January 29, 2022
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Reading along with us in Isaiah? Here’s today’s reading:
Isaiah 3 (NIV)
Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah
1 See now, the Lord,
the Lord Almighty,
is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah
both supply and support:
all supplies of food and all supplies of water,
2 the hero and the warrior,
the judge and the prophet,
the diviner and the elder,
3 the captain of fifty and the man of rank,
Isaiah 3
Isaiah 1-3
When Isaiah talks about children being rulers as part of God’s judgement it is reflective of what we just read in 2 Kings. Bad ruler, after bad ruler and it occurring to me that these were times where God’s judgement is allowing the wickedness of our desires to prevail. Allowing our own sin and its repercussions to happen in essence is the judgment. Isaiah says it so well when he says “Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves.” and the comparison to Sodom and Gomorrah just reminds us how obvious and flamboyant their sin was….much like today where sin is flaunted like something to be proud of rather ashamed and in need of repentance.
Judah is in decline spiritually even though it has not been reflected yet in practical, materialistic terms. In fact just the opposite is true, there is prosperity. But God warns the people through Isaiah that this condition will only last so long as long as they continue to flaunt evil and worship the gods. The problem starts with the leaders and filters down to the people. How desperate and deceived things become when children or any person with possession is chosen as leader. So there will come a time where wealth and material things will mean nothing because they will be destroyed or looted and the the judgement of God will be upon them. It is helpful to know 2 things in the midst of this: that before God brings the judgement, He is warning the people and the righteous will be kept safe in the midst of all the trouble.
Judah is haughty and proud of their prosperity. God will take it away.
For Jerusalem stumbled,
And Judah is fallen,
Because their tongue and their doings
Are against the Lord,
To provoke the eyes of His glory.
9 The look on their countenance witnesses against them,
And they declare their sin as Sodom;
They do not hide it.
Woe to their soul!
For they have brought evil upon themselves.
10 “Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them,
For they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
11 Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
For the reward of his hands shall be given him.
12 As for My people, children are their oppressors,
And women rule over them.
O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err,
And destroy the way of your paths.”
Isaiah 3