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[Nero]

I’m interested in understanding the context behind Isaiah 3.

In what ways was Jerusalem and Judah failing?

Why are women ruling seen as a bad thing? Was that a mistranslation?

When was this prophecy of destruction referring to? The invasion of the Babylonian’s or the Romans? Or another time yet reached?

Is there relevance today?

[jimwalton]

John Oswalt (NICOT, Isaiah 1-39) writes: "The segment 3.1-4.1 gives particulars of the general statements given in 2.6-22. It continues the contrast between the high and the lowly by depicting the foolishness of depending on human leadership and human glory. Such dependence will inevitably have disastrous effects. Instead of great men who lead them in glory, they will be ruled by incompetents and wastrels. Instead of glory, there will be shame and loss. Dependence on humanity will not lead to a realization of the destiny depicted in 2.1-5. In fact, it leads in a diametrically opposite direction: to dissolution."

> In what ways was Jerusalem and Judah failing?

The people of Judah had fallen away from God, depending on their own politicians and military to preserve their safety rather than God. They had indulged in idol worship, abusive economic practices, an immoral judiciary, and had fallen into immorality as individuals.

> Why are women ruling seen as a bad thing? Was that a mistranslation?

It's not a mistranslation, nor is it misogynistic. The women are reference as symbolic of Israel’s faults. In their culture, generally, the women stayed at home, humble servants of the household, doing their hard work with a spirit of love and devotion. Instead, these women are puffed up with pride. They have become so prosperous and comfortable that they have stopped seeking the Lord and instead are thrilled with themselves. Their lifestyle is so materialistic that they use their money on themselves for not just decoration but extra decoration. Their pride puts the focus of their lives on themselves and on accumulation for the sake of accumulation as a mark of success and worth. It shows a list of sins:

• The pride of life
• Ignoring the poor.
• Seeking self instead of others
• Ignoring justice and social responsibility
• Forsaking the Lord

> When was this prophecy of destruction referring to? The invasion of the Babylonian’s or the Romans? Or another time yet reached?

Babylon, 586 BC

> Is there relevance today?

Yes. Keil & Delitzsch write: "Trusting in man is the crying sin here."

My thoughts? A nation who makes great men the source of a nation's greatness will always find a scarcity of truly great men. Unless the greatness comes from the people themselves, a condition which is ultimately the result of trust in God, no great leaders can or will arise from within. Instead, the leaders will merely reflect the spiritual poverty of the community. The result is that the nation will be ruled by those who are, figuratively speaking, children. Such is the foolishness of humanity, on the face extolling their own greatness while in the details trying to cope with the resulting daily disasters.

[Nero]

Thanks you very much for your detailed response.

I’ve been drawn to the Bible from quite a young age, I’m 19 now and I am always moved to tears by the completeness and justice of Gods word and of His wisdom. The register and style of the Bible on a literary scale is indeed unmatched.

One point of interest:

It appears here as if it is God who brings, or allows the Babylonian to overcome Judah, by as it is stated that He is about to “remove all support”
I wonder, as years go by, why isn’t Gods judgement seen as decisively, and why is there less contact to his people? These writings of Isaiah delivered from God are essential. In essence they are a way for God to remind us of our iniquity- that we are straying from what is right.

In regards to modernity, one look at TikTok or modern American society and you can see a very similar thing going on here.

After the Birth of Christ, it seems that intervention from God slows down?

[jimwalton]

> It appears here as if it is God who brings, or allows the Babylonian to overcome Judah, by as it is stated that He is about to “remove all support”

Yes. We read the same thing in Habakkuk 1: God "raises up" the Babylonians to judge Judah. And you make a good observation: God isn't making the Babylonians do this. They are people of violence, using their own free wills to overcome Judah, and they will be accountable to God for their actions. God has been protecting Judah—that's how they have survived so long. But their sin causes God to merely lift His protective "wall," and the Babylonians will now have free rein to do as they wish.

I see it like hunting season. It's not like the government forces you to take up a gun and kill animals, but during a certain period each year, they lift the restrictions and protections.

> I wonder, as years go by, why isn’t Gods judgement seen as decisively, and why is there less contact to his people? ... After the Birth of Christ, it seems that intervention from God slows down?

God has three major periods (there are other periods, of course, such as during the time of Elisha) of interaction with humanity where His miracles, judgments, and actions are quite obvious: The Exodus, the ministry of Jesus, and the End Times. Other than those three, God is more in the shadows (example: reign of David, book of Esther, 400-yr gap from Malachi to John the Baptist, etc.), "hiding in plain sight," as C.S. Lewis said.

Though there are those who disagree with me, I agree with you that it seems that God's intervention has been different, and, yes, lesser, since the end of the apostolic era. We don't see the miracles, have the visions, etc. of times like the Exodus and the Apostolic era. The Holy Spirit has been much more subtle, working in inner lives, affecting souls, than He has been doing all the explicit manifestations of those other eras.

I believe a time is coming—when Jesus is about to return—when we will see the Spirit initiate a third period of obvious activity. Meanwhile, we walk by faith and not by sight, and we stay godly despite the delay.