Isaiah 3:13

Isaiah 3:13 says, The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.  God first pleads with or calls people to come to Him for salvation by faith, and if they don’t, then one day He will call them to judgment.  That applied to the people of Judah then, as it has applied to all people for all time.  These are the only two choices anyone will ever have.   

Verse fourteen adds, The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.  God is aware of our actions based on greed, and one day, He will pronounce judgment on those who have lived by greed and have not only not cared about the poor and needy but have taken even what little they have to enrich themselves.   

Verse fifteen continues, What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts.  God asked the people of Judah, a part of His chosen people, why they had beaten down the poor.  God’s word has always told His people to help the poor and the widows and orphans.  He never said that we are to view them as a burden and someone else’s problem.  I believe that he expects a nation that calls itself a Christian nation to do the same, but ultimately, it is the responsibility of every Christian to help the less fortunate, no matter what the government or others may be doing.  

Verse sixteen says, Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:  The more affluent women were looking to glorify themselves and were not concerned about the poor.  There are many women today who are more concerned about how they look than about the poor and needy. They strut about showing of their fine clothes and look down on the poor and needy.  I said women because that is what the verse says, but men can be just as guilty.   

Verse seventeen adds, Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts.  Isaiah warned them that God was one day going to judge them and take away all their beauty and conceited attitudes.  He has not changed.  As followers of Christ, we will always be expected to take care of the less fortunate instead of being concerned about how fine we may dress.   

Verse eighteen continues, In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,  Isaiah warned them that God was one day going to judge them and take away all the things that they wore to make themselves look more beautiful while they oppressed the poor.  We will never carry any beautiful trinket to heaven, but the help that we supply to the poor, in particular widows and orphans, will be noted in heaven.