NAKED AND BAREFOOT
Isaiah 20: 1-6
I. The Action of Prophecy (vs. 1-2)
a. Tartan is not a name but the title that most closely approximates the role of Commander-In-Chief of the Assyrian Army. (see also 2 Kings 18:17). Why had he come to Ashdod?
b. Who was the king of Assyria at this time?
* This is the only reference to “Sargon” in Scripture and it was surmised by some critics that he never existed until his palace was unearthed in 1843 at Khorsabad in Mesopotamia and inscriptions at the ruins relate details of this very campaign.
c. While Assyria was quelling the Ashdod rebellion what was God making Isaiah do?
d. What were some of the other ways God had prophets act out a prophesy? (see Ezekiel 4:1-17, Jeremiah 43:8-10, Hosea 1:1-11
e. Did Isaiah obey the Lord and really walk naked and barefoot?
II. Prisoners (vs. 3-4)
a. Who was Isaiah prophesy a living example of?
b. What were to be the similarities of Isaiah’s unusual prophetic mime and the events that would transpire in Egypt and Ethiopia?
c. Would Assyria make any distinction and spare the young or old the humiliation?
III. Afraid (vs. 5-6)
a. Verses 5-6 reveals who the prophetic mime was really for. Who had the most to gain from observing Isaiah’s prophecy?
b. Who was looking to Ethiopia and Egypt to save them?
c. What will Egypt and Ethiopia’s humiliating defeat do to Israel and Judah’s hope for help from an earthly source?
Application: How is Psalm 20:7 a good summary verse for this passage?
