SCRIPTURE: ISAIAH 20
A PROPHECY AGAINST EGYPT AND CUSH (vs. 1-6)
Sargon, the king of Assyria sent a commander to attack and capture Ashdod. The Lord spoke through Isaiah saying: “Take off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet.”. And he did so, going around stripped and barefoot. Then, the Lord said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for 3 years, the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared – to Egypt’s shame. (vs. 2-4). Those who trusted in Cush and Egypt will realize that their seeking help from them were useless. They could not escape from Assyria.
THOUGHTS:
Isaiah reminded Judah that they should not depend on foreign alliance to protect them. God told Isaiah to walk naked for 3 years was a humiliating experience. God was using Isaiah to demonstrate the humiliation the Egypt and Ethiopia would experience in the hands of the Assyrians. But the purpose of the message was for Judah not to put their trust in foreign government. Otherwise, they would experience this kind of shame and humiliations from their captors.
God asked Isaiah to do something that seemed shameful and illogical. Sometimes God will also ask us to do things we don’t understand. We must obey God in complete faith.