Nakedness

“In the year when King Sargon of Assyria sent his commander in chief to capture the Philistine city of Ashdod, the Lord told Isaiah son of Amoz, “Take off the burlap you have been wearing, and remove your sandals.” Isaiah did as he was told and walked around naked and barefoot. Then the Lord said, “My servant Isaiah has been walking around naked and barefoot for the last three years. This is a sign—a symbol of the terrible troubles I will bring upon Egypt and Ethiopia. For the king of Assyria will take away the Egyptians and Ethiopians as prisoners. He will make them walk naked and barefoot, both young and old, their buttocks bared, to the shame of Egypt. Then the Philistines will be thrown into panic, for they counted on the power of Ethiopia and boasted of their allies in Egypt! They will say, ‘If this can happen to Egypt, what chance do we have? We were counting on Egypt to protect us from the king of Assyria.’””Isaiah 20:1-6 NLT

Here is a short but profound chapter in Isaiah, containing themes that, in many ways, continue the previous few chapters, containing as they do prophetic warnings of God’s judgment yet to come. It may be interesting to note for us Scottish readers that the name of King Sargon’s command-in-chief was “Tartan”. However, Isaiah was told to remove “the burlap” that he had been wearing, the idea being to imply shame. It’s highly likely the prophet kept a loincloth on, but nevertheless what he was wearing, or the lack of it, was seen as a humbling state of undress. Given the customs of the day, anyone who saw the prophet in public undressed in this manner would not forget the image.

This was an extraordinary command for the prophet, and he lived this way for three years, becoming a living illustration of God’s impending judgement. He probably endured embarrassment, ridicule, misunderstanding and criticism, yet he obeyed anyway. We pilgrims should note that faithfulness is not measured by public approval but by obedience to God. Sometimes God asks us to forgive when others demand revenge or He asks, even expects, us to remain honest when dishonesty would benefit us. We must speak the truth graciously and wait patiently rather than forcing events. Obedience to God often looks foolish before it proves wise. Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15). How often have we read that short verse without ever realising what it could mean in practice? And yet in our society, there are men and women who are prepared to stand on street corners, giving out tracts or Gospels, or preaching the Good News about Jesus. In the city of Dunfermline, where I live, occasionally a man walks around wearing what is called a sandwich board, displaying a number of Bible verses and encouraging people to turn to God before it is too late. But how would we respond if God asked us to do the same? We could also take note of the faith of men like Abraham and Noah. Hebrews 11:8, “It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going”. That was a big ask in those days, to leave a place of comfort and head into the unknown to live in a tent. And then we have the story of Noah in the previous verse, “It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith”. Imagine the hassles he received! And then we have Samuel’s rebuke to Saul in 1 Samuel 15:22, “But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams””. Jesus’ command “If you love me, obey my commandments”is something we pilgrims must take seriously.

Isaiah’s near-nakedness symbolised humiliation and captivity, and that was the message that he took to people around him. It wasn’t a brief act carried out on a Saturday afternoon in a shopping mall somewhere. Isaiah’s message was in the public square for three years and his actions would have become well known in his nation, as the word spread around. The people had ample time to consider their positions and attitudes, their sins and evil acts, because God gave them the time. But the inhabitants had a false sense of security, thinking that the Egyptians would come and save them. In our verses today, we read, “they counted on the power of Ethiopia and boasted of their allies in Egypt”. But we find that the Assyrians and the Egyptians themselves would suffer the same fate as the inhabitants of Ashdod. At times like this, we pilgrims should stop and consider where we are placing our own security. 

The image of the near-naked Isaiah in a way points to Jesus. There on the cross we read that He was publicly humiliated as we read in John 19:23, “When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom”. Naked on the cross of execution, stripped of His garments, mocked and shamed, Jesus bore all of that for us, and it is the more remarkable that He knew what was coming. Unlike Isaiah, who merely portrayed judgement, Jesus actually bore our judgement.

Isaiah wore the sign of another nation’s shame, but Jesus carried our shame so that we might be clothed with His righteousness. In Hebrews 12:2, we read, “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne“. Similarly, we read in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ”. However, in both Isaiah’s and Jesus’ acts of obedience, something was demanded of the people. That was, they had to accept the message and be obedient to what God required before they could experience the benefits of His grace.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your grace and mercy, and thank You for Jesus, who died so that we would not have to face the consequences of our sins. Now righteous before You, we offer up our praise and worship to You. Amen.