You have your Bible, Isaiah chapter three. We're gonna be reading together out loud verses one through eight. I will say that this is gonna be somewhat of a heavy message, but I think you're gonna find as we go through it that you will identify with it in a great way. Would you stand with me and let's read together Isaiah chapter three. We're gonna begin reading at verse one and reading through to verse eight. Isaiah three, verse one, let's read. For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, the mighty man and the man of war, the judge and the prophet, and the prudent and the ancient, the captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counselor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor. The child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honorable. When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, and be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand. And in that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be a healer, for in my house is neither bread nor clothing. Make me not a ruler of the people. For Jerusalem is ruined and Judah is fallen because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord to provoke the eyes of his glory. Father, thank you for your scriptures. Thank you for saving and cherishing and preserving your word for us. Now I pray that you would open our eyes, our ears, our thoughts. Lord, give us understanding of the times that we live in and how they mirror and they parallel Judah and your people. Lord, may we not be numbered among those that are timid. May we be numbered among those who in faith have courage and boldness in our faith, we pray. In Christ's name, amen. You can be seated. I hope that you have an outline. They were available in the lobby. Do I need to send anyone out for an outline? You have outlines? The reason I'm asking, I want you to follow what we're going to look at this morning. Let me give an introduction. I think most of you would agree that never before in our lifetime have we seen our nation so troubled our culture grappling for identity. The statues and monuments are being defaced and eradicated, while the leaders of our culture appear to be complicit or pathetically weak. And those of us who love our nation, and we embrace the inalienable rights of our forefathers, have a decision to make, do we cower as a handful of anarchists try to destroy our legacy and attack our freedoms? Will we be numbered among those who will speak even in the face of vulgar attacks upon us? Now, let me address something as we begin today. And some of this is on your outline. I believe as we look at this passage that you will see the sins and the signs of a nation that is failing and a culture that is dying. I hope many of you will come by at the end of the hour and say, I had no idea that the Bible so clearly would lay out exactly what happens when a nation falters. I have a quote in the bulletin. I wanted to give a broader quote of this man named Alexis de Tocqueville. I believe that he addresses and identifies something that's missing in our culture, that there is a certain ambivalence that is in our churches today. And I hope that it is not in our church. DeTocqueville, as he was traveling America in the 18th century, he observed this. He said, I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it wasn't there. In her fertile fields and boundless forests, and her greatness was not there. In her rich minds, in her vast world commerce, and it was not there. In her democratic congress, in her matchless constitution, and it was not there. And then he goes on to say, not until I went into the churches of America and I heard her pulpits of flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and her power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great. There are some in our day, in our culture right now, that be well pastors doing what I'm doing. Speaking about patriotism and talking about the state of our nation. There are some that would suggest that, you know, the pastor, the pulpit should never be a place where you bring up anything that is patriotic or bring up any cultural issues. to many of believers, I'm afraid we fall into that trap. And I wanted to give you an illustration of why that is a statement that the pastor and the preacher and the pulpit should never state anything about cultural issues. Why is that false? First of all, there's a biblical precedence. Let me give you that biblical precedence. The prophet Zechariah, if you've been following my devotions, you heard about him this past week. He was stoned to death because he condemned Judah's sins and the sin of her king. Jonah was commanded by God to go to Nineveh. And he went to Nineveh, and you know the story about Jonah being swallowed by the great fish and all of that. But he went to Nineveh, and he had a calling on his life, and it was to call Nineveh to repent of her sins, lest that city be destroyed. The prophet Jeremiah was persecuted in Judah. because he faithfully pointed out the sins of that nation and the sins of its leaders. Isaiah, that we are studying now, courageously assailed the sins and the wickedness of Judah. John the Baptist, do you remember? Why did John the Baptist lose his head? Do you remember? Because he pointed out the sin and adultery of King Herod. Talk about meddling in politics. Here's another, Jesus Christ. He was hated because he dared to point out the sins of the religious leaders of his day. And so the pulpit and the preacher not only has a precedence, but I think he even has a calling to declare righteousness. and to boldly confront sin. You have your Bible. Isaiah chapter 3. Let me give you a little bit of the background here. As we study this, and we've already studied chapter 1, we're leaping over to, we'll come back at another point, but Isaiah chapter 3, is going to reveal for us the rise and the fall of a nation, and that nation is Judah. That rise and fall of nations has a pattern that every nation has followed. Rome followed this pattern. In fact, let me make a statement and then we'll identify it. No nation has ever tolerated homosexuality and lesbianism that did not collapse. There is no exception. Every nation that tolerates sodomy is a nation that is doomed for judgment. And we are that nation. You have your Bible and your outline. Let's dive into this. Point number one on your outline. You're going to notice in Isaiah chapter 3 and verse 1 that God removes everything that a rebellious nation trusts. You have your Bible, Isaiah 3, look at verse 1. The Lord, Lord being the sovereign, the master of all creation, the Lord, behold the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the eternal one, the God of the heavenly host, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah, from the capital city and from the nation itself. What does God take away? Verse 1, He takes away the stay and the staff. And you say, what in the world is a stay? A stay is a prop, a crutch. It is something that you hold on to that literally stands you up. If you've ever had surgery on your knee or your ankle and you had to live on crutches for a while, you understood that the crutch was there to stay you on your feet. It's interesting. The word stay is masculine. The word staff is feminine. And so the stay is the prop. Now going on, the staff. What is the staff? The staff is a walking stick, or it is a symbol of an office, a symbol of authority. So what has the Lord taken away? Look at verse 1 again. For behold the Lord, the Lord of hosts, he has taken away from Jerusalem and Judah the prop, the stay. and the walking stick, the staff, the office. Then he goes on, he says this, the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water. On your outline. The first thing that the Lord begins to remove from a nation that rebels is its physical essentials. Do you remember when this coronavirus craziness started? Do you remember that? How many of you went to the grocery store and you were amazed at empty shelves? That is America. Three days after a disaster, whatever the disaster is. That is America. That is going to be us. I've heard and read reports you probably have as well. that there is an expectation of a possible meat shortage that is coming sometime in the fall. Meat plants have been closed down across the nation. The first thing that God removes from a nation that rebels is He removes the stay, or you could say the storage, of both the bread and the water. The second thing, verse 2, Not only does God remove the physical essentials, but we see in verse 2 that God removes the nation's male leaders. Now, I'm going to use a term. I hope it doesn't upset you. Manly men. Do you know what a manly man is, right? Do you recognize when there's a man that's not manly? All right. So look at verse 2. Let me prove it to you. Now we had to pick this up at verse 1. In verse 1 we read, the Lord doth take away. Now verse 2 continues that thought. The Lord doth take away, in verse 2, the mighty man and the man of war, the judge and the prophet and the prudent. and the ancient. The Lord takes all of those men away from the nation that rebels against the Lord. Now, I have a challenge for you. It's this next slide. This past week, I racked my brain trying to think of great men. Pause. How many great men could you list on your outline this morning? And you could say, here are great men. By great, I mean men who are statesmen. Men who are good, moral men. Men of integrity and men of character. How many great men could you list? Is there a Churchill that lives in our day? I couldn't think of one. What I'm saying to you as you look at verse 2 is that we are already at a void. We do not have great Let's keep going. Go back and look at verse 2 now. God warned Judah, I will take away the stay, the foundation, the support, the strength of your male leadership. Verse 2. I'll take away the mighty man. Mighty is strong, heroic. I'll take away the man of war, the man of battle and combat. I'll take away the judges that would rule righteously. I will take away the prophet who is the mouthpiece of God. I will take away the prudent, the man that has a vision. And I will take away the ancient, the elders, the ancient with experience. And here's a thought for your outline. For a nation to thrive and survive, it needs men of character and integrity. Would you agree? You know, the thought of America going into World War III with the leadership that we have in Washington, and even the leadership in our nation's armies and navies and air force, we have seen an appalling track record now of men who have no integrity. But not only does God take away the great leaders, But look at verse 3. God also takes away the secondary tier of leadership in a nation. Isaiah 3 and verse 3. The captain of 50. So we've gone from great men of war, and now we're all the way down to the lowest ranking officer who only has 50 soldiers that are under him. And so the Lord, in this whole list of things that I'm going to take away, your stay of bread, your stay of water, I'm going to take away your great leaders. In verse 3, I'm even going to take away the low-lying leaders. Verse 3, the captain of 15. And then the honorable man. The honorable man is a man that should be respected. The counselor, the wise man, the discerning man, the cunning artificer. It's interesting there. The word artificer is actually a mechanic or craftsman. Somebody that has workable skills. You see, when you were a conquering army, And you are attacking, let's say, the city of Jerusalem. Among the first ones that you would take away would be Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Why? Because they represented the next generation of leaders. And so all those leaders were taken away when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Babylon. Another thing that a conquering nation will take away, it'll take away its blacksmiths. It'll take away people who have skills that are usable skills by that nation. We as a nation are importing constantly people from other nations. You know why? Because we have become bankrupt when it comes to skills, labor in our own nation. Keep going. Notice with me also not only the cunning artificer, but even the eloquent orator. How many men do we know in public life that when they speak that they command attention? They make you sit on the edge of your pew and you listen. You see, even those are gone. But that brings me to point number two. Not only then are the great men gone and the physical essentials, but would you notice, number two, that Judah would be left with weak and incompetent leaders. Now, Isaiah describes those leaders in verse four. In verse four, he says that they are leaders like children playing. They're like babes in diapers. Follow with me. Let's read Isaiah 3 in verse 4. Again, the Lord says, I've taken away your leaders. I've taken away the secondary tier of your leaders. I'm removing the physical essentials that you need to survive as a nation. And now here's what I'm going to give you. Verse 4, I will give you children. princes are to be the rulers, and babes shall rule over them." The word children there has not the sense of a toddler, but it has the sense of a young man, a man of inexperience. In fact, let me describe for you, and you might want to write some of this down. These children or babes that we see in verse 4 would be foolish and playful. Politics is their game, not their calling. An immaturity, an immorality, and unprincipled leaders. I find it fascinating to listen to politicians over the course of 30 and 40 years, and who they are today and who they were 40 years before has dramatically changed. What happened? They're unprincipled. They're not anchored. They are tossed about by whichever way the political winds of the time and the season are blowing. In verse 4, God says, I'm going to remove all of your great leaders, and I'm going to give you children to be your leaders. I'm going to give you babes who have no sense of knowledge or understanding. But look at verse 5. In that same culture, we're going to read these young babes, these children, verse 5, are now, without the strong leaders, they are going to become an oppressive, lawless culture. You see, what you're watching in America, this is nothing new. This is the outcome of the bankruptcy of godliness. There is no godliness. There is no fear of God. There is no sense of morality. There is no sense of family because the culture is dying. Look at verse 5. In verse 5, we read this. Now, this is following giving you children. I'm going to give you babes. They're going to rule over you. Verse 5, and the people shall be oppressed. The word oppressed there is distress. a sense of harassment or even a tyranny. Have you watched that in our culture? There's a harassment now. There is a national oppression upon our nation now. Let's keep reading verse five. And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and everyone by his neighbor. There's a spirit in society today, I was chatting with Steve earlier, that is vulgar. It's angry, it's mean, it's threatening. That's verse 5. I will give you then babes and children, and the people of the nation shall be oppressed. And then watch. And the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient. Who are the ancients? They were the ones that were in authority. We would liken them today to being the police officer, law enforcement. They represent power. They represent responsibility. They represent authority. But in verse 5, the child that is ruling, verse 4, shall behave himself proudly. Let me give you a definition of proud. It is to be emboldened. It is a selfishness that asserts itself. And the thought of being against the ancient is to openly mock them. Rejecting the counsel of the elders, they openly mocked them. And then look at the last part of verse 5, and the base against the honorable. The word base is the word for vile or immoral or ungodly. In other words, instead of those who are base being ashamed and hiding in the closet, if you would, No, they're out in public, and they're bold, they're antagonistic, and they are in your face. Let's keep reading. Notice, if you would, in verse 6, we're still with the young men, the new rulers, if you would. And in verse 6, we see that they oppose and reject the ancient and the honorable, And so we wonder, what drives them? Well, look at verse 6. Verse 6 then says, that when a man shall take hold, literally the seizure or catch of his brother, of the house of his father, or household, saying, thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand. Now that's a strange thought. What in the world is going on there? Here's what it is. The culture becomes so impoverished not necessarily just impoverished in its physical essentials, but they become so morally bankrupt and impoverished that they began looking for someone that'll be a leader, anyone. And so this verse here, verse 6, gives an idea that somebody has inherited their father's household, and you've got a coat. Why don't you be our ruler? In other words, the sense of looking at a man's character, the qualities of his leadership, those are all set aside. What is important is image. Think about our culture now. What's important in our culture? It's the image, not the character. Let's keep reading. Follow with me then in verse 6, as we continue there, Isaiah 3 and verse 6. And so a man shall take hold of his brother of the house, and he'll say to that man, thy is clothing, why don't you be our ruler? But then there's another phrase, and let this ruin be under thy hand. Now that's an interesting thought. I don't want to be the ruler. Why don't you be the ruler? I mean, you dress well, you look good, you got charisma, you got the image, you be the ruler. And whatever happens, that's your problem. It's not going to be my problem. Now think about, and I'm going to give you an illustration. Think about Seattle. Do you remember Chop or Chaz? Right? The first thing that happened in Seattle was they drove out The police, the law enforcement. The second thing that happened was that weak governor and the weak mayor came out in support of CHOP and CHAZ. And you and I sit back and we wonder, what in the world is going on here? Chicago. Murders in Chicago are off the charts now. And I'm going to say it and may be condemned, but they have a lesbian for mayor who is a militant, flaming liberal. And I fear for Tampa. Moving on. Look at verse seven. As we continue to look, Judah will be left with weak and incompetent leadership. They'll have leaders that are like children playing and babes in diapers. Let her be. And the nation would be void of seasoned, and I'm going to use it again, manly male leaders. leadership. Let me walk that through for you. We already saw in verse 6 that they're going to say, hey, you've got a nice coat, why don't you be the leader and it'll be under your hand. It's going to be your problem, not my problem. Look at verse 7 now. In verse 7, and in that day, shall he, the young men that we've been looking at, shall he swear saying, I will not be a healer. He's already said, I'm not going to be the ruler. Now he's saying, I'm not going to be the healer. The word healer there is an idea of a doctor or a surgeon, someone who would set the bone or set it right. Now look at verse 7. And in that day, that day that the nation has been given over to young rulers, In that day when babes are ruling and they have no character, in that day, verse 7, shall he swear, I'm not going to be the healer or the leader, if you would. I'm not going to be the surgeon. I'm not going to be the one who's going to fix this. For in my house is neither bread nor clothing. Make me not a ruler of the people. So here's what we have in this culture. The seasoned male leadership says, I'm finished. I'm going to step back and let the children and let the babes have it. You got a nice coat, you be the ruler, and I'm not going to put it together. I'm not going to be your healer. Now let's go on. Look again at verse 8 and verse 9. What is Judah's problem? Let's get it. In verse 8, here's the problem. For Jerusalem, the capital city, is ruined. And Judah, the nation, is fallen. Now, the prophet is speaking prophetically, but he's also speaking with an immediate sense. He is saying this, the nation is lost. The capital is gone. Let's keep reading now in verse 8. For Jerusalem is ruined, Judah is fallen, because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord. The word tongue there is interesting. It means babbling. Think about young politicians. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, right? What did they say? I don't know what they said. They didn't make any sense what they said. Who cares what they said? It's not going to make any difference anyway. They're just talking. They are babbling with their tongue and their doings, their deeds are against the Lord. So this young leadership of Judah was in full-blown rebellion against God. I say this to you this morning. young governor in California will stand up and on one day he'll say that you can riot and march in the streets, but on another day he turns around and says, but the church can't assemble. And if you do, you can't sing. That is the picture of what was happening in Judah. Let's keep going. Look at verse 9. In verse 9 now, we start moving into that sense of the great sin of the nation. Verse 9, the show of their countenance doth witness against them. That is, their pride is seen in their countenance. And they declare their sin as Sodom, and they hide it not. What was the sin of Sodom? Homosexuality. and they hide it not. You can go across America right now, and in places of mayorship over major cities, there is a blight of homosexuality across the nation. You can go to the county commissioners, and you're going to find the same. You see, the seasoned leadership have stepped away. They have been rejected. And the result of that is an assertion of those who are, verse 9, like Sodom, and they hide it not. The prophet says, Woe unto their soul, for they have rewarded evil unto themselves. Now, I've already dug a deep hole and I'm going to dig it just a little bit deeper. Roman numeral number three. Roman numeral number three. Judah's void of mature male leadership causes the nation to turn to foolish, inexperienced leaders influenced by dominant, brazen women. And you can post that on YouTube, alright? Here we go. Look at number three. Strong, dominant women and effeminate men would inevitably fill the void in leadership. Let me prove it. Verse 12. The prophet is preaching and he says, as for my people, that is Judah, children, we've already seen young men, inexperienced, foolish, immoral. taskmasters, they're oppressors. And then what does it say? And what? Women rule over them. I've always been amazed at seeing someone, a man who lends and leans towards the feminine side, how all the silly women gather around him. I don't know if you've seen that. I've seen that in this culture. You know, you've got one effeminate male and a whole flock of cackling hens that are all around him. You just look around, you'll see it in this culture. That's what happened in Judah. Let's follow it. Look at verse 12, then. Let me walk you through it. In verse 12, then, you're going to see this. And I'm going to read the whole verse. As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women, who have the strong influence, if you would, they rule over them. On your outline, let me give it to you. Instead of nurturing and protecting the youth, women would assert dominion and lead the nation to destruction. Now, I want to give you that there is a debate here in verse 12. The debate is whether or not by the term women, if the implication was one of feminine men, okay? So these men that had arisen in government, or was it the effect of the harem? and the influence that the harem would have on weak kings and weak men in authority. Let me walk you through it then. Verse 12. And so the prophet, as he's speaking on behalf of the Lord, he says, This is for my people. Children are their oppressors. Women rule over them. And then we read the words of the prophet. All my people, they, the children and the women which lead thee. Now, all my people, Judah, they, the children of the women which lead thee, notice this, they cause thee to err and destroy the way of thy past. Here's the influence of the effeminate men and the dominant brazen women. The first is this, they cause thee to err. To err from what? to err from the perfect standard. What is the perfect standard? The law and the commandments. So the influence of the silly women and the effeminate men is that they were, by their presence, were causing the nation itself to depart from the law and the commandments. The last part is, and destroy the way of thy past. In other words, I put it in my notes in this way, that there was no longer any visible sign of the right and the righteous way. It had been erased. There was no longer that standard, nor was the preacher that was going to be able to say, and thus saith the Lord, and preach without apology. They had been silenced. Who had they been silenced by? By effeminate men and silly women. And as a result of that, the nation was bound for destruction. Look with me further at verse 16. Let's pick it up again. The daughters of Zion... Before I go there, let me give you a point that's on your outline, I believe. Judah would be destroyed not from an enemy without, but from an enemy within. What will destroy and is destroying America is the ungodliness and the immorality of men and women that have reached offices and that are in major corporations across America. If you wonder what in the world is happening with the Boy Scouts or what happened to whatever the great big corporation might be, all you need to do is look at who's in the board of directors, and you're going to see by who they are what they stand for. And it is not godliness and the righteous way. Now, follow with me in verse 16. Notice also then, the daughters of Zion, Zion being Jerusalem, are accused of being proud, immodest women. Let's follow, beginning at verse 16, and look at the description of these women. Verse 16, Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion, the women of Jerusalem, and now we're going to see four qualities about these silly, brazen women. The first is this, they are haughty. this inward pride. Number two, they are proud. I love the description there, stretched forth necks. Stretching forth the neck is okay, I'm right at 5'10", but I want to be 5'11". I stretch my neck as far as I can. Or the sense of pride and outward, you hold your head up. That is the picture that is here. The haughtiness is an inward pride. The stretching the neck now is an outward visible pride. But then notice also in verse 16, wanton eyes or flirtatious eyes or winking eyes. And then finally, verse 16, the latter part, walking and mincing as they go. and they make a tinkling with their feet. What in the world is that? Have you ever seen pictures of, or maybe it's a newscast, and there are these models, and they're walking down this runway, right? They're modeling clothes. I'm not going to demonstrate how they walk, but you know how they walk, right? That is the picture that is here. They're walking in such a way that they're drawing attention to themselves. In fact, now this is part of what goes with this, walking and mincing as they go. Women in this culture that were high women of stateliness actually would have anklets that would have a binding chain. that chain would limit their stride, okay? And so instead of taking big steps like this, you know, they're doing, and I'm not gonna do it, but they're doing those little mincing steps. And somebody might say, oh, aren't they so cute? Now remember, they could also be describing men here. who are effeminate men. Now let me walk it out. Let's go to verse 17. Now here's God's judgment. I want you to look at verse 7 and look at verse 18. Look with me again. Isaiah chapter 3 verse 7. And in verse 7 you see the opening phrase, in that day. Verse 18. Notice again, in that day. In what day? The day of God's judgment. In that day. Let's follow it. Here's what's going to happen to Judah. in that day. The first is this, the women of the nation will be afflicted with disease. Isaiah 3 verse 17. Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the top, the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion. And the Lord will discover their secret parts. Now here's what's happening. Judah has been judged. Nebuchadnezzar and his armies will come and they will take away all but the very poor to Babylon. Those women who had been in positions of stateliness and power and riches suddenly are brought to poverty. As a result of that, verse 17, instead of the long flowing hair that would be the glory of the women, now God has given them a scab on their heads. The secret part is the sense of rape. They have been shamed. They have have been exposed. But notice also, beginning at verses 18 through 24, and I won't have time to preach it this morning, but not only would the women be afflicted with disease, but notice also that the women would be reduced to poverty. as a household slave. The first thing you'll notice is that their fine jewelry would be removed. Let me just read off the fine jewelry for you quickly. And in that day, the Lord will take away the day of His judgment. The Lord will take away the bravery. The bravery is another word for finery or the pride. They're tinkling ornaments, they're if you would. Round tires is interesting, it's a pendant. Have you ever seen the pendants that are like a gold or silver pendant, and it's like a half moon? Okay, that's the picture that is here. Verse 19, the chains are the necklaces, the bracelets that go on the hand, the mufflers that are a covering. Verse 20, the bonnets that are like a headdress. The ornaments again, the chains, the headbands, the scarves, the tablets, perfume boxes. Verse 21, and finally the rings and the nose jewels, all that will be taken away. Why? Because they have been taken captive. They are being stripped of their glory. Their head has a scab. They're being stripped of their finery. Notice also that they're stripped of their apparel. Verse 22 and verse 23. Verse 22, the changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles and the wimples. Wimple is a name for a shawl. And the crisping pins are our money bag, the glasses, the mirror, the fine linen, the hoods, and the veils. Most of us go to our closet, and it's not like it used to be. We open up our closet, and we have, for me, I have my suits here, I've got my pants here, I have my shirts over here. I open up Sheila's closet, which I dare not, because she's got all of her clothes here, and sometimes I find tags hanging on the clothes, and she tucks the tags inside, so in case I open it up, I won't know that she's been shopping, you know? There's a way to these women, you know. My point is this. We live in a day in which we have much. But turn the clock back a hundred years or a hundred and twenty years. I have in a shipping locker at my house the only suit that my great-grandfather owned. That's all he had. During the week, he had one shirt, one pair of pants, and he had his old boots. I don't know what you call boots. In the beginning of the school year when I was growing up, mom would buy us maybe one or two pairs of jeans, couple of shirts, and then we'd call them brogands, boots. And we'd wear them. You ought to try to play baseball on the playground in a pair of boots, you know? It was impossible. But we lived humbly. Today, most kids probably have two pairs of tennis shoes and two pairs, you know. We have much. Here, the women that have had much suddenly have their fine apparel taken away. And then finally, look at verse 24. They'll have no amenities. In fact, in verse 24 is this great description. As a result of God's judgment, it shall come to pass that instead of a sweet smell perfume, there shall be stink. Instead of a girdle, a beautiful apron that is embroidered, they would have a rent or a rope. Instead of a well-set hair, The salon, the hair is just beautifully set. Instead of that, they will have baldness. Instead of a stomach or a girding, they'll have a sackcloth. And then finally, and burning instead of beauty. The word burning is sunburn. So what has happened? As a result of God's judgment, the leaders of the nation are gone. The young men are ruling, and they might be men with women, but the picture there is of weak leadership. As a result of that, now this next judgment follows, and that the women themselves begin to suffer God's judgment. Let's close though. There's good news. And I close with this. Look at verse 10. There is hope. What is that hope? We read this in verse 10 that as God looks upon his people. In verse 10 we read this. Say or command or speak ye to the righteous. And I put up here the just and the law abiding. But we understand that the righteous in our covenant day is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Look at the hope here. that God would not forget the righteous, but would avenge them. Say, verse 10, say ye to the righteous that it shall be well. Now let me say this. I've painted for you a bleak picture of Judah, and I think you will have seen it is very much a mirror image of America. I don't know that our nation can come back. I pray that our churches will. But the fact is, when you live in a nation that is being judged, that not even the righteous escape the sorrows. But verse 10 gives us hope. Say ye to the righteous that it shall be well with them. For they, the righteous, shall eat the fruit of their doings. Let me close with this. There's other things I could challenge you on, but my time is gone. I'm going to give you a challenge of a closing thought, and it is be not weary in want and well-doing. Don't allow the culture to become your mold. You trust that God blesses those who loves him. and serves Him. Whatever is going to happen to America and how God is going to judge the evil and the wicked, that is God's business. But my calling is to be like Christ. And God says, and I will remember the righteous and I will bless them. You will eat the fruit of your doings, of your labor, of your actions, of your attitudes. For me, as I close this morning, my challenge is this, to live with a constant knowledge that God knows His people and that He loves us. And when everything around me is crazy, that He is still Sovereign God. Amen? Let's pray. Father, I thank You for the Word of God And I thank you that you've given us an unfolding of such an obvious passage of truth. And Lord, we cannot escape this morning without realizing the parallels. And the fact that you are a God who is just. You are immutable. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. And any nation that turns away from you is a nation that will be judged. Lord, I pray for us, for those that are here this morning that know you as Savior. Lord, that they'll not be weary in doing right. Lord, that we'll be people of your word, and as we see things in our culture that disturb us and upset us and hurt us, and Lord, maybe we even fall victim. Lord, that we'll not forget. that you honor and bless the righteous. Lord, may each of our homes, our families, our fathers and our mothers and our children be determined that we are not going to be pressed into the mold of the wickedness of this world. But Lord, we're going to choose righteousness. Lord, there might be someone here this morning that is at home, watching on the internet, maybe someone that is here. And they already find themselves crammed into the mold of the world that is around us. Maybe even some of what we've seen described today, they have been struck with conviction. That is what they are becoming. Lord, I pray that they'll turn back from the way of sin. and that they will turn to you. Lord, I pray for our men, that we will be manly, godly men. Men of the Word, men of truth. Lord, that we will be a testimony of holiness wherever we go. Lord, I pray for the ladies in this auditorium. They're living in a world in which women are brazen and angry. But Lord, I pray that they'll have your grace, your love, the longing and the nurturing that you've put in the heart, that it will be seen in them. And Lord, I pray that for our families living in a culture in which there could be strife and contention that spills over into our homes and even into our church. Lord, keep us from that. I pray for our children as they're growing up, Lord, that they would aspire to be godly men and godly women. Bless, Lord. As we close this hour, we pray that this invitation that we're going to sing together, Lord, it might just move our hearts to in our own souls to anchor. We will be people of God. in an ungodly age. Now bless, Lord. As you move on our hearts, maybe there's someone here that right now will ask you to be their Savior. And Lord, may we all ask you to be our Lord, we pray in Christ's name.