Isaiah Chapter 3: Warnings to Jerusalem & Judea

So far in our study of the book of Isaiah, we have seen in chapter 1 that the ancient Israelites lost their special status before God because they to obey Him even though He had cared for them and provided for them. Then we discussed in chapter 2 Isaiah’s prophecy that in the last days all the nations of the world will pay homage to God in Jerusalem. Today in chapter 3, we will find that Isaiah abruptly shifts the focus of his prophecy from that far future time he told us about in chapter 2 to the events that were about to take place in the near future in Jerusalem and Judah, when the people there would fall under God’s judgement.

He begins his prophecy in vv. 1-7:

“¹ 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 counselor, 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, neighbor against neighbor.

The young will rise up against the old,

    the nobody against the honored.

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.’”

The prophet uses two different Hebrew names for God in v. 1. It is his way of emphasizing God’s roles as both Sovereign Lord of His people and King of Israel.

The first term Isaiah uses for God in v. 1 is the Hebrew word “Adonai,” which is translated simply “…the Lord…”  “Adonai,” means “Sovereign” or “Master” or simply “Lord” and is a common word used to refer to any human master, as well as to the Lord God, the ultimate Master. The other word Isaiah uses to refer to God in v. 1 is the Hebrew term “Yahweh,” which is translated “…the Lord Almighty…” “Yahweh” is God’s personal covenant name that identifies God as the “Redeemer-King of Israel, the Creator, the One who is glorious and reigns over all the earth.”

The name “Yahweh” comes from the Hebrew verb meaning “to be,” which is the same verb God used when He first revealed Himself as the self-existent God to Moses at the burning bush when He said “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). Interestingly, Biblical Hebrew does not distinguish between grammatical tenses, and God’s response to Moses in Exodus 3:14 could be translated into English as “I am,” “I was,” and “I will be” because of the peculiarities of Hebrew grammar and testifying to God’s self-existence past, present, and future.

Isaiah has delivered a stern warning to the people of Jerusalem and Judea that they are going to endure famine, and their leaders will be removed (vv. 1-4). Social conditions in the region will degenerate into oppression, anarchy, and theft (vv. 5-6), and there will be no one to step up and lead the people (v. 7).

It was not long until this prophecy was fulfilled. In 605 B.C., the Babylonians invaded and captured Jerusalem. That event is recorded in 2 Kings 24:10-14: “¹⁰ At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem and laid siege to it, ¹¹ and Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city while his officers were besieging it. ¹² Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his attendants, his nobles and his officials all surrendered to him. In the eighth year of the reign of the king of Babylon, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. ¹³ As the Lord had declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace, and cut up the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the Lord. ¹⁴ He carried all Jerusalem into exile: all the officers and fighting men, and all the skilled workers and artisans—a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest people of the land were left.”

In vv. 8-12, Isaiah reminds us of the spiritual and moral causes of the anarchy in Jerusalem and Judah:

“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.”

These verses are a reminder that the anarchy of Jerusalem and Judah resulted from spiritual and moral issues. The people have brought disaster on themselves (v. 9) through their wickedness (v. 11) and oppression (v. 12), and leaders who lead them astray (v. 12).

In v. 9, the Isaiah begins a series of eight “woes.” Two of them are in this chapter and the remaining six appear in chapter 5.

3:9: “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.”

3:11: “Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for what their hands have done.”

5:8: “Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land.”

5:11: “Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine.”

5:18: “Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes…”

5:20: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

5:21: “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.”

5:22-23: “²² Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, ²³ who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent.”

The Lord summons Israel to stand trial in vv. 13-15 and charges Israel’s rulers with enriching themselves at the expense of the poor, declares them guilty, and pronounces sentence:

“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.”

The Lord levels charges against the leaders of the people for their treatment of the poor. The return to the courtroom scene in v. 13 reminds us of the picture Isaiah painted for us in chapter 1, where the Lord is the plaintiff in a legal proceeding accusing His chosen people Israel of apostacy. In vv. 13-14, however, Isaiah sees God not as prosecutor, but as judge. The leaders of Jerusalem and Judah had used their positions of responsibility for self-interest rather than the good of society, which led to God's major accusation against them in the scene of vv. 13-14.

In vv. 16-26, God focuses His denunciation on the women of Jerusalem and Judah because of their flirtatious and showy displays of themselves and expensive jewelry:

“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 headdresses 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.

Isaiah delivers the Lord’s scathing judgment against the women of Judah: they were arrogant, their mannerisms suggestive, and they flaunted their expensive clothing and jewelry. They were seductive and promiscuous. They were taken with themselves and loved to consider themselves better than others.

Isaiah lists the many the many fine luxury items the women of Jerusalem and Judah longed for in vv. 18-22: “…bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces, ¹⁹ the earrings and bracelets and veils, ²⁰ the headdresses 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.” Isaiah prophesied that soon the women would be stripped of all their fine clothing and jewelry. Instead of being elegant ladies showing off their fineries in public, they would become poor refugees with shaved heads, wearing sackcloth, and branded for identification (v. 24).

Isaiah notes in v. 25: “Your men will fall by the sword, your warriors in battle.”

In fact, we will learn in our next Bible study of Isaiah chapter 4 that the war with the Babylonians so decimated the male population of Jerusalem and Judah that multiple women would all seek the same man to be their husband so they would not have to experience the double disgrace of a lifetime of being unwed and childless.