Isaiah 20 reminds me
of one day in 9th
grade, rushing out to catch the end of the basketball game after
wrestling practice. I showered and just threw on a pair of shorts,
knowing there were only minutes left in the game. I stood at the
locker room door, directly under the basket watching, when two
buddies walked up, made a loud commotion, and proceeded to yank my
shorts down to my ankles. There was nothing but 25 feet between the
cheerleaders and my very red cheeks. Humiliation and humility are
two very different words. Humiliation is imposed on you while
humility is a willing acknowledgement that something is greater.
Humility honors, yields, and bows to that greatness. The proud
refuse to give the respect due and many times end up cracked. In
today’s short chapter, Isaiah continues “A
Prophecy against Egypt and Cush“.
We see Isaiah willingly humble himself in obedience to God, in order
to make himself a clear and visible symbol. “In
the year… Sargon king of Assyria… attacked and captured”
the Philistine city of Ashdod, “the
LORD spoke through Isaiah“.
Historians tell us this took place in 711 B.C. We have a sense that
Isaiah could clearly see the scoreboard and the time remaining when
God gave him the instructions, “Take
off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet“.
At this moment Isaiah could resist or debate or he could act in
complete faith, trusting that God’s perfect plan has a bigger
purpose. “And
he did so,
going
around stripped and barefoot.”
I have never heard an audible command from God, but God often makes
me aware of a need. I confess that I am not always quick to follow
because I fear I might embarrass myself.
Here is the cool
part; I know many times I have failed to act, out of fear, yet God
continues to use me. My faith is bolstered every time I humble
myself and honor God’s leading, but the experience is not usually
for my benefit. “Do
nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility
value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but
each of you to the interests of the others”
(Philippians 2:3). God explained, “Just
as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years,
as a sign… against Egypt and Cush…
so
the
king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian
captives and Cushite exiles… to Egypt’s shame“.
This was a message to Egypt, but it was a warning to Judah not to
put their faith in man, no matter how strong they look. He adds,
“Those
who trusted in Cush
and
boasted in
Egypt
will be dismayed and put to shame“.
Those who say “but” to God sometimes end up exposed.
God often uses
symbols to teach us, but very often He asks us to speak a word of
healing, or hope, or forgiveness. If we are unwilling, God will
minister through another. Remember in Numbers 22, the prophet Balaam
refused to listen to God, “Then
the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth“.
Because of Isaiah’s humility, people’s lives were changed. In
the end they see and they turn back to God, “See
what has happened to… those we fled to for… deliverance from the
king of Assyria!“.
They ask, “How
then can we escape?“.
Do you have an answer? Here is the bottom line; James chapter 4
explains, “God opposes
the proud but shows favor to the humble“,
therefore, “Humble
yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up“.
Are people around you in need of God’s grace? Will you risk
embarrassment, or remain on your rear in fear?