8. JUDGMENT ON THE WOMEN OF JUDAH - Isaiah 3:13-4:1

 

In the first part of Isaiah 3, Isaiah has drawn attention to the judgment that God is bringing upon the nation of Judah for continual rebellion against Him. This was a judgment that they had indeed brought upon themselves. The thought of judgment continues in this next section of Isaiah 3 also, with attention turning especially toward the women.

 

Please Read Isaiah 3:13-4:1

 

Verses 13: The Lord stands as the Accuser, standing ready to judge and punish the people for their rebellion. He is in total control, not being forced to reveal His hand before the time. Yet He is ready, and the time draws near.

QUESTION: If the people are as wicked as the passage suggests, why does God not immediately judge the people? Is there any relevance for today in this observation? Explain.

 

Verse 14: The Lord brings His case against the rulers who have destroyed the nation, and who have ruled in injustice. Instead of leading the nation in an upright manner, the leaders have oppressed the poor, leaving them even more destitute.

Verse 15: Isaiah as the Lord’s representative now questions the accused, ‘What do you mean by crushing My people...’ The rulers were in authority to lead and to protect the people, yet they have been the ones to inflict damage on the people of Judah.

Verse 16: It is the Lord who is speaking through Isaiah, and he now turns His attention to the women. Here are women who knew their beauty and flaunted it, glorified themselves in it, and sought the acknowledgment of all for it, and the lust of all after it. In short, these women loved themselves, wanting everyone else to love them, and lust after them. They cared for nothing else, but to see themselves lifted up and admired, and to have the men chasing after them (1 Pet 3:3,4). So they wore things that drew the attention of the men, such as chains with bells around their feet. They were not concerned for the Lord’s affairs, just their own.

QUESTION: Are there lessons in this description for women today? Reflect on 1 Peter 3:3,4 as you answer this question.

 

Verse 17: Because of the self-centred pride of these women, the Lord will strike them in His judgment. The Lord will take the beauty of these women away from them, so that their hair will be gone.

Not only will their hair be gone, but also it seems that they would become naked, their fine clothes taken away. He will punish these women in this way by some means, probably at the hands of their enemies.

Verses 18-23: In the day that God comes in judgment (3:1), He will remove all those objects that brought attention to these women. These were things that were designed to deliberately attract the attention of the men, and ironically it would be men that would take them away.

Verse 24: This verse summarises what the conditions will be like when God comes in judgment. The Lord will bring these women from the place of pride and self-glory, and from the place of flaunting and flirting, to the place of mourning and sadness. They will smell, be led as captives, be bald, be in sackcloth (symbol of mourning), and be branded as captive slaves.

QUESTION: Is there anything for women today to learn from in this passage? Give examples.

 

Verse 25-4:1: Isaiah’s attention now turns to the men of Judah. At the time of judgment the men will be wiped out by an invading army (Lam 2:10,21). The city will then be left empty and alone, mourning by itself. There will be little left but a desolate city. Where men were want to gather in times of peace and prosperity there would now be emptiness. The very gates of the city are said to despair in a state of loneliness and solitariness (14:31; Jer 14:2; Lam 1:4).

The scene will be tragic, for it will be one of devastation. Few people will remain, and few of those will be males. Women will band together and surround a male, pleading for a married name. They will feed and fend for themselves (cf Ex 21:10), if only they can have a married name, for they feared being childless. All source of pride will be removed from the arrogant women that filled Judah, even that of bearing children.

QUESTION: What was the cause of Judah’s predicament? Is there a warning for us here? Explain.

 

Individual Discovery

What is meant by the ‘cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night,’ in Isaiah 4:5?

 

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17/10/2006

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