When we say someone went all “old testament prophet,” we refer to them blasting a harsh (but usually deserved) message. Of the many old testament prophets who put punch in the phrase, few match Isaiah.

The Lord told Isaiah to walk around stripped and barefoot as a sign against Egypt and Cush. Isaiah obeyed, and lived three years without shoes and either totally naked, or with only a loin covering as he preached.

The Lord said: Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared.

Read the text—I am not making this up.

A street preacher with buttocks bared would get arrested today (except maybe in Boulder), but Isaiah endured and obeyed. Through long years of cold and heat and stares and derision, he persevered and delivered the Lord’s message. Old Testament prophets had to be tough.

Few if any Egyptians or Cushites took Isaiah’s words to heart. His actions appeared to be a futile exercise in dramatic street art. But even if no one turned to the Lord, everyone remembered Isaiah and his message—even if the remembering came too late.

At times the Lord nudges us in a direction that looks fruitless. We cannot imagine the end result, yet the nudging continues. Perhaps we follow through, and still don’t see any meaningful results. Does the Lord lead us down dead ends?

Ask Isaiah. He pulled off his britches (along with his dignity) and exhorted the masses for three years with no obvious results. Not to mention few friends and even fewer party invitations.

The Lord leads us into dead ends at times. Always for his purposes, although we may never discover them. That’s a hard part of the life of faith—just ask Isaiah.

Isaiah 20 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Jonathan Farber