Slices
Prepare
Ask the Lord to show you what you need to know today about him, about yourself and about those your life will touch.
Bible passage
Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah
3 See now, the Lord,
the Lord Almighty,
is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah
both supply and support:
all supplies of food and all supplies of water,
2 the hero and the warrior,
the judge and the prophet,
the diviner and the elder,
3 the captain of fifty and the man of rank,
the counsellor, skilled craftsman and clever enchanter.
4 ‘I will make mere youths their officials;
children will rule over them.’
5 People will oppress each other –
man against man, neighbour against neighbour.
The young will rise up against the old,
the nobody against the honoured.
6 A man will seize one of his brothers
in his father’s house, and say,
‘You have a cloak, you be our leader;
take charge of this heap of ruins!’
7 But in that day he will cry out,
‘I have no remedy.
I have no food or clothing in my house;
do not make me the leader of the people.’
8 Jerusalem staggers,
Judah is falling;
their words and deeds are against the Lord,
defying his glorious presence.
9 The look on their faces testifies against them;
they parade their sin like Sodom;
they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
They have brought disaster upon themselves.
10 Tell the righteous it will be well with them,
for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.
11 Woe to the wicked!
Disaster is upon them!
They will be paid back
for what their hands have done.
12 Youths oppress my people,
women rule over them.
My people, your guides lead you astray;
they turn you from the path.
13 The Lord takes his place in court;
he rises to judge the people.
14 The Lord enters into judgment
against the elders and leaders of his people:
‘It is you who have ruined my vineyard;
the plunder from the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by crushing my people
and grinding the faces of the poor?’
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
16 The Lord says,
‘The women of Zion are haughty,
walking along with outstretched necks,
flirting with their eyes,
strutting along with swaying hips,
with ornaments jingling on their ankles.
17 Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion;
the Lord will make their scalps bald.’
18 In that day the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces, 19 the earrings and bracelets and veils, 20 the head-dresses and anklets and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, 21 the signet rings and nose rings, 22 the fine robes and the capes and cloaks, the purses 23 and mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls.
24 Instead of fragrance there will be a stench;
instead of a sash, a rope;
instead of well-dressed hair, baldness;
instead of fine clothing, sackcloth;
instead of beauty, branding.
25 Your men will fall by the sword,
your warriors in battle.
26 The gates of Zion will lament and mourn;
destitute, she will sit on the ground.
4 In that day seven women
will take hold of one man
and say, ‘We will eat our own food
and provide our own clothes;
only let us be called by your name.
Take away our disgrace!’
Explore
The English nursery rhyme ‘Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary’ does not tell us why Mary was contrary! Some people just enjoy being contrary. They like trying to run up the down escalator, or taking the opposite view in a discussion.
In Isaiah’s Jerusalem, it was infinitely more serious. Instead of loving God, they were defying him (v 8); instead of loving their neighbour, they were crushing the poor (v 15). So Isaiah delivered God’s judgement on the city, described in terms of the city being captured (similar to what actually happened when the Babylonians eventually destroyed Jerusalem after Isaiah’s death). The Lord will withdraw his support. The people will have no food, no water (v 1), no one capable of leadership (vs 2–7) and no dignity (3:15 – 4:1). They will turn on each other and the city will be flattened (vs 5,6). They will lose everything, like the poor they exploited. Their shame will be complete. As captives, they may even be paraded unwashed, bound, branded and shaven-headed (v 24). Prized possessions and haughty appearance will count for nothing (vs 18–23). Our status symbols can become our condemnation.
Is there any hope? Yes, as we shall see tomorrow. The righteous will reap their reward (v 10). A ‘remnant’ will survive.
Respond
The Lord knows what poor and powerless people must cope with, but do we? How we act towards them is a key question when the Lord assesses us (v 15).
Deeper Bible study
Lord Almighty, search my heart and enable me to set aside everything that acts as a distraction from you. Please lead me away from trivialities and into your path.
The writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn recounted the time when ‘a number of older people offer[ed] the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: “Men have forgotten God”’.1 When a society abandons God for idols and trusts human intellect, wisdom and power, chaos ensues. Isaiah dissects the outcomes for Israel when God withdraws his support, much as the apostle Paul analyses the impact of a world in which God removes his restraint.2 We have already heard the damning word ‘abandoned’.3 Now we see its full implications, particularly in regard to leadership. It is said that people get the leadership they deserve. In this case there is a leadership vacuum (vs 4,6,7), with no one willing to take on responsibility. Without leaders, oppression is rife (and, as always, it’s the poor who suffer; v 15) and there is a disruption of relationships and values (vs 5,12). Without a moral compass, sin is no longer a cause for shame (v 9). Everything is in turmoil.
Does this seem extreme? It certainly pinpoints the logical conclusion of rejecting all that is gained from a Christian heritage. Function as if there is no God, and see what it brings. This should bring us to our knees in repentance, though we give thanks that the Holy Spirit is at work to convict the world about sin, righteousness and judgement.4 There is, as always, a word of hope (v 10), but it is tucked in among many causes for grief. These continue as Isaiah catalogues self-indulgent obsessions with sex, fashion and image (vs 16–23), all very prominent contemporary preoccupations. God wants to bring his people to lament (v 26) by demonstrating how pointless life becomes without him to lead us.
We are all leaders somewhere: pray that God’s Spirit will guide as you exercise your leadership.
1 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Templeton Address, 1983 2 Rom 1:24–32 3 Isa 2:6 4 John 16:8–11
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Ezra 7,8; Luke 4
Pray for Scripture Union
This weekend the Families Together holiday (led by Hannah and Adam Legge) will welcome the families that Faith Guides are working with, whose children are too young to come on our regular holidays. Pray that the families will form great supportive relationships as they explore faith together.
