Isaiah 4

It bothers me when people who say they have read the Bible claim that the God revealed there encourages slavery or polygamy or racism or abuse against women. Whenever I hear that, I think that the person either hasn’t really read the Bible, has only read selected passages, or has not read with an eye toward putting the whole picture together.

Let’s take God and women, for example. Today’s chapter began with this warning: “In that day seven women will take hold of one man and say, ‘We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes; only let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!’” (vs 1) Talk about desperate housewives! The ladies Isaiah is describing here have sunk to such depths that they either can’t find any men who are willing to provide for them, or they no longer expect a man to care for his woman. They have given up all notions of love and romance; they simply need a marriage of societal convenience.

Please note that Isaiah depicts this as the result of abandoning God and His ways. These women aren’t in this desperate situation because they’ve submitted themselves to God’s wisdom, but because they have decided to have nothing to do with God. This isn’t how women expect to be treated in God’s kingdom; it’s how women are treated outside of God’s kingdom.

God has always intended for women to be cherished, honored, respected, adored, and taken care of—so much so that God calls Himself the husband to the widow (Ps 68; Isa 54). He declares that when there is no one left to look after a woman, He will take on the responsibility of caring for her. That’s how much God loves women.

Long before we got all enlightened about women’s rights, God cared about the rights of women. Long before we began to champion the cause of women in the world, God was working to better their position in society. Nobody cares about the plight of women more than the God who designed them as the unique, mysterious, and wonderful creatures they are.

Nobody loves women more than He does.