ISAIAH 20
This brief chapter records two object lessons that the Lord used to try to convince the people not to form unholy alliances.
The first was the defeat of Ashdod by the Assyrians. The people of this Philistine city had depended on Egypt and Ethiopia to help them, but their help failed. Why then should God’s people trust Egypt and Ethiopia? Remember, the one thing we learn from history is that we do not learn from history. “It can’t happen here!”
The second object lesson was personified by Isaiah the prophet who for three years did not wear his prophetic garb or his sandals. He looked like a prisoner of war, which is what the Egyptians and Ethiopians eventually became (vv. 3–4). God’s people did not take it to heart, and eventually they were led off to Babylon.
God uses things we see and hear to help us make the right decisions. Do we really pay attention?