Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem
3
📚For, look, the Lord, the LORD of hosts,
is taking away from Jerusalem
and from Judah 📖 the supply
and the support,
the whole supply of bread,
and the whole supply of water,
2 📚The mighty man,
and the warrior, the judge,
and the prophet, and the diviner,
and the elder,
3 📚The captain of fifty,
and the honourable man,
and the counsellor,
and the skillful craftsman,
and the eloquent orator.
4 📚And I will make children
their princes,
and babes will rule over them.
3:4 Verse 12. No strong leaders would be left in the country.⚜
5 📚And the people will be oppressed,
each one by another,
and each one by his neighbour.
The child will be insolent
against the elder,
and the base against
the honourable.
3:5 The result would be anarchy and chaos, with everyone trying to get the best of every one else.⚜
6 📚When a man takes hold of
his brother from the house
of his father,
saying, “You have clothing;
you be our ruler, and let
these ruins be in your charge”,
7 📚In that day he will protest,
saying, “I am no healer;
for in my house is neither
bread nor clothing.
Do not make me a ruler
of the people”.
3:6-7 Usually, alas, men are all too eager to rule others. But in the day of Jerusalem’s destruction they would avoid responsibility.⚜
8 📚For Jerusalem is ruined,
and Judah has fallen,
because their tongue and
their actions are against
the LORD,
provoking the eyes of his glory.
3:8 Because of this rebellion against God they were at the point of utter collapse.⚜
9 📚The look on their face testifies
against them,
and they declare their sin like Sodom 📖;
they do not hide it.
Woe to their soul!
For they have brought evil
on themselves.
10 📚Tell the righteous that it will be
well with him, for they will partake of the fruit of their actions.
11 📚Woe to the wicked!
It will go badly with him,
for he will be paid back for
what his hands have done.
3:10-11 In the middle of prophecies of disaster here is a wonderful encouragement for God’s true servants. Let us take it to heart when we find ourselves in the midst of evil men. Everywhere in the Bible we see that the rewards of a righteous life and the results of a wicked life are vastly different. Ps 37 is a beautiful revelation of all this.⚜
12 📚As for my people,
children are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
O my people, those who lead you
cause you to go astray 📖
and destroy the way of your paths.
13 📚The LORD stands up to plead,
and stands up to judge the people.
14 📚The LORD will enter into judgment
with the elders of his people
and its rulers;
for you have eaten up
the vineyard.
The plunder from the poor is
in your houses.
15 📚“What do you mean by
crushing my people and grinding
the faces of the poor?”
says the Lord God of hosts.
16 📚Moreover the LORD says,
“Because the daughters
of Zion are haughty,
and walk with stretched
out necks and wanton eyes,
walking and mincing as they go,
and making a tinkling sound
with their feet,
3:16 We see from Isa 2:11-17 what God thinks of pride, arrogance and haughtiness. Here we see that the women were as guilty of this as the men.⚜
17 📚Therefore the Lord will bring
scabs on the crown
of the head of the daughters
of Zion,
and the LORD will uncover
their secret parts”.
3:8-17 God gives the reasons why He had to so severely punish His people. Justice demanded that they reap what they sowed (vs 9,11. See Ps 18:25-26; Gal 6:7-8).⚜
18 📚In that day the Lord will
take away their finery,
their tinkling anklets,
and their headbands,
and their crescent ornaments,
19 📚The pendants, and the bracelets,
and the veils,
20 📚The headdresses,
and the leg ornaments,
and the scarves,
and the perfume bottles,
and the charms,
21 📚The rings, and nose jewels,
22 The fine apparel,
and the capes, and the cloaks,
and the purses,
23 📚The mirrors, and the fine linen,
and the turbans,
and the veils.
24 📚And it will be like this:
Instead of a sweet smell
there will be a stink;
and instead of a sash,
a rope; and instead of well set hair,
baldness; and instead of
fine clothing,
a wearing of sackcloth;
and instead of beauty,
branding.
3:17-24 God will crush haughtiness whenever it is found. It is especially hateful to Him when it appears among His own people, and among those (the women) who should be known for their submission, gentleness, and humility. Compare this passage with 1 Tim 2:9-10 and 1 Pet 3:1-6.⚜
25 📚Your men will fall by the sword,
and your mighty in the war.
26 📚And her gates will lament
and mourn 📖,
and she will sit on the ground
desolate.