seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Isaiah 20:1 In the year that the supreme commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it— 2 at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said to him, “Take off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped and barefoot.
3 Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush,[a] 4 so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared—to Egypt’s shame. 5 Those who trusted in Cush and boasted in Egypt will be dismayed and put to shame. 6 In that day the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened to those we relied on, those we fled to for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?’”
a. Isaiah 20:3 That is, the upper Nile region; also in verse 5
I thought this was a quick and easy chapter.... and fun too..... the first commentary is from enduringword.com.
This is from the easy English site.
So since I have time this morning.... I am figuring out my confusion about Assyria and Syria. I got this from differencebetween.net. Yes it's obscure but it makes sense.
In the days of Isaiah..... a naked butt was total humiliation..... even when Jesus was crucified, hundred of years later.... they stripped Him naked before putting Him on the cross to humiliate Him.
Isaiah was warning the Egyptians that they should rely on God, not the Assyrians.
3 Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush,[a] 4 so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared—to Egypt’s shame. 5 Those who trusted in Cush and boasted in Egypt will be dismayed and put to shame. 6 In that day the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened to those we relied on, those we fled to for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?’”
a. Isaiah 20:3 That is, the upper Nile region; also in verse 5
I thought this was a quick and easy chapter.... and fun too..... the first commentary is from enduringword.com.
In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod: This describes the time when the army of Assyria conquered the Philistine city of Assyria. Isaiah’s sign is a response to this victory of Assyria.
This invasion has a concrete marking point in secular history: 711 B.C.
Remove the sackcloth from your body, and take your sandals off your feet: Before this, Isaiah wore an outer garment of sackcloth – clothes of mourning. Now, God tells him to remove his outer garment of sackcloth, and to take his sandals off.
“God would sometimes have his prophets to add to their word a visible sign, to awaken people’s minds to a more serious consideration of the matters proposed to them.” (Poole)
And he did so, walking naked and barefoot: We shouldn’t think that Isaiah was nude, completely without clothing. Instead, he only wore the inner garment customary in that day – sort of like wearing only your underwear or a nightshirt. The message wasn’t nudity, it was complete poverty and humiliation. Isaiah dressed as the poorest and most destitute would dress.
“One need not imagine that Isaiah walked around stripped for the entire three years or that Ezekiel lay on his side for 390 days without getting up (Ezek. 4:9). Perhaps part of each day was used for those designated purposes.” (Wolf)
“Not stark naked, but stripped as a prisoner, his mantle or upper garment cast off.” (Trapp)
“Other prophets were asked to go through equally difficult experiences as signs to Israel. Hosea endured a trying marriage, and Ezekiel’s wife died as an illustration for the nation (Ezek. 24:16-24).” (Wolf)
My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years as a sign and wonder against Egypt: Under the command of the LORD, Isaiah dressed in this poor and humble way for three years. It was a message against Egypt, because the king of Assyria would lead away the Egyptians as prisoners.
To the shame of Egypt: As the Assyrians took the Egyptians captive, they would humiliate them by stripping them and leading them away as prisoners. This would all be to the shame of Egypt.
They shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation and Egypt their glory: When God judges Ethiopia and Egypt, it will be evident how foolish it was for Judah to look to them for protection against Assyria.
How shall we escape: The LORD allowed Judah to be backed into a corner, caught between two mighty Empires (Egypt and Assyria), without being able to trust either one. There was no escape – except in the LORD.
Because of the glorious promise of revival and restoration among Egypt in Isaiah 19, Judah might have been even more tempted to say, “Well, we can trust in Egypt. They are all going to come to the LORD someday anyway!” But with the dramatic three-year sign, Isaiah shows Judah how vain it was to make Egypt their expectation or glory.
He fought against Ashdod and took it: The Philistines were both neighbors and thorns to Israel, and the fall of Ashdod would certainly make Judah think, “We’re next. We need protection.”
Now remember.... the Philistines are the modern day Palestinians. This is from the easy English site.
Ashdod was one of the five major towns of the Philistines.
Sargon was emperor of Assyria. His empire included the country of the Philistines. But in 711 BC the king of Ashdod tried to fight for freedom.
He also tried to get Judah and other states to join him. So Sargon ordered his army commander to attack Ashdod.
Instead of words, God sometimes told his servants to use actions (see Jeremiah chapter 13). This is the only occasion when Isaiah used actions to give God’s message.
Cush was a country that today forms part of southern Egypt and northern Sudan.
God’s people can now see for themselves that to depend on political agreements is hopeless. Only the Lord can save them.
I keep thinking of a comic strip character who is wearing a diaper..... and he's chained to the wall at his wrists and ankles..... So since I have time this morning.... I am figuring out my confusion about Assyria and Syria. I got this from differencebetween.net. Yes it's obscure but it makes sense.
Assyria
Assyria was an ancient civilization. The Assyrians were Semitic people who lived in what is now modern Syria and present-day Iraq before the Arabs came to live in Assyria. Assyria was the Akkadian kingdom which extended between the rivers Furat and Dajla. In Syria, most of the people speak Arabic, but there are still some people who speak Aramaic which was the Assyrian language.
Assyria was an ancient civilization. The Assyrians were Semitic people who lived in what is now modern Syria and present-day Iraq before the Arabs came to live in Assyria. Assyria was the Akkadian kingdom which extended between the rivers Furat and Dajla. In Syria, most of the people speak Arabic, but there are still some people who speak Aramaic which was the Assyrian language.
Assyria was a kingdom which existed between the 23rd century BC and 608 BC. It was built in Mesopotamia or what is now modern Iraq on the Tigris River. Assyria was named after the city Assur and also called Subartu. Assyria came into existence after the fall of the Akkadian kingdom. The Sargon of Akkad tried to unite the different territories and regional leaders who spoke Akkadian, but when it fell in 2154 BC, two kingdoms were formed; Assyria, which was in the north, and Babylon which was in the south.
Some other names used for Assyria are: Athura, Asuristan, and Syria. Assyria, in general, can be referred to as the geographical area where the Assyrian kingdom flourished, and the descendants of the Assyrians still live in these areas. These Assyrians form the minority population of Christians in northern Syria, modern Iraq, Turkey, and western Iran.
Syria
Syria is formally known as Syrian Arab Republic. It includes some regions of ancient Assyria, the coastline of the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Syrian desert. It is situated in western Asia and borders the Mediterranean Sea and Lebanon in the west, Iraq in the east, Turkey in the north, Israel in the southwest, and Jordan in the south. The capital of Syria is Damascus which is the oldest city that has been continuously inhabited.
Syria is formally known as Syrian Arab Republic. It includes some regions of ancient Assyria, the coastline of the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Syrian desert. It is situated in western Asia and borders the Mediterranean Sea and Lebanon in the west, Iraq in the east, Turkey in the north, Israel in the southwest, and Jordan in the south. The capital of Syria is Damascus which is the oldest city that has been continuously inhabited.
Modern-day Syria comprises many ancient kingdoms like: the Ebla civilization, Umayyad Caliphate, and Mamluk Sultanate of modern-day Egypt. The population of Syria is 90 per cent Muslim, but Muslims are differentiated into 74 per cent Sunni and 13 per cent Shia Muslims. The minority is comprised of 10 per cent Christians and 3 per cent Druze. The Christians are comprised of ethnic Assyrians, Arab Christians, and Armenians.
Syria became independent in April, 1946. It had been established as a French mandate after the First World War. It gained the status of a Parliamentary republic after its independence.
Now.... the naked butts were not really naked..... but to the people of the time... they might as well have had no diaper and a tattoo arrow calling attention to the nakedness..... those people back in the days of Isaiah were much more unlikely to let even a hint of their underwear show.... let alone a naked butt..... In the days of Isaiah..... a naked butt was total humiliation..... even when Jesus was crucified, hundred of years later.... they stripped Him naked before putting Him on the cross to humiliate Him.
Isaiah was warning the Egyptians that they should rely on God, not the Assyrians.