[b]ISAIAH[\b]
Chapter 3:1-7


[b]Isaiah3:1-7[\b]

quote:

"For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support, the whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water; 2 The mighty man and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, 3 The captain of fifty and the honorable man, the counselor and the expert artisan, and the skillful enchanter. 4 And I will make mere lads their princes, and capricious children will rule over them, 5 And the people will be oppressed, each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; the youth will storm against the elder and the inferior against the honorable. 6 When a man lays hold of his brother in his father's house, saying, 'You have a cloak, you shall be our ruler, and these ruins will be under your charge,' 7 He will protest on that day, saying, 'I will not be your healer, for in my house there is neither bread nor cloak; you should not appoint me ruler of the people.'"

Chapter 3 is a more specific judgment of Judah. The destruction of Judah began in Jerusalem with the removal of food and water, the very basics of life. Every kind of support would be removed. The result of a lack of godly leaders was a loss of order in their society. Amos 8:11 says a famine of hearing the words of the Lord through the lack of prophets was even more serious than a famine of food and water. One of the oppressed sectors of society were the aged. Leviticus 19:32 tells us that respect for the elderly goes hand in hand with the fear of the Lord: "Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD."

Things would deteriorate so much that the people looked for even small appearances of success to qualify a man for a position of leadership. This included those who merely had several changes of clothing, because this was a sign of wealth. Conditions became so intolerable, rather than thinking it prestigious, no one even desired a position of authority.

The eventual fulfillment of this prophecy is found in II Kings 24:14 with Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, taking Judah captive. "Then he led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land."

Can we make a comparison of Judah's leaders and today's leaders and society? Wealth does not qualify one for a position of authority. What is of most importance is their knowledge of God, experience and righteous values. Do we as a nation have a lack of hearing the words of the Lord? God's judgment of Judah gives us all the more reason to pray for those who hold positions of authority. Apart from the repentance of a nation and the mercy of God, any nation could easily fall under judgment of the Lord God of Hosts, who holds the rise and fall of kingdoms in His hands. It is He that will be exalted among the nations! Let us submit even more to the leadership of our God and never fail to exalt Him in our hearts.