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Amen. We're in Isaiah chapter 3 and back in chapter 2, if you remember, we were looking at really what was going to happen in the end times. We saw it talking about it shall come to pass in the last days and then we sort of looked at what was being prophesied there and the day of the Lord and obviously what a scary time that was going to be and Isaiah kind of jumped into that and preached hard on that really didn't he and, you know, talked about how those great men will be hiding in their rocks and we saw that we lined up with revelation and then, you know, eventually at the end of all of this prophecy and he was talking about this a lot obviously and we went into sort of comparing it and seeing what was going to happen. He said, see, see from man in verse 22, whose breath is in his nostrils for wherein is he to be accounted of and he basically said, look, you know, if after, you know, when all of that, that's all going to happen, all these people are going to be nothing. He said they're going to be hiding in the rocks, they're going to be hiding out and yet people still seem to put so much importance on men, on people, instead of on the Lord, right? And it was a, you know, sort of powerful chapter there and then it goes from there where he says that about, see, see for men whose breath is in his nostrils for wherein is he to be accounted of. Straight into chapter 3 where it then says, for behold the Lord, the Lord of hosts to take away from Jerusalem and from Judah, the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water, the mighty man, the man of war, the judge and the prophet and the prudent and the ancient, the captain of fifty and the honorable man and the counselor and the cunning artificer and the eloquent orator and I'm going to pray and then we're going to get started with chapter 3. Father, thank you for your word, thank you for, well, this great chapter of the Bible, Lord, where we see so much about, you know, what can go wrong, what can go wrong for your people, Lord, and the result of that and, you know, pitfalls we need to avoid and we need to understand and see how you expect us, you know, as your children to behave, both men and women, Lord, and help us to just really pay attention to what your word's saying, really apply it to our lives, in the name of Jesus, Amen. Okay, so in the previous chapter, as I made it clear that he was prophesying of the last days, okay, we just saw that in verse 2 there. Verse 2 of chapter 2 said, and it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow into it. He talked of, obviously, the day of the Lord but I believe that it's a shift here back to a more imminent prophecy, okay, so with chapter 2, 22, what I just read a second ago, being the sort of bridge, okay, on the back of what's to come, Isaiah 2, 22, then said, Cease ye for man whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted of? And then verse 1 says, for behold the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem, from Judah, the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water. So the stay and the staff is talking about the support, okay, like from a stick when hiking, it's that sort of thing, it's a stay and stuff, some sort of support, something that you rely upon, but here it's the support or the reliance on food and water, that the confidence that comes from having it to hand. So if you turn to 2 Kings 16, for me this was fulfilled in Ahaz rain, which starts somewhere between 16 and 20 years from this point that Isaiah was prophesying, which was in King Uzziah's or Azariah's rain. Now in 2 Kings 16, okay, it gives us some highlights from Ahaz rain, where he's described as not doing good, sacrificing his children, he's committing idolatry, then it says in verse 5, then reason King of Syria and Pekah son of Remoliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war and they besieged Ahaz, okay, so they besieged him, besieged and obviously Jerusalem itself here, but could not overcome him. Now what happens during a siege? Well food and water is limited isn't it, okay, because you're confined to the city, you're confined to the defense of the walls of a city, which means the fields, obviously you know, the fresh water from outside etc is not able to be accessed during a siege, so this is obviously a time of not having that reliance on the food and the water. Said in verse 6, at that time reason King of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, drove the Jews from Elath and the Syrians came to Elath and dwelt there unto this day. So without that support, that confidence from the food and water, did they do what they should do and turn to God? That's what we should do, shouldn't we? Sometimes when you're staying, your staff is removed, whatever it is you rely on in life, that's when you should turn to God, but unfortunately it says in verse 7, so Ahaz sent messages to Tiglath-Piles, the king of Assyria, saying I am thy servant and thy son, come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria and out of the hand of the king of Israel which rise up against me. And this is so often a test of God's people, when the crutch, when the money, the health or whatever it is is threatened, do they turn to God or pull away from God? Do they turn to God or do they pull out of God's house? It's often people like, oh well I'm having problems with this and that, that's when you don't then go to God, that's when they stop reading their Bible, that's when they stop going soul winning or whatever else, but that's the time when you need to draw an eye onto God, don't you? But here it said in verse 8, Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord. So he's literally removing things from God's house and in the treasures of the king's house has sent it for a present to the king of Assyria. So instead of relying on God, he's withdrawing things from the house of God and who's he relying on? The world. Okay, he's relying on the world instead to solve the problems, to get out the problems. He's done completely the wrong thing here and you can preach a whole sermon on obviously what he did here but we're going to carry on for sake of time. And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and took it and carried the people of it captive to care and slew reason. So it didn't end well. Ahaz, you know, he merges the worldly influence with the house of God. He basically ends up like copying the design of some dodgy Assyrian altar and bring it into the house of the Lord and he just basically brings worldliness into the house of God. But for me this is what Isaiah was prophesying of and back in Isaiah 3 he said this in verse 1, For behold the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah, the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water, the mighty man, the man of war, the judge and the prophet and the prudent and the ancient, the captain of fifty and the honorable man, the counselor and the cunning artificer and the eloquent orator. So it wasn't just the food and water, okay, that was taken away, which obviously would have happened in the siege, but the various men of honor, of high esteem too. And this is shown in the account in 2 Chronicles 28. So if you please turn to 2 Chronicles chapter 28, 2 Chronicles 28, where what happened with these sieges is shown in a little more detail. So in 2 Chronicles 28, we're going to see it in a little bit more detail now, where it said in verse 5, 2 Chronicles 28, 5, Wherefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria, and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives. So what do they do? They carried away a great multitude, right, and brought them to Damascus, and he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter. So I'm sure that some of those multitude were the judges, the prophets, the prudent, the ancient, the counselors, the cunning artificers, the eloquent orator. Where it then says in verse 6, For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah at 120,000 in one day, which were all valiant men, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their father. So there's the mighty man, the man of war, the captains of 50, the honorable men. And then it said in verse 7, And Zikri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maasai the king's son, and Azarikum the governor of the house, and Elkanah that was next to the king. So there's the prudent, there's a counselor at least. And keep a finger here because after the list in Isaiah 3 of these people of honor, it then says in verse 4 this. So we've just seen these people getting obviously taken away, getting killed. Then it says in verse 4, And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. Now go back to 2 Chronicles 28, which shows who ends up returning en masse. So 2 Chronicles 28 again, it says in verse 8, And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren 200,000 women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil for them, and brought the spoil to Samaria. So the children of Israel, the northern kingdom, carried away women and children captive. Yeah, okay, that's what it said. Women, sons, and daughters, that's who they carry captive. Then it says in verse 9, But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded. And he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the Lord God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, you have delivered them into your hand, and you have slain them in a rage that reached up unto heaven. And now you purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you. But are there not with you even with you sins against the Lord your God? Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which you have taken captive of your brethren. That's women and children, okay? For the fierce wrath of the Lord is upon you. Then certainly the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berakiah the son of Meshelemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shalom, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war, and said unto them, You shall not bring in the captives hither, for whereas we have offended against the Lord already, you tend to add more to our sins than to our trespass, for our trespass is great. And there is fierce wrath against Israel, this is the northern kingdom. So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the prince and all the congregation, and the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shot them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees to their brethren, then they returned to Samaria. At that time did King Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him. So that's what we just saw in the, when we looked at the second king's account of it. So a load of men were killed, okay? The Syrians took captive a load more, but the 200,000 women and children were returned. Okay? If you've, hopefully you've kept up and seen that. Which was what Isaiah prophesied about, where he said that, that all of these top men would be taken, he said, and I will give children, back in verse four in Isaiah, chapter three, and I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall all over them. So they've slaughtered a load, they've taken a load, all these honourable men, these valiant men, all this, they did take captive these women and children, but then they've been returned. In fact, verse 12 says, as for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee, cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. So we see they end up being their oppressors, they end up ruling over them. Now, this wasn't a good thing. Men, not women or children are called to leadership. Okay? Clearly, in the Bible, that's what God says, it's men that are called to leadership. Verse five said, where you are in Isaiah three, and the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and everyone by his neighbour, the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable. Now, turn to first Timothy three. This is the same when it comes to the house of God. So what happened here, and what God says, you know, shouldn't happen, and who he says should lead and who shouldn't, is the same when it comes to the house of God. Some snotty-nosed brat that's just come out of Bible college is not qualified to lead God's church. He's not qualified, he's not qualified according to the word of God, according to what God says. So it's a bit ridiculous, isn't it, that now you've got men all over the place, or young men all over the place, leading churches, pastoring churches, or whatever the equivalent is, when they're not qualified by what God says. Who do they, do they care about what the university says, what the religion says, what God says? Clearly not what God says. And what's funny, you know, upside down, inside out world is that these university-style trained pastors, who are everywhere, would consider a biblically qualified pastor unqualified. They look at it and think, who are they? They haven't been to Bible college. What an absolute joke, you know, what on earth is it? They're not even qualified. It's nuts, right? They look down on men of God trained by a church. They look down on it, they think, and people do, you know, and even people, you'll even find people amongst our circles that would go to, a lot of the time, a false church, but regardless, and if they went there and there's some old guy there that speaks very theologically and has been to Bible college, they think, wow, you know, that's, that's what a man of God is meant to be because they've been so desensitized through years of this nonsense. But this is what these people think. What they do then is they uplift men of God, apparently, in inverted commas, that can't even seem to read or at least believe and respect the word of God in passages that are so clear, like here in 1 Timothy 3, and 1 Timothy 3 and verse 1 says, this is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. So a bishop being a leader, and this is where the word can be used interchangeably with pastor or elder, a bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach, not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre, but patient, not a brawler, not covetous, one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity. So it's pretty clear that he's married with children plural, isn't it? It's pretty clear, right? That are in subjection, children in subjection, you didn't say perfect children, but children in subjection with all gravity. It's not the only qualification, okay, just to make that clear, some people go too far the other way, and they're just like, well, so and such got kids, I mean, can't they pastor a church? It's like, no, that's not, that's not the only qualification, okay, but just having the wife and children is the easiest one to prove, pretty much, isn't it? If you go through the list there, that's an easy one that you even have the wife and children, okay, that should go without saying. Why is it important? Well, verse five tells us, for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God? So how on earth is someone to take care of the church of God if he can't even rule his own house? How can he take care of the church of God if he doesn't even have a house to rule? You go, well, what world? Does it prove that he can't? Well, you know what, you learn a lot about leadership as a husband and father, don't you? Dad's out there, husband's out there, you learn a lot about leadership. I mean, there are probably people that have, I mean, I've been in positions of leadership in my life, and then when you have kids and a wife, suddenly it's like, man, I've, you know, you learn, you learn a load, don't you learn? You learn from your mistakes and you learn from your successes. That's just the way it is. Books and courses on leadership are no replacement, and the following verse, therefore, goes hand in hand. He said in verse six, not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. And let me tell you a novice, okay, someone that can't understand this, and the similar passage in Titus 1 six, that's, that's beyond, I mean, it's not even a novice. So you can't even understand the word of God. You can't even go to the pastoral epistles, which are telling you what, what a man should be, how a man should be qualified to lead a church. You can't even understand it. You're a novice. Titus 1 six said, if any, be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, plural, not accused of right or unruly. It's not, it's not an accident that he said having a wife and having children plural. So, by the way, the people that ignore these, a lot of time they're just outright Bible rejecters, okay, someone that picks and chews the parts that he likes. The plural is there in both places for a reason, because God considers it important. God considers it important. That's why he's made it clear. He hasn't just had it as one verse and we go, well, that was just, and of course, you know, well, in that day when writings, you know, back in the day, then if you went back to the Greek and understood, well, no, he put it in two places for a reason. And children with no experience leading a family, okay, babes in Christ, fresh out of the world's construct of higher education are novices and they get lifted up with pride and think they know best. And they're so easily deceived as well, because children are easier deceived, aren't they? So, these kids coming out of Bible college with no, with, and they just don't understand, really. And they come out and they think they know it all and they don't. They get lifted up with pride and it all just fails. That's if they're not wicked in the first place, sadly, because nowadays you look at it and you think, well, it even is, like, genuine coming out. It doesn't just, hasn't just been taught by Bible college, repent your sins and obviously, you know, to get through must surely agree with that, right? How do you even sit in a place that's teaching you and telling you all this filth and all this nonsense? But, and here's the thing with that as well, is that it's not just for me, okay, it's not just having children. So, some people look at this, they go, well, okay, okay, so there's a guy, well, he's been a Bible college, he got married and he's got, for example, two very young children. No, the whole point in him being faithful children, not accused of right or unruly, is that they're old enough to be able to see that, right? So, for me, I would never, I'd never ordained someone with twin babies, however good their Bible knowledge was, however well they seem to have their wife in order, because it's, it's completely different. And as you have kids and they grow up and they become older and older and older, then you start to see, okay, because the rest of it, when they're young, that's, that, like, you, that's when you put in a worker, that's not what you're assessing. You're assessing the product as they're older and they're becoming the more finished product. That's what we're looking at, aren't we? We're looking, can they have their house in order as those kids grow? We're not talking about two-year-olds, three-year-olds, four-year-olds. So, these young whippersnappers coming, oh, well, they managed to, you know, do a, like, this, like, blind date at Bible College. No, well, they found someone at Bible College learning to play the piano. It's like, what's that about? No, I'll tell you why she's gone next. She wants to be a pastor's wife, which is a bizarre craving to have in life, right? Anyway, so she's gone there, she's found her guy, they've quickly got married, don't worry, they've got a couple of young kids. He ain't qualified. He's still not qualified. It said back in Isaiah, though, it said, and the people shall be oppressed, everyone by another, and everyone by his neighbor. The child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient and the base against the honorable. Pride is a result of these people. When a man should take hold of his brother of the house of his father, say, thou is clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this room be under thy hand. In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be a healer, for in my house is neither bread nor clothing. Make me not a ruler of the people. So this is leadership's shirking responsibility. They're giving it away to the unqualified because there's no monetary gain for them. That's what it's talking about here. They're saying, well, it's not a bread nor clothing here, make me not a ruler of thy people. They're just saying, look, okay, I'm not gonna get anything out of this. Let's just get someone unqualified. For Jerusalem is ruined and Judah is fallen because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord to provoke the eyes of his glory. The show of their countenance doth witness against him and they declare their sin a Sodom. They hide it not. Woe unto their soul, for they have rewarded evil unto themselves. So they're open with their sin like those in Sodom eventually were. Say you to the righteous that it should be well with him, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked, it shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him. So here this could be the saved versus the unsaved. Even those amongst, you know, those thousands killed were okay if they put their faith in the Savior, is how I read that. Eternally God's people always come out unscathed because they have eternal life basically, okay. However in this life, his people are affected by the judgment on where they live, okay. So, you know, if God ends up judging an area you're in, you're going to be affected by that, but ultimately in, you know, in eternity you're right if you're saved. But verse 12 said, As for my people, children are their oppressors and women rule over them. All my people, they which lead thee, cause thee to her and destroy the way of thy path. So aside from the children in terms of the, and look, I would say just babes across, if you don't, if you can't even understand that and you're pastoring a church and you don't have two children, not, and this is like, this is base, this is a bottom, this isn't even, you're not qualified, but at least you're not unqualified, just having two children to start with, okay. A wife and two, and one wife, by the way, not divorcees, just God said the husband and one wife. A wife and two, if you don't have that and you're pastoring a church, you're a babe in Christ. You're at the least a complete child that just can't understand scripture. And so I had a talk, the guy ended up being a false prophet once, but I talked about this and it just came up in conversation with an old pastor, he started going, whoa, hold on, hold on, when I just said, oh yeah, some people didn't want to go somewhere because a guy was unqualified. He's going, oh, are you saying you would deny a talented preacher from being a pastor because he's not married, doesn't have kids? I was like, well yeah, the Bible doesn't say that. I was like, oh no, I'm gonna get around with this new pastor now. So it's like, this is what these people think, because they're putting it in their own mind. Well, we know better, we know best what the Bible say, and they're babes in Christ at the least, if not just unsaved, a lot of them obviously are as well. So, however, it's not just about the children. He said, and women rule over them, oh my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err and destroy the way of thy paths. Was women ruling over them a good or a bad thing? It was a bad thing. It was in the same breath as children oppressing them. It was, it was, it was compared, it was alongside children oppressing them, not because women are like children, women aren't like children, but because neither are designed for leadership. That's not their job. That's not their role, that's not their job in life, in all areas of life, they're not designed for it. He said that they cause thee to err and destroy the way of thy paths. 1 Timothy 3, don't have to turn back there, said this is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. The job is for men. He went on to describe the husband of one wife, didn't he? Now go to 1 Timothy 2 though, and as with the unqualified men, how many women just can't seem to understand this? They just can't understand this. We had a newly saved family member, and it wasn't in a nasty way, they meant it in an honest way, just ask my wife if she would ever preach. She said, oh, will you ever preach one day? You know, you're thinking, how do I deal with this one? Straight after getting saved, yeah? She just didn't know any better, okay? She's not read the Bible, she doesn't understand these things, and understandably, because she's just driving past churches, seeing churches everywhere, where there's Bible rejecting female heretics everywhere. She's probably, you know, shoved on God TV one day or whatever else and just seen all these women preaching, women teaching, she's gone to the wedding, to the funeral, to whatever, the female vicar, the female priest, she's just like, isn't that standard? Well, in 1 Timothy 2, God tells us through Paul, my wife said next year, by the way, aside from the Word of God, she was like, I can never do that. Anyway, 1 Timothy 2, God tells us through Paul, let the woman learn in silence with all subjection, but I've suffered not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Okay, so they're easier deceived, okay? That's what the Bible says, that's just the way it is, okay? Show me a female preacher, I'll show you a damnable heretic teaching a load of nonsense. That's what it is, isn't it? Teaching a load of old nonsense, if there are the odd one that might actually be saved, I haven't seen them, but if there was, I'll tell you what, they'll be teaching you a right load of nonsense anyway. That's just the way it is. Adam still sinned, why? Because he followed his wife, and this happens in the home too. So when the wife is calling the shots, what happens? Things go wrong. That's just like, that's what will happen in your house. If the wife starts calling the shots, things will go wrong. Just get that straight men, husbands. You've got to be stronger than those things, because they cannot lead like men, they're easier deceived. Already they're out of the Spirit, because God said in Ephesians 5 22, wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. So if the wife's calling the shots in the home, she's out of the Spirit, because she's meant to submit unto the Lord. She's not obeying God, so she's not being led by the Holy Spirit. So when all those different spiritual attacks and things come in, let me tell you something, she's gonna get it wrong. Because she's not obeying God, she's not in the Spirit, she's got it wrong. Wives, he said in Ephesians 5 22, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. And when we try to tell the Lord that we know best, when men try and do that, we're well off course as well. And if they're submitting us unto the Lord, then they ain't telling their husband what to do, or telling you what to do in this. Now don't get me wrong, sometimes you might go to your wife to discussing, to get counsel, to explain things through, but if she's telling you what to do, she's out of line and things are going to go wrong. It's just that, I mean it's clear isn't it? But what about the single women? The reality is, is that you're going to be a target. That's just life, okay? You are because, because you're, you're, the Bible says you are easier to deceive. Sorry ladies. Okay, that's the way it is. Now don't get me wrong, there's a, you know, most women in here are probably less easier to deceive than most safe people out there, okay? That's a reality. But you are, you are going to be a target, so what's, what's important, it's even more important to submit directly to God. So if you don't have, if you don't have a dad or a husband leading you, you need to make sure even more so that you're in the things of God, because you have to have that direct line, you have to be as close as possible to God, because you are a target. Eve was a target and Adam messed up there, didn't he? You've got to have your guard up to those trying to influence you, however subtly, and you need to trust the discernment of whether it's your fathers, young ladies, as you grow up, husbands, ladies, just, wives to trust the discernment of their, of their husbands. You've just got to deal with that, trust them, because you, at the end of the day, you try and do it yourself, you're going to be easier deceived. And husbands, that means you better make sure you're spiritual, you better make sure that you're able to lead a wife, otherwise you're messy you'll get it wrong, and you're leading her to a point where she can't trust you. And ultimately good leadership should result in time with a wife saying, look, okay, you know, I want to trust your leadership, right? He said in verse 12, as for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. Oh my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. That's what happens, that's the result. The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people. The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof. For you have eaten up the vineyard, the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What mean you that you beat my people to pieces, and grind the face of the poor, saith the Lord God of Hosts. Which is what then happened under Hezekiah's reign, okay? Things got judged and put right in the end. God hates people taking advantage of the poor, Hezekiah turned that around, providing of his substance for the offerings, etc. Things got turned around in Hezekiah's reign. He said in verse 16, though moreover the Lord says, because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks, and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet, therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts. Okay, so like I warned you, okay? The women are getting it in this chapter, okay? And too right. Okay, so this is the same trend that resulted in the women ruling, okay? Haughtiness, pride, arrogance, getting full of themselves, thinking that there's something special. Now here it's obviously, he's talking about those that think there's something special in the way they look, but you can apply it to anything, okay? It's the pride, it's the arrogance. And we can sure relate to that nowadays in this world, can't we? Women who are the opposite to what God wanted them to behave like. Now turn to Titus chapter 2, to see God's expectation of how women should behave. Okay, turn to Titus chapter 2. Titus 2, which says from verse 1, it said, but speak thou the things which become sound doctrine, that the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness. Not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things. So no, not behind a pulpit, they should be an example to the younger women. That's what he's talking about here. They should be an example to those younger women. That's what he says when he says, teach the good things, that he then says in verse 4, that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste keepers at home, good obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Discreet is prudent, wise, circumspect, cautious, chaste is sexually pure, not acting like whores. Good, obedient, okay, they're pretty obvious. Turn to 1 Peter chapter 3, not lording it around with their noses up in the air like there's something special. That's what he doesn't want, that's not a godly woman. Whether it's because she thinks she looks, you know, amazing or whether or not it's because she thinks she's so intelligent or she thinks she's so godly or whatever it is, not walking around thinking there's something special. That's the complete opposite. I'll remind you what Isaiah said in Isaiah 3, 16, when you turn to 1 Peter 3, he said, Moreover the Lord saith, because adults of Zion are haughty, that's puffed up arrogant, and walk with stretched forth necks, so their necks are up here when they walk, and wanton eyes, that's like the hoary look that you see these women, walking down the road, trying to lock eyes with men as they walk past, trying to look, you know, like they're available and everything else, because they want the attention, walking and mincing as they go, that's basically just trying to flaunt their body, how they dress, how they walk, and making a tinkling with their feet, they're trying to get attention. The opposite to what they're told to do in 1 Peter 3, where he said in verse 1, Likewise ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, that if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives. And this is talking about the behaviour of the wives, where they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear, chaste conversation, so not hoary, not hoary behaviour, who's adorning, so what beautifies them, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel, okay this shouldn't be what adorns or beautifies them to others, so if what beautifies a woman to other people is just her looks, she's already got it wrong, now look there's nothing wrong with with wanting to look nice, he's not saying cut out all that stuff because he said putting on of apparel, so obviously he's not saying don't put on apparel, he's saying that shouldn't be what beautifies you, yeah you can plait your hair, okay you don't have to like, some people go crazy and stuff, alright no plaiting, okay well then no clothes, okay, right no jewellery, he said no wearing of gold, well then no clothes, that's not what he said, but it shouldn't be what beautifies you, that what should, what beautifies a woman of God should be what's on the inside, but let it be the hidden man of the heart, that's the inside, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of what, of what, a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price, God sees a meek and quiet spirit amongst women of great price, that's what he respects, that's what he wants to see, he wants the humility, 1st Timothy 2, 9 you have to understand I said with shamefacedness and sobriety, so it's not walking around like this, it's shamefacedness, it's a certain normal amount of sort of embarrassment almost, that if people are looking at you, it's not like, you know, and how these whores behave, it's embarrassment, and want to be stared at like some sort of piece of meat, yeah how many women want to be stared at like a piece of meat, bizarre really isn't it, really let's be honest, oh great, some, some, some guy in a van stared at me or beeped at me or like, well what, that sort of compliment, it's an insult, it's an insult because you know why he's looking at you, because he thinks you look easy, that's what it's about, that's what God respects, a meek and quiet spirit, that's what he wants to see okay, not hey look at me, or how much attention can this outfit get me, how many men will stare at me whilst I'm out and about, if that's what you're doing when you look in the mirror you're, you're completely out over there compared with how God wants you to behave, said in verse 16, moreover the Lord saith, because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with stretched forth necks of wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go and making a tinkling with the feet, that's just hey look at me, it's like trying to just get attention any which way they can, therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion and the Lord will discover their secret parts, he's saying that when his daughters do, when God's daughters do that, when God's children do that, he'll embarrass them, that's what he's basically saying, he's going to embarrass them, he's going to, he's going to basically smite them with something, he's going to make them naked, it's embarrassment, he's going to embarrass them basically, that's what he's saying okay. In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet and their calls and their round tires like the moon, now calls are ornamental headdresses, tires are some sort of neck or head jewellery, the chains and the bracelets and the mufflers, so mufflers are jewellery, the bonnets and the ornaments of the legs and the headbands and the tablets and the earrings, so bonnets being hats obviously, tablets are probably necklaces, the rings and nose jewels, the changeable suits of apparel and the mantels and the wimples and the crisps, and just for a second, even though I'm sure there are prettier nose jewels, whenever I just see nose jewels now, just think of all these morons that have like rings in their noses and like coming out in the middle here, and whenever I see that always just like makes me think of like, it'd be funny to just put a chain in it, it's like such a bizarre thing to have isn't it, it's like really what like you put on a cow or a bull or something to be able to lead it around because it's so painful, but like people do bizarre stuff don't they, but here you know it's not all this stuff, he's not saying his stuff is all bad, but he talks about the trust, the confidence they get from this stuff, so he said the rings and nose jewels, the changeable suits of apparel and the mantels and the wimples and the crisping pins, so mantels being a type of clothing you know like some sort of like over gown thing, wimples are veils or maybe shawls they could be as well, crisping pins, it seems to be some sort of ornamental purse, the glasses, glasses being a mirror yeah, and the fine linen and the hoods and the veils, so he said that he would take away all that stuff and the bravery that goes with it, okay, the trust, the reliance upon all of that stuff, he said in verse 18, in that day the Lord will take away the braving of their tinkling ornaments, okay, about their feet and their cools and their round tiles like the moon, then he gave this long list of all these things that women have their confidence in, why, why is this stuff so important because so often, now don't get me wrong okay, again you can go too far with this, women are like right that's it you know I'm just gonna look like hell, not even care, anything else, no that's not what he's saying but when that's what the confidence in it's usually because what's on the inside is lousy, okay, so he said he's gonna take away all that stuff and the bravery, all that stuff that goes with it and it shall come to pass instead of sweet smell, there should be stink and instead of a girdle, a rent and instead of well-set hair, baldness and instead of a stomacher, a girding of sackcloth and burning instead of beauty, now stomacher being some sort of underwear basically, okay, he's saying that all of his daughters that are vain, whose adorning is all outward, who rely on all of that stuff, okay, that that's what you know they care about most and everything else, who focus on the outside and not the inside, who walk around trying to get attention, who walk with stretched-forth necks, we saw them wanton eyes walking and mincing as they go and make you tinkling with their feet, he said he'll give them scabs and make them naked so that none of that stuff can make them brave basically, he'll make them stink, he'll make their clothes tear, their hair bald, their cleverly designed undergarments useless, some sort of burning disease probably as well, doesn't sound too good does it, I mean, wow, that's a bit, I mean that's a warning isn't it, it's a warning from God to all the women out there, all the young girls they grow up, stop caring so much about how you look because if you do, if that's what's so important, it's more important, it becomes an idol really doesn't it, so many women, an idol in their life is there, looks are up here and God is down here and what's he going to do when that happen, he's going to whoop you, he's going to destroy you, he's going to, he's going to ruin all of that, he said thy men shall fall by the sword and I mighty in the war and a gate shall lament and mourn and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground, now with this, in case you look at that going, well this is a bit harsh isn't it, I mean he's gonna, you know he's gonna make them stink, he's gonna give them scabs, he's gonna make them naked he's gonna, he's gonna, what else did he say here, he said he's gonna, he's gonna make them bald, he's gonna give them girdings of sackcloth instead of you know these cleverly designed undergarments to make them apparently look better, burning instead of beauty, rents, so rips in their, in their belts, well you need to get your head out in the world basically okay and understand that contrary to the influences around you, contrary to all the crap you've been fed as you've grown up and continue to sadly be fed, God hates pride, he absolutely hates him, whatever area of your life it's not just in, it's not oh God just hates like women you know who seem to have all this pride in the way they look, no he hates it in every area, God hates pride, turn to Jeremiah chapter 9 well you turn, I'm gonna read Proverbs 8 13 which says, the fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance see in the evil way in the forward mouth do I hate, God hates it, he hates it, if you're puffed up you think you're so great in whatever it is whatever area you think you're so great God hates it, he hates it and he's gonna whoop you, so you need to get it right quickly and that's what one of the reasons that we preached this on this stuff is just get right, if you're puffed up about any sort of area you think you're so great, so good compared with other people in whatever area, God hates it, he hates it, Jeremiah 9 it says in verse 23, thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, so he said look if you're wise don't glory in that, you're gonna be the wisest person out there, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his mind, so you might be so strong, you might be so powerful, you might be so tough, but he said don't glory in that, let not the rich man glory in his riches, don't glory that you're rich, okay there's nothing to boast about, but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, if there's one, if you want to be, if you want to boast about anything, boast about how much you love the Lord, and I don't mean as in showing what a great person you are, just mean boast about the Lord, how great the Lord is, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving kindness, it's about God's qualities that we boast in, judgment and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight saith the Lord, so if you really want to find something to boast of, boast of the Lord, boast of how great the Lord is, boast of how great he is, because he could take away all of that stuff with you, you make it an idol in your life, you get proud about any of that stuff, he will rip it away from you. Go back to Isaiah 3, Isaiah chapter 3, where it said in verse 25, sorry in fact earlier, he said, he said in verse, he said in verse 20, where are we, verse 16, he said moreover the Lord saith because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walk here mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet, therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, the Lord will discover their secret part. So of course, you know, it's a big admonition, isn't it, to women out there, to just get right on this stuff, to not be thinking that it's great because you're getting looks, because that shouldn't be your goal, especially when you come to the house of God, right? I mean I've seen this stuff before in churches and I don't think we really get that hopefully here, but if you're coming into the house of God, or you're coming to worship God, you're coming to serve God, you're coming around God's people and you're thinking about how you can get attention for how you dress or how you look or anything else, I mean that's pretty wicked, isn't it? That's a wicked thing to do. Now don't get me wrong, you don't have to come in looking like an old bag lady or something, okay, to show how holy you are, because again what's really in the heart there, it's like, it's still the pride, isn't it? It's like, look how holy I am, I'm going with the 1800s fashion here, this is ultimate holiness, no? You don't have to do that either, but ultimately your goal should be, look, we come into the house of God, and I believe, and look, I know some people have different views on this, but I believe if I'm coming to the house of God, yeah, I'm coming like I'm coming before the Lord, so I personally, long before I was preaching, I came to the house of God for me dressed in my Sunday best, okay, and it's a Wednesday evening, what's your Wednesday best? Probably your Sunday best, alright? I used to come to the house of God like that, I know sometimes people come quick from work and other things, it can be hard to do that, and some people have different views on that, it's up to you, right? But for me it was like, look, I wanted to make an effort to come to the house of God, right? So, but what was the effort for? Was it for other people to see me? No. Who cares what other people think? It's ultimately because you're coming before God, and that should be on your heart, is it? I'm coming towards God, and God's not looking down going, well, you know, she looks really, oh yeah, she looks really pretty right now. That's not what you think about, it's just like, are you making an effort with your appearance to come before God? It shouldn't be about what other people think, right? Okay, and again, but that applies to all of us, it applies to all of us with all areas of our lives, if our goal is about looking good in front of other people and how great we are compared with other people and all that stuff, we're just, we're completely out of God's will, aren't we? And what happened, what did he say with, you know, and you could say that the threat here to the women, from verse 24, can apply to all of us. It shall come to pass, instead of sweet smell there should be stink, and instead of a girdle of rent, instead of well-set hair baldness, instead of a stomacher, a girding of sackcloth, and burning instead of beauty, thy men shall fall by the sword, and I mighty in the gates, in the wall, sorry, and our gates shall lament and mourn, and she, being desolate, shall sit upon the ground. Basically, those that lift themselves up, he'll bring you down to the ground. And that's a warning to every one of us here, and that is a strong trap to the Bible there, right, and it's a good reminder of how God, and especially back to the first application, how God expects his daughters, children of his, young ladies, ladies to behave and to focus on, and what not to focus on, and on that we're going to finish up in a word of prayer. Father, thank you for your word, thank you for, well, the strong warnings in your word there, Lord, and the warnings of, you know, getting leadership right, Lord, and not bending to the world's will with that, and also, Lord, for us all to just understand that you don't want us to get puffed up, you don't want us to get prideful, lift ourselves up, to put, you know, to put ourselves up somewhere high, that ultimately, if we're going to glory in anything, it should be in you, Lord, but help us to all just get that right, Lord, not just the ladies here, but all of us, the men here too, help us to just, you know, get right with you, Lord, in all these areas, help us to have a good end of the week, and return on Sunday, and just don't throw all this, Amen.