“No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service”

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

I’m looking for the Bible verse where God told a man to walk around naked for three years.  Where is that story, and what is it all about?

Sincerely,
Modesty-Minded

Dear Modesty-Minded,

God commanded Isaiah to walk around naked and barefoot in Isa 20:2, but ‘naked’ doesn’t mean ‘without any clothing’ in this context.  The sackcloth robe that Isaiah would have removed was just his outer garment.  God commanded Isaiah to walk around wearing what a slave would wear (Isa 20:3-4).  The slaves of that time period wore very short tunics that reached from the neck to somewhere between the waist and the knee.  Although technically wearing clothing, Isaiah would have appeared as if he left his house naked because he wasn’t wearing his outer garments.  This was a visual prophecy that God used to tell the nation of Judah that they would be ashamed for trusting in Egypt and Ethiopia for aid because those nations would soon be destroyed by Assyria.  Judah needed to trust in God and not other nations.

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