Isaiah 3:19

Isaiah 3:19 says, The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,  Then, Isaiah begins to list the things that God will take away.  He starts with chains and bracelets, and the chains were not chains of oppression, but chains worn to make a person feel more beautiful or richer than other people.  Then, he begins to list items of apparel that are worn more to show off than of necessity.  The things that we use to make ourselves look richer in the world should never become mor important than our relationship with God, because one day they will be gone.

Verse twenty adds, The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,  Isaiah continues to list these items of adornment that God will one day take away.   

Verse twenty-one continues, The rings, and nose jewels,  We find some of those who profess themselves to be Christians wearing nose studs or rings, but this is nothing new.  Evidently, women of Judah did the same thing, and God said He would take all that away when He came in judgment.  As already stated, God’s word does not change, so what He pronounced as wrong then is still wrong today.  It wasn’t the jewelry that was wrong in and of itself, but the attitude that it was more important than helping the less fortunate was.   

Verse twenty-two states, The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,  Isaiah then begins to list items of clothing that were worn more to feel superior to others than of an actual need.   

Verse twenty-three adds, The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.  I believe that the glasses don’t refer to those need to help a person see better but glasses that worn just to enhance ones looks.   Thousand-dollar suits worn while poor people starve will never impress God.

Verse twenty-four continues, And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.  Isaiah said one day all these beauty aides were going to stink and would be destroyed.  No matter how much we spend on our personal adornment, it is never going to last beyond this lifetime, so we need to learn to help those in need before we splurge on beautiful things.   

Verse twenty-five says, Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.  Moving on to the men, Isaiah said they were going to fall by the sword since they would no longer have God’s protection.  Matthew Henry says that since the women were making themselves look more beautiful for the men, that the men they were doing this for would be killed in battle, which would make their efforts even more vain. 

Verse twenty-six adds, And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.  Isaiah warned them that God said their cities were going to become desolate, all because of their pride and disobedience to Him.  We should never put prideful actions above doing God’s work and following His guidance to first reach out with the gospel and then to help the less fortunate.