Isaiah 20
(NOTE: Why are the devotionals so long? It is because they are going to other nations that don’t have resources like we have here in America. Also, there are many attending churches where very little teaching of the Word of God takes place because others things are occupying the worship service. Many don’t have Sunday School anymore because they don’t think it is important. We are to be students of the Bible all the time. The devotional is just another resource for genuine believers who want to grow in the LORD)
Historical background for vision verse 1
In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod
(when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him)
fought against Ashdod – and took it
Isaiah commanded to walk barefooted verse 2
At the same time spoke the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz
saying
Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins
and put off thy shoe from your foot
And he did so – walking naked and barefoot
Isaiah a three year sign to Egypt and Ethiopia verse 3
AND the LORD said
Like as MY servant Isaiah has
walked naked and barefoot three years
for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia
Sign is regarding king of Assyria verse 4
So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptian prisoners
and the Ethiopian captives – young and old
naked and barefoot
even with their buttocks uncovered
to the shame of Egypt
Israel will be ashamed verse 5
And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia
their expectation and of Egypt their glory
Question of where to get help verse 6
And the inhabitant of this isle shall
say IN THAT DAY
Behold – such is our expectation
whither we flee for help to be delivered from the
king of Assyria – and how shall we escape?
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 “at the same time the LORD spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and remove the sackcloth from your body, and take your sandals off our feet.” And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.” The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982).
DEVOTION: As you read a portion of Scripture like this in Isaiah do you ask yourself the question, “Am I willing to do that for the Lord?” Am I obedient to some seemingly crazy request that the Lord asks of me? Do I trust and know the Lord’s voice well enough to distinguish between the inventive capacity of my imagination and the Lord’s directive? Isaiah as a prophet had heard the voice of God now repeatedly and listened to His commands. As believers we are called to listen and obey the Lord as He speaks to us. How can we do this?
George Mueller stated that, “to ascertain the Lord’s will we ought to use scriptural means. Prayer, the word of God and His Spirit should be united together. We should go to the Lord repeatedly in prayer, and ask Him to teach us by His Spirit through His word… No situation, no business will be given to me by God, in which I have not time enough to care about my soul.”
Be slow to take new steps in the Lord’s service; seek to have no will of your own; and when you have found out what the will of God is, seek for His help, earnestly, perseveringly, patiently, believingly and expectantly. (George Muller of Bristol by Arthur Pierson, 451-2.)
CHALLENGE: Are you willing to seek God voice through prayer, study and the leading of the Holy Spirit? It is well worth the effort! (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 3 And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia. (226 “sign” [owth] means token, pledge, omen, symbol, example, witness or warning.)
DEVOTION: So often we live in a family that has little discipline today. The government wants to take care of our children better than they think we can. They continue to make rules that parents are supposed to follow that are not the same rules that the LORD established in HIS Word, the Bible.
Parents are to discipline their children to the point that they will honor God and them. Some children are easy to raise without much difficulty. However, some children need a token that parents mean business.
In many books these children are called strong willed. When the LORD gave instructions to Israel, in the wilderness, HE stated that if a child is rebellious they were to take them to the elders and once the elders made a judgment that they were rebellious they were to stone the rebellious child to keep Israel obedient to the LORD. Seems like harsh treatment of a child. The book of Proverbs informs parents that they are to discipline with a rod to keep their child from going to Hell for eternity.
Here Isaiah is used as an example of what was going to happen in the future to Israel and Egypt and Ethiopia. He was to go around with bare feet and no clothes on to show that captivity was in the future.
Isaiah obeyed the LORD and walked around without clothes or shoes to get the attention of the children of Israel. So often they needed not only a time of preaching but a time of example of what the preaching meant. Even then they didn’t believe what the prophet/preacher taught. They thought that they were blessed of God and nothing could happen to them. They were wrong.
We sometimes feel that we can get away with not being obedient to the LORD and then we suffer the consequences of our actions. God loves HIS people Israel in the Old Testament and the church today. HE loves them so much that he disciplines them, so that, they will stay obedient to HIM. This is called chastening throughout the Bible. It is only done to those who are followers of the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Our obedience is necessary for the LORD’S blessing on our life. Disobedience bring chastening to help us turn around and follow the LORD again. Be warned!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 5 And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. (4007 “expectation” [mabbat] means object of hope or confidence, trusting in, or relying on.)
DEVOTION: As Isaiah continues to instruct the people of Israel to stop trusting in other nations for help against Assyria, they continue to not listen.
He sets a public example of what was going to happen to the nations they were looking to for help. He walks around for three years without his outer garment. Some commentaries think that he was just doing this part of the time for three years. Other commentators think that he did it for fourteen months.
However, he did it he set the stage for their demise. So, when the Israelites looked to Egypt and Ethiopia for help against Assyria, they were going to be disappointed. They were looking in the wrong direction for help.
Isaiah was an object lesson in human form that the LORD used to show the Israelites that even Egypt and Ethiopia were going to be defeated by the Assyria army.
As the people of God, we need to put our complete trust in HIM alone. Trust in anyone or any nation is worthless. Here are the people of God putting their trust in other governments. The governments will let them down. They were hoping in Ethiopia. They would be ashamed of this lack of trust in the LORD.
We are to pray for our government but trust in the LORD. Don’t look at the world we live in, but in the LORD, who rules eternity. HE is over all governments. Nothing happens, that surprises HIM in this world. HE knows this world from its creation through to the end of our present world.
Alliances are important to nations, just like alliances are important to those who are servants of the LORD. There are many denominations in our world today. Some denominations honor the LORD and others do not. We are to only make alliances with those who obey the LORD with their preaching and teaching and practice.
Are we ready to meet HIM? Is HE our only object of hope and confidence? We are HIS inheritance today. We have an inheritance from HIM!!!
Watch who your trust. Government is not the answer to our needs. False alliances with other denominations or churches that are not obedient to the Word of God are not good either. Don’t become a follower of a man or group, always be followers of the LORD first and foremost and then of those who honor HIM in word and deed.
CHALLENGE: Are you following a man who is not following the LORD? Are you attending a church that is not honoring the LORD? We have to make proper choices in these regards.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Isaiah a servant of the LORD verse 3
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 2, 3
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Ashdod verse 1
King of Assyria verse 1, 6
Tartan verse 1
Sargon – king of Assyria verse 1, 4
no escape
Egypt verse 4, 5
prisoners
Ethiopians verse 3- 5
captives
afraid and ashamed
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Afraid verse 5
Ashamed verse 5
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Servant verse 3
Help verse 6
Delivered verse 6
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Isaiah the son of Amoz verse 2, 3
Go and loose the sackcloth from
off your loins
Put off your shoe from your foot
Walked naked and barefoot
for three years
Servant of the LORD
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
In that day verse 6
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QUOTES regarding passage
2. At that time (’ēt) is not a precise dating but refers to whatever moment was opportune for such a message. Sackcloth was apparently Isaiah’s normal wear, whether it signifies the sackcloth of mourning (15:3) or the rough clothing adopted by prophets (2 Kgs 1:8). Stripped: ‘ārôm means ‘naked’. Maybe niv is correct in seeking to safeguard the proprieties by an interpretative translation, but it is not the general use of the word. Captives were often stripped (4; 47:2–3). Isaiah paid the price of obedient identification with the word of the Lord. The prophets frequently accompanied their spoken word with visible demonstrations of the truth (e.g. Jer. 13:1ff.; 19:1–13; Ezek. 5, 12). The purpose included that of a ‘visual aid’ but went further, for the word of God was expressed in a double way: by speech and by act. Its fulfilment was thus doubly secured (see 2 Kgs 13:14–19). (Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, p. 161). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
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20:2–6. For three years Isaiah did not wear his outer garment of sackcloth (also the attire of Elijah, 2 Kings 1:8), or his sandals. (He was not completely naked.) This object lesson was to show how the Egyptians and Cushites would be treated by the victorious Assyrian forces. When those nations (Egypt and Cush) would fall to the Assyrians (Isa. 20:4), the Judahites who thought an alliance with those countries would help them would be afraid and ashamed (v. 5). People would realize that if Egypt and Cush had fallen to Assyria, then they had no chance for escape (v. 6). Judah, then, should trust in the Lord for protection rather than in the foreign alliance they were contemplating. (Martin, J. A. (1985). Isaiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1067). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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20:2 at that time. Isaiah began his object lesson 3 years (v. 3) before his speech in vv. 3–6, which came just prior to the Assyrian attack in 711 b.c. sackcloth. This apparel may denote Isaiah’s mourning (Ge 37:34; 2Ki 6:30) or it may signify his prophetic office (2Ki 1:8; Mt 3:4). naked and barefoot. The Lord commanded stripping off all of his outer garments as an act denoting disgrace and humiliation. ( MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Is 20:2). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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Sargon, the king of Assyria, was unknown to history until his name was, in our times, found upon monuments, and thus Isaiah’s record confirmed. Scripture does not need to be vindicated by the often conflicting histories of ancient times nor by archaeological inscriptions, for we may be sure of this, the Bible is God’s inerrant Word and therefore always right, even though some of the ancient records might be in conflict with it; but again and again it has pleased God through the spade of the archaeologist to give full confirmation of the truth of His Word concerning doubts and questions that unbelievers have been only too glad to raise.
Sargon exercised tremendous power though but for a short time. Isaiah was commanded by God to become a sign to the Egyptians of the hardships that would be brought upon them by the Assyrian armies. He was commanded to lay aside his outer garments and put off his sandals and walk “naked and barefoot” before the people as an indication of the circumstances the Egyptians would have to face. Observe, it was not nudity but nakedness that was commanded. To an Oriental, the laying aside of his long robe gave him the appearance of nakedness, and it was in this way that Isaiah became a sign. Others have pointed out that we are not here told that the prophet had to go about in this manner for the three years of Egyptian punishment, but that in all likelihood, three days on his part answered to the three years in which they were to suffer. As to the rest of this chapter, in their desperation the Egyptians would recognize their helplessness and cry out for a deliverer. That Deliverer was yet to be revealed, as we have seen, in the coming Day of the Lord. (Ironside, H. A. (1952). Expository notes on the prophet Isaiah. (pp. 117–118). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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Isaiah received this commission in the same year in which this siege commenced. The duration of the siege is not stated, but it is supposed to have been three years, so that Isaiah’s walking naked and barefoot continued to be a sign and wonder until his prediction was fulfilled in the capture of the city by Sargon and in his treatment of his Egyptian and Ethiopian prisoners.— “Walking naked and barefoot.” In Hebrew usage the word “naked” sometimes means absolute nudity, and in some cases, only partial; i. e., it indicated the removal of only the outer garment, leaving the under garment still upon the person. Thus in 2 Sam. 6:20, Michal reproaches David with uncovering himself shamelessly when he “danced before the ark of the Lord with all his might;” but v. 14 says of this case that he danced “girded with a linen ephod,” a close fitting under garment. In John 21:7, we read, “Peter girt his fisher’s coat unto him (for he was naked), and did cast himself into the sea; but this fisher’s coat, as the Greek name of it shows, was an outer and not an under garment, i. e., he may have had on still another, an under one, when said to be “naked.” Again, the prophets are in some cases said to be “naked” while they are prophesying. See 1 Sam. 19:24, and Micah 1:8. But it is scarcely supposable that this was perfect nudity. Yet further, if in our passage “naked” means absolute nudity, then “barefoot” is a superfluous addition. And yet further, it is scarcely supposable that captives were driven from Egypt or Ashdod to Assyria in a state of utter nakedness. They were probably stripped of their outer garments. So was Isaiah also, as a sign of the same thing in their case. (Cowles, H. (1869). Isaiah; With Notes, Critical, Explanatory and Practical (p. 151). New York: D. Appleton & Company.)
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Ver. 2. At the same time spake the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amoz, &c.] Or, by the hand of Isaiah, by his means; and it was to him likewise, as the following words shew; and so the Septuagint version renders it; he spoke by him, by the sign he used, according to his order, and he spoke to him to use the sign: saying; so the Arabic version, with him; and with these versions Noldius agrees: go, and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins; a token of mourning, and which the prophet wore, as Kimchi thinks, because of the captivity of the ten tribes; and it may be also on account of the miseries that were coming upon the people of the Jews; though some think this was his common garb, and the same with the royal garment the prophets used to wear, Zech. 13:4 but that he had put off, and had put on sackcloth in its room, which he is now bid to take off: and put off thy shoe from thy foot; as a sign of distress and mourning also, 2 Sam. 15:30: and he did so, walking naked and barefoot; Kimchi thinks this was only visionally, or in the vision of prophecy, as he calls it, and not in reality; but the latter seems most probable, and best to agree with what follows; for he was obedient to the divine command, not regarding the disgrace which might attend it, nor the danger of catching cold, to which he was exposed; and hence he has the character of a servant of the Lord, in the next words, and a faithful obedient one he was.
Ver. 3. And the Lord said, &c.] Here follows the explanation of the sign, and the accommodation of it to the thing signified by it: like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot; not wholly naked, for that would have been very indecent and dangerous indeed; but without his upper garment, as Saul, 1 Sam. 19:24 and David, 2 Sam. 6:14, 20 or with rent and ragged clothes, and old shoes, as Jarchi interprets it, and which might be only when he appeared abroad; and how long he thus walked is not certain, whether only one day, as some, or three days, as others, or three years, which is not said, though our version inclines to it; but the three years next mentioned are not to be joined to Isaiah’s walking, but to the thing signified by it; for the accent athnach is at the word which is rendered barefoot, and distinguishes this clause from the following. The Septuagint indeed puts the phrase three years into both clauses, but it only belongs to the latter: three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt, and upon Ethiopia; that is, the prophet’s walking naked and barefoot was a sign that three years after this Egypt and Ethiopia should be subdued by the Assyrians; or, that so long he should be in subduing them, or their calamities should last such a term of time. This sign was only seen by the Jews, for whose sake chiefly this prophecy was, to take off their dependence on the above nations; though probably this might be made known to the Egyptians and Ethiopians. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 5, pp. 114–115). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Fatherless No More
[God is] a father to the fatherless. Psalm 68:5
Guy Bryant, single and with no children of his own, worked in New York City’s child welfare department. Daily, he encountered the intense need for foster parents and decided to do something about it. For more than a decade, Bryant fostered more than fifty children, once caring for nine at the same time. “Every time I turned around there was a kid who needed a place to stay,” Bryant explained. “If you have the space in your home and heart, you just do it. You don’t really think about it.” The foster children who’ve grown and established their own lives still have keys to Bryant’s apartment and often return on Sundays for lunch with “Pops.” Bryant has shown the love of a father to many.
The Scriptures tell us that God pursues all who are forgotten or cast aside. Although some believers will find themselves destitute and vulnerable in this life, He promises to be with them. God is “a father to the fatherless” (Psalm 68:5). If, through neglect or tragedy, we’re alone, God is still there—reaching out to us, drawing us near, and giving us hope. Indeed, “God sets the lonely in families” (v. 6). In Jesus, other believers comprise our spiritual family.
Whatever our challenging family stories, our isolation, our abandonment, or our relational dysfunction may be, we can know that we’re loved. With God, we’re fatherless no more. (By Winn Collier – Our Daily Bread))
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2 Kings 5
Naaman is healed of leprosy when he obeys Elisha’s directives.
INSIGHT
It is God who has power to move in the realm of the spiritual and miraculous–not man. So whether God asks us to do something difficult or simple, it doesn’t matter. He will do the work behind our faith. Naaman learns this the hard way. His heart is open to God, for he goes to Elisha hoping that God will heal his leprosy. But when Elisha tells him to wash in the Jordan seven times, Naaman roars: “Are not . . . the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel?” (v. 12). He misses the point. The point is not clean water or unclean. The point is: Does he believe God? The Jordan is merely a test of his faith in God. When Naaman realizes he is washed and healed. (Quiet Walk)
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LOOKING ON
And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle. Exodus 33:8
I am rather interested in what we are told about the remainder of the people. They say that Moses and one or two individuals used to go out of the camp to the Tabernacle to pray. In Exodus 33:8 we read, “And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.”
There is something very wonderful about this. All they did was to look on with interest. They were aware that something was happening, but they did not know what it was, and they did not understand it. They did not go out of the camp with Moses into the tent of meeting with God and pray and intercede. All they knew was that Moses had taken the tent outside the camp and that he and certain others periodically visited it. So they just stood at their tent doors, watching Moses as he went and talking about him, wondering what he was doing and what exactly was happening. Now the appalling thing is that the right place for the tent was in the midst of the camp. But it was not there.
As you read the history of the church, you will find this repeated. At first just a few people feel the call and separate themselves, and then the others begin to say, “What is happening to so and so? Have you heard about this man or that woman?” They stand at their tent doors, and they look on. They have a feeling that something is happening. But they do nothing at all. Oh, if we wait until the whole church moves, revival will never happen.
A Thought to Ponder
If we wait until the whole church moves, revival will never happen.
(From Revival, p. 170, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Genesis 15
God confirms His covenant with Abraham.
INSIGHT
“Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (James 2:23). Faith is central to the Christian experience. In fact, without faith, there is no Christian experience.
Why is faith so important? Because we cannot make ourselves righteous — any more than a cracked window can make itself uncracked.
We have sinned and only God can make us righteous. Faith then is the only thing we can do — and even our faith is a gracious gift of God! (Quiet Walk)
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We also want to keep some authority for ourselves. We cannot agree that the last, the final key to our lives should be turned over to Jesus Christ. Brethren, we want to have dual controls – let the Lord run it but keep a hand on the controls just in case the Lord should fail! (Pg.90)
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I am not afraid to say what I fear – that there are thousands of people who are using the deeper life and Bible prophecy, foreign missions and physical healing for no other purpose than to promote their own private interests secretly. (Pg. 91)
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But when that man takes his place on the cross with Jesus Christ once and for all, and commends his spirit to God, lets go of everything and ceases to defend himself – sure, he has died, but there is a resurrection that follows! (p 93)
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He just wants to bring us out into a place of surrender so that our children and our earthly possessions do not possess our wills to the point of worship. (p 94) (I Talk Back to the Devil by A. W. Tozer)
The Power of the Comforter
“It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” (John 16:7)
Declaring the gospel becomes a delightful use of the “power of God” (Romans 1:16), speaking God’s words to a heart that has been prepared by the trifold ministry of the Holy Spirit, who will “reprove [convict] the world” (John 16:8).
Conviction of Sin
“Of sin, because they believe not on me” (John 16:9). All sin has been forgiven (1 John 2:2). The only sin that condemns is unbelief (John 3:19), or conscious rebellion against the Holy Spirit’s conviction of the need for salvation through Christ. Rejecting that is blasphemy and unforgiveable (Matthew 12:31).
Conviction of Righteousness
“Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more” (John 16:10). When the Lord Jesus went up into heaven, there was “none righteous” (Romans 3:10) on Earth. The Holy Spirit must convince people that righteousness exists. Otherwise, they wouldn’t understand why they need to be saved.
Conviction of Judgment
“Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged” (John 16:11). Some suggest the ruler is Satan, but there’s no need to convince us that Lucifer needs to be condemned. But that the sinless Son of God was condemned on calvary for your sin and mine—that needs supernatural convincing!
Our powers of persuasion could never bring about a spiritual conviction of these matters in the heart of an ungodly and sinful person. However, the “One who comes alongside us” could indeed bring about such conviction. Our job is to speak the truth. The Holy Spirit’s job is to be the supernatural Convictor and Persuader of that truth. (HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)
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THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CREATION OF THE WORLD
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:2
We are going to remind ourselves of what we are told in the Scriptures about the activity of the Holy Spirit before the Day of Pentecost. First of all, we start at the very creation of the world. The second verse in the Bible says, “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” He was operative in the creation of the world. God the Father has made everything through the Son by the Holy Spirit. The blessed Trinity is operative in the whole work, always, but the labor is divided up. And, of course, you will remember that the Holy Spirit is especially involved in connection with the creation of man.
The second is the work of the Holy Spirit in sustaining or maintaining the creation. Now there are many statements about this; I shall simply quote two. In Isaiah 40:7 we read, “The grass withers, the flower fades: but the spirit of the LORD blows upon it.” But still more strikingly, in Psalm 104 you will find a magnificent description of creation that is perhaps unsurpassed anywhere in the Bible. The psalmist makes the point that if the Lord withholds Himself or His power or His Spirit from creation, it all begins to droop and to wane, to perish and to die. If He puts His Spirit back again, it all revives. It is the Holy Spirit who sustains creation. Now you will find statements in the Scripture that say that the Son does that, and the answer is, of course, that the Son does it through the Holy Spirit. So the Holy Spirit has been active from the commencement in sustaining and maintaining the universe.
A Thought to Ponder: The Son sustains creation through the Holy Spirit. (From God the Holy Spirit, pp. 23-24, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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