3:1  Even now, the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, deprives Judea and Jerusalem of both staff and crutch—all food supply and water supply,

Judea and Jerusalem are not just ancient geographical locations. They are also code names for latter-day entities. All names in fact, like the name King of Assyria; while yes there was an ancient King of Assyria; there is also a latter-day King of Assyria – not that there isn’t a nation called Syria, but there will be a nation that resembles the ancient empire of Assyria. It has the same characteristics as the ancient Assyria does. So is the name Babylon a code name for the latter-day Babylon. And the name Zion a codename for a latter-day Zion. They all existed anciently and they’ll all exist again in the end time. The same with Judea and Jerusalem. These would be places where the Lord’s people live today.

Of both staff and crutch”- our food supply and water supply. What is the staff and crutch in that case? Since it parallels those two ideas. The staff and crutch are the food supply and water supply, right? The staff of life, but also the leadership.

3:2  the valiant man and soldier, the magistrate and prophet, the augur and elder,

They are also the staff and crutch. People lean upon leaders don’t they? Leadership is actually symbolized by the staff, or the shepherd’s crook. Food and water are always covenant blessings. And, the lack thereof are covenant curses. The righteous never go without food and without water in the book of Isaiah. They’re always provided for. The wicked do, they suffer hunger and thirst. So, who are we talking about here? We’re talking about the wicked again. Why all this gloom and doom, that we’ve been reading about? Why all of this negative stuff? Why are we getting an earful of that? While later on in Isaiah there are glorious promises, that far more than off set these gloom and doom prophecies, near the beginning, these judgmental type things. Why don’t we go straight over to those? Well, we’ve already seen a little bit of that in chapter 2, just a little bit of that. Why just a small dose? Why not lots of that up front and have the gloom and gloom stuff later? Because, how do we get to those glorious promises? We have to process through all the garbage first. We have to deal with all of this stuff to see how we came out of it, at the end. Then if we come out of it okay, through the process of repentance, and we’ve dealt with all o these problems in our lives; then we inherit those glorious promises and those blessings, but not until we do that. So, we have to deal with this first; besides, this follows the pattern of humiliation before exaltation; of suffering before salvation, of ruin before rebirth. It’s the pattern of the prophets. Even Jacob had to cow tow down to Esau, and go through his humiliation before he was exalted as Israel’s patriarch. Christ did in submitting himself to the judgments of Caiphas and Pilate and others to suffer what He did. That’s the pattern. So, we’re in gloom and doom for awhile.

3:3  the officer and dignitary, advisers, skilled craftsmen, and orators.

The staff and the crutch- food supply and the water supply, also leadership, the valiant men and soldier, the magistrate and prophet, the owner and elder, the officer and dignitary, the advisors, skilled craftsmen, and the orators. These are the staff of society. You take these away as the ancient Assyrians did anciently and what have you got? A leaderless people, just masses with no one to follow. These are the very framework that hold society together. These experts, these people who are qualified is the very cross section of society in its various fields. What is he going to do then, if he takes those away? How does he take them away? We know how he takes away food and water supply. He can bring a drought. There will be a famine of a dearth of food, or he can take away the rain and we’ll not have water. How do we get rid of the leadership? In Isaiah and also in history the leadership can be eliminated, it can be taken out by the enemy. Also, as society degenerates the leadership can actually degenerate and not be the kind of leadership that it used to be. Though we may still have the offices, but the people put into those offices will not be of the same caliber that we used to have in previous generations.

3:4  I, the Lord, will make adolescents their rulers; delinquents will lord it over them.

for the people who have the most need to be led are the very ones doing the leading. And, they are not of a great ilk. Adolescents and delinquents, people who haven’t matured in their mental capacities, or certainly not in their spiritual capacities.

3:5   People will oppress one another, every man his neighbor. The young will be insolent to the elderly, the vile to the honorable.

so, we have it in the leadership and also in the masses of people in general. We have oppression. We have delinquency. Do we have these situations today? I think we have them both in leadership and also in people themselves. This kind of like order of the day. And, we can expect to see it get worse.

3:6  Then will a man apprehend a kinsman of his father’s house, and say, You have a tunic: be our leader and take charge of this ruination!

Notice the general degeneration of the society, the general corruption and degeneration of the society. Because what we have here in verses 6 and 7 is that society eventually disintegrates to where there is no civilization any more; no structure in society. “then will a man apprehend a kinsman of his father’s house and say: You have a tunic, be our leader and take charge of this ruination. He will raise his hand and in that day and swear. I am no physician and there is neither food nor clothing in my house. You cannot make me a leader of the people.” People out here are kind of going into an anarchy, a situation of chaos. They take a guy who used to be in a position of authority. He had a tunic or uniform that identified his position of office, say that of a policeman or judge, or even a mailman or a bus driver. They say “You have this tunic, that represents your office, now take charge of this ruination. Everything is in chaos. Be our leader. You know, take charge here,” and he says he won’t.

3:7  But he will raise his hand in that day and swear, I am no physician. There is neither food nor clothing in my house; you cannot make me a leader of the people.

Instead of raising his hand like he used to do and swearing allegiance or to accept his oath of office, he now just raises his hand. In fact, Isaiah doesn’t even use the word hand. He leaves that out. Those are words that are in Italics. They are words that are intended, but they’re not there in the Hebrew. He makes a caricature. He raises his hand and kind of repudiates hi former office and say “I’m not a physician, because things are sick. The whole society is sick. There is neither food nor clothing in my house.” Meaning the whole society is a covenant curse. “You cannot make me a leader of the people. And, even if you did, it wouldn’t do any good.” Society has collapsed in other words.

3:8  Jerusalem will falter and Judea fall because their tongue and their actions are contrary to the Lord, an affront to his glory before his very eyes.

Now those who falter and those who fall or stumble are the wicked. The righteous don’t stumble and don’t fall. It is Babylon who falls in the Book of Isaiah. And the fall is the fall of the whole society. Like I said, their tongue and their actions are contrary to the Lord, “an affront to His glory before His very eyes.” They’re an offense to Him. They swear. They take oaths, falsely and so forth. They perjure themselves. Their words are profane, an affront to His glory. It’s almost like, they don’t care about God. They do it in spite of God. Like in chapter 1 that we read, where it says that “they have spurned the Hold One of Israel.” They out right reject him, before his very eyes; because they are His covenant people. So, His eyes are always upon them. It’s totally contrary to the Lord and yet they are the people of God. That’s a huge paradox.

3:9  The look on their faces betrays them: they flaunt their sin like Sodom; they cannot hide it. Woe to their souls; they have brought disaster upon themselves!

whereas before, maybe they kept things subdued or down or hidden, now sodomy with is homosexuality is flaunted openly and it shows on their faces as well. They cannot hide it, it says. And then the proclamation of the covenant curse.

“Woe to their souls.” (Not just to their bodies.) They have brought disaster upon themselves. “A disaster is that same word as calamity, in the Book of Isaiah, that is that disaster or calamity that happens in the Day of Judgment. That happens through the agency of the king of Assyria. He’s the one that causes the disaster, or calamity. In all this gloom and doom, He nevertheless lets you know, as in verse 10. “Tell the righteous, that it shall be well with them. They shall eat the fruits of their own labors.” He can’t let people think that this is how it is for everybody. But, He just tells you barely and then He moves back to the gloom and doom. I wonder how many people went out? Jeremiah is reported to have done so. Just a few here, maybe just a handful of people escaped. But, the rest of the people were in this category. “Tell the righteous it shall be well with them.” And “well” in Hebrew is the same word as good; it shall be good for them or with them. You just can’t translate it that way, which means covenant blessing. The word disaster and calamity; I’m not sure, I don’t have my Hebrew translation here. It means the same word as evil. That would be covenant curse anyway. The “woe” is a covenant curse. To do well, which ought to be good in this case, which means you’re under the situation of covenant blessing. So there we have the two contrasting conditions of the people. The wicked and they’re evil and the righteous and they’re good.

3:10  Tell the righteous it shall be well with them; they shall eat the fruits of their own labors.

They have enough to it, whereas a moment ago we saw in verse 7, that the others did not have food or even clothing. Their staff and crutch, food supply and water supply was taken away. It also says “the fruits of their own labors.” It could be actual fruit, but also probably what they’ve laid up for themselves. They are blessed with covenant blessings or with provision, because they kept covenant with the Lord, so the Lord provides for them.

3:11  But woe to the wicked when calamity overtakes them: they shall be paid back for the deeds they have done!

The opposite of the righteous (verse10_, a covenant curse again. “But woe to the wicked, when calamity overtakes them.” It’s almost like a repeat of verse 9, isn’t it, the end of verse 9? Which, makes this into a kind of chiasm. –AbA. The end of verse 9- Woe to the soul, disaster; then the righteous in the middle, and then woe to the wicked, calamity. “They shall be paid back for the deeds they have done.” That will be the fruits of their labors. They have done evil deeds, so they will be paid back. Maybe they thought they could get away with things, but it all comes back onto them in the end.

3:12  As for my people, babes subject them; women wield authority over them. O my people, your leaders mislead you, abolishing your traditional ways.

Here, women is in parallel with babes; maybe because they are synonymous ideas. Sorry. “O my people, your leaders mislead you, abolishing your traditional ways. The traditional ways are good. They were established by true principles. They worked. And then, along came these guys who try to do away with all of that and establish their own principles, or lack thereof. And then, everything starts to fall apart. The Lord will take a stand and contend with them. “He has arisen to judge the nations.” Like the judge who takes the stand, the Lord is coming out and putting these people on trial, or He’s coming out in judgment to condemn them, then in the next verse it says He will bring to trial the elders of His people and their rulers.

So, notice another chiasm. The end verse 12, we have the leaders abolishing the traditional ways, the leaders of my people, it says there. “O, my people,” That’s a covenant formula. The beginning of verse 14 it has the elders of His people. “His people” is again the covenant formula.

3:13  The Lord will take a stand and contend with them; he has arisen to judge the nations.

In the middle of verse 13, we have the nations. That’s an AbA chiasm, right? What does that tell you? What does that chiasm tell you? Who is He taking a stand against and contending with? Who has He arisen to judge? He has arisen to judge the leaders of His people, right? The leaders of the elders where? Among all nations, right? Do you see that chiasm there? Implies that the Lord’s people, now in this context in which He’s talking are where? Among all nations. He has arisen to judge the nations, but what He’s really saying is that He’s arisen to judge the elders, right? Of His people, the leaders.

3:14  He will bring to trial the elders of his people and their rulers, and say to them, It is you who have devoured the vineyard; you fill your houses by depriving the needy.

The vineyard in chapter 5, as we’ll see in a moment, is the Lord’s own people, the house of Israel. They have devoured them. “How do they fill their houses by depriving the needy?” How do they deprive the needy? How do you do that in government? What does big government mainly tax people for? To support and sustain itself, right? It’s to pay all of their wages, while they so call “administer” the 10% of the money that’s left, right? How much actual government money allocated to services for the people, actually reaches the people? Anyone done a study of that? It must only be a small percentage and the rest goes into administering that small amount of money. Anyway that does qualify, that kind of idea always has prevailed through government, corrupt government. “You fill your houses by depriving the needy. The very needy whom you should be helping, you’re actually denying because of the way that government is structured.

3:15  What do you mean by oppressing my people, humbling the faces of the poor? says the Lord of Hosts.

What do you mean by oppressing my people, humbling the faces of the poor?” says the Lord of Hosts. “And that way they oppress the needy people, and the poor, the very poor for whom they have legislated and set aside moneys. Notice there the parallelism of my people, with what? –The poor, the poor and the needy. That form is a chiasm. The needy, my people, the poor.      Verse 15 is actually the synonymous parallelism except for my people and the poor, which here, helps to define my people as the poor; the poor and the needy in other words are in a particular sense. His people. He cares for them. When the whole show I over, we’ll see that those who survive, or those who are delivered and so forth will be for the large part, the poor and the needy.

3:16  The Lord says, moreover, Because the women of Zion are haughty and put on airs, painting their eyes, ever flirting when they walk and clacking with their feet,

Here we have a category of Zion. Zion is a higher category, than the Jacob- Israel category, but just as we saw how the silver turned into dross, so we can see that the people who were of a Zion category, don’t live up to that what they were before. Just as we saw the city that was faithful turned into a harlot. So we see a people that were on a Zion lever, or approaching a Zion lever, or aspiring to a Zion lever, or identifying with Zion as not living up to that lever. Just like later on we’ll see a category of sinners in Zion. Zion/Jerusalem is an elect category of God’s people. It identifies those who have repented, and so forth. But, here and else where, we see that some of those people of that category, of that lever, go back and don’t live up t it anymore. This is literal, women. The women of Zion are haughty, with the daughters of Zion are haughty and put on airs. And so far, Isaiah has been talking about the men. Injustice and idolatry are the two main sins of the men. Their murders, injustice; the murders especially among the leadership. He’s already outlined a number of sins. Now He takes the women to task as well; Again, not the whole category of the Lord’s people, but perhaps the majority of them, or enough of them that he has to address that. So, here the women are basically painting themselves and so on, and dolling themselves to attract and entice the men, right? And so, the very thing that they try to do, goes back on them.

3:17  the Lord will afflict the scalps of the women of Zion with baldness; the Lord will expose their private parts.

whereas they were making themselves attractive and maybe exposing themselves somewhat. Now, they will be doing so “ad nauseam.” Baldness is a covenant curse and to have sufficient clothes is a covenant curse. And food, is that funny? (laughing in the background) Put your cap on quick. (more laughing) I’m only half bald myself.

3:18–23  In that day the Lord will strip away their finery—the anklets, head ornaments and crescents, the pendants, chains and scarves, tiaras, bracelets and ribbons, zodiac signs and charm amulets, the rings, the noselets, the elegant dress, the shawl, the kerchief and the purse, hosiery, sheer linen, millinery, and cloaks.

And then it just goes into a whole list of things: the anklets, head ornaments, etc. Why does he go to such extreme length there? Why doesn’t he say just a few of these things that are typical rather then just give us the whole list? It’s because he wants to make the point of how they have overdone what they are doing. Their makeup and their finery and their attire is over done.

3:24  And instead of perfume there shall be a stench, instead of the girdle, a piece of twine, instead of the coiffure, baldness, instead of the festive dress, a loincloth of burlap; for in place of beauty there shall be ignominy.

Ignominy is shame or embarrassment or humiliation. So, we see that those very things that they try to do kind of turn back on them. What goes around comes around. And in much worse dosages than they were prepared for. All of those things imply covenant curse- stench. I mean they were not able to bathe themselves. They will be in a situation of extreme deprivations; a piece of twine instead of a girdle. They don’t even have proper clothes to wear; Baldness, weather from nuclear fallout or from some other cause, whatever it may be. Burlap, that implies, that’s the kind of clothing that’s worn by those who mourn or those in a state of mourning or fasting for the sins of the people as Isaiah does later. Now, they’ll be forced into that situation, because they didn’t repent or mourn in time. In place of beauty there shall be ignominy.

3:25  Your men shall be felled by the sword, your might overthrown in war.

The men too, he wants to let you know that he’s not a male chauvinist here. Your men shall be felled by the sword, because it said earlier on that if you are unwilling and you disobey you shall be eaten by the sword; chapter one verse 10. The “sword” is the king of Assyria himself or he’s the instrument of destruction for the men. And he’s also the one who causes this general misery for the women. Because the women obviously have on one to provide for them or protect at this point. “Your might shall be overthrown in war.

3:26  Her gateways shall lie bereaved and forlorn; she shall sit on the ground destitute.

Sitting on the ground is a situation of mourning; and mourning and destitution because her husband is gone and not providing for war. Now her gateway identifies a single woman; it’s the woman Israel. The women who did not repent in time. It’s not the woman Zion. “Gateway is bereaved and forlorn,” also means that there is no traffic back and forth, no one is passing through the land, the land is desolated. The destruction has happened. And everybody just stays put. And if you don’t have your storage, or if you don’t go on the exodus, you’ll be without.

chapter four, verse one: Seven women will take hold of one man in that day, the day of judgment. So that’s how we know when that will happen “that same day of judgment when the men are killed, as in chapter three, verse twenty-five. By whom? By the invading Assyrians, by the Assyrian armies that come through and invade them and destroy the land and overthrow its people. In that context there will be a shortage of men: seven will take hold of one man, in that day. That’s the context. Don’t forget that.