The Hebrew word used here for naked is para, meaning "to loosen, expose, dismiss." It also implies "a new beginning."
A modern beer commercial admonishes this generation to "turn
it loose tonight." It simply means to throw off past moral inhibitions, shake free of all law, begin pleasing yourself. Do your own thing, whatever makes you happy.
Merely taking off their clothes was not corruption; it was the signal, the message they were sending to the heathen looking on. Can you see the Amalakites on the surrounding mountains, far off, looking on this peculiar scene? These enemies, who had trembled when they saw God at work among them, now laughed and mocked, "Look at them. They are just like us! Their God has no power. They don't even trust in Him! They want to lust and party and play just like all the rest of us. What hypocrisy!"
In that one act of nakedness they belittled their God in the eyes of the ungodly! They made God seem heartless, cruel, uncaring and helpless. They besmirched the honor and majesty of an omnipotent God. They were no longer an example, no longer admired or feared or respected.
They had laid their armor down to party! They put in jeopardy God's plans for their salvation. They were saying to the world, We don´t want to fight any more enemies! We don´t want to resist! We have had enough of rejection, of sacrifice, of future hopes and far-off blessings. We want to live now! We want to enjoy ourselves! We want the good times to roll."
The corruption was this: This was to be their new beginning. No
more combat! If they were going to have to exist in a hard, cruel
wilderness, then they would quit the struggle and make do the
best they could-on their own.
~David Wilkerson~
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