Isaiah 20
I. (1-39) Condemnation
A. Chapters 1-12 - Prophecies against Judah
B. Chapters 13-23 - Prophecies against the Nations
1. \\#13:1-14:32\\ Babylon
2. \\#15:1-16:14\\ Moab
3. \\#17:1-14\\ Syria and Israel (northern kingdom)
4. \\#18:1-7\\ Unknown
5. \\#19:1-20:6\\ Egypt - The message to Egypt continues.
i. \\#20:1-6\\ A sign to Egypt
(1) \\#1-3\\ The sign started in the past.
(a) \\#1\\ The sign started when King of Assyria (Sargon) sent his
general (Tartan) to take the Philistine city, Ashdod (711 BC)
i. This is the only place that Sargon is mentioned in the Bible.
Historians doubted his existence even as recently as the
1900’s when archeology caught up with the Bible.
(Thru the Bible, Vol 22)
ii. Ashdod was one of the five principal cities of the
Philistines.
(b) \\#2\\ God told Isaiah to walk "naked and barefoot."
i. That probably does not mean "absolutely unclothed."
ii. Rather, the idea is probably he was take off his outer layer
of clothing. He would have still had his undergarments on.
iii. Isaiah’s undergarments covered more than what some people’s
outer garments would, but God called it "NAKED."
(c) \\#3\\ "hath walked three years" - There was a three-year gap
between the time that Isaiah started walking immodestly and this
message. The difficulty is in determining which occurred when
Ashdod fell, the beginning of Isaiah’s immodest walk or the
speech. The text seems unclear, but I lean toward the immodest
walk starting in 714 BC.
i. Assyria began the siege of Jerusalem in 713 BC.
ii. 711 BC - Assyria conquered Ashdod, causing Egypt to retreat.
iii. Assyria was defeated by God in 710 BC.
(2) \\#3-5\\ It was a sign of what Assyria was to do to Egypt and
Ethiopia.
(a) \\#5\\ Apparently, both Egypt and Ethiopia had offered Israel
help to fend off Assyria; hence, God had determined that both
nations would fall to them.
(b) As Isaiah had walked naked and barefoot, so would the captives
from these two nations.
(3) \\#6\\ "isle"
(a) The word can be translated isle, coast, or shore. It is
translated country once.
(b) This sign and sermon were intended to show all those in the area
that God had given Assyria dominion at that time. No one would
be able to withstand them.
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