What happensPermalink
In the year Assyria captured the Philistine city of Ashdod, the Lord commanded Isaiah to walk naked and barefoot for three years as a sign. In the same humiliating condition, Assyria would lead away Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, exposing the weakness of the powers Judah and its neighbors trusted for protection. Those who had looked to Egypt and Cush for deliverance would be terrified and ask, “How shall we escape?”
Why it mattersPermalink
Isaiah’s humiliating sign exposes Egypt and Cush as powerless refuges and warns Judah to seek deliverance from the Lord alone. Nakedness and bare feet portray the shame of conquered captives. When the impressive nations Judah hoped would rescue it are themselves carried away by Assyria, the final question—”How shall we escape?”—forces Judah to reconsider where genuine security lies.
Key versePermalink
“And the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?’”