And the gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground. And her gatesThe term "gates" in ancient times often symbolized the place of power, authority, and social interaction within a city. Gates were where leaders met, judgments were made, and commerce was conducted. In the Hebrew context, the word "gates" (שַׁעַר, sha'ar) signifies not just physical entry points but also the heart of communal life. The lamentation of the gates indicates a breakdown of societal structure and leadership, reflecting a city in distress and turmoil. This imagery serves as a powerful reminder of the consequences of turning away from God’s statutes, as the very places that once buzzed with life and decision-making are now silent and sorrowful. will lament and mourn
The words "lament" and "mourn" convey deep sorrow and grief. In Hebrew, "lament" (אָבַל, abal) and "mourn" (אָבַל, abal) are often used in the context of death or great loss. This dual expression of grief underscores the profound impact of judgment upon the city. It is not merely a physical desolation but an emotional and spiritual one. The repetition of the root word emphasizes the depth of the city's despair. Historically, such expressions of mourning would include wearing sackcloth, ashes, and public displays of sorrow, indicating a communal recognition of sin and its consequences. destitute
The term "destitute" (נָקָה, naqah) implies a state of being stripped bare, left without resources or support. This word paints a picture of utter vulnerability and helplessness. In the context of Isaiah's prophecy, it reflects the spiritual and material poverty that results from forsaking God. The imagery of destitution serves as a stark warning of the emptiness that follows when a nation or individual turns away from divine guidance and protection. It is a call to repentance and a return to reliance on God, who is the ultimate provider and sustainer. she will sit on the ground
Sitting on the ground is a traditional posture of mourning and humility in the ancient Near East. It signifies a lowering of oneself, both physically and metaphorically. In Hebrew culture, to sit on the ground (יָשַׁב, yashab) was to acknowledge one's lowly state and to express submission and penitence. This phrase captures the complete humbling of the city, reduced from its former glory to a state of abasement. It serves as a poignant image of the consequences of pride and disobedience, yet it also holds a glimmer of hope. In humility and repentance, there is the possibility of restoration and renewal through God's mercy and grace. Persons / Places / Events 1. IsaiahA major prophet in the Old Testament, Isaiah's ministry spanned the reigns of several kings of Judah. He is known for his prophecies concerning both judgment and redemption. 2. JerusalemThe capital city of Judah, often personified in Isaiah's prophecies. In this context, it represents the people of Judah who are facing judgment due to their sins. 3. Judgment of JudahThe broader context of Isaiah 3 is a prophecy of judgment against Judah and Jerusalem for their rebellion against God. This includes social injustice, idolatry, and moral decay. Teaching Points The Consequences of SinSin leads to spiritual and sometimes physical destitution. Just as Jerusalem faced judgment, individuals and nations today must be aware of the consequences of turning away from God. The Call to RepentanceThe imagery of lament and mourning serves as a call to repentance. Believers are encouraged to examine their lives and turn back to God before facing similar consequences. God's Sovereignty in JudgmentGod's judgment is just and serves a purpose. Understanding His sovereignty helps believers trust in His plans, even when facing difficult circumstances. Hope Beyond JudgmentWhile Isaiah 3:26 speaks of judgment, the broader message of Isaiah includes hope and restoration. Believers can find comfort in God's promise of redemption and renewal. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the imagery of "gates lamenting and mourning" in Isaiah 3:26 reflect the spiritual state of Jerusalem, and what can we learn from this about the impact of sin on a community? 2. In what ways does the prophecy of judgment in Isaiah 3:26 serve as a warning for contemporary society? How can we apply this warning to our personal lives? 3. Compare the imagery of destitution in Isaiah 3:26 with the description of Babylon in Isaiah 47:1. What similarities and differences do you observe, and what do they teach us about God's judgment? 4. How does the theme of lament in Isaiah 3:26 connect with the book of Lamentations, and what lessons can we draw about dealing with personal or communal grief? 5. Reflect on the hope of restoration found in later chapters of Isaiah. How does this hope influence your understanding of God's character and His plans for redemption? Connections to Other Scriptures Lamentations 1:1-4This passage describes the desolation and mourning of Jerusalem after its destruction, echoing the imagery of lament and mourning in Isaiah 3:26. Isaiah 47:1This verse speaks of Babylon sitting in the dust, similar to the imagery of Jerusalem sitting on the ground in destitution, highlighting the theme of humbling the proud. Revelation 18:7-8The fall of Babylon in Revelation parallels the fall of Jerusalem, emphasizing the consequences of pride and sin. People IsaiahPlaces Jerusalem, Sodom, ZionTopics Bereft, Deserted, Desolate, Destitute, Emptied, Gates, Ground, Lament, Lamented, Mourn, Mourned, Openings, Places, Public, Ravaged, Seated, Sit, Sitteth, Sorrow, Stripped, Towns, Uncovered, Utterly, Waste, Weeping, Yea, ZionDictionary of Bible Themes Isaiah 3:24-26 5899 lament Library A Paradox of Selling and Buying
'Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.'--ISAIAH iii. 3. THE first reference of these words is of course to the Captivity. They come in the midst of a grand prophecy of freedom, all full of leaping gladness and buoyant hope. The Seer speaks to the captives; they had 'sold themselves for nought.' What had they gained by their departure from God?--bondage. What had they won in exchange for their freedom?-- only the hard service of Babylon. As Deuteronomy puts it: …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureMarching Orders
'Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord. 12. For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your reward.'--ISAIAH iii. 11, 12. These ringing notes are parts of a highly poetic picture of that great deliverance which inspired this prophet's most exalted strains. It is described with constant allusion to the first Exodus, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The Christian view of Sorrow
"A man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief" Is. Iii. 3. There is one great distinction between the productions of Heathen and of Christian art. While the first exhibits the perfection of physical form and of intellectual beauty, the latter expresses, also, the majesty of sorrow, the grandeur of endurance, the idea of triumph refined from agony. In all those shapes of old there is nothing like the glory of the martyr; the sublimity of patience and resignation; the dignity of the thorn-crowned Jesus. …
E. H. Chapin—The Crown of Thorns The Personal History of Herod - the Two Worlds in Jerusalem.
It is an intensely painful history, [581] in the course of which Herod made his way to the throne. We look back nearly two and a half centuries to where, with the empire of Alexander, Palestine fell to his successors. For nearly a century and a half it continued the battle-field of the Egyptian and Syrian kings (the Ptolemies and the Seleucidæ). At last it was a corrupt High-Priesthood - with which virtually the government of the land had all along lain - that betrayed Israel's precious trust. …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah How those are to be Admonished who Praise the Unlawful Things of which they are Conscious, and those who While Condemning Them, in no Wise Guard
(Admonition 32.) Differently to be admonished are they who even praise the unlawful things which they do, and those who censure what is wrong, and yet avoid it not. For they who even praise the unlawful things which they do are to be admonished to consider how for the most part they offend more by the mouth than by deeds. For by deeds they perpetrate wrong things in their own persons only; but with the mouth they bring out wickedness in the persons of as many as there are souls of hearers, to …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great "But Whereunto Shall I Liken this Generation?"
Matth. xi. 16.--"But whereunto shall I liken this generation?" When our Lord Jesus, who had the tongue of the learned, and spoke as never man spake, did now and then find a difficulty to express the matter herein contained. "What shall we do?" The matter indeed is of great importance, a soul matter, and therefore of great moment, a mystery, and therefore not easily expressed. No doubt he knows how to paint out this to the life, that we might rather behold it with our eyes, than hear it with our …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Brief Memoir of Thomas Watson
Compiled by C. H. Spurgeon Thomas Watson's Body of Practical Divinity is one of the most precious of the peerless works of the Puritans; and those best acquainted with it prize it most. Watson was one of the most concise, racy, illustrative, and suggestive of those eminent divines who made the Puritan age the Augustan period of evangelical literature. There is a happy union of sound doctrine, heart-searching experience and practical wisdom throughout all his works, and his Body of Divinity is, beyond …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Of Civil Government.
OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT. This chapter consists of two principal heads,--I. General discourse on the necessity, dignity, and use of Civil Government, in opposition to the frantic proceedings of the Anabaptists, sec. 1-3. II. A special exposition of the three leading parts of which Civil Government consists, sec. 4-32. The first part treats of the function of Magistrates, whose authority and calling is proved, sec. 4-7. Next, the three Forms of civil government are added, sec. 8. Thirdly, Consideration …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion Letter Li to the virgin Sophia
To the Virgin Sophia He praises her for having despised the glory of the world: and, setting forth the praises, privileges, and rewards of Religious Virgins, exhorts her to persevere. Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, to the Virgin Sophia, that she may keep the title of virginity and attain its reward. I. Favour is deceitful and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised (Prov. xxxi. 31). I rejoice with you, my daughter, in the glory of your virtue, whereby, as I hear, you …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux "All Our Righteousnesses are as Filthy Rags, and we all do Fade as a Leaf, and Our Iniquities, Like the Wind, have Taken us Away. "
Isaiah lxiv. 6, 7.--"All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." Not only are the direct breaches of the command uncleanness, and men originally and actually unclean, but even our holy actions, our commanded duties. Take a man's civility, religion, and all his universal inherent righteousness,--all are filthy rags. And here the church confesseth nothing but what God accuseth her of, Isa. lxvi. 8, and chap. i. ver. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning "Thou Shalt Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother. "
From this Commandment we learn that after the excellent works of the first three Commandments there are no better works than to obey and serve all those who are set over us as superiors. For this reason also disobedience is a greater sin than murder, unchastity, theft and dishonesty, and all that these may include. For we can in no better way learn how to distinguish between greater and lesser sins than by noting the order of the Commandments of God, although there are distinctions also within the …
Dr. Martin Luther—A Treatise on Good Works Concerning Salutations and Recreations, &C.
Concerning Salutations and Recreations, &c. [1273] Seeing the chief end of all religion is to redeem men from the spirit and vain conversation of this world and to lead into inward communion with God, before whom if we fear always we are accounted happy; therefore all the vain customs and habits thereof, both in word and deed, are to be rejected and forsaken by those who come to this fear; such as taking off the hat to a man, the bowings and cringings of the body, and such other salutations of that …
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity A Sermon on Isaiah xxvi. By John Knox.
[In the Prospectus of our Publication it was stated, that one discourse, at least, would be given in each number. A strict adherence to this arrangement, however, it is found, would exclude from our pages some of the most talented discourses of our early Divines; and it is therefore deemed expedient to depart from it as occasion may require. The following Sermon will occupy two numbers, and we hope, that from its intrinsic value, its historical interest, and the illustrious name of its author, it …
John Knox—The Pulpit Of The Reformation, Nos. 1, 2 and 3. The Prophet Micah.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. Micah signifies: "Who is like Jehovah;" and by this name, the prophet is consecrated to the incomparable God, just as Hosea was to the helping God, and Nahum to the comforting God. He prophesied, according to the inscription, under Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. We are not, however, entitled, on this account, to dissever his prophecies, and to assign particular discourses to the reign of each of these kings. On the contrary, the entire collection forms only one whole. At …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Isaiah
CHAPTERS I-XXXIX Isaiah is the most regal of the prophets. His words and thoughts are those of a man whose eyes had seen the King, vi. 5. The times in which he lived were big with political problems, which he met as a statesman who saw the large meaning of events, and as a prophet who read a divine purpose in history. Unlike his younger contemporary Micah, he was, in all probability, an aristocrat; and during his long ministry (740-701 B.C., possibly, but not probably later) he bore testimony, as …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Isaiah 3:26 NIVIsaiah 3:26 NLTIsaiah 3:26 ESVIsaiah 3:26 NASBIsaiah 3:26 KJV
Isaiah 3:26 Commentaries
Bible Hub |
