Does The Bible Say Isaiah Walked Around Naked for Three Years?

“The Lord revealed the following message during the year in which King Sargon of Assyria sent his commanding general to Ashdod, and he fought against it and captured it. At that time the Lord announced through Isaiah son of Amoz: “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and take your sandals off your feet.” He did as instructed and walked around in undergarments and barefoot. Later the Lord explained, “In the same way that my servant Isaiah has walked around in undergarments and barefoot for the past three years, as an object lesson and omen pertaining to Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, both young and old.” Isaiah 20:1-4

If you read any of the book of the Prophet of Isaiah, you will learn that Isaiah did what the Lord told him to do — even if he was not too thrilled with what the Lord demanded of his prophecy. Isaiah was instructed by the Lord to prophesy by performing one of those “Prophetic Sign-acts” I spoke about a few devotions ago. Isaiah is told to take off all of his clothes — or at least to strip to his underwear. Then he was told to walk among the people stark naked for not an afternoon in the sunshine, nor a week in all weather, but for three whole years. This is why Isaiah was a great prophet, because he didn’t care what others thought, but only cared about the Lord — and so even though this would have been profoundly embarrassing, Isaiah listened. But what do we make of this “walking naked”. From the commentaries we learn that Isaiah was not walking nude but walking “without his special prophetic garment”. So, it does not mean that he was in a state of entire nudity — he was simply directed to lay this garment – this emblem of his office – aside. The word “naked,” is often used in the Scriptures not to denote an absolute destitution of clothing, but that the “outer” garment was laid aside (see the note at John 21:7).

Have you ever said to someone “I felt alone, like I was standing naked in front of a crowd”? There are times when we feel as if the challenge in front of us is so daunting, and we feel so unprepared, that we are as fragile and vulnerable as if we were naked. Being naked in any situation is putting oneself in a vulnerable position. No one likes to feel this way. But Isaiah, though he was not naked as such, he was to walk for three years barefooted and without his “prophetic garment”. In other words, Isaiah was stripped of the emblem of his office.

There is an ongoing conversation between pastors whether we should wear a clerical collar or not. The clerical collar is a symbol of our office. For many it is supposed to demand a sign of respect — and to open doors that might be closed to others, like the hospital ER. There are times when I forget to take mine with me, and I will admit that I feel “naked” without it. The clerical collar may be a symbol of our office, and it may let people know we serve a particular profession, but there are many people in the world today who do not respect the collar, or even know what it stands for. If I choose to wear it or not means nothing to the deeds and words I am called to do and proclaim. I will do them and proclaim them with or without a collar — it is only a piece of plastic. Whether people respect me as a pastor will be dependent on my obedience to G-d and my calling.

G-d’s message to the Jews in Isaiah 20, graphically illustrated by the “Prophetic sign-act” of walking naked and barefoot, exhorts the people to trust fully in G-d. This message is echoed some 2,700 years later, when the writer of Hebrews urges Jewish Christians not to return to Old Covenant practices but to trust fully in Christ and His finished work on the cross. Just as the Jews of Isaiah’s day would watch the Egyptians and Ethiopians be taken captive by the Assyrians and ask, “How shall we escape?” so the writer of Hebrews tells first-century Christians to remain faithful to Christ or face His divine discipline. We cannot put out trust in outer symbols or deeds prescribed by the law — we must put our trust in Jesus and the redemption that comes through his saving cross.

Pastor Dave