Isaiah 20:1-2 - In
the year when King Sargon of Assyria captured the Philistine city of Ashdod, the LORD told Isaiah son of Amoz, "Take
off all your clothes, including your sandals." Isaiah did as he was told
and walked around naked and barefoot.
Isaiah found himself in a curious predicament for three
years. The visual that God needed to explain his next course of action against
the Egyptians seems harsh and inappropriate by today’s standards. But don’t
dismiss this scripture as something God would never ask of us today too
quickly.
I needed a bit of research for this one…cause my mind kept
trying to tell me he wasn’t completely nude. My modesty wanted to think that he
had just taken off an outer garment. But
now I am assured that the word ‘naked’ used in this passage is also used in
Genesis 2:25…and Job 1:21. Both of those
reference the complete nakedness we came into the world….so untouched by satan
that we feel no shame.
But the important thing about this passage isn’t the thing
God ask of Isaiah…but the model of how quickly he did it…and how long he
continued to follow God’s will. The
truth is…if you still doubt that anything in God’s word is wrong….and justify
it …or twist its meaning to fit your own life….how could you possibly be completely
in God’s will. If God has asked you to do something…and your heart is telling
you it is crazy….are you really committed completely to him?
I admit…my heart may not be as committed as I think when I
am worshiping….for I am sure hoping that God doesn’t ask me to walk around
naked...it just wouldn’t serve the same purpose. Isaiah lived in a time when prisoners were
stripped after battle…to humiliate them and show they had been defeated. Isaiah’s
obedience of walking around naked for three years showed his true humility to
God….his willingness to let God call the shots…no matter what.
I want to grow up to be like Abraham…who did not call God
crazy…but packed up his son and rode to the mountain...ready to sacrifice the thing
that meant the most to him. Or Hosea…who
married a prostitute…so God could use their marriage to teach the Israelites about
being unfaithful. Or Paul…who answered God’s call to preach and never stopped…even
though he spent many nights in prison or jail.
Perhaps the twentieth century ‘naked’ in God’s eyes is that
we give up our reliance on the things of this world…like he told us in Matthew
6:19-20. He said… “Do
not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy,
and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do
not break in or steal…” In doing so…we
show our humility…and our complete reliance on God. In doing so…we take a step closer to
accepting his will for our lives and receive the power to complete it.
Father…thank you for the reminder that I need to be so completely
committed to you that I am ready to do anything you ask…for as long as you ask
me to do it. Forgive me for the times that I have said no to you…or justified
in my head that what you asked me to do was so crazy it must have been from
satan instead. Help me to fall so
completely in love with you that I jump quickly at every task you give me…confident
and sure that I have all that I need to do it.
Amen.
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