For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff [every kind of prop], the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water. – Isaiah 3:1, Amplified Bible (AMP)

Isaiah 3 describes a nation:

• Proud of sin,
• Overabundantly obsessed with sex,
• More interested in pleasing people than seeking justice for all, and
• Run by leaders who, by their exactions (extortions, taxings) and oppressions, rob the people for personal gain, effectively ruining the country.

Sound like any country you know?

Although Isaiah 3 summarizes the horrible spiritual condition of Judah, the summary can apply to any number of nations on the planet today. The Bible tells of many ways that God chastises rebellious nations, but in Isaiah 3 we find a method of punishment that can easily escape the casual Bible reader. Yes, the latter part of Isaiah 3 references the coming Babylonian captivity, which most Christians know about. But, earlier in the chapter, and before the captivity, God punishes Judah by removing strong, wise people from all facets of the nation’s leadership. In verses 2-5, God removes:

• Sound military leaders,
• Wise judges who care about God’s justice,
• Honorable men and women in all walks of life,
• Skilled business people who are excellent in their industries,
• People gifted to teach and to counsel others so that wisdom can be passed on to other generations, and
• People who can influence others towards godly thinking through their public oratory.

As God removed these wise people, the void of leadership was filled with those who led, not from wisdom or a desire for justice, but from pride and a desire to feed youthful lusts. For such leaders, right and wrong no longer matters. Only using the system for personal gain does. Then, as a result of its gluttony, Judah became soft and vulnerable – an easy target for hardier nations to conquer.

So, what refuge does the Christian have in such a society? The refuge, as always, is to trust in God’s promises. In Isaiah 3:10 (AMP), God promises to the righteous:

…that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.

Even in the midst of a crumbling nation, God will take care of His own. “Being well” does not necessarily mean, however, that God will take care of us in the way that we would prefer. Daniel, no doubt, didn’t care to be carted off to Babylon. Nonetheless, God took care of him during all of his seasons of persecution, and even if God had allowed one of those seasons to result in Daniel’s death, then it still would have been well with him. What can be better than being in Heaven with God forever?

If there is a famine of good leadership in your land, you can be confident that the dearth didn’t just happen randomly. It is a punishment of God, and it will lead to some level of national degradation unless the nation repents of its sin and God sends His healing to the land.