On Isaiah 20-60
I spent the last few hours reading Isaiah 20 to 60 in reverse order. Yes, I know I’m an eccentric guy. The only thing I can say after reading them in reverse order is that they are too interesting for me.
After reading the modern interpretation, I stopped at Isaiah 20:2 to write this post. I had no idea Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel received similar orders. What an interesting coincidence! It also has a special name: “sign and portent.”
This makes me feel bad for the campsite boss, John, my former friend/business partner Meiling, and every “friend” who either ghosted me or outright blocked me.
Just repent, please.
Isaiah 20:2–4
[2] 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.
[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, [4] 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. (ESV)
From BibleRef:
The Lord tells His prophet to do something truly strange in this verse. Bible scholars describe this as an “enacted” or “role-played” prophecy. This is when God tells a prophet to do something specific and purposefully odd to call the attention of the people. This is the only time Isaiah is called upon by God to act out such a message. But elsewhere in the Old Testament, both Ezekiel and Jeremiah also became visual object lessons (Jeremiah 27:1–5; Ezekiel 4:1–8).
God instructs Isaiah to take off the sackcloth he is wearing—his outer garment—as well as his sandals, and to walk around without them. The term translated into English as “naked” has a broader meaning than “completely unclothed.” It’s not likely Isaiah was commanded to appear entirely nude. Nor does this necessarily mean he appeared in that condition every moment for three years (Isaiah 20:3). Rather, he was probably “stripped” down to a humbling and embarrassing level, such as only in a loincloth. He would have appeared in the same state as a war captive or prisoner.
A possible interpretation of this verse is that the Lord told Isaiah to act in this manner before the Assyrians defeated Ashdod. The words “at that time” might indicate that Isaiah began his ministry of walking around in exposed disgrace three years earlier. The fall of Ashdod could have been the fulfillment of his visual prophecy.
The following verse shows what Isaiah’s “nakedness” was meant to warn the people of Judah about.