SIGNS OF JUDGMENT (PART 1 – LOSS OF SUPPLY AND SUPPORT)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

See now, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support:

all supplies of food and all supplies of water, the hero and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counselor, skilled craftsman and clever enchanter.

Isaiah 3:1-3

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

What signs will indicate when the Lord God Almighty is passing judgment on a city or nation?

Isaiah, Chapter 3, offers us answers as we will see in this series, “Signs of Judgment.”

Today, we’ll see where the Lord will remove supply and support from a nation. Specifically in this case, that nation is Judah but it could be any other nation that chooses to rebel against God and live in wickedness and sin vice the righteousness He expects.

Look again at our passage for today to see what the Lord would take from Jerusalem and Judah:

See now, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support:

all supplies of food and all supplies of water, the hero and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counselor, skilled craftsman and clever enchanter.

We are looking at Israel after it has become divided. You’ll recall that after Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam ascended to the throne and when he rebuffed the people’s plea to relieve the oppression his father had instituted during his rule, the northern tribes of Israel rebelled and seceded from the south after declaring the following:

“What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son? To your tents, Israel! Look after your own house, David!” 2 Chronicles 10:16

Rehoboam was left with only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to rule and his southern kingdom was Judah. Jeroboam was the first of the kings to rule over the northern kingdom of Israel.

Now you’ll recall that the northern kingdom was not much better than the south. All Israelites failed before God, adopting false worship practices and inciting His wrath and judgment upon them. The northern kingdom of Israel was attacked and annihilated by the Assyrians, never to be heard from again. The southern kingdom fell some time later at the hands of the Babylonians and were taken away into exile. It was this future event that the scriptures from Isaiah 3 are speaking about. For when the Babylonians attacked, plundered, and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, it was only a facet of the complete domination of the entire kingdom of Judah, a dominant victory that resulted in the following for the Israelites in the south:

- Loss of all food and supplies of water. Jerusalem and Judah would lose all sustenance for life.

- Loss of captains, men of rank, heroic defenders and warriors. Jerusalem and Judah would be left defenseless.

- Loss of judges. Jerusalem and Judah would not have any more justice.

- Loss of prophets and diviners. Jerusalem and Judah had lost the favor of God who was turning away from them. There was no longer a need for messengers or visionaries for God was speaking loud and clear on His own.

- Loss of elders. What good did the senior religious leaders and mentors do anyways? The people were not faithful in their worship and obedience to God.

- Loss of counselors. The Israelites were so stiff-necked in their self-centeredness and blatant disregard for God that there was no need for a counselor and the people were not interested in what God had to say to them.

- Loss of skilled craftsmen. Jerusalem and Judah would lose all of their handymen.  

Through the scriptures, we see one of the signs of God’s judgment: a surgical dismantling of a city’s or nation’s key elements like provisions, advisors, military prowess, messengers, and adjudicators. In Jerusalem and Judah, all this and so much more was taken away. Don’t think it won’t (or can’t) happen again.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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