon II and Sennacherib, fulfilled this prophecy in 671, taking captives from Egypt and Ethiopia. "...How shall we escape?" Judah asks, in verse 6. Perhaps if Judah had had the revelation the church of Ephesus had received: "But I have this against you, that you have left your first love." (Revelation 2:4) Judah needed an alliance with and an allegiance to God.

"For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will."

--Hebrews 2: 1-4 (emphasis mine)

God had testified to His people--through signs and wonders--that His love for them was real and true, and that He was the strong One who would lead His people to salvation. But His people would remain wanting....

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, 
Stand in his strength alone;
The arm of flesh will fail you, 
Ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the gospel armor, 
Each piece put on with prayer;
Where duty calls or danger, 
Be never wanting there.

--"Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus," lyrics by George Duffield, Jr.   

 

God has more words for Babylon. Chapter 21 begins next week.  ...'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: www.apa.org 

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Next week:  Isaiah 21: 1-5
 
Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).