Isaiah 3

Isaiah was focused on his own time remnant ever since he started his career as a professor in history and as a historiographer of kings near the palace. The exile shock of the northern tribes and the fall of Samaria in 723 BCE were passed and Isaiah compared their actions and their punishment with the actions of Judah in his own day and what their punishment in future will be. “Jerusalem has stumbled” meaning that the remnant faithful has stumbled (v. 8a) and a punishment is awaiting them both in the form of an exile down the road of history but also in the final Eschaton when God will eradicate completely the evil and the stubborn remnant weed. Viewing the degrading situation of Jerusalem and Judah, Isaiah started this chapter. He says that the Lord God of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah, supply and support, bread and water, mighty man and warrior, judge and prophet, diviner and elder, captain and honorable man, counselor and expert artisan and the skillful enchanter (vv. 1-3). Children will rule over them and lads will be princes. Manasseh was for example 12 years old when he started to reign after Hezekiah (v. 4a-b). It is during his time that Isaiah was presumably martyred. The people will be oppressed. We know this is not eschatology since it heaven there is no oppression. Nothing in Isaiah text allows for us to interpret it as an oppression at the end of times. He does not use the formula for eternity “no longer” “forever” “no more”. For this reason, a preteristic interpretation is in order until such a phrase or other signals calls for eschatology. Of course the preteristic scholars thrash Isaiah’s eschatological thinking as imagination and dreams. That is why their commentaries cannot do justice to the impact of the content of Isaiah’s message. The oppression will be “one by another” (v. 5b); youth against the elder (v. 5c); inferior against the honorable (v. 5d). Leadership problems will exist when a man in his father’s house will ask his fellow brother to be the ruler of the house “and these ruins will be under your charge” (v. 6c). He will decline and say he cannot be healer since there is no bread nor clothes in his house (v. 7). Those will be the situations sometimes under the kings following Hezekiah until the exile but in 586 BCE it was a reality all over Judah. The problem with the remnant is “Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen” (v. 8a). Their speech and their actions are against the Lord to rebel against His glorious presence (v. 8b-c). Their facial expressions are displayed the same way the sin of Sodom was displayed (v. 9a-b). They do not conceal (v. 9c). “They have brought evil on themselves” (v. 9e). In brought lines Isaiah knows the eschatological result of the remnant seed and remnant weed. “Say to the righteous that well for they will eat the fruit of their actions” (v. 10a). The wicked in the remnant or remnant weed “badly, for what he deserves will be done to him” (v. 11a-b). There is a possibility that the wife of Hezekiah was a Phoenician woman originally and that she was not very faithful as her husband and when he died she went corruptedly her evil way and her son of 12 that became king, Manasseh, was corrupted by the priests and palace elite with her. Isaiah says “O my people! Their oppressors are children. And women rule over them” (v. 12a-b). This is not an attempt to cancel women as rulers, it is a fact near Isaiah’s death that a child of 12 became king and that his mother had a name that rings a Phoenician culture tone. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. Hezekiah was sick in 702/701 BCE and he was given 15 more years to live until 687. For Manasseh to be 12 at his father’s death means that Manasseh was born in 699 BCE. When Hezekiah was healed he sang a song of gladness and it was recorded (Isaiah 38:9) “a writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery”) and mentioned that “a father tells his sons about Your faithfulness” and also “so we [Hezekiah, wife and children] will play my songs on stringed instruments all the days of our life at the house of the Lord” (vv. 19b-20c). Unfortunately the mother was not that dedicated since Manasseh degraded rapidly after the death of Hezekiah and became one of the most wicked kings of Judah. It is possible that Isaiah is predicting here the course of actions in advance during the lifetime of Hezekiah or at the beginning of the reign of Manasseh when his mother may have spiritually fallen “O my people, those who guide you lead you astray and confuse the direction of your paths” referring to the guidance of the women rulers over the children rulers (v. 12c-d). Isaiah indicates that the “Lord enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people” (v. 14). When God enters into judgment with His people it is the 1844 judgment revealed in advance. In vision, Isaiah can see that judgment and the questions asked in the heavenly court-scene. The elders and princes are blamed “it is you who have devoured the vineyard, the plunder of the poor is in your houses”; they are crushing the remnant seed “crushing My people” and grinding the face of the poor (vv. 14b-15b). In this chapter, the Lord has it against the daughters of Zion who are proud (v. 16a); walking with seductive eyes, head held high (v. 16b); with mincing steps (v. 16c); and influenced by heathen fashions “tinkle the bangles on their feet” (v. 16d). It is not the will of God that females should wear jewelry to beautify themselves. The punishment of these seductive jewelry wearing women is that their scalps will be afflicted and their foreheads will be made bear (v. 17a-b). The seductive woman makes the female cosmetics to be taken away in punishment. Their punishment will be that in the eschaton when the Hell will burn all evil to extinction, the female items that beautify women and what they were known for in history will all be “take[n] away” (v. 18). Many of the items are still fashion of women in modern times: anklets, headbands, crescent ornaments (v. 18), dangling earrings bracelets, veils (v. 19), headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets (v. 20), finger rings, nose rings (v. 21), festal robes, outer tunics, cloaks, money purses (v. 22), hand mirrors, undergarments, turbans, veils (v. 23). It is the whole wardrobe and vanity case of the female that will be taken away in the eschaton. The expression “In that day” in verse 18 is linked with similar expressions in chapter 4 which do not have general history in mind like any of the exiles but the eschaton since 4:3 says they will be called “holy” and that is after resurrection at the Second Coming when the Lord will create all faithful people perfect and holy. Isaiah is not finished with Hephzibah and her friends’ fashion mania: instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction; instead of belt a rope; instead of well-set hair a plucked out scalp; instead of fine clothes sackcloth; branding instead of beauty (v. 24). It cannot refer to the exile of 586 BCE or any other time in history because all that happens is that people just collect again their fashionable items they like. This is a take away with finality. The men of the evil remnant weed “will fall by the sword” and the mighty ones “in battle” and the city [her] gates will lament and mourn and the remnant weed “she will sit on the ground” deserted (v. 26a-b).

Dear God

We learn of actions that will take place during the Time of Trouble and at the Hell after the millennium regarding all those things in fashion that we are caught up. Help us to sever ties with these earthly things that interest us and focus on You. Amen.

Koot van Wyk, (DLitt et Phil; ThD) Kyungpook National University, Department of Liberal Education, Sangju, South Korea; conjoint lecturer of Avondale College, Australia