Isaiah

Isaiah 3: God judges oppression and pride

Begin in prayer

Before we read of Jerusalem losing its strength, let us ask God to search our hearts. Ask God to help our family hear His judgment against oppression and find mercy in Jesus.

Rise up, you judge of the earth. Pay back the proud what they deserve.

Psalm 94:2

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us why injustice deserves Your judgment and why we need Christ. Turn us from using others for ourselves. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

The LORD takes bread, water and capable leaders away from Jerusalem and Judah. Without sound rule, neighbors oppress one another and people try to put any clothed man in charge. Their words and deeds have defied the LORD, and they parade their sin like Sodom. God rises to judge the leaders who have filled their houses with the plunder of the poor. The proud daughters of Zion will lose their finery and suffer humiliation. Men will fall in war, and the city will mourn in desolation.

As you read Isaiah 3, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God repays wickedness and judges those who crush His people.

The loss of food and leadership belongs to God’s judgment upon a nation that has defied Him. Clothing becomes a reason to choose a ruler because the city has so little left. That desperate choice shows how far its strength has fallen. God then brings the elders before His court. Their houses hold stolen wealth while the poor are crushed. Sodom was the city God destroyed for its open sin, so Judah is compared to the worst city it knew (verse 9). God will replace their ornaments with sores, baldness and sackcloth, and the city’s men will fall in war. His judgment distinguishes the righteous from the wicked and repays evil deeds.

How does Isaiah 3 show us that God repays wickedness and judges those who crush His people?

God can remove every support people depend on.

God takes away the supply of bread and water and the experienced leaders Judah relies on (verses 1 to 3). He gives boys as princes, and respect between young and old collapses. Judah’s confidence in people ends in helplessness.

God will repay the wicked for their deeds.

The people parade their sin openly. God says children oppress them and women rule them, while their guides lead them astray (verse 12). God declares good for the righteous and disaster for those who have chosen evil.

God brings oppressors before His judgment.

The elders have consumed the vineyard they should have cared for. Their houses contain the plunder of the poor. The Lord asks why they crush His people, so their power gives them no shelter from justice.

Memorise

Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them; for the deeds of his hands will be paid back to him.

Isaiah 3:11

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, where do I use another person unfairly and need mercy from Jesus?

God asks the leaders, “What do you mean that you crush my people, and grind the face of the poor?” Their houses hold the evidence against them. The Judge sees what powerful people take from the weak.

Our sins also stand before His court. Jesus accepted condemnation for His people, carrying their sin to the cross and enduring its penalty. Death could not hold Him, and He rose as the living Savior. His sacrifice was offered once for all and needs no further payment.

Turn from your sin and put your trust in Jesus. Stop excusing the wrong you do to people weaker than you. Forgiveness belongs to those who rely on this Savior, and His mercy teaches them to love their neighbor. The Judge Himself has provided a refuge in Christ.

Parent's note

Tell your children that God sees pride and injustice even when powerful people hide them. Explain the losses and humiliation with their full weight. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He judges injustice and sees the poor, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

But I will warn you whom you should fear. Fear him, who after he has killed, has power to cast into Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear him.

Luke 12:5

God of justice, thank You that hidden cruelty never escapes Your sight. Please bring us to repentance and faith in Jesus. Forgive our pride and unfairness through Him. Help us treat weaker people with care in our home and in every task this week. Amen.