Isaiah 20: Salvation amidst Naked Shame: Egypt, Cush, Christ -- 2019/10/11

Rev. Ryan Fehrmann, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Wausau, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 20. “Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast!” Isaiah 20 begins a new section of the book, switching back to the story of Isaiah the prophet. God speaks to Him and tells him to do something dramatic: as a sign of judgment, God tells him to go around naked in public for the next three years! In this way, our chapter pulls together ideas from the preceding Philistia, Cush, and Egypt oracles and puts them into context. As Judah waffles about whether to join the Egyptians or to submit to the Assyrians, God condemns human pride for its lack of repentance. Just as He did then, God gives us a sign of nakedness: His Son on a cross. God enters into our shame so that we would realize that He is our only escape and our only hope in the face of sin, death, and evil.