Lesson 3

Isaiah 3 and 4

The judgment of God upon His people continues in our current study.  The amazing thing is that sin has not changed and we seem determined to repeat the failures of the past with little regard to what history should have taught us.  For example, today Israel is backed into a small portion of the land God has given to her as a nation.  The pressure of the world community is now at work to reduce the borders of the sovereign state of Israel into a position that defense will become even more difficult.  Isaiah’s words reach out to those who claim to be part of the Christian community.  In chapter 3:9 we read. “They declare their sin like Sodom; they hide it not.  Woe unto their soul.” Another example is three and one-half million-member Episcopal Church who has just approved its first openly gay bishop.  Sin brought the national disintegration of Jerusalem and Judah in Isaiah’s Day and will do the same if allowed to go unchecked in our day.

 This portion of Gods Word makes clear that God brought judgment down on Israel for her sin in the form of weakening the government and stripping away what people put their trust in for daily life.  The support system of the nation would disintegrate to the point that disaster strikes even the smallest members of society.  In Isaiah 3:4-5 the result of the collapse of authority brings out the young, the inexperienced and the lawless thugs who disrespect and defy all authority.  One only has to look at the news on T V of Liberia, which is a living picture of what Isaiah is talking about.  To chart a course that is out of the will of God will ultimately bring disaster.  The good news is that in Isaiah 3:10-12 hope is held out that God will protect those who love and honor Him in the most trying of circumstances.

In building his case for the progression of sin in bringing about the downfall of a society, Isaiah is a most courageous prophet. After denouncing men in leadership he points out the sins of the proud and pampered women of Jerusalem.  In Isaiah 3:16 to 4:1, he points out twenty-one items of outward self-indulgence that are a visible sign of their inner emptiness.  J. B. Phillips paraphrases verse 16, “walking with their noses in the air and flirting with their eyes.”  Add to these ankles bracelets and nose rings of verses 18 and 21 which give a picture of great concern to outward personal adornment. I wonder if the women speakers of today who fly around our country and address great conventions of women have failed to teach the whole counsel of God.  A true prophet of God must have courage in pointing out sin that leads to the downfall of a nation and destroys the spirituality of the child of God.

Verse one of Isaiah 4 belongs to chapter 3 and simply points out that war leads to the death of so many men that there are not enough males to be a part of normal family unit.  War devastates a nation and its people as history has proven.  One hundred years after Isaiah pleads with his people this judgment comes when Israel is carried off to Babylon.  It also speaks of a future time, which is not far off, when the anti-Christ will make war once more in the Middle East, ending with the battle of Armageddon.  This, of course, results in the Messiah of Israel setting up His kingdom, for He is the branch of the Lord referred to in Isaiah 4:2.

How important it is to keep in mind that even in the darkest hour or faced with severe judgment, God’s grace is always near.  The rest of Isaiah 4 gives us a message with the glorious vision of Israel’s redemption.  This redemption will come through, “the branch of the Lord,” in Hebrew “Isemah Jehovah.”  When used with Jehovah or David, it has a Messianic connotation and refers to the Messianic King.  The day is not far off when a holy remnant will live to enjoy the glorious days of the Messiah’s reign over all the earth from Jerusalem.  In the mists of trouble, never lose sight of what God has promised ahead.  In the last 1000 days, 1,000 Jewish people have died in Israel.  The child of God of today needs to wake up and reach out to those who are suffering.  Paul challenges the Church in Romans 1:16, “to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.”  As a Christian are you seeing to it your Church gives 10% to Jewish missions and relief efforts?  What happened to the simple command from God, “to the Jew first”?  We are not far from the day when the Lord will come for His Bride, the Church; until then we must be faithful to our Heavenly calling.  The Kingdom of God on earth is coming, and the land of Israel will be beautiful and glorious.  To our Jewish friends, never lose hope and to every child of God, be a witness and testimony to the saving Grace of God through the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the true branch of the Lord.