As we concluded Thursday's study we found Him comparing the people's spiritual waywardness to someone who stumbles around drunkenly and aimlessly. He said, "Jerusalem staggers, Judah is falling; their words and deeds are against the Lord, defying His glorious presence." (Isaiah 3:8) Nothing we do in this life is of any eternal significance except what we do out of love for the Lord. Without a relationship with Him, we stumble through life following our own human inclinations, doing the things the world says matters, following ungodly advice from people who are just as lost and aimless as we are. But when we have a relationship with the Lord, we have His glorious presence with us at all times. We have His guidance, His comfort, His provision, and His strength. This doesn't mean we will never face hardships while we live on the earth, for even the perfect and sinless Lord Jesus faced hardships on this earth, but we won't be facing them alone! In addition, we will avoid many of the hardships that arise as a result of disobedience. The trouble that has already come and will continue to come upon the people of Isaiah's day was a result of their disobedience, as the Lord points out below.
"The look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves." (Isaiah 3:9) The disaster is one which they have brought upon themselves with their sin. They are even prideful about their sin! We see this same attitude in the world today, as in: "Nobody has the right to tell me what to do. Nobody has the right to judge me. I'm going to live my life the way I want to live it. I'm going to follow my heart. I'm going to do anything and everything my heart desires and I dare anyone to say anything about it!" The trouble is, the human heart is filled with many wrong desires, as the Lord says in Jeremiah 17:9: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Our hearts will deceive us. We won't always know why we are motivated to want certain things and, because those things appeal to our human natures, we will rationalize those things and talk ourselves into them. The only way we can have hearts that desire godly things is if we give our hearts to God and put Him first in our lives and allow Him to direct our paths. David recognized his need for the Lord to constantly set his heart straight, so he prayed to Him: "Create in me a pure heart, O God." (Psalm 51:10a)
Those who have not forsaken the Lord are given a word of reassurance here. "Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds." (Isaiah 3:10) Life isn't always a bed of roses for the righteous but, as we said earlier, those who love the Lord have the comfort of His presence at all times. They also will have the joy of an eternity with Him. The wicked, however, bring many troubles upon themselves with their sinful deeds and (if they do not repent and make God the Lord of their lives) will spend eternity separated from the loving presence of the Lord. "Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for what their hands have done." (Isaiah 3:11)
In yesterday's study session we talked about how the leadership of the nation had become ineffective. Ungodly, unwise, inexperienced people were in power. Lawlessness was abounding. The young and strong were taking advantage of the elderly and weak. Those who had a great deal of worldly goods were oppressing the poor. The Lord touches on that same theme again now. "Youths oppress My people, women rule over them. My people, your guides lead you astray; they turn you from the path." (Isaiah 3:12) The Lord isn't saying that young adults or women can't be good leaders. I don't believe He's displaying prejudice against youths or females. I believe the point here is that no wise and experienced men are making a stand for the Lord and speaking up for what is right.
Not many godly men are denouncing the sins of the nation. Not many godly men are crying out for the people to repent and turn back to God. This is why young and impetuous men are in charge. This is why women, who in those days did not have much education or life experience outside the home, are telling people what to do. Any men who are encouraging the people to repent are in the minority and are being treated badly---men like Isaiah about whom ancient tradition says was sawn in two during the reign of the evil King Manasseh. Men like Hosea, whose book we just finished, were scoffed at and called madmen. A plot was afoot to murder the prophet Jeremiah, whose book we will study soon. The Lord Jesus referred to the city of Jerusalem as a place where prophets were murdered and where godly messengers were stoned to death. (Matthew 23:37) And speaking of the Lord Jesus, plots were continually being hatched against Him to take His life and take Him out of the picture, though He spoke the very words of God to the people.
Because so few people are standing up for what is right, and because even the elders have gone astray and are taking advantage of their fellow man, the Lord brings charges against them. "The Lord takes His place in court; He rises to judge the people. The Lord enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of His people. 'It is you who have ruined My vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing My people and grinding the faces of the poor?' declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty." (Hosea 3:13-15)
This segment is too lengthy to study all of it today, so we will resume this passage during our next study session. Today's text closes with the Lord asking the elders and leaders why they are taking advantage of the poor. He asks them why they are greedy and have unlawfully seized the possessions of others. As Chapter 3 continues on we will find Him pointing out that even the women, who typically have a civilizing effect on any society, have lost their care and concern for those around them and have become obsessed only with what they can have for themselves.
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