{"id":65813,"date":"2019-11-19T13:34:24","date_gmt":"2019-11-19T11:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=65813"},"modified":"2023-06-14T07:52:05","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T04:52:05","slug":"sackcloth-as-a-political-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/sackcloth-as-a-political-statement\/","title":{"rendered":"Sackcloth As A Political Statement"},"content":{"rendered":"
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During Assyria\u2019s first campaign against Ashdod (713 BCE), God com\u00admanded the prophet to remove the sackcloth that he was wearing\u2026 He was then commanded to remove his shoes and walk \u201cnaked and barefoot\u201d through the streets of Jerusalem for three years…[I]t is difficult, even painful, to contemplate the prophet, a man of royal bearing, being an object of ridicule for so long, at God\u2019s command.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, [it] is not merely a metaphor or prophetic parable. Although sackcloth often symbolizes mourning in the Bible, it also represents supplication, pleading for salvation, and prayer (see Ben Haddad\u2019s words in I Kings 20:31\u201332, and Ahab\u2019s deeds in I Kings 21:20, among others), and this seems to be the case in this chapter of Isaiah.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of Sargon\u2019s records documents that the initiator of the Ash\u00addod rebellion turned to some of his neighbors: \u201cKing Azuri of Ashdod secretly plotted that he would no longer pay tribute to Assyria, and he sent out delegates to his neighboring kings.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Isaiah saw the seeds of this process begin to sprout, and became deeply disturbed. Twenty years earlier, he had stood before Ahaz, des\u00adperately trying to convince him to stay out of the Aram-Israel-Assyria conflict, but to no avail; Ahaz appealed to the king of Assyria, who turned Judah into an Assyrian province. During the years that Ahaz considered himself to be Tiglath-Pileser\u2019s servant and son, Jerusalem became defaced, a city of idolatry.<\/span><\/p>\n

After these difficult years, Ahaz\u2019s son Hezekiah redeemed and purified Jerusalem. These were years of returning to God and the traditions, of Jerusalem\u2019s expansion, and of reunion with the remaining tribes of Israel. All this restored the city to its former glory, and renewed the prophet\u2019s faith in the institution of earthly rule. Perhaps this king was worthy to sit upon David\u2019s throne, for he clung to his God in faith and devotion.<\/span><\/p>\n

But now, Isaiah\u2019s old fears crept back; would this king, too, be sucked into local politics and hopeless, useless treaties? Would Isaiah once again be forced to explain that a rebel coalition was nothing but a fantasy that would lead the people away from God\u2019s will? A local rebellion would rely upon Egypt, who promised aid, but was locked in fierce internal struggles.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Tartan\u2019s campaign to Ashdod was no secret. As the Assyrian forces marched towards their destination, the people knew that doom and destruction were on their way. Terror and panic seized the people of Jerusalem. The Assyrians were on their way to punish Ashdod, but there was no guarantee of safety for those who had joined their alliance, or even those who received their delegates.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Assyrian army descended upon Ashdod, and Jerusalem held its breath. Isaiah donned sackcloth and prayed for salvation from the sword of Sargon. Presumably, he began his supplications as soon as he heard that the Tartan\u2019s campaign had commenced. For the moment, Isaiah\u2019s firm opposition to Hezekiah\u2019s interference in international affairs was replaced by prayer and supplication.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":65184,"id":65184,"title":"Isaiah-LauBinNun","filename":"Isaiah-LauBinNun.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-vision-of-a-brighter-future\/isaiah-laubinnun\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isaiah-laubinnun","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":65181,"date":"2019-11-04 21:10:18","modified":"2019-12-16 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