'Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without
money.'--ISAIAH iii. 3.
THE first reference of these words is of course to the Captivity. They
come in the midst of a grand prophecy of freedom, all full of leaping
gladness and buoyant hope. The Seer speaks to the captives; they had
'sold themselves for nought.' What had they gained by their departure
from God?--bondage. What had they won in exchange for their
freedom?--only the hard service of Babylon. As Deuteronomy puts it:
'Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness... by
reason of the abundance of all things, therefore shalt thou serve thine
enemies...in want of all things.' A wise exchange! a good market they
had brought their goods to! In striking ironical parallel the prophet
goes on to say that so should they be redeemed. They had got nothing by
bondage, they should give nothing for liberty. This text has its
highest application in regard to our captivity and our redemption.