"Naked and Barefoot"

Jehovah tells Isaiah:  "Go and you must loosen the sackcloth from off your hips; and your sandals  you should draw from off your feet."  Isaiah complies  with Jehovah's command.  "He proceeded to do so, walking about naked and barefoot."  (Isaiah 20:2) Sackcloth is a coarse garment often worn by the prophets, sometimes  in conjunction with a warning message.  It is also worn in times of crisis or upon hearing calamitous news.  (2 Kings 19:2; Psalm 35:13; Daniel 9:3) Does Isaiah really walk around naked in the sense of being without any protective covering at all?  Not necessarily.  The Hebrew word translated "naked" can also refer to one's being partially or scantily clothed.  (1 Samuel  19:24) So Isaiah  may have merely taken off his outer garment, while retaining the short tunic that was commonly worn close to body.  Male captives are often represented in this manner in Assyrian sculptures. 

The meaning of Isaiah's unusual action is not left in doubt:  "Jehovah went on to say:  'Just as my servant Isaiah has walked about naked and barefoot three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and against Ethiopia, so the king of Assyria will lead the body of captives of Egypt and the exiles of Ethiopia, boys and old men, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks stripped, the nakedness of Egypt.' " (Isaiah 20:3, 4 )  Yes, the Egyptians and Ethiopians  will soon be carried off captive.  No one will be spared.  Even "boys and old men"-the children and the elderly -will be stripped of all their possessions and taken into exile.  By means of this bleak imagery, Jehovah warns the inhabitants of Judah that it will be futile for them to put their trust in  Egypt and Ethiopia.  The downfall of these nations will lead to their  "nakedness"-their ultimate humiliation!

Next time: Hope Crumbles, Beauty Fades

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