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ONDITIONS in Jerusalem of Judah were destined to
decline. Just how bad things were going
to get was something that was virtually incomprehensible to the Jews of
Isaiah's day. But, after Isaiah preached
this particular message, his audience should have had a pretty good idea about
just how bad things were going to get.
Financial and physical poverty was going to become unbearably
intense. Even more devastating though
was a poverty of personnel, which was on the way. Worse than not having money or not having the
things that money can buy, is not having anyone who knows what to do about it. Jerusalem was destined to be ruled by men who
were too young and inexperienced to even be called men, and by women who were
too vain to have any leadership value (3:4, 12, 16 & 25).
The saddest thing about this whole scene is that the nation
had brought these troubles upon itself (Isaiah 3:9). Their words and their actions were in direct
contradiction to what God wanted from them (Isaiah 3:8). Because they had been distinctly warned and
instructed repeatedly, their rebellion was effectively a willfully self-inflicted
wound (Jeremiah 2:19). It sounds a
mite harsh I suppose, but it is true nonetheless. When we disregard God's commandments, we are
shooting ourselves in the foot... or maybe more perfectly, cutting off our own
nose just to spite our face. That's not
a very intelligent way to lead one's life.
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