I
have a friend who cannot understand why I love the Old Testament. She told me
once that the Old Testament is a ‘dead book’. I take it that some think so
because the law of Moses has been fulfilled through the ministry of Christ,
however, the Old Testament is full of prophecies of our day which are in the
process of being fulfilled or are yet to be fulfilled. A book that contains
prophecies which are still pending cannot be a dead book.
Reading
all the dual prophecies in the book of Isaiah makes me feel like I am reading
about our world instead of ancient Israel. The tragedy of it is that Isaiah’s
comments are directed to the House of Israel and not the condition of the world
at large. His lament is about Israel following in the ways of the world and
reaping the same consequences.
In
chapter 3, Isaiah spoke at length about the corruption of women of his day who
were proud, arrogant, and more concerned with their clothing and personal
appearance than with righteousness. It also reads like 2026 where women have
lost sight of proper priorities and the women of Zion are following suit all
the way to the fruits of addiction and transgression:
“The
prophet contrasts their former beauty with the results of judgment. Because of
their wickedness, the beauty, the pride, and the fashion will become tragedy,
disaster, and slavery. The girdle in verse 24 of chapter was the sash used to
fasten the outer clothing. Keil and Delitzsch showed that the “rent” which was
to replace it was the rope used to bind slaves. Sackcloth was black goat’s hair
worn at times of great mourning. The “burning” refers to the branding that
often accompanied one’s being made a slave (Commentary, 7:1:147; Old
Testament Student Manual 141).
Slavery
today might not appear in the physical form but a spiritual and emotional one. This
is not just about dress or immodesty but also about women’s assertiveness in
denying the qualities of their gender in pursuit of a more masculine role.
Of
most interest is the parallel used in Isaiah 4:1. Isaiah speaks of scarcity of
men due to war mentioned in Isaiah 3:25-26 and the devasting effect that this
had on women in the ancient world. To be unmarried and childless in ancient
Israel was a disgrace (see Genesis 30:23; Luke 1:25). So terrible the
conditions would be anciently when Israel was at peril of dispersion and
devastation, that women would be willing to share a husband with others and not
expect any material support from him, if only they could claim they were
married to him and had children by him.
In
21st century we see women avoiding child bearing in preference of
convenience and their pursuits by freezing their eggs, having abortions and even
eradicating the need of husbands by replacing them with sperm banks. Isaiah wrote that in his day seven women would
be willing to share one man just to have his children. Reflect on how many
women could end up having children by one man through the sperm bank……
Whether
we follow the world or not is the deciding factor in who we become. Isaiah
spoke of this too when he said, “the show of their countenance doth witness
against them” (3:9). This perhaps is the most important lesson we can take from
Chapter 3 of Isaiah:
“Every
man and every person who lives in this world wields an influence, whether for
good or for evil. It is not what he says alone; it is not alone what he does.
It is what he is. Every man, every person radiates what he or she really is…It
is what we are and what we radiate that affects the people around us.”
(President David O. McKay, Man May Know For Himself, p 108)
The
influence we have on the world is crucial because we are a ‘peculiar’ people,
the definition of which is: one’s very own, exclusive or special, uncommon,
unusual, distinctive in nature or character from others, belonging exclusively
to some person, group or thing. As God’s people, we are obligated to pursue a
character of nobility that we might be an influence for good on the nations of
the earth as we await the return of our King.
Nephi’s
vision of our day should give us the hope and courage to make this a reality: “And
it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it
descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant
people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they
were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.” (1 Nephi 14:14)
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
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