Why did Isaiah preach naked (Isaiah 20:1-4)?

The short Isaiah 20 brings us back to events that were to happen, shortly after Isaiah was bidden to enforce his prophecy by a peculiar action. He foretold the coming overthrow of Egypt by his walking naked and barefoot. Other prophets, such as Hosea, were instructed to support their words by actions. The object in view was to bring home to the inhabitants of this "isle," or "coast," that is, Palestine, that it was folly to put their trust in Egypt for deliverance from Assyria. It will doubtless be the same in the last days, as we see in Daniel 11:36-45, where "the king" of verse 36, who will evidently be in Jerusalem, will find no help in "the king of the south" against the assault of "the king of the north."

The symbolical action is by many supposed to be in vision merely, not actual. Perhaps this is due to the very uncalled-for supposition, that the call was to a condition of entire nudity. But this is baseless, as "naked" is frequently used (see too 1 Sam. 19:24; 2 Sam. 6:20; Amos 2:16; John 21:7) to express the absence, not of all covering, but of the usual outer garb, in one sort or another: so it is not uncommon in well known Latin authors, as many have shown. The prophet already wore sackcloth. This he was to loose from off his loins, and to pull off his sandal from his foot. It seems not improbable that the true sense is "for a three years' sign and portent," etc., as the Masoretic punctuation implies and the Septuagint corroborates. The aim avowedly was to produce fear and shame in all who confided in Ethiopia or boasted of Egypt; for the Assyrian was to humble both to the dust. Vain therefore was man's help.

The moral lesson is apparent. Let not the people look to the kingdoms of the earth for protection in the hour of danger. Jehovah as the true God is and must be jealous. He will not allow compromise any more than unbelief. What are Mizraim and Cush to Israel? Let there be no hope for Israel, but weeping for their own impending humiliation; and let the dweller in the coastland, or Palestine, humble himself, for God is not mocked, and vain the help of man. Israel was really more guilty than any.

Thus carrying his readers on to the scenes of these days, the prophet teaches us that most of the burdens look forward to the day of the Lord (Isa. 14:32, Isa. 16:5, Isa. 17, Isa. 19:18-25, Isa. 21:12, Isa. 23:18); for prophecy does not stop short of the fulfilment of God's counsel about earth. Of the past, not recorded in any profane history which has come down to us, we learn from the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa. 20), and the future, which no man can anticipate, we have clearly mapped out. For with Him, who sees the end from the beginning, what are years or centuries? The distant future is as clear to God as the events of the next few years; so Isaiah, by walking barefoot for three years, pointed out the humiliation of Egypt and Ethiopia by the king of Assyria, which must have happened not long afterwards; and Eliakim's entrance on the office Shebna had filled, prefigures the entrance in power on His kingly office of the Lord Jesus, after the cutting off of the Antichrist, the nail referred to in Isaiah 22:25.

From this chapter, which is an appendix to the last, we learn that the Assyrian ravaged Egypt (with the Ethiopians), leading his captives in shame. "In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it; at that time Jehovah spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go, and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy sandal from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. And Jehovah said, Like as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years [for] a sign and a wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia; so shall the king of Assyria lead away the captives of Egypt, and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, [to] the shame of Egypt. And they shall be dismayed and ashamed, because of Ethiopia their expectation and of Egypt their boast. And the inhabitant of this coastland shall say in that day, Behold, such [is] our expectation, whither we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?" (vv. 1-6). History here seems to be silent;* but not so prophecy, which declares that the land of Egypt shall not escape the king of the north, or the last Assyrian, at the time of the end, who must then himself be broken without hand (Dan. 11:41-45).

A strong party in Jerusalem looked to Egypt for help from the threatening Assyrian invasion. This prophecy shows the utter hopelessness of expecting help from Egypt. The victory of Assyria over Egypt is predicted.

This chapter gives "the Burden of Egypt," and is followed in the next by a personal sign enjoined on the prophet, as a token of the degradation soon to befall Egypt and Ethiopia. The general drift is so clear as to render prolonged remarks almost useless.

An expression which, besides its ordinary signification, was often used when a man was without his outside mantle or cloak. 1 Sam. 19:24; Isa. 20:2; John 21:7. It is used symbolically for natural destitution, James 2:15; for spiritual destitution, 2 Cor. 5:3; Rev. 3:17; Rev. 16:15; and for spoliation, Rev. 17:16.

Of his personal history we know but little. His father's name we learn was Amoz, but of what tribe he formed a member we are ignorant. That Isaiah was married and had two children he has informed us; and the great lesson which he learnt as to the uncleanness of his nature he has recorded for our instruction; but the date of his birth and the year of his death are facts shrouded in the darkness of the past. For three years, in obedience to God's word, he walked naked and barefoot (Isa. 20), and at times during his ministry in Judah he saw visions and burdens. Outside of Judah we never meet with him. This need not surprise us, for during a part of his prophetic labours Hosea was witnessing for God in Israel. Against individuals he rarely speaks. Ahaz the king, and Shebna the scribe, and Hezekiah, after his failure, are of this the only examples that we have. Long as is his book, (being exceeded in quantity only by Genesis, Jeremiah, perhaps Ezekiel, and of course the Psalms) we have not all that he wrote, as 2 Chronicles 26:22, bears witness; but doubtless we have all that it pleased God should survive to our day. Of dates we have but few, so different from the habit of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the death of Uzziah (Isa. 6) and of Ahaz (Isa. 14:28), the invasion of Judah by Pekah and Rezin (Isa. 7), and subsequently by Sennacherib (Isa. 36), and the capture of Ashdod by Tartan, sent thither by Sargon king of Assyria (Isa. 20), are all that the prophet has noticed.

Isaiah 20. From this chapter we learn that God not only uses the Assyrian as the scourge of His people Israel, to chastise them for their sins, but He also uses this same power to punish the careless Ethiopian and the proud Egyptian. The Philistine also, who relied on the help of Ethiopia and Egypt, felt the lash of the scourge of God, when Tartan, the general of Sargon the king of Assyria, took Ashdod. Sargon was the successor to Shalmaneser, who took the ten tribes captive, but Sargon does not seem to have assailed Judah at the time of his assaults on Ashdod, Egypt and Ethiopia.

Note, also, it is the king of Assyria who takes prisoners the Egyptians and Ethiopians.