I will make mere youths their officials; children will rule over them. – Isaiah 3:4

Today's Scripture Reading (March 8, 2023): Isaiah 3

How do you feel about the political leadership in your area or country? I will get in trouble here, but from my point of view, the quality of political leadership at almost every level has been declining for the last few decades. For some elections, although not all of them, the tragedy of the election is that anyone nominated would hold office. In my local area, we have been blessed to have a phenomenal representative leading us for almost the last decade. But he failed to be nominated for the next election, so once again, we will be left with a political race between the ineffective. And I long for the nomination of candidates like some of the political giants that we previously had in our political parties.

Isaiah argues that the children and youth will become the political officials taking control of the nation's reins. And it is thought that the prophecy was fulfilled in 2 Kings 24, "He [Nebuchadnezzar] carried all Jerusalem into exile: all the officers and fighting men, and all the skilled workers and artisans—a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest people of the land were left" (2 Kings 24:14). The nation would be left in the hands of those without experience at running a country, as the best and the brightest were led away to their new lives in a foreign land. It would have been as if children were now in charge, without the benefit of someone to help them and give them advice, as is true when a child did ascend to the throne.

But there is an extension to this prophecy in Isaiah. Even in modern times, one way God deals with an unfaithful nation is to allow it to suffer through periods of incompetent leadership. And maybe that explains so much of our recent political elections. Is it possible that we suffer under God's judgment even when we don't realize it? For instance, can God judge us with incompetent leadership even during prosperous times? After all, Isaiah 2 is also part of this prophecy

You, Lord, have abandoned your people,
    the descendants of Jacob.
They are full of superstitions from the East;
    they practice divination like the Philistines
    and embrace pagan customs.
Their land is full of silver and gold;
    there is no end to their treasures.
Their land is full of horses;
    there is no end to their chariots.
Their land is full of idols;
    they bow down to the work of their hands,
    to what their fingers have made.
So people will be brought low
    and everyone humbled—
    do not forgive them (Isaiah 2:6-9)

And sometimes we don't even realize how badly we are suffering. I keep on hearing that the Western Nations are rich and prosperous. And yet, we owe so much money that we have no way open to us so that we can repay. Every party that takes control of a nation seems to come into power with the idea that we can borrow now and repay later. But by the time the repayment era arrives, it is a different party in control, advising us that we are still in a time of steep borrowing. And that does not sound like a rich nation. We are like a person with a credit card with a $250,000 credit limit, and we think we are rich because we have only borrowed $240,000 against it (and still have $10,000 left to spend). We have been lied to by our incompetent politicians, mere children who have convinced us that everything is okay when, in truth, everything is falling apart.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 4