Naked and Ashamed

We'll continue in Isaiah this afternoon we've been looking at the various oracles against the nations in Isaiah going through all the different oracles and We spent two weeks in the oracle against Egypt and now we're continuing that oracle with chapter 20 with a historical narrative that appears in them

Attached as a postfix to the oracle Maybe it should be counted as part of the oracle itself or maybe just on an addition that appropriately applies here

But this falls within this section. So go ahead and please stand and turn to Isaiah 20 and we'll read the whole chapter together

Say it's 20 in the year that the commander -in -chief who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria Came to Ashdod and fought against it and captured it at that time the

Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz saying go and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your sandals from your feet and he did so walking naked and barefoot

Then the Lord said as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush so shall the king of Assyria lead away the

Egyptian captives and with the Cushite exiles Both the young and the old naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered the nakedness of Egypt then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast and The inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day

Behold, this is what has happened to those and whom we have hoped and to whom we fled for help to be delivered from The king of Assyria and we how shall we escape?

You may be seated dearly father we thank you for your word

I ask that you would Make your message clear for us this morning pray that you would use me to deliver your words

Plainly, I pray that the people here would have their hearts open and their ears open

By your spirit, they might hear your truth and God. I pray that you would Do your work among us by your word in Jesus name.

Amen The end of our life on Judgment Day.

We will stand before God either proud or ashamed Those are the only two options if we are proud we will be

Proud and what the Lord has done through us or if we are ashamed It'll be we will be ashamed because of what we have put our hope in Now the way the work the

Bible uses the word ashamed very often is not Necessarily to speak of one's present conditions but of one's

Emotions having trusted in something that has failed them You know, if you just go through and look at all the time the

Bible speaks of being ashamed you'll find that this is often the case in Romans 1 16 where it says for I am

NOT ashamed of the gospel of Christ because the power of God for salvation to the

Jew first and also to the Greek when the Bible says that Why was he not ashamed because it is the power of God to salvation because on that final day it will not fail him

One is ashamed when what they have relied on fails. And so here when

Isaiah Speaking God's words about Egypt and the people who have consistently wanted to go back to Egypt so many times before and At this time in Israel's history want to go rely on Egypt to defend them from their enemies

God is saying that they will be ashamed if they rely on them rather than on him The only way they can avoid being ashamed is to rely on him instead so we're gonna look at this passage and and Isaiah is going to say very clearly that He's going to speak of the snakiness and the snakiness point to to Israel shame and the only way we can avoid this shame is by looking to Christ.

All right, let's begin here in verse 1 and the year that the commander -in -chief who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria came to Ashdod and Fought against it and captured it at that time the

Lord spoke by Amoz the son of excuse me by Isaiah the son of Amoz saying go and loose the sackcloth from your waist and Take off your sandals from your feet and he did so walking naked and barefoot

So just considering the timing of this event At that time the

Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz. I think the right way of understanding this is not that At this time he goes and looses the sackcloth from his feet

Because in verse 3 it says then the Lord said as my servant Isaiah has walked around naked and barefoot

I believe that this is what God speaks at that time and this is generally how this is understood by people that study this passage and Consider the history of Israel is that God had told

Isaiah to walk around naked and barefoot And so in this year, he then tells Isaiah to speak these words

Because think about this if the Lord is speaking by Isaiah Why would he speak to Isaiah right the the words that he is speaking by Isaiah start in verse 3

Not they are not specifically the words in verse 2 So this attack comes after Isaiah has been doing this act, right?

He has been he has taken off his clothes. He is going around naked and he is demonstrating something to the people of Israel and this is and then this

Event occurs to show what it was that Isaiah was demonstrating all during that time

Now people have asked is Isaiah really naked when he's doing this or is he just does he just have a loincloth on or something like that If you consider what it says

You know the normal work use of the word naked and then on top of that it speaks of His sackcloth, which is go loose the sackcloth from your waist.

Basically. What is the purpose sackcloth is to feel abrasive? Isaiah is already in some kind of state of mourning.

It's to feel abrasive against him. It's supposed to be his underwear, right? This is the part that's actually touching his skin if God is telling him to remove that he's actually telling him to be naked so it's a

It's very common to want to for reasons understanding, you know What the Bible considers to be propriety about these things to say?

Oh, no, there's no way he could have Isaiah do this You know God calls another prophet to go marry a prostitute, right?

There's all kinds of things that happen in the Bible that rub against moral sensibilities But I think there's good reason to just take this simply as what it's as what is stated here not

Try to mitigate it in some way. So Isaiah is doing this act and it's this very

It's for a reason that God doesn't just speak by words and he speaks by actions in this circumstance

There's another prophet who does this much more commonly if you ever read the book of Ezekiel It's sign act after sign act after sign act a sign act being you know, he does some thing

To demonstrate something and the people don't know what it is until afterward then he gives the interpretation of what he did

You know, God says lay on your side for a long period of time Build a mock city and then do this to it and then later explain to the people what you were doing

So when God speaks in this way by having his prophets do these signs

In not miraculous signs, but just normal signs it is to give us a very visceral image of what's going on Right if Isaiah is going around naked and God required his prophet to do this

Just very humiliating thing It was not without cause God loved his servant

Isaiah He would only have him do this if he wanted so much to communicate to us in such a visceral manner

How great the shame would be of relying on someone other than the

Lord? So as you consider why is this odd passage in here? It's to leave a mark on your mind on your psyche as you read this that wow

This shame is a great thing if God would require this of his prophet to show it so in verse 3

Then the Lord said as my servant Isaiah has walked Naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush So shall the king of Assyria lead away the

Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles Both the young and the old naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered the nakedness of Egypt so Very literally this refers to the nakedness of Egypt Isaiah's nakedness refers to the nakedness of Egypt This is something that Assyria would do to humiliate their captives

I would cut off their clothes and have them march back to Assyria as captives naked and This is something you see elsewhere in Scripture, too if you remember

David Sent messengers to Hanun in order to comfort him and Hanun his advisors told him these have to be spies

They can't really be here to comfort you and so he cuts off their clothes at their waist so they have to go back

With their lower half uncovered. So this is something you see elsewhere in Scripture where people would do this to humiliate others and We have other examples of nakedness in the

Bible to let us know that this is supposed to represent shame. We have Micah who?

Who was uncovered for a period of time to show the coming shame on Israel There was also

Saul who by the Holy Spirit was led to prophesy naked To represent the coming shame of his ministry or excuse me of his of his kingship, you know, given that he would eventually be this fallen king verse 5

Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast

So here it very directly says That this nakedness refers to shame

They will be ashamed because they have hoped in Cush they'll be ashamed Because they hoped in Egypt, you know

Cush in Egypt being Powers that work together that are close to each other Just making sure

I didn't miss something. Okay so ever since the

Garden of Eden God has used nakedness to represent shame right in the

Garden of Eden. They were naked they were unashamed But then when they ate of the fruit, they realized that they were naked and they were ashamed and so God had to Make a sacrifice for them to clothe them and cover them and then they were no longer ashamed because their nakedness

And so that's what God is pointing out to this people that they must not hope in something else

They must not boast in in these other things that will leave them ashamed instead They must only boast in the

Lord Because the Lord will not leave them ashamed and this analogy of clothing is it's not the first time it showed up in Isaiah either

Consider Isaiah one where it said though your clothes are like scarlet. They would be white as snow God has been from the beginning of Isaiah Calling the people to come to him for right clothing to come to him for full garments

The one who comes to God receives clothing so that he will not be ashamed on the

Day of Judgment Galatians 3 says that the one All who have been baptized in Christ will be clothed by Christ The one who comes to Jesus Christ is fully clothed is unashamed

And remember that that phrase ashamed has to do with Realizing that the thing you trusted in that the thing you had counted as as As sufficient for you to be enough

Because why would you be ashamed? Merely because of your condition maybe certain conditions are more shameful than other but they say something about who you are about what you have done and if you are sitting in this condition because of the course of action you took because of the thing you tried to put your trust in right

You know, there's all kinds of stupid things that people do that leave them in terrible conditions You know, they invest all their money into I remember when

I was in the back in the 90s, you know Beanie babies or something think oh, yeah. This is a great investment. I'll pay off great later.

I Don't know if correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that one ended up working out And you are ashamed because you acted so foolishly and you did not trust the thing kind of things

You should have trusted these people are trusting in Assyria and Kush because they've got a lot of horses But they have not trusted in the

Lord God who is almighty and greater than all the kings of the earth And the habitants of the coastland will say in that day

Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we have fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria and We how shall we escape?

So the inhabitants of the coastlands here might refer to Ashdod and the region around Ashdod but it more likely refers to those who have been taken away to the coastlands of Egypt and just some

Thoughts on on Ashdod this particular nation. So yeah, let me step back and kind of explain historically what's going on here, right?

Isaiah has for three years walked around naked not explained what he's doing or why he is doing this and the people then

Then they see what happens when Assyria comes and and attacks

Ashdod now historically outside of the Bible So within the

Bible within Sola Scriptura, we can just easily see that You know something has happened to make a down payment on what

God is saying Eventually, you know, you will be ashamed like this time when you are destroyed you will be ashamed

Outside of the Bible. There's a little more detail here. The the leader of Ashdod the city within Judea went down to Egypt and was sent back from Egypt.

They didn't even help him. So it's very clear that God is saying you cannot trust

Egypt. You can trust me, but you cannot trust Egypt and we how shall we escape?

You know if it is if they have trusted in cushion Egypt who are supposed to be stronger than them.

How can we escape? You know if these are more great and they have been destroyed

How will we not also be destroyed and this is the case for everyone who has trusted in something other than Lord You know your money well one day

I'll be nothing if it will be nothing how can you trust in it Your family your friends one day.

They will all die if they will die and you have trusted in them to keep you safe How will you be safe?

Anything in this world will have a final end and if you trust in that thing that will end how will you live forever?

You must trust in one who is greater who does live forever who can give eternal life

And that one it's only Jesus Christ Jesus Christ He is a sign for us.

You know it says that it said in Isaiah 8 that Isaiah was a sign, right? He said

I am my sons are signs and portents for Israel here He is walking around as a sign, but we have another sign very similar that we have been given

We have been given Jesus Christ Simeon said that he was a sign to those who to those who would oppose him the sign of judgment

Bible speaks of Jesus Walking around in humility for three years during Earthly ministry with no place to lay his head.

This was a sign to those who would oppose him of Of the humility they would experience if they did not trust in him and then

Jesus as he goes to the cross Fulfilling this humility completely is naked on the cross.

The Bible speaks of it many times as being naked I know a lot of you have seen Images of Christ where he's depicted as wearing some kind of robe or a loin cloth

And I know they gave him a purple robe to mock him But they took that away before they put him up on the cross, you know, it says they divided his garments

He was up on the cross literally without clothes What does that show that shows shame

That nakedness shows shame and he is a sign For all those who oppose him up there on the cross

This is what happens to everyone who is not trusted in God because Jesus died as one

Who did not have a real right relationship with God? This is what he was accused of of being opposed to God.

And so he's a sign for all This is what the wrath of God looks like to die naked and ashamed

But the wonderful thing about the cross is that it's not just a sign for those who are opposed to him like Isaiah was

Right. Isaiah is telling people of this impending doom now implicitly. There's this call to trust

God, but Really the the main sign you see here is for doom But Christ as he is lifted up on the cross dying naked he is a sign primarily for all those who would trust in him that this man has borne the shame of all those who deserve it of all those who have trusted in other things of all those who have who have

Who have not set their hope in God and not Done as they ought in this life and have opposed

God if you repent if you turn from that sin to Jesus Christ Looking to him for forgiveness

Because he has died naked on this cross cross in this shameful manner

Because he has done so you may dwell with God forever with perfect clothing perfect righteousness clothed in the righteousness of Christ your nakedness can be placed on Jesus Christ and his perfect righteousness and his

Clothing of righteousness can be placed on you so that you will stand before God forever you know the

Bible just from the from the very beginning all the way to the end the metaphor of clothing and nakedness is fairly frequent and constant and This is what it is pointing to you do not want to stand before God naked and ashamed

You want to trust in the one who died naked in a shameful way? So that you can have his clothing and his righteousness because he was resurrected from the dead

Given the right hand thrown Next to God and sits and clothed in glory and honor and you can sit clothed in glory and honor with him forever

If you do not trust in Egypt Cush or any other means you have here on earth, but only go to him consider whether it is

That you do go to him, you know A lot of people think that they trust in the Lord because that's just a thing you say But it expresses itself in some kind of action

It expresses itself in prayer. How much are you really trusting in the Lord? If you're not going to him in prayer, these are things that you can look at in your life and see

Go to the Lord Trust in him. Do not trust in yourself, but trust in him and as you look to Jesus Christ on the cross

That one who died naked in a shameful way can save you from ever having to be

Naked in the presence of God and you can have perfect clothing forever and ever and righteousness and glory with Jesus Christ Let's pray dear

Heavenly Father We thank you for your word We thank you for Jesus Christ who clothes us in righteousness that all those who are baptized into him are clothed in him we thank you for this wonderful and glorious truth and We know that we

Having this truth Rather than being ashamed we can boast in you and what you have done and go boldly