Isaiah 3:1-12

Readings Leviticus 10, Romans 6

Memory Verses: Isaiah 40:31

Good Afternoon Brothers and Sisters,

We are still camping and having a great time of it.  I will abbreviate this study slightly due to the camping trip.

Isaiah 3:1  God will remove from man the bread and water.  Which is the staples of life.  The un-repentant Jews were warned that if they continued to rebel against God, the end was not a good thing.  Another way of looking at this verse is that if we walk away from God, He will remove our spiritual support, the bread representing the Word of God, Matthew 4:4, and the water representing the Holy Spirit, John 14:4; 6:27. 

3:2-3  Israel being a nation that was led by men would consider it an insult to have their men removed from power.  Notice also that the enchanter is included.  The presence of this man was against the culture, and against the rules of the Jews.  Isaiah is not saying that the enchanter was proper, just that every single man who occupied a position of power would be knocked off of his pedestal.  The trust in men will not give Israel comfort, Psalm 146:3, 4.

3:4-6  In the day that Israel walks from the Lord, they will be insulted by having insolent and rebellious children leading them.  The poverty will be so great that the one who has a full set of clothes will be considered as a ruler.  All the government will be gone, and people will be grasping at straws.  Ecclesiastes 10:16-17. 

3:7-9  Since Israel has walked away from the Lord, they have become as Sodom, they are cursed because they brought it upon themselves.  It was not an unjust punishment. 

3:10-12  The righteous will receive a reward, but the wicked will fully experience the penalty for their actions.  The summation in verse 12 is interesting. 

As an application, I can see several things that are applicable today.  In reference to the strong man being toppled, God promises that if we do not follow him, we will fall.  The youth becoming the leaders is also interesting.  Today in Corporate America, we see younger and younger CEO's, the older wiser men are put out to pasture earlier, and considered to be used up long before they reach their prime.  In effect, we are a nation that is moving toward younger and younger leaders.  Also, when you consider the laws that are protecting the youth today, it has reached a point of insanity.  In our public and private schools, the teachers cannot even administer discipline without running the risk of strict scrutiny.  If they administer physical discipline, as in a paddling, they are facing loosing their jobs, as well as being the recipients of lawsuits, and possible jail time.  Take the children in their homes for example.  If a parent uses a switch today to discipline his kid, he runs the risk of being labeled as a child abuser, if he even disciplines his kid, and his kid reports it to the police, the parent is faced with incredible grief.  Are children rulers of our society today?  Although they are not positionally in that place yet, by effect they rule over their schools, and their parents, as well as any other person in authority over them.  I am reluctant to go to the area of women ruling, because of all the negative connotations that go along with it.  I feel that in our churches, the women have received a raw deal, but in society, it is better to be a woman than a man in some degrees, because they are hired quicker, in order to meet quotas and in order to appease the women's lib organizations.  Rather than go there, I am going to leave well enough alone.  Today, it is politically correct to be on the side of the neglected women and the abused children.  Interesting that today, after several thousand years, we have the same problem that Isaiah prophesied about.

Lord, as we look at the prophecy we studied today, I pray that each person will understand and learn from Your word so that we can live our lives in harmony with Your word.

In Him,

Joe Turner.