Isaiah · chapter 20 of 66
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Isaiah 20 tells that when the commander Tartan, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, captured Ashdod, the Lord told Isaiah to remove his sackcloth and sandals and go naked and barefoot for three years. It was a sign that the king of Assyria would lead Egyptians and Cushites into captivity, and that those who trusted in them would be dismayed and ask where they could escape.
This chapter is a brief historical narrative amid the oracles against the nations. Around 711 BC, Ashdod, a Philistine city, rebelled against Assyria hoping for help from Egypt and Cush. Judah was tempted to join. Isaiah performs a symbolic act showing that trusting in those powers is futile.
In the year that the commander in chief, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and captured it, the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz. He told him to loose the sackcloth from his waist and take off his sandals from his feet. Isaiah did so and walked naked and barefoot.
Then the Lord explained the meaning: just as his servant Isaiah had walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria would lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
Those who had put their hope in Cush and boasted in Egypt will be dismayed and ashamed. The inhabitants of this coastland will say on that day: look at what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; how shall we escape?
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord tells Isaiah to remove his sackcloth and sandals and go naked and barefoot. The prophet does not merely speak: he embodies his message in a public act that everyone could see.
For three years Isaiah walked as a sign against Egypt and Cush, since the king of Assyria would lead their people away in that same condition. The sign announces that Egypt and Cush will not be able to save anyone.
Those who trusted in those allies will ask how they will escape if not even those allies could save themselves. The verse closes the lesson: trust placed anywhere but the Lord ends in shame.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Ashdod, a Philistine city. — Isaiah 20:1
Answer: To loose the sackcloth from his waist and take off his sandals. — Isaiah 20:2
Answer: Three years. — Isaiah 20:3
Answer: Against Egypt and Cush. — Isaiah 20:3
Answer: Lead them away as captives and exiles, young and old, naked and barefoot. — Isaiah 20:4
Answer: That those in whom they hoped to be delivered from Assyria have fallen, and they will ask how they will escape. — Isaiah 20:6
Isaiah 20 shows the prophet's readiness to obey even when it made him look shameful before others. At times faithful obedience to God means accepting ridicule or misunderstanding. In a small group, we can ask what price we are willing to pay to follow what the Lord asks of us.
The central message still stands: trusting in human power, whether economic, political or military, ends in disappointment. Only the one who puts hope in the Lord will not be put to shame.
Isaiah 20 teaches with a visible sign that Judah's human allies cannot protect it from Assyria. Chapter 21 returns to the oracles with a message about the wilderness of the sea, Babylon, and about Edom and Arabia.
The text says naked and barefoot, and many scholars understand that he took off his outer garment and remained in only his undergarment, like a captive. In any case, his appearance was that of someone humiliated, and the sign communicated the fate of captives.
Sargon II was king of Assyria (722-705 BC). This is the only place in the Bible where his name appears. Assyrian inscriptions record the capture of Ashdod around 711 BC.
At that time Cush and Egypt were closely linked, as Cushite kings ruled Egypt. Judah and the Philistines looked to both as possible allies against Assyria, and Isaiah warns that they will not be able to help.