“Rise up, you women who are at ease,
Hear my voice;
You complacent daughters,
Give ear to my speech” (Is 32:9)

We continue with the message given to the women in Father’s House Bible Church, Warri, Nigeria.

In the previous chapter Isaiah rebukes the men for going to Egypt to look for wealth, help and counsel. There is a curse upon the men who do that. “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses…Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out His hand, both he who helps will fall, and he who is helped will fall down. They all will perish together” (Is 31:1, 3). These verses describe the men of Israel, the husbands of these women at ease. The men look for help in the world. The wives were to advice their husbands not to go to the world for help and prosperity but to trust in God. But they did not care about the methods their husbands used to become wealthy so far they become rich and famous. The wives are seen here passively waiting for their husbands to come back from Egypt with horses. In today’s language, these women are waiting for their husbands to come from America with big cars, clothes and money. The wives do not pray, therefore they are ignorant of the plan of God to make the men fall and fail abroad. In Hebrew, these words describe a man becoming a fugitive, inferior and lost like a slave in another man’s land. This is seen as a terrible waste of opportunities, a tragic and unfulfilled life. Their wives at home live at ease and dream big but they shall be totally disappointed by their husbands. This is God’s judgment on any one who forsakes God and worships the world.

Try to imagine these women. A commentator describes them as lazy and superficial. “They have no thought beyond the wardrobe”. But the truth is that generally, most Christian women are not at ease. They work hard and desire to be spiritual. They love their home but do not worship its comfort. They pray and intercede for their families. This is God’s gift to them. So why are these women ‘at ease in Zion’? Egypt is a symbol for the world, the system of men who live without God. The explanation for being at ease is the sin of loving the world. Remember that we are all born sinners. The world is what we know and love before coming to know the Savior. As Christians we are to repent and reject the love of the world. If not, the world will attract us to its adulterous arms again. Women, be watchful! The interest for the world starts small. Slowly, it creeps back into our hearts. We silently admire the fashion of the world, their mode of dressing. We learn to play games, seducing men just for the fun of it. The movies, the magazines, they call us by name. Little by little we develop a wrong contentment and a false peace with no longing for God.

We repent of every desire of loving the world. May we desire to be women of God indeed! For the glory of God! For the sake of our souls! For the sake of our families! For the sake of our communities! In Jesus name, amen!