| God is going to take away their food supply—their war machine is going to be destroyed. There is going to be chaos in the streets, the government is going to collapse. Anarchy is everywhere; the politicians have ruined the country. A foreign government is sending their army to destroy the populace and carry away some as war prisoners. The case against Zion is presented and heaven’s court will decide the verdict. All of this and more will be presented in the exposition. |
1For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water.
God is going to take away the staff of life and their supply of water.
CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES
THAT MAKE THE CASE:
Eze 4:16-17 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity.
2The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,
The lord is going to take away the soldiers and judges, the prophets, educators and statesmen.
CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES
THAT MAKE THE CASE:
2Ki 24:14-16 And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king’s mother, and the king’s wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
3The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.
Army officers, business men, advisors, captains, generals, and politicians.
4And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
Young boys will be their princes and rule over them your kids will be in charge.
CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES
THAT INDORSE THE TEXT:
2Ch 33:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem:
2Ch 34:1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. Read: 2Ch 36:9; Ecc 10:16
5And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.
Neighbor against neighbor, people bullying each other, no respect for the older people, anarchy in the streets.
CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES
THAT LEND EVIDENCE TO THE TEXT:
Mic 3:11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.
6When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand:
Probably means that their house had a robe of office and could put this piece of clothing on and act as one in charge. The government was in such a mess and no one had a clue on how to fix it.
CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES
THAT DEMONSTRATE THE TEXT:
7In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people.
He knew that he couldn’t cure the situation so he didn’t want to get involved.
CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES
8For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory.
Their government was collapsing─their mouth and actions had got them into trouble with God. Jerusalem and Judah was on its last leg. This passage was fulfilled 150 years later at the fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.).
CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES THAT
ESTABLISH THE CERTAINTY OF THE TEXT:
9The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.
They didn’t try to conceal their sin they paraded it in the public and flaunted it in the streets. This degenerate people was brazen in their depravity. Does this look like the gay rights parades today?
CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES THAT
PRESENT OVERWHELMING PROOF OF THE TEXT:
Jer 3:3 Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed. Read: Jer 6:15
10Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
The righteous shall eat the good of all they have done.
CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES
THAT ATTEST TO THE TEXT:
Jer 15:11 The LORD said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.
Zep 2:3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger.
11Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
Not so with the wicked─these lawless wicked people will get what’s coming to them. They had made their bed so they must sleep in it.
CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES
THAT ARE CONCLUSIVE AND FINAL:
Psa 11:5 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. Read: Psa 1; Psa 11:6
12As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.
They will get some real fools to rule over them. Children that are out of control─maybe they had some punk-rock baggy pants, kids that hung-out on the street corner. They evidently had some loud mouthed political woman leading them down the path to ruin.
13The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.
God walks into the court room and calls court into session and opens the indictment and argues the case. The docket is set and opening arguments are about to begin.
CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES THAT
BEAR OUT THE TEXT:
Hos 4:1,2 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
14The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
As the case gets under way the first to be charged in the indictment are the princes─they are charged with oppression, exactions and ruining the country.
CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES THAT
SPEAK VOLUMES ABOUT THE TEXT:
Eze 22:29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
15What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
Without getting into the specifics he opens the case with the picture of beating people and rubbing their heads in the ground. As the case gets under way evidence will be presented. The leaders have played havoc with the country. This place was totally bankrupt.
CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES THAT
SHED LIGHT ON THE TEXT:
Amo 2:6 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; Read: Amo 8:6; Psa 11:6; Mic 3:3
16Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:
An entire list of complaints is being presented before the judge. These rich well-to-do women are walking around with their nose in the air, ogling with their eyes at other men, swinging their hips, tossing their hair, neck thrown back and prancing as they walk and jingling the ankle bracelets. The Eastern ladies wear on their ankles large rings to which smaller ones are attached, which make a tinkling sound as they move nimbly.
17Therefore the LORD will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.
God is going to fix these Zion women with itchy scalp and scabs and some female disorder.
CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES THAT GIVE COUNTEREVIDENCE TO THE TEXT:
Deu 28:27 The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.
Isa 20:4 So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
18In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,
The invading army will take care of the ankle ornaments. These soldiers will take the ornaments and pendants home with them for their wives and girl friends or maybe to keep. as a souvenir in their memorabilia box.
19The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,
These women will be stripped of everything they own from earrings, arm chains, scarf’s and veils.
20The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,
The invaders will plunder everything and remove these women’s head dress, anklets, leg ornaments and perfume boxes.
21The rings, and nose jewels,
They will strip them of their wedding rings, rings on their toes and nose rings.
22The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,
They will take their party dresses, festival robes, shawls, hand bags and gowns.
23The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.
The plunder goes on and on and on. They take their mirrors, their lingerie, their head-dress, combs, diamond brooches and pearl necklaces.
24And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.
These women will endure a long march to Babylon—no bath—they will smell to high-heaven, they will stink like a bearded bicyclist with B.O. Instead of modeling a flowing gown they will be wearing rags. Instead of sporting a fancy hairdo they will be sporting a shaved head they will be bald as an eagle. Instead of wearing a stomacher they will be dressed in an old gunny sack with a sea grass string around the waist. Instead of diamond broach they will wear a brand burned on their body to identify them as slaves.
CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES THAT
CARRY WEIGHT REGARDING THE TEXT:
Eze 7:18 They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads.
25Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.
The men are going to be killed or slain in battle.
CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES
THAT MAKE THE CASE:
Lam 2:21 The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger; thou hast killed, and not pitied.
26And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.
Sitting on the ground at the city gates will be young women ravished, raped and stripped bare crying because their husbands and family have be slain.
CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES
THAT MAKE THE CASE:
Lam 1:4 The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness.
Lam 2:10 The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, and keep silence: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.
One final note: Doomsday was arriving—they will be going into captivity but the leaders were telling the people that the Prophet Isaiah was loony and not to worry about his dire predictions.
