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The Bible Breakdown
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The Bible Breakdown
Isaiah 20: Isaiah is Naked
What if following an unusual command could convey a crucial message of judgment and repentance? Join us as we unpack the curious tale from Isaiah, chapter 20, where the prophet Isaiah was instructed by God to walk naked and barefoot. This bold and surprising act signified the impending defeat of Egypt and Ethiopia by Assyria, offering a vivid reminder of the consequences of opposing divine will. Through this discussion, we explore the profound ways in which God's messages were communicated, often using unique and unexpected methods to capture the attention of His people.
Shifting gears, we turn our focus towards gratitude and the importance of appreciating the everyday blessings we might overlook. By examining our own challenges in light of those facing greater hardships, we find inspiration to adopt a grateful perspective, especially for the simple blessings like our health and clothing. We also draw strength from Isaiah 12:2, which encourages us to trust in God's grace and celebrate the victories of faith. Through a collective moment of prayer, we express gratitude for the grace that shields us from more difficult trials, urging listeners to acknowledge and cherish their own life blessings.
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The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Hello everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today. Isaiah, chapter 20, and I just got to tell you today's title is Isaiah is Naked. All I can tell you, isaiah is naked. That includes his feet. He's going to walk around for an extended period of time in the naked, with no shoes on as well, which is part of being in the naked. Listen, we're just going to have to read this and just let it soak for a while. Okay, let's get into God's Word, but before we do that, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share, subscribe to YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you're leaving us a five-star review on the podcast. It really does help, especially when we're reading chapters like this. And, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast by also going to the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook. If you notice, I just said it twice because I'm so messed up about this chapter. So, if you don't mind, before I say anything else silly, open up your Bibles with me to Isaiah, chapter 20. And can I just take a breather on this one? I mean, here's the thing. First of all, let me kind of catch you up a little bit, if you've been with us so far in Isaiah. Yes, we're just going to jump right into this. Here we go.
Speaker 1:Isaiah was written by a prophet, and his whole goal, the theme of the book of Isaiah, is man. God is our salvation and he is talking to this nation that is on the brink of being overrun by their enemies. God keeps telling the nation of Israel I've got a big idea for you and I know you've got armies called Tyre and Ethiopia and Egypt and Assyria, babylon. You're surrounded by enemies, but I've got a big idea for you and I've got judgment coming for them. But I need you to return to me. And so, over and over again, he's just pleading with them and he's also casting judgment on all these other nations. Right, and it's said in what is called apocalyptic literature, and apocalyptic literature is a genre, like you know how, you know, like in English, we have nonfiction, we have fiction, we have fantasy, we have science fiction. These are genres. Well, apocalyptic literature is a genre. It's a way for God to say things, but he says it using a lot of imagery, a lot of symbols.
Speaker 1:Well, I don't know this, but I wonder if God got some of these poor prophets to do some funny stuff just to kind of give us a little bit of a break. Because if you've been listening or watching this as we've been reading along, this has been heavy. Just a whole lot of just man. God's bringing judgment. He really needs you to repent and we're not done with that. We're going to get into some more where God is going to be calling for these nations to repent. It's heavy stuff, but tucked right in here in Isaiah chapter 20, it's just poor Isaiah, right. But I mean, here's the thing I have noticed is God doesn't make people weird. People are weird before they find God. It's just after they find God they are weird and they have the joy of the Lord as well. Isaiah must have been a lot of fun to be around because he's just willing to do whatever, right. So let's read this and let's see if we can figure out exactly what God would say to us today, and I guarantee you he's not asking for us to follow this guy's footsteps. You ready? Here we go.
Speaker 1:Isaiah 20, verse 1. This is a message about Egypt and Ethiopia. Here we go. Verse 1 says this In the year when King Sargon of Assyria sent his commander-in-chief to capture the Philistine city of Ashdod, the Lord said to Isaiah, the son of Amoz, you ready? Take off the burlap you have been wearing and remove your sandals. Isaiah did what he was told and walked around naked and barefoot. Then the Lord said my servant, isaiah, has been walking around naked and barefoot. Look at this. For the last three years way the Egyptians and the Ethiopians as prisoners. He will make them walk naked and barefoot, both young and old, their buttocks bared, to the shame of Egypt. Then the Philistines will be thrown into panic and they counted on the powerful power of Ethiopia and boasted of their allies in Egypt. They will say If this can happen to Egypt, what chance do we have? We are counting on Egypt to protect us from the king of Assyria.
Speaker 1:So here's the thing. When I first started reading this and I was looking at this, I was thinking okay, naked, maybe that means you know he didn't have a coat on. No, no, it's talking about someone's behind bare. Does that mean then that Isaiah? Okay, imagine you are passing Isaiah down the street and Isaiah is in the naked and you ask dear old Izzy, hey, izzy, son of Amoz, what are you doing? The Lord told me to. I don't even want to.
Speaker 1:The Lord said I must walk around naked. Dude, you don't have any shoes on either. Well, yeah, I'm in the naked. You know Well why God told me to. Why did God tell you to?
Speaker 1:Well, this is an example of what God is going to do to Ethiopia and then Egypt is going to look, or rather, excuse me, he's going to do it to Egypt and then Ethiopia is going to look and he's going to say, hey, if God can do that to Egypt, I don't want any part of this.
Speaker 1:Well, I guarantee you that's going to get some attention. So Isaiah must have been a whole lot of fun to be around, not when he was naked, when he was dressed, because Joker was up to do anything. God, you want me to go around naked? Sure thing, let's do it. So let's look at this. What example was God trying to? Choose or not choose, but trying to show us? He was trying to show us that there was a challenge to place our trust in God, not in anything else, because what this was intended to do was to show the nation of Ethiopia that God can reach anybody. God can do what he wants to who he wants when he wants to do it.
Speaker 1:Therefore, if God is showing mercy to someone right now or someone, let me say it another way if God has allowed someone not to fall yet, it's because of his mercy, because at any moment he could take that away. Therefore, don't fear the person. Fear and honor God who is giving them that amount of grace. Can I tell you, a lot of times, when we look at people in our life and we see people that are not being judged the way we think they should be, evil is allowed to prosper for a season. We don't need to envy that person. We need to fear the God who is giving them grace and realize that at any time God could remove what protection he has on them. And then also, when we see people judged according to their actions, we shouldn't look at them with judgment, but we should look at them with fear and go God, if not for your grace, that could be me.
Speaker 1:So the lesson today is first of all, don't walk around naked for three years. The second one is when we see the judgment of God fall on people, it is not a time for us to be feel like we're better than, or to feel like they've deserved it any of that. Rather, it should be. God, if not for your grace, that would be me. What a wonderful idea it would be today if you took a moment, not in any way to glory in the failure of others, but to think about for a moment.
Speaker 1:Maybe, if you're married and maybe you're not feeling the love right now, think about all the couples around you that are no longer married, and it is in no way to judge them or to feel like you're better than them, but to say, if not for the grace of God, that could have been us. Yeah, we may not be feeling the love right now, but you know what? We're still here. What about right now if you have kids in your life and your kids are causing you trouble? They're hard, difficult season. Not in any way does it make you better than anybody else. But think about couples in your life right now who don't have any kids, or maybe they're empty nesters now and they missed that season. God, if not for your grace, that's where we would be.
Speaker 1:Or maybe, right now, if there's something about your health that you don't like, maybe you wish you weighed a few less pounds, or you wish you weighed a few more pounds or maybe there's some nagging things that you're having to deal with. It doesn't make you any better than anybody else, but think about somebody who's got 10 times more issues, someone who's dealing with other types of health issues you don't deal with and go, god, if not for your grace, that's where I would be. What a wonderful opportunity to thank God, number one, that you have not been asked to go clotheless for three years, and number two, that you are more blessed than we realize. Let's pray together right now.
Speaker 1:God, thank you for clothes. Thank you. You have not asked any one of us to walk around naked or barefoot for three years. That's enough, right there. We're thankful for that. Also, god, we're so thankful that, if not for your grace, though, we could be in such a different place. I pray today that we will celebrate what we have and what we have been blessed with, and, if nothing else, we've been blessed with clothes. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, god's word says in Isaiah, chapter 12, verse 2 God has come to save me. I will trust in Him and not be afraid. The Lord, god, is my strength and my song. He has given me the victory. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Isaiah, chapter 21.
