Isaiah 3:1

For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, does take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water, the mighty man, the man of war, the judge and the prophet, the prudent and the ancient, the captain of fifty and the honorable man, the counselor and the cunning artificer, the eloquent orator.

And thou wilt give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. The people shall be oppressed, every one by another and every one by his neighbor. Remember, the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient and the base against the honorable. When a man shall take hold of his brother, of the house of his father, saying, "Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand." In that day shall he swear and say, "I will not be a healer, for in my house is neither bread nor clothing. Make me not the ruler of this people, for Jerusalem is ruined and Judah is fallen, because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord to provoke the eyes of His glory."

Let's pray. Father, as we look into Your word here in the book of Isaiah, it is certain that we see correlations to our own time, our own nation. I pray, Lord, that You would cause us as a result to take heed, to listen, to make application. Lord, as You are calling to Your people 2,800 years ago to return to You, would You call out to us as well?

Lord, give us the faith and the boldness to share Your word with boldness, just as Isaiah did all those years ago. Lord, help us to stand strong upon Your revealed word. Give us insight tonight, we pray. Continue to transform our minds, our understanding, and our lives as well, for we ask it in the mighty and the precious name of Jesus. Amen.

You can be seated. We have been seeing the correlations to the United States in the book of Isaiah.

Clearly, God was speaking to His own people 2,800 years ago through this prophet, this great man of God who served the Lord faithfully for many years, through the reign of four and even perhaps a portion of five kings in Judah and Jerusalem. God was calling out to His people just before the Assyrian invasion would come, and ultimately after that, the Babylonian invasion, which were results of their sin and their turning away from God.

As we go through the book of Isaiah, we will see the various judgments that God will bring upon the people in Judah, specifically the capital city of Jerusalem. We will also see the judgments that He would bring upon the Philistines, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Moabites. It is very interesting to observe how God moves and what He does when He begins to remove His hand of protection from a people and starts to judge them for their sin.

As we come to chapter 3, we see that God is going to bring upon His people a great famine. Look at it there in verse 1: "For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, does take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water."

The first thing we want to note and consider as we look at verse 1 in chapter 3 is that it is God who is moving, and He is called the Lord, the Lord of hosts. You will notice that the first time "Lord" is mentioned, it is in lowercase, but the second time it is capitalized. In the original language, it reads "Adonai Yehovah." God, the master, speaks to His people. He is the master; He is the head of the armies, the Lord of hosts. He is calling His people to stand up, to listen, and to take heed.

In fact, we saw in Isaiah chapter 1 that He told His people to hear what the Lord has to say in verse 2. The word "hear" there is the Hebrew word "shema." It does not mean just to hear as though a siren were passing by your house in the middle of the night; it means to hear, to listen, and to take heed, to take action upon what you are hearing. God is calling out to His people, saying, "I am going to take away from Jerusalem and Judah."

Again, Isaiah chapter 1, Isaiah chapter 2, and Isaiah chapter 3 all begin with God speaking specifically to His people. Look at Isaiah chapter 1, verse 1.

The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, is significant. In Isaiah chapter 2, verse 1, we see the word that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, received concerning these same regions. As we move to chapter 3, we read, "Behold, the Lord does take away from Jerusalem and Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water." Here, God is directing His prophecy and His word to the people of Judah.

It is important to remember that the nation of Israel, after King Solomon's reign, was split in two under the leadership of King Solomon's son, Rehoboam. The northern ten tribes of Israel were exiled by the Assyrians, a theme we will encounter in the book of Isaiah. The southern tribes, which included Judah and Benjamin, are the primary focus of Isaiah's prophecy. While Isaiah would speak to a larger audience, he specifically directed his words to the people of God in the nation of Judah. These were the individuals who had the temple of God, the priesthood, and the Levites. The religious ceremonies were centered in Jerusalem, which appeared to be a place right with God.

However, as we see in the book of Isaiah, this was not the case. The people had departed from the Lord. Later in the book, we learn that they worshiped God with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him. In Isaiah chapter 1, verses 11 and onward, we see that their worship had become sin before God. He looked at the offerings they brought and declared, "This is wickedness before me. Who has required that you tread my courts? I don't want it anymore. Your incense is an abomination." Their worship and sacrifices had turned into wickedness and sin in the eyes of God, leading to His judgment.

The judgment that God brings, as we see in chapter 3, is particularly interesting. As I have mentioned while going through the book of Isaiah, the judgments of God often manifest in the physical realm, even though He is working in the spiritual realm. In this case, God is going to bring a great famine upon Judah and Jerusalem. It is important to note that this famine is not just about food and water; it encompasses much more. In verse 1, God takes away from Jerusalem the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water.

It's important to see that it is God who is removing the whole supply of water. Although they had a lack of food and a lack of water, it was God who was moving to bring about these lacks in their lives. Oftentimes, God will allow a lack to come into my life and a lack to come into your life so that we will call out to Him.

This is the very same thing that Abraham, the first follower of God by faith in the Bible, experienced when he began to follow God in Genesis chapter 12. You may remember the story: God called Abraham and told him, "I want you to leave your father and your mother and go out from your kindred, from your father's house to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation, and I will bless him who blesses you and curse him who curses you. In you shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."

Abraham followed God and came to a place that he called Bethel, which means the house of God. He worshiped the Lord there, built an altar, and then pitched his tent between Bethel and Ai. Bethel means the house of God, and Ai means heap of ruin. He was kind of pitched between the things of God and the world. The very next verse in Genesis chapter 12 says there was a famine in the land. Oftentimes, the Lord allows these famines in our lives to see where we will turn.

When Abraham was first tested, he didn't turn to God. He didn't turn to Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides. Instead, he went down to Egypt; it says he went south towards Egypt, and ultimately he got into all kinds of trouble. Many years later in his life, he learned that God is his provider. He is actually the one who calls God Jehovah Jireh, which means the Lord, the provider, in Genesis chapter 22.

God is seeking to do the same thing in my life and in your life as well. He will allow us to experience a famine, to experience a lack, so that we would come and turn to Him and look to Him in all things. We need to learn that He is the one who takes care of the things that we are anxious about, the things that we are concerned about.

Remember, Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 6, "Don't worry about what you're going to eat or what you're going to wear or where you're going to sleep. After all these things, the Gentiles seek, but your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things." We are not to be anxious about that; we are to trust God that He will provide.

A lot of times, that trust, that confidence that He will provide, comes as we see Him provide in the various things that are lacking in our lives. However, there are times when we begin to depart from the Lord, and the Lord can't bless.

He cannot pour out His blessing upon someone who is in outright rebellion or sin. As we saw in chapter 1, these people were as stubborn as a mule and as dumb as an ox, even more so. God says, "I can't bless you. I cannot pour out blessing upon you." Consequently, He begins to remove His hand of blessing and protection. The immediate thing they experience is a sense of lacking. God removed from them the stay of bread and the stay of water. There was a famine and a drought, but this famine extended much further than just their food and sustenance; it affected their provision.

Notice verse 2. Continuing with the idea that God has removed from them, it states that the mighty man, the man of war, the judge, the prophet, the prudent, the ancient, the captain of fifty, the honorable man, the counselor, the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator were all taken away. In this great famine, as God seeks to draw His people back to Himself, He removes from them the mighty man. The term "mighty man" refers to the strong, brave one; it literally means the heroic, mighty soldier—the one whom the people would look up to as a champion and say, "This is our hero. This is one who has excelled in battle."

However, as this famine comes, and as we will see as we go through the book of Isaiah, the famine arises because they are in constant wars, and their mighty men are dying in these conflicts. They are losing their heroes, the ones they would look up to. Sadly, as Israel began to progress, we will see that there was no longer a heroic, strong, mighty warrior. Instead, the very same word is used to describe those who were mighty in mixing alcohol. Isaiah chapter 5, verse 22 states, "Woe unto those that are mighty to drink wine and men of strength to mingle strong drink." They were no longer mighty in war, strong, heroic warriors and soldiers in battle; instead, they were mighty at drinking strong drink.

As a result, the judgment of the Lord comes upon the nation. Not just the mighty man, but we read in the very next portion of verse 2 that the man of war is also removed. God is taking away not only the strong heroes but also the victorious warriors. Further, we read that the judge is also taken away.

Now, in our modern vernacular, a judge is someone who sits at a trial. He presides over a case and brings forth a punishment or a guilty sentence. Ultimately, he condemns someone to a prison term or capital punishment, whatever it may be. However, a judge in the Bible, particularly in the Hebrew context, is much more than that.

In our Bibles, we have the book of Judges, which covers the period between the time of Joshua, that great leader of the nation of Israel who brought them into the Promised Land, and the time when King Saul established the monarchy in Israel. During that period, the nation of Israel was led by judges—godly men and some women whom God raised up to be deliverers for the people of Israel. Therefore, a judge was not just someone who presided over a case; they were leaders, governors, rulers, and deliverers.

God states that He is removing the judge, and we see a lack of justice in the nation of Israel as a result. If we turn back to Isaiah chapter 1 for a moment and look at verse 17, we find God calling out to His sinful people. In Isaiah 1:16-17, He says, "Wash, make yourselves clean, put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow."

One of the responsibilities of a judge was to defend the cause of those who could not defend themselves. There was a lack of judgment for the oppressed, the fatherless, and the widow in the nation—those who could not advocate for themselves. Additionally, in Isaiah chapter 5, verse 7, it states that God looked for judgment but instead found oppression in the nation of Israel. He desired to see judgment, but there was a lack of it due to the absence of righteous judges.

The sad fact is that as we look through the history of the nation of Israel, we see that their judges, as they departed from the Lord, became susceptible to bribes. They were willing to overlook righteous judgment just to gain something from the people. Not only is the mighty man gone, the man of war, the judge, but we also read in verse 2 about the prophet. Of course, we are reading from the book of a prophet.

In the nation of Israel, there was a lack of good prophets. There were many false prophets. If you read through Kings and Chronicles, you will see that many times there were loads of prophets who would come in. As we will see, they were soothsayers and diviners. They would come in and tell people what they wanted to hear. Jeremiah found this to be the case throughout his ministry. He would be prophesying the right and true word of God, saying that God is going to judge the people. This is the burden that God is bringing: the Babylonians are going to come in and destroy.

There would be a whole line of false prophets standing there, saying, "Oh, no, no, no. There is no judgment coming. There is no yoke and burden of the Babylonians coming. Everything's going to be just fine." I would submit to you that in our day, we have a certain sort of soothsayers in our nation who are saying, "Listen, everything's going to be okay. The Dow Jones is going to keep climbing. Don't worry. Unemployment's going to go back down. It's all going to be all right." Yet, there is something that seems to tell many of us that we don't know if that's really the way it's going to be, especially as we read through the Scriptures.

A lot of times, we don't want to discourage people. We don't want to tell them hard sayings and hard truths. As you read through the prophetic books of the Bible, very seldom were they given encouraging words. Most of the time, it was a call to the people about the coming judgment of God or a call to repent and turn to the Lord. There was a lack of right prophets in the nation.

Many times, when we think of a prophet, we think of someone who foretells future events. A prophet in the Old Testament often did foretell future events, and we will see a lot of that in the book of Isaiah. However, not only did they foretell future events, but they also revealed the mind, heart, and will of God. They brought to the people a call to return. Oftentimes, they brought a rebuke to the conduct of kings or nations in their time. A prophet doesn't just foretell future events; he also conveys the mind and heart of God.

We read on, not just about the prophet, but also about the prudent. The word can also be translated as diviner or soothsayer. These were again the false prophets who came and told everybody the encouraging good news, even though God was not speaking good news to the people. The mighty man, the man of war, the judge, the prophet, the prudent, and at the end of verse 2, the ancient, the men of experience, the aged ones will be gone as well.

As God is removing from Jerusalem the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, one of the things that is removed are those in the nation who can give wise counsel because they have wisdom from their many years of experience. In verse 3, we read that God removes the captain of 50. The idea of the captain of 50 is that this is an inferior officer in the army. The Bible talks of captains of hundreds and captains of thousands. They were the great generals who would lead the armies of Israel. The captain of 50 was an inexperienced leader; he wasn't set over hundreds or thousands. He was only over a small regiment of soldiers. Thus, this was an inferior leader.

God not only removes the captains of thousands and hundreds but also those who would lead the smaller groups into battle. The captain of 50 and the honorable man are both removed. The honorable man is the one who is looked up to and respected. Yet, because of the judgment of God, there were no strong role models in the nation of Judah 2,800 years ago. As we look at our own nation here in the year 2009, we consider those whom our nation looks up to—those whom they pattern their lives after or seek to have as role models. It is a scary thing sometimes to see who is set forth as role models in our nation.

During the time when Isaiah spoke, there was a lack of honorable men. There was a loss of counselors, advisors, or literally, the chief leaders—those who could come in and tell the king, whether it was Ahaz, Hezekiah, Uzziah, or whoever it was, what must be done. There were no men of understanding who knew what Israel ought to do. Furthermore, we read that the cunning artificer was gone. The manufacturers, the skilled tradesmen, and the artisans were removed from the nation of Israel.

It is stunning to me what is called art in our day in America. It seems that there is a lack of the cunning artificer, the cunning artisan—those who are able to creatively work with their hands. We recognize that those who can do such things are gifted by God. In Exodus chapter 31, you will read about Bezalel and Aholiab. They were gifted by God to create the amazing things that decorated the temple.

In the time of the Exodus, God specifically gave the Israelites the gifts to create beautiful ornaments for the high priest and the decorative items that would be present in the tabernacle. This ability to make these things was a blessing from God. However, we now see the removal of that blessing; the cunning artificer is gone.

Additionally, we read about the last figure mentioned in verse 3: the eloquent orator. It is important to recognize that an eloquent orator is not merely a good speaker, as we might find in the presidency of the United States. An eloquent orator is perceptive, discerning, understanding, and insightful. This person knows how to observe the events occurring in the nation and can provide clear direction that the people can understand. The Scriptures say that if the trumpet does not sound correctly, the army will not know what to do. Therefore, the eloquent orator is someone who speaks with clarity so that the people know the way they should walk.

Yet, due to the judgment of God, all of these qualities were lacking in the nation of Israel. There was indeed a famine of bread and water, a drought, but there was also a famine of mighty men, the man of war, the judge, the prophet, the prudent, the ancient, the captain of fifty, the honorable man, the counselor, the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. In their place, as a result of God's judgment, we read in verse 4 that God says, "I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them." There was a famine of competent leaders in the nation of Judah.

I would submit to you that there is a famine of competent leaders in our own nation, which indicates that God has removed His hand of blessing. I recognize that this is hard for us to hear and certainly not politically correct. However, as we observe the events unfolding in our nation, whether involving Democrats or Republicans, it seems that no one knows quite how to address the problems we face, both nationally and globally. Would you agree with that?

Why is this the case? Wisdom comes from God, and it begins with the fear of the Lord. When a nation disregards God, refusing to fear, reverence, or worship Him, then God does not grant that nation wisdom. As we look at our nation today, we see that we are lacking wisdom because God has withdrawn His blessing.

Removed His hand of protection. When it says in verse 4 that God will give them children to be their princes, there are two things we need to consider. The word "children" there is not used literally; it is speaking about someone who lacks experience. The word could be translated as "youths" or "inexperienced ones." The word "princes" does not refer to the son of a king, but rather to the leaders of the nation, the cabinet members of the king. God will give inexperienced leaders to a nation.

Do we see that in America today in 2009? It says, "babes shall rule over them." That word "babes" is only used twice in the entire Bible, and both times in the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah chapter 66, it is used again, and there it is not translated as "babes"; it is translated as "delusioned." The leaders were delusional; they didn't know what to do. These were the people given rule or dominion over the people in Judah and Jerusalem.

In verse 5, we read that as a result of these inexperienced leaders and delusional dominion, the people were oppressed. They were hard-pressed, or they had taskmasters over them, no different than the taskmasters they had when they were in Egypt. "My people shall be oppressed, every one by another and every one by his neighbor." There was infighting in the nation, civil unrest, with neighbor fighting against neighbor and tribe against tribe. There was no real moral government, no real moral leader to say, "This is the way; walk ye in it." They were oppressed, every one by another and every one by his neighbor.

The child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honorable. We are told in verse 4 that children were their leaders, and here in verse 5 we are told that such children would behave themselves proudly against the ancient. This is exactly what took place after the death of King Solomon when his son Rehoboam came in to be king. If you would, turn in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 12. David and his son Solomon had been great kings over the nation of Israel.

Although both of them had many moral failures, they were used by God to establish Israel as a presence in the Middle East during that time. After the death of Solomon, Rehoboam reigned.

When Rehoboam became king, the people of Israel, the united nation at that point, said, "Listen, be nicer to us than your father. Your father ruled us with a very heavy hand." He came to the learned, ancient men, the experienced men, and asked, "How should I answer the people?" They spoke to him, saying, "If you will be a servant unto this people this day, and will serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever."

However, he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him. Instead, he consulted with the younger men who were growing up with him and stood before him. This clearly illustrates what it means to behave proudly against the ancient. The phrase "to behave proudly" literally means to act in a stormy manner, to act boisterously or arrogantly. That is exactly what Rehoboam did, and it reflects what was happening in the nation of Judah at that time.

Not only did the children behave proudly against the ancient, but they also acted against the honorable. Those who were lightly esteemed in the nation behaved proudly against those who ought to be honored and respected. They did not listen to what these respected individuals had to say.

In our own nation today, it seems that we often do not want to listen to what the older generation has to say, especially after they have experienced many of the challenges our nation is facing right now. We often believe that things will not go the way they did in the past. We think we have a better handle on it and that we are more educated.

Paul told Timothy that this would be a sign of the last days, as noted in 2 Timothy 3.

2 Timothy 3, verse 1 states, "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come." Isaiah continues, with the Lord speaking through him in Isaiah chapter 3, verse 6. It says, "When there is a famine of competent leaders because of the judgment of God, a man will turn to another individual and call him to lead, one that is completely unqualified. He'll say, 'You have clothing, so you rule over us. You've got a nice suit. You should be our king. You should be our president.'"

We are living in such a time here today in the United States as well. I remember during the 2004 presidential campaign season, I was talking with a friend of mine. It was during the time when there were a whole bunch of Democrats trying to secure the presidential nomination of their party. There were probably seven or eight of them, and the two frontrunners at the time were Howard Dean and John Kerry.

I was talking with a friend one night, and he said, "I really think that Howard Dean is going to be the nominee." I replied, "There's no possible way." He asked, "Well, why do you think that?" I explained, "Because he doesn't look presidential. John Kerry looks presidential. Just because he looks presidential, he'll be the choice." At that time, Howard Dean was ahead, but ultimately we know who became the nominee, and it had everything to do with the fact that he looked presidential.

Just a couple of days ago, I was talking with someone about who might possibly run in 2012. Of course, the news was throwing forth four different names. As I was discussing this with the guy, he said, "I only see one that looks presidential." It has nothing to do with the qualifications.

How does he look? How does he do his hair? What kind of suit does he wear? How does he smile? He waves real nice, and he has nice, shiny white teeth. In that day, it was just that: "Man, you know, you've got a nice suit. You should be our king." Sadly, there is more stock put in the appearance of a candidate than in the content of what they say. The old saying is true: style over substance oftentimes leaves little content. In our day, we see that there is more given to the celebrity of an individual than to what they can really do and what they can offer.

We read here that in verse 7, the one who is called upon to lead shall swear, saying, "I will not be a healer, for in my house is neither bread nor clothing. Make me not a ruler over this people." Perhaps we haven't reached this stage in our own nation because there still appears to be a long list of people who want to take care of this ruin and try to fix everything. However, there will come a day when people will say, "I don't know how to fix it. I can't be the healer of this nation," just as it was during the day of Isaiah.

Continuing on, in verse 8, we read, "For Jerusalem is ruined and Judah is fallen because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord to provoke the eyes of His glory." Jerusalem and Judah are fallen and destroyed; they are ruined. We know who is going to judge in verse 1: God is the one who judges. We know how He is going to judge by this great famine mentioned in verses 2 and 3. Now we are told why He is going to judge in verse 8: because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord to provoke the eyes of His glory.

It is much easier to think that what we do is offensive to God and not so much what we say. Yet here it states that our tongue and our doings are against the Lord to provoke His glory. The people in the nation of Israel, 2,800 years ago, had words and deeds that were against God. As a result, the Lord was provoked. He saw what was going on, and He moved in such a way that we would call it the day of the Lord. I mentioned in our last study in Isaiah chapter 2 that the day of the Lord is any time in history when God intervenes in the physical realm. Just about every time we see it in the Bible, it is significant.

It's always for judgment. Now, there is the great and terrible day of the Lord that is yet to come when He will pour out wrath upon a Christ-rejecting and sinful world. The day of the Lord is when God moves for judgment among a people here on the earth. When you provoke the eyes of His glory, it's as if you're calling Him to move and to act. And so, here God moves and acts.

We read in verse 9, how many of you remember back to when you were just a young child? You would do something, break something of your mom's, or break the rules, whatever it may be, and you thought maybe you got away with it. You thought maybe you hid it, but they always seemed to find out. I always thought maybe they were spying on me somehow or that Mom had some sort of sixth sense. Yet now, as I watch my own nephews—my son is not quite old enough to show it on his face, but my nephews, you can see it. When they've done something wrong, it's just written all over their face. Their countenance declares their sin.

It’s as if these people weren't even trying to hide their sin. It says that they declare their sin as Sodom. In chapter 5, next week, we will see that these people pulled their sin behind them on a cart, like they were parading it around. We have people in our own day who parade their sin. These people declared their sin just like Sodom did; they were not bothered by it in any way.

Isaiah says, "Woe unto their soul." That word "woe" in Hebrew is literally "oy." You know, "oy vey." It's as if there is just this sigh, this gasp of, "Whoa, my goodness, look at this." In some translations, it's actually translated as "certain destruction." Destruction is certain unto their soul. Why? Because they have rewarded evil unto themselves.

In verse 10, it says, "Say to the righteous that it shall be well with him, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings." Woe unto the wicked! Oy! Destruction is certain.

Unto the wicked, it shall be ill with them, for the reward of his hand shall be given him. In the midst of all the wickedness of Judah and Jerusalem, there remains still a remnant. Just as God would tell Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 6 that a remnant will return, we will see it in chapter 7 as well. God's judgment would come upon the nation, and His punishment is always for the purpose of purification. There would be a remnant that would come through this judgment.

We read about them in verse 10: "Say to the righteous, it shall be well with them. They shall eat the fruit of their doings. But woe for the wicked! They will receive the reward of his hands." This is exactly the same New Testament principle we find in the book of Galatians. We will be studying this on Sunday mornings in just a couple of weeks. In Galatians chapter 6, verse 7, Paul says to the church there at Galatia, "Be not deceived. God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man sows, that he shall also reap."

For he that sows to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap everlasting life. "And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not." Say to the righteous, it shall be well with him. He shall eat the fruit of his doings. He shall reap what he has sown. But say to the wicked, "Woe to the wicked! He is going to receive the reward of his hands. He shall of the flesh reap corruption."

Sowing and reaping is a very important spiritual principle that we see throughout the Scriptures, both Old Testament and New Testament. Here, God reveals it in the Old Testament just as Paul would reveal it for us in the New Testament. Woe to the wicked! Destruction is certain.

In Isaiah 3, verse 12, we read, "As for my people, children are their oppressors and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err and destroy the way of thy paths." As God continues to speak this prophetic judgment, it is very important for us to remember that the Lord is speaking to His own people.

As for my people, Isaiah chapter 1, verse 1, speaks to Judah and Jerusalem. Isaiah chapter 2, verse 1, continues this message, and Isaiah chapter 3, verse 1, also addresses Judah and Jerusalem. In verse 12, it states, "As for my people." This reveals a principle throughout the Scriptures: God is not a respecter of persons. Paul tells us this in Romans chapter 2, verse 11, where it is clearly stated, "For there is no respect of persons with God."

In Ephesians chapter 6, verse 9, we read not only from the Apostle Paul but also from the Apostle Peter. In 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 17, he says, "And if you call on the Father, who without respect of persons judges according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear." We know that God is not a respecter of persons.

What does that mean? It means that it doesn't matter if an individual sits in a good Christian church or was brought up in a good Christian family. If they do not turn to the Lord themselves individually and call out to God for salvation in Christ Jesus, they shall be judged. Just because these people were children of Abraham, just because they lived in Jerusalem and had the temple, the Levites, and the priesthood, and they had the law of God, does not mean that God would spare them.

As we will see, God will judge them. The first five chapters of the book of Isaiah, in fact, the first twelve chapters of the book of Isaiah, are all focused on the judgment of God coming to His own people, the children of Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem. Why? Because Peter says judgment must begin at the house of God. This does not mean that God will not judge the rest of the world, but God first turns to His own people.

I believe that we are seeing in our own nation the beginning of God threshing the wheat from the chaff, beginning to toss it up into the air as they would thresh wheat in the times of Christ. Even before that, they would take all the wheat and put it upon a hard rock surface and drag over the top of it a piece of wood.

With jagged rocks put in it, the process would break up the wheat from the chaff. They would then throw it up into the air, and the wind would take away the chaff while the wheat would fall. We are seeing the very same thing begin to happen in our own nation, and it will get a lot worse. God will sift the wheat from the chaff. He will one day separate the wheat from the tares. The scripture reveals that this time is coming, and so judgment begins at the house of God. He is not a respecter of persons.

In verse 12, it says, "As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them." Because of the incompetent, inexperienced rulers in the nation of Israel, the people found themselves under harsh taskmasters. The rulers placed heavy burdens upon them, and I believe we will begin to see those things even more so in our nation. With the legislation that our nation is bringing forth, I believe that it will create a certain level of taskmaster over the people.

Now, this can be seen as a bad thing existentially, or it can be seen as a good thing as well. Oftentimes, when harsh taskmasters come over a people, they begin to cry out to God. They turn to the only one where they can find hope. It wasn't until Israel had harsh taskmasters in Egypt that they began to cry out to God. Before that, everything was just fine. When Joseph moved his entire family down to Egypt at the end of the Book of Genesis, they lived in the lap of luxury. Four hundred years later, they were slaves in Egypt, and that is when they began to call out to the Lord.

In our nation today, in this age of decadence, we are moving into a time where we will begin to experience harsh taskmasters, and people will call out to God. God will move. We will see Him move. As for my people, children are their oppressors, and their inexperienced leaders were taskmasters over them. Women ruling over them is seen as a curse and not a blessing. It is a sign that God had removed from them all the competent leaders.

We saw that in verses two and three: the mighty man, the man of war, the judge, the prophet, the prudent, the ancient man, the captain of fifty, the honorable man, the counselor, the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. All of those were gone, and all that was left to lead were young, inexperienced men and women to lead the nation.

Continuing on, we read, "A nation, it has been said, receives the leaders it deserves." In the time of Isaiah, 2,800 years ago, the leaders of the nation of Israel caused the people to wander. They caused them to go astray and stagger into sin. They led them into sin. As we'll see when we look at the time of Manasseh, the king of Judah and Jerusalem at the end of Isaiah's life, he built all these high places and caused all the people to come and worship at these high places. Thus, they caused the people to err by their legislation and their leadership.

In our nation today, we see that our government has caused the people to go astray into sin. What sort of legislation? If we go back to the early 1960s, we can look at the Supreme Court and their rulings against prayer and the word of God in schools. This caused our nation to err and walk towards sin. Then, in 1973, we had Roe v. Wade, which led to abortion on demand in our nation. Since then, there have been 50 million abortions in the United States of America—1.2 million abortions every single year. That means every 30 seconds, a baby dies through an abortion. Every 30 seconds. And our nation has legislated that. Now, our nation is even discussing government funding and taxation to support it. Their leaders caused them to err and destroy the way of their paths.

I love the way that the New Living Translation renders this: "They destroy the way of their paths." It says, "They are leading you down a pretty garden path to destruction." Everything looks so good. We are progressing, are we not? We are called progressives in our day. We talk about people who lived in Isaiah's day and Jesus' day, saying they were ancients and lacked understanding. Yet, we kill 1.2 million babies a year in the womb. We wonder, after having destroyed 50 million babies in a nation of 300 million, how we have obliterated more than a generation of children, and we wonder.

The social security system in America cannot support the older generation. We've killed an entire generation of working people, and we can't figure out why it can't support them, why it's broken, and why it's failing. Jesus spoke of these foolish leaders in Matthew 15, verse 14. He said, "Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind, and if the blind lead the blind, they shall both fall into a pit." We are quickly headed towards a pit, right on the very precipice of going into that ditch in our nation.

Isaiah continues in Isaiah 3, verse 13. The Lord stands up to plead, and He stands up to judge the people. God sees all these things that are happening in the nation of Judah 2,800 years ago, and it causes Him to stand up from His mighty throne. It says He stands up to plead and He stands up to judge. It is a scary thing when the prosecuting attorney is also the judge; you're in trouble. God stands up as the prosecuting attorney, leaves the desk of the prosecuting attorney, puts on the black robe, and stands as the judge over the people.

In verse 14, it says that the Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of His people and the princes thereof. God is going to enter into judgment with the leaders of the nation because they've led the people towards error and sin. Why is He going to judge them? Well, verse 14 states, "For you have eaten up the vineyard, and the spoil of the poor is in your houses." You have eaten up the vineyard. We will find when we get into Isaiah chapter 5, verse 7, that the vineyard is a reference to the nation of Israel. You have consumed my people, and the spoil of the poor is in your houses. It means you have stolen from the poor. You have stolen from the defenseless. You haven't defended them; you've robbed them.

He says, "What mean ye that you beat my people to pieces and grind the faces of the poor?" saith the Lord of hosts. Why are you doing this, God says? What is the purpose of all this? Now He directs His attention to the women of Judah and Jerusalem in verse 16. He says, "Moreover, the Lord says, Because the daughters..."

The daughters of Zion are haughty, proud, and arrogant. They walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, mincing as they go and making a tinkling with their feet. This behavior reflects how the women in Jerusalem were living, prancing around and trying to seduce people, seeking the next man.

Because of this, verse 17 states that the Lord will smite the crown of the heads of the daughters of Zion with a scab. This is beautiful, picturesque language. The Lord will expose their nakedness and reveal who they really are. He will give them an itch, as He tells them. On that day, the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, their culls, their round tires, their moons, the chains, the bracelets, the mufflers, the bonnets, the ornaments, the legs, the headbands, the tablets, the earrings, the rings, and the nose jewels. He will also remove their changeable suits of apparel, their mantles, their wimples, their crisping pins, their glasses, their fine linen, their hoods, and their veils.

Reading this in the King James Version, one might wonder what it means. However, when we look at it in a different translation, we see that the Lord will send scabs upon their heads and make the beautiful ladies of Zion bald. On that day of judgment, the Lord will strip away everything that makes them beautiful: their ornaments, headbands, crescent necklaces, earrings, bracelets, veils, scarves, ankle bracelets, sashes, perfumes, charms, rings, jewels, party clothes, gowns, capes, purses, mirrors, fine linen garments, head ornaments, and shawls.

It seems that Jerusalem had pretty nice malls in that day. God says, "I'm going to take away all your finery." Their focus was on these things, and the reason they had all this finery was...

All these gowns, capes, purses, mirrors, garments, and shawls were meant to seductively entice men. That was their whole focus. I wonder, are things any different? I don't think we even need to wonder. No, things are no different in the year 2009 in the United States of America. God says, "I'm going to take all that away."

In verse 24, He says, "And it shall come to pass that instead of a sweet smell, the beautiful smell of all their perfumes, there shall be a stink. Instead of a girdle, a rent; instead of well-set hair, baldness; instead of a stomacher, a girding of sackcloth and burning instead of beauty." Another translation states, "Instead of smelling sweet perfume, she will stink. She will wear a rope for a sash, and her elegant hair will fall out. She will wear rough burlap instead of rich robes. Shame will replace her beauty."

What else will happen? In verse 25, it says, "The men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war." There is that famine of mighty men, the men of war. In her gates, she shall lament and mourn, and she, being desolate, shall sit upon the ground. Her whole focus was dressing in this way to entice a man. Yet, when the judgment of God comes, all of her finery is gone, and all of the men are killed in battle.

So, what is the result? In chapter 4, verse 1, it states, "And in that day, when all this judgment comes to pass, seven women shall take hold of one man." The ratio of women will be seven to one. Notice what they will say: "We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes. Only let us be called by your name and take away our reproach."

They will come to a man, seven women all at once, and say, "I'll provide my own food. Just marry me." Another will say, "I'll provide my own food and my own clothes. Marry me and take away my reproach." To be barren in this society was a reproach. They are saying, "Give me your name and give me children."

They will all be crying out, seven women following after one man. Well, maybe seven men following after one man too. It's the judgment of God as well. In chapter 4, verse 2, it states, "In that day shall the branch of the Lord..."

Be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for those who have escaped from Israel. There is a change that takes place between chapter 4, verse 1, and chapter 4, verse 2. Now we see the glorious redemption that God brings about—a restoration.

The Scriptures say in Amos chapter 3, verse 7, that surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants, the prophets. God does not move for judgment or for blessing unless He reveals what He is going to do first to His people. He does not arbitrarily judge without informing them of His actions.

However, when we read about the judgment of God in the prophetic passages of the Bible, we always find what God will do on the flip side. The punishment of God is always for the purpose of purification. Now we see this great restoration that God will bring after this judgment comes. It says, "In that day, the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful." As we will see when we get to chapter 11 of Isaiah, the branch of the Lord is a reference to the Messiah.

In that day, when this judgment occurs, the desire will not be as it was before, with women merely desiring a man. Instead, the desire will be that God would move and bring His Messiah. The branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious. The fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for those who have escaped from Israel, for the remnant that comes through this judgment.

It shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and he who remains in Jerusalem shall be called holy. The punishment of God serves the purpose of purification. Those who are left shall be called holy.

You have probably heard the illustration of the refiner. When a refiner takes a piece of gold just brought up from the ground, it is filled with impurities and dirt. He places it into the fire, and there, because the gold is heavier than all the impurities, it settles to the bottom while the impurities rise to the top. They float on top of the molten gold. The refiner then takes a tool and scrapes away the impurities, continuing to fire it. As he does this, the gold becomes more and more pure because the impurities rise to the top, and he removes them. What is left is pure gold.

is a lot less than what he originally brought up from the ground, but it is purified; it is clean. In the same way, God brings the fiery trial and fiery judgment upon the people, and what is left is refined and purified. It shall come to pass that he who is left, he who remains, shall be called holy. Everyone that is written among the living in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.

When He brings that fiery burn upon them in the form of this punishment, what will be left has been cleansed and purged. As we saw in chapter 1, He says, "I will purge away all your alloy. I'll refine you, purge away your dross." The Lord will create upon every dwelling place. Notice this; this is beautiful. In verse 5, the Lord will create upon every dwelling place in Mount Zion and upon her assemblies a cloud of smoke by day and the shining of a flame of fire by night.

Where else do we read about a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day? In the book of Exodus, right? Where did the pillar of fire or the cloud stand in the camp of Israel? In Exodus, it was on top of the tabernacle, and it was a sign of the presence of God. God says here, after I purge away all of their dross, after I have brought to myself a refined people, it says in chapter 3, the Lord will create upon every dwelling place—not just upon the temple in Jerusalem, not just upon the tabernacle, but upon every dwelling place.

God says, "I will place a cloud of smoke by day and the shining of a flame of fire by night. For upon all the glory shall be a defense." Upon all of my people at that time, God says, "I will be with them, and I will be their defense." There shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat and for a place of refuge and for a covert from the storm and from the rain. God says, "I will be the one that is your defense. I will be your shadow in the daytime under the heat. You will find your shelter in me. I will be your refuge after He comes and judges." The Bible makes...

It is very clear that there is coming a day, as we looked at when we were in chapter 2, when they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. It will be a great day of peace, where God will be upon the earth in the midst of His people, and He will rule and reign. However, before that great and glorious day comes, a day of judgment is approaching first.

The day of judgment is described in Isaiah chapter 3 and the very first verse of Isaiah chapter 4. This great famine that is going to come—a famine of bread and water—will affect the mighty man, the man of war, the judge, the prophet, the prudent, the ancient, the captain of fifty, and the honorable man. This famine is coming, and we are experiencing portions of it in our own nation and in the world today. The things that the Scriptures speak of are coming to pass before our eyes.

In John chapter 14, verse 29, Jesus said, "These things I have told you beforehand so that when you see them, you shall believe." In Isaiah chapter 41, God says, "I speak the things that are going to come to pass before they come to pass so that when they come to pass, you will believe that I am God." God has told us beforehand what is going to happen in the end of the days, and we are seeing it come to pass.

It is amazing that for decades, maybe even centuries, the church has been saying that there is coming one day a great world global government and a global currency. Many people have said, "Oh, that will never happen." Yet now, what are we hearing over and over again? Whether it be from President Obama, Gordon Brown in the UK, or different bodies within the UN or the G20, they are all calling for a new global currency and a new world order of government. The Bible said that it would come to pass, and we are seeing it happen.

If anything, this should strengthen our faith that Jesus is coming soon. Let me tell you, judgment will come before that great day when He sits upon a throne in Jerusalem. There is a lost and dying world that needs to hear the word we read here in Isaiah chapter 3: "It shall be well for the righteous; he shall eat the fruit of his doings, but woe to the wicked; the reward of his hands will come." There are multitudes of people in our own city, in our own county, who need to hear this message.

Many people do not know the Lord, and they are storing up for themselves, as Romans chapter 2 says, wrath for the day of wrath. We saw in Isaiah chapter 2 that when that day of wrath comes, man will flee; he will hide himself in caves and in dens, crying out that death would come, but death will flee from them. The judgment of God comes.

You have family members, I have family members, and we have friends, perhaps co-workers—hopefully none of my co-workers—who do not know the Lord. If I have any co-workers that do not know the Lord, we are in trouble. But God has given us the word of eternal life, and we need to speak up and tell them judgment is coming because the Lord is coming. When He comes, He is coming with a sword. The Bible says in Isaiah that it is a sword bathed in heaven, meaning it has been sharpened and readied there, and He is coming to execute judgment.

When we are with our family members next week for Thanksgiving or when we gather together to celebrate Christmas or the New Year, may the Lord strengthen us and give us boldness to speak the truth, even though it may not be politically correct. Every single time I study and read through these pages in Isaiah, I find myself praying, "Lord, give me the grace and the boldness to say this," because it is not going to be well-received. When it goes out on TV in a couple of weeks, it is probably not going to cause people to call in and say, "Oh, that's so exciting."

But may the Lord give us boldness and strengthen our resolve because this world is headed toward destruction. None of us desire to see the wrath of God come upon even our enemies, if we have any. You may say tonight, "Well, I have some enemies that I wouldn't mind seeing the wrath of God come upon." Just wait, because as we read through the book of Isaiah and see a picture of the wrath of God, your mind will change. The wrath of God is heavy. The Bible talks about the glory of God; the Hebrew word is "kabod," which means something that is heavy, something that is weighty. When His glory comes, it is a heavy thing.

But may His glory stir us to preach the gospel. How beautiful are the feet of them who bring glad tidings of good things. The Bible says in the book of Isaiah, "May we go from this place tonight with beautiful feet bringing glad tidings of good things." Amen?

Let's stand and pray. God, I thank You for Your Word, although it is heavy. Would You, Lord, plant it deep in our hearts and stir us, Lord, to take Your Word to this lost and dying world? Give me boldness. Give my brothers and sisters here boldness to speak, though many don't want to hear.

Even as Isaiah in his day, Lord, You said that his witness, his preaching would cause the ears of the people to be closed, their eyes to be shut, and their hearts to be hardened. His response was the same that I think many of us would respond: "Lord, how long do I have to do this for?"

God, it can be discouraging when we give forth Your Word and it seems not to be received. But Lord, Your Word will not return void. It will accomplish what You set it forth to do. Help us to be faithful just to bring it out. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you. Thank you.