Isaiah Chapter 20
“This can’t be right!”
“Say that again.”
“Is this really from the mouth of God?”
“Shocking” “Unbelievable” …
Those who read verses 2 and 3 may similarly be taken aback by God’s instruction to Isaiah. How can such a degrading and obscene action be initiated? What more from God who is most pure and holy.
Before we go off tangent and in disgust perceive the things pertaining to God in a negative light, let us calmly reexamine the passage to attain a truer and accurate depiction of what is happening in this chapter.
God instructed Isaiah to remove his sackcloth and sandals, so that Isaiah bears the appearance of a slave. As explained by some bible commentators, this refers to the removal of one’s outer garments, leaving only one’s inner garments (which is akin to our inner or underwear). The purpose of adopting the appearance of a slave is to send a strong message to the people of God, that the king of Assyria will lead the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives. And so it will be great folly for the Israelites to rest their trust on such allies and not on the Almighty God who rules over all. The people of God perceive only with their physical eye and stand in awe of the might of the Egyptians, often turning to them for deliverance and answers to their problems. In our daily lives, do we similarly build our trust and reliance on others in the world rather than on God? Let us be the wise builder who builds his house on solid rock rather than on sinking sand.
It might also be good for us to note the manner that we perceive and make interpretation of what we have read. When we read about what Isaiah did, we probably failed to take note of the social context of those times, but rather making judgements with our current living standards and norms. We need to know the background, culture, living standards and practices of the people in those times. It is not uncommon to see slaves, it is not uncommon to see bare bodied people in the neighborhood, with scant to eat and wear. On this note, we may also recall that oftentimes, we jump to conclusions when we fail to rightly perceive the situation, always basing our judgement only on what we see and hear, thereby resulting in making wrong judgements, unjust and unwise decisions as well as erroneous and uncalled for comments. As the saying goes, there is more than meets the eye. Let us dispense making any judgement call before giving due diligence to understand the situation.
Another important lesson to reflect on is the service attitude of Isaiah. The task that God required of him is a truly demanding and demeaning. It is not a task that is to be done just for a moment, a day or a week. For 3 years, and likely throughout the land, Isaiah is to carry out this instruction of the Lord. This truly requires a servant of God to have the mental tenacity to carry out the work faithfully to its completion, the humility to lower oneself in submissiveness to God, not just paying lip service but with a willing heart, complete faith and trust in the will of the Lord, no questions asked or room for bargaining. The Lord knows best.
“God’s way is the best way,
God’s way is the right way,
I’ll trust in Him alway,
He knoweth the best”
Hymn 402
May the Lord guide us and help us in our unbelief.
