September 12, 2019

Isaiah 3:1-7


Rachel Workman: The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    will take away from Jerusalem and Judah
everything they depend on:
    every bit of bread
    and every drop of water,
all their heroes and soldiers,

    judges and prophets,
    fortune-tellers and elders,
army officers and high officials,
    advisers, skilled sorcerers, and astrologers.



I will make boys their leaders,
    and toddlers their rulers.
People will oppress each other—

    man against man,
    neighbor against neighbor.
Young people will insult their elders,
    and vulgar people will sneer at the honorable.



In those days a man will say to his brother,
“Since you have a coat, you be our leader!
    Take charge of this heap of ruins!”
But he will reply,

    “No! I can’t help.
I don’t have any extra food or clothes.
    Don’t put me in charge!”




Wow, I can't help but relate this to American right now. If God wants our attention I believe he's going to have to do the same thing to us. Take everything we depend on away from us.



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John Burnett:  For behold, the Lord God of hosts
    is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah
support and supply,[a]
    all support of bread,
    and all support of water;
the mighty man and the soldier,
    the judge and the prophet,
    the diviner and the elder,
the captain of fifty
    and the man of rank,
the counselor and the skillful magician
    and the expert in charms.
And I will make boys their princes,
    and infants[b] shall rule over them.
And the people will oppress one another,
    every one his fellow
    and every one his neighbor;
the youth will be insolent to the elder,
    and the despised to the honorable.



For a man will take hold of his brother
    in the house of his father, saying:
“You have a cloak;
    you shall be our leader,
and this heap of ruins
    shall be under your rule”;
in that day he will speak out, saying:
“I will not be a healer;[c]
    in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
you shall not make me
    leader of the people.” 
Chapter 2 talked of future latter days judgement but here, Isaiah is talking of judgement at that time.  One of the interesting consequences for Israel’s sin is the rulers God gives them at this time.  All of the the rulers acted like children and none of them were over 25 years old.  Mannaseh was 12 and Josiah was 8 when they began to reign.  Verse 5 shows how the child rulers treated the elderly and everyone was oppressed by their neighbor so basically everyone was being tattle tellers on each other.  Love your neighbor as yourself was out the window.



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Tomorrow’s reading for Isaiah 3:8-15




For Jerusalem will stumble,
    and Judah will fall,
because they speak out against the Lord and refuse to obey him.
    They provoke him to his face.
The very look on their faces gives them away.

    They display their sin like the people of Sodom
    and don’t even try to hide it.
They are doomed!
    They have brought destruction upon themselves.



10 Tell the godly that all will be well for them.
    They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned!
11 But the wicked are doomed,

    for they will get exactly what they deserve.



12 Childish leaders oppress my people,
    and women rule over them.
O my people, your leaders mislead you;
    they send you down the wrong road.



13 The Lord takes his place in court
    and presents his case against his people.[a]
14 The Lord comes forward to pronounce judgment

    on the elders and rulers of his people:
“You have ruined Israel, my vineyard.
    Your houses are filled with things stolen from the poor.
15 How dare you crush my people,
    grinding the faces of the poor into the dust?”
    demands the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies

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