Isaiah 20
Naked and Barefoot!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, January 9.
You have heard it said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Recently, a major news source carried a picture from the Middle East, capturing the surrender of a large group of militants. The men were barefoot and stripped down to their underwear as a man walked forward with his hands up. Their nakedness symbolized their humiliation as a defeated army. While this picture has caused a stir in modern days; it was a common site in ancient days. So much so, that Isaiah was commanded by God to walk around without his sandals, and without his outer garment, for three years to symbolize the coming defeat of Egypt and Cush by the Assyrian Empire. In Isaiah 20:3-6, God spoke to the people, using Isaiah’s obedience as an illustration to them:
Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign and token against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their boast. So the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, “Behold, such is our hope, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and we, how shall we escape?”
Isaiah was commanded to provide a shocking prophetic sign to the people of Judah – do not depend on an alliance with any other nation for your victory. Do not put your hope in men who can so easily be humiliated and made defenseless; trust in God who can deliver you in this evil day.
Seize the moment and put your faith in God for His victory in your circumstances – “the battle is not yours but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15).
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.