Isaiah's Prophecy Light for all Mankind - Sick from Head to Foot

Sick from Head to Foot

Isaiah next strives to reason with the people of  Judah by pointing out to them their sickly state.  He says:  "Where else will you be struck still more, in that you add more revolt?"  In effect, Isaiah is asking them:  'Have you not suffered long enough? Why bring further harm to yourselves by continuing to rebel?  Isaiah continues:  "The whole head is in a sick condition, and the whole heart is feeble.  From the sole of the feet even to the head there is no sound spot in it."  (Isaiah 1:5, 6a)  Judah is in a loathsome, diseased state-spiritually sick from head to foot.  A grim diagnosis indeed!

Should we feel sorry for Judah! Hardly!  Centuries earlier the entire nation of Israel was duly warned about the penalty for disobedience.  In part, they were told:  "Jehovah will strike you with a malignant boil upon both knees and both legs, from which you will be able to be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head."  (Deuteronomy 28:35)  In a figurative sense, Judah is now suffering these very consequences of her stubborn course. And all of this could have been avoided if the people of Judah has simply obeyed Jehovah.

Isaiah continues to describe Judah's pitiable state:  "Wounds and bruises and fresh stripes -they have not been squeezed or bound up, nor has there been a softening with oil."  (Isaiah 1:6b )  Here the prophet refers to three types of injuries: wounds (cuts such as those inflicted by a sword or a knife), bruises (welts resulting from beating), and fresh stripes (recent, open sores that seem beyond healing).  The idea presented is that of a man who has been severely punished in every manner imaginable with no part of his body escaping harm.  Judah is truly in a broken-down state.

Does Judah's miserable condition move her to return to Jehovah?  No! Judah is like  rebel described at Proverbs 29:1:  "A man repeatedly reproved but making his neck hard will suddenly be broken, and that without haling."  The nation seems beyond curing. As Isaiah puts it, her wounds "have not been squeezed out or bound up, nor has there been a softening with oil."  In a sense, Judah resembles an open, unbandaged, all-pervasive sore.

Taking a lesson from Judah, we must be on guard against spiritual sickness.  Like physical illness, it can affect any one of us.  After all, who of us is not susceptible to fleshly desires?  Greed and a desire for excessive pleasure  can take root in our hearts.  Hence, we need to train ourselves to "abhor what is wicked" and "cling  to what is good."  (Romans 12:9)  We also need  to cultivate the fruits of God's spirit in our everyday lives.  (Galatians 5:22, 23)  By doing so, we will avoid the condition that plagued Judah-that of being spiritually  sick from head to foot.

Next time: A Designated Land

From the Book Isaiah's Prophecy Light for all Mankind, 2000