Where Do You Draw the Line on Obedience?

Would you do anything for God? What if He asks you to do something embarrassing? In Isaiah 20, God wanted to send a sign to the Egyptians and the Ethiopians letting them know that they would soon be led off into captivity. To get everyone’s attention, God asked Isaiah to do something embarrassing. Now, God could have asked Isaiah to speak a prophetic word or even to perform a few miracles. That’s the kind of stuff we normally see in the Old Testament. He could have asked Isaiah to lead a praise service or to start a new program, the kinds of things we would expect in today’s church. God did not ask for any of the typical things associated with religion. Instead He asked Isaiah to take off his clothes and to go for a walk.

According to Matthew Henry's Commentary there is debate as to whether or not Isaiah was naked or if he was in his skivvies. Either way he was dressed (or undressed) in a way that would cause most people to run for cover. Hopefully the weather cooperated. I suspect most people, upon hearing God’s call, would have tried to back out but Isaiah did not hide from God’s command nor did he hide from his neighbors. Based on what the Bible says, Isaiah walked through town in this state for three days: three days of funny looks and embarrassing comments. Knowing that he was a prophet, the people probably recognized that this was not some college stunt. Still, this had to be a humiliating experience.

What if God asked you to take off your clothes and walk through your neighborhood? Would you do it? What if God asked for something less embarrassing but just as difficult? Would you do it? What if it were neither embarrassing nor difficult but was inconvenient? Where do you draw the line? Isaiah proved that nothing would stand between him and obedience to his LORD, not even his own clothes. I fear he puts us all to shame. I look at my own track record and realize I've put limits on my obedience to my LORD. Where do you draw the line on your obedience to God’s will? Whose more willing to obey God, you or Isaiah?