ISAIAH 22
Judgment on Jerusalem
Verses 1-4 tells us Isaiah is grieved over a joyous city.
"The burden against the Valley of Vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops, you who are full of noise, a tumultuous city, a joyous city? Your slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle. All your rulers have fled together; they are captured by the archers. All who are found in you are bound together; they have fled from afar. Therefore I said, "Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; do not labor to comfort me because of the plundering of the daughter of my people."
The burden against the Valley of Vision...
WHO IS THE VALLEY OF VISION?
This is Jerusalem, a city on a hill but surrounded by still higher hill, and in the midst of three valleys. Since Jerusalem was a center for the worship of God and some of the prophets of God (including Isaiah), it is called the Valley of Vision.
SOME HAVE ASKED....WHY DOES GOD INCLUDE JUDAH & JERUSALEM IN HIS JUDGMENT AGAINST THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH?
WOLF answers this question well, "It is strange to find a prophecy against Judah and Jerusalem in a section that deals with the nations. But since Judah & Jerusalem had chosen to behave like her neighbors and to desert the Lord, she deserved to be judged."
A tumultuous city, a joyous city? In his prophecy, Isaiah sees the commotion all around Jerusalem, and asks, "Is it the result of an evil tumult, or is it an expression of joy?"
Your slain men are not slain with the sword...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
When Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians, the men of Judah did NOT bravely die in battle. They died either being starved to death in the siege of the city, or as they fled in cowardly retreat.
JEREMIAH 14:18 & 38:2 CONFIRMS THIS...They died either by famine or pestilence in the siege, as many died, or in their flight, as others were; both which were inglorious kinds of death.
I will weep bitterly; do not labor to comfort me...
We usually think of Jeremiah as the "weeping prophet." But Isaiah also said "I will weep bitterly" when he saw God's judgment coming against God's people.
When we GROW CLOSER TO JESUS, when we RECEIVE HIS HEART for things, we too weep bitterly over what hurts JESUS HEART as well, AMEN?
Verses 5-7 tells us Isaiah sees a coming army, and the LORD brings NO deliverance.
"For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity By the Lord GOD of hosts In the Valley of Vision; breaking down the walls and of crying to the mountain. Elam bore the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. It shall come to pass that your choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate."
For it is a day of trouble... GOD SHOWS Isaiah & ISAIAH SEES an army full of arrows and chariots coming against Jerusalem. This prophesies the attack and overthrow of Jerusalem by the Babylonians.
Elam bore the quiver...Because Elam, Babylon's neighbor to the east, had strongly supported the Babylonians and the Chaldeans in the struggle against Assyria, the Elamites were THERE & WERE ALLIED WITH the Babylonians.
Your choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate...
Attacking armies will once again surround Jerusalem, and in that day the LORD will NOT deliver them.
Verses 8-14 tells us GOD SHOWS ISAIAH THAT Jerusalem makes all the WRONG PREPARATIONS for a coming battle.
"He removed the protection of Judah. You looked in that day to the armor of the House of the Forest; you also saw the damage to the city of David, that it was great; and you gathered together the waters of the lower pool. You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses you broke down to fortify the wall. You also made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to its Maker, nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago. And in that day the Lord GOD of hosts called for weeping and for mourning, for baldness and for girding with sackcloth. But instead, joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating meat and drinking wine: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!" Then it was revealed in my hearing by the LORD of hosts, "Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, even to your death," says the Lord GOD of hosts."
You gathered together the waters of the lower pool … to fortify the wall...
When Jerusalem was faced with this subsequent attack, they prepared the city for battle and for siege, strengthening the wall of the city and making sure there was adequate water for a siege.
But none of this would matter, because THE LORD GOD OF HOSTS removed the protection of Judah. The best thing Jerusalem could do for her protection was turn her heart toward the LORD, But you did not look to its Maker, nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago.
In that day the Lord GOD of hosts called for weeping and mourning... Instead of preparing Jerusalem for an attack, they should have turned their hearts in humble repentance to the LORD. Instead of humbly seeking the LORD, the people of Jerusalem had both a confidence in their own preparation (joy and gladness), and a fatalistic outlook toward the future ("Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!").
THIS TELLS US, ONCE AGAIN, GOD READ THEIR HEARTS & MINDS PERFECTLY.
HE HAS HAD ISAIAH TELLING THEM OVER AND OVER...HIT YOUR KNEES REPENT, TURN TO ME, TRUST ME, LOOK TO ME, AND YOU WILL BE SAVED.
AND IT BROKE THE LORD'S HEART, WHEN THEY FATALISTICALLY SHORED UP THE WALLS, THE WATER, AND FOOD, AND THE CITY FOR A LONG SIEGE INSTEAD.
THEY DID NOT BELIEVE THEY WOULD SURVIVE IT.
THEY DID NOT BELIEVE THEY WOULD/COULD AGAINST SUCH GREAT ARMIES.
SO THEY SAID PARTY AND EAT NOW...TOMORROW WE DIE.
BUT FAR WORSE, THEY DID NOT THINK ABOUT THEIR LORD GOD, THEY DID NOT EVEN CONSIDER THAT HE COULD OR WOULD OR WAS ABLE TO PROTECT THEM, SAVE THEM, GIVE THEM VICTORY.
THEY DID NOT TRUST IN ANYTHING...NOT EVEN THE LORD.
AND IT BROKE THE LORD'S HEART.
I HAVE GIVEN THIS COMPARISON BEFORE...BUT IT FITS PERFECTLY HERE...
AS PARENTS, WHO LOVE THEIR CHILDREN, THEIR GRANDCHILDREN, AND WISH TO RAISE THEM UP RIGHT, WE SPEND MOST OF OUR DAYS...REPEATEDLY WARNING...
DO NOT TOUCH THE STOVE...IT IS HOT...IT WILL BURN YOU...IT WILL HURT YOU...DO NOT! DO NOT! NO! NO! NO! STOP! STOP! STOP!
WE ARE EVER VIGILANT WITH THEM, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT ALL IT TAKES IS ONE TIME FOR US TO LEAVE THE KITCHEN, TURN OUR BACKS, AND THAT CHILD WILL DOUBT THAT THE STOVE IS HOT AND CAN HURT THEM. AND WE KNOW, SOONER OF LATER, THEY WILL REACH OUT IN DOUBT AND DISBELIEF AND TOUCH THAT HOT STOVE AND SUFFER HURT AND PAIN BECAUSE OF THEIR ARROGANCE, DOUBT, DISBELIEF & DISOBEDIENCE IN WHAT WE SAY, AMEN?
ISAIAH HAS BEEN WARNING...PLEADING...WEEPING...WEARING SACKCLOTH, WALKING THE STREETS IN HIS UNDERWEAR AND BAREFOOT TO SHOW THEM HOW ENDANGERED THEY ARE...HOW THEIR DISBELIEF, ARROGANCE, DOUBT, AND REFUSAL TO HIT THEIR KNEES, REPENT, AND TURN TO THE GOD OF THEIR FATHERS IS ENDANGERING THEM, COMPROMISING THEM AND THEIR SAFETY...BUT THEY REFUSE TO SEE, TO HEAR, AND TO LISTEN, AMEN?
For this iniquity there will be NO atonement for you...
What is this sin that can't be forgiven?
The sin of ignoring God, of rejecting God, of refusing to humble yourself before the LORD and repent. Jerusalem was doing everything except the essential thing they had to do to prepare for the attack, and because they rejected the LORD, there would be no atonement for them.
Isaiah denounces Shebna, the king's chief steward.
Verses 15-19....THE LORD DOES NOT LEAVE OUT THE CIVIC LEADERS EITHER.
WHO WAS Shebna?
HE had a high and honorable CIVIC office, yet he used it to glorify himself.
"Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: "Go, proceed to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the house, and say: 'What have you here, and whom have you here, that you have hewn a sepulcher here, as he who hews himself a sepulcher on high, who carves a tomb for himself in a rock? Indeed, the LORD will throw you away violently, O mighty man, and will surely seize you. He will surely turn violently and toss you like a ball into a large country; there you shall die, and there your glorious chariots shall be the shame of your master's house. So I will drive you out of your office, and from your position he will pull you down.'"
Shebna, who is over the house...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Shebna was a servant of King Hezekiah, both a steward … over the house and a scribe (2 Kings 18:18, Isaiah 37:2). These were both positions of honor and responsibility. Shebna was one of King Hezekiah's chief assistants.
WOLF, a Bible historian tells us, "The king of Judah at this time was Hezekiah - a good king - so the condemnatory judgment fell on the next person in line. Shebna and the populace in general did not share the godly principles of King Hezekiah."
What have you here, and whom have you here...
The LORD speaks to Shebna, this proud man, THROUGH ISAIAH and says BASICALLY, "Who do you think you are? What do you think you have? You really are nothing and you have nothing but that which I GAVE YOU."
As he who hews himself a sepulcher on high...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN AND WHAT DID SHEBNA DO WITH HIS position of honor and authority?
He made himself a fancy and prestigious tomb! In that day, this was a display of significant power and wealth. In this, Shebna personifies all of Jerusalem with his obsessive self-interest.
AND REMEMBER Isaiah had prophesied that the people of Judah and Jerusalem would be carried away into exile, but Shebna didn't believe it. He built this elaborate tomb to himself in Jerusalem, as if to say, "I will never be carried away in exile. I am so certain that I will die here that I will build my tomb here."
He will surely turn violently and toss you like a ball into a large country; there you shall die … so I will drive you out of your office...
Shebna sought honor and glory, but would never find it. Instead, the LORD would make certain that he was never even buried in his prestigious, expensive tomb, but would die in exile instead.
AND WE KNOW Shebna is the same kind of man Jesus spoke about in Luke 12:16-21, in the parable of the RICH FOOL. The man spent his time planning and his money building great things, but in the end he died without God and it all meant nothing.
Now, all of Shebna's accomplishments - the beautiful tomb, the glorious chariots - mean worse than nothing, they are a shame to him instead.
Verses 20-24 tells us The LORD lifts up Eliakim INSTEAD OF Shebna.
"Then it shall be in that day, that I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe and strengthen him with your belt; I will commit your responsibility into his hand. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; so he shall open, and no one shall shut; and he shall shut, and no one shall open. I will fasten him as a peg in a secure place, and he will become a glorious throne to his father's house. They will hang on him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the posterity, all vessels of small quantity, from the cups to all the pitchers."
Eliakim the son of Hilkiah is mentioned in passages like 1 Kings 18:18 and Isaiah 36:3 as another assistant to King Hezekiah.
BUT WE NEED TO REMEMBER AND UNDERSTAND THAT THIS ELIAKIM should be distinguished from Eliakim the son of Josiah, who was a puppet king established by Pharaoh told to us in 2 Kings 23:34.
My servant...
What a glorious title for THE LORD TO BESTOW UPON Eliakim, AMEN?
Both Shebna and Eliakim were servants of Hezekiah, but Shebna's heart was directed towards selfish ambition and glory, and Eliakim's heart was turned towards the LORD.
The place of Eliakim the son of Hilkiah before Hezekiah is somewhat obscure in the Scriptures; he is only mentioned in six passages, and the only description of him is that he was over the household told to us in 1 Kings 18:18, 37 and Isaiah 36:3, 22.
But Eliakim THE LORD'S SERVANT...was famous in heaven! He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
The LORD would take the office and authority of the unfaithful Shebna, and give it to Eliakim instead (I will clothe him with your robe and strengthen him with your belt; I will commit your responsibility into his hand). God will get His work done! If a Shebna is unfaithful, the LORD will remove him from his office, strip him of his authority, and give it to another WHO IS FAITHFUL, AMEN?
Because Eliakim is the LORD's servant, the LORD will give him great authority....
HOW DID THE LORD DO THIS?
HE GAVE HIM The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder.
DID YOU KNOW...In that day, the chief royal steward would have the large master key of the palace fastened to the shoulder of his tunic. The key was a picture and demonstration of the authority of the chief steward. Here, the LORD gives Eliakim the authority to open and shut as the LORD's representative, which no man can oppose.
AND REMEMBER....In this, Eliakim becomes a prophecy of the Messiah, because Jesus told us this passage spoke of Himself: These things says He who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens." (Revelation 3:7) Jesus is the one with the keys of Hades and of Death (Revelation 1:8), who has all authority both in heaven and on earth. Jesus delegates this authority as it pleases Him (Matthew 16:19).
He shall open, and no one shall shut; and he shall shut and no one shall open...Eliakim would have this kind of authority from the LORD. Since he is a picture of Jesus, we know that Jesus has the authority to open and shut doors in our lives as He pleases. We need to accept both the open and the shut doors, AMEN?
AND MEYER says it well of this scripture..."Down a long corridor of closed doors we may sometimes have to pass. It seems heartbreaking to see doors labelled, Friendship, Love, Home shut against us; but beyond them there is the one unclosed door through which we shall enter into our true life. Oh do not lose heart and hope in useless weeping over the closed doors of the past. Follow Him, who has the keys."
Because the LORD established Eliakim's authority, it was secure: I will fasten him as a peg in a secure place.
THE LORD SHOWED ISAIAH AND US Shebna's TRUE HEART.
SHEBNA sought glory for himself, but would find shame.
But Eliakim was the LORD's servant, and would become a glorious throne to his father's house.
WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF A PEG?
DID YOU KNOW, In those days, houses didn't really have cupboards or storage closets as we think of them. Things were stored ON PEGS set up all around the room. If something was on its peg, it was safe and secure, stored properly and ready for use at the appropriate time.
They will hang on him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue...
THE LORD IS TELLING US THAT the godly Eliakim was a SECURE PEG, and could spiritually support his father's house and his offspring. Since Eliakim is a picture of Jesus, we also see in this the believer's total dependence on Jesus, AMEN?
Clarke says it well here..."They will hang on him all the glory of his father's house...This "has been understood as the dependence of all souls, of all capacities, from the lowest in intellect to the most exalted, on the Lord Jesus, as the only Saviour of all lost human spirits."
THE LORD IS TELLING US AND SHOWING US THAT THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT VESSELS in the Lord's house, with many different sizes and purposes. But they ALL MUST HANG on the same peg! All are equally wrecked if they drop from the peg. The safety isn't in the size or the quality of the vessel, but in its attachment to the peg.
AND WE KNOW OUR TRUEST AND STRONGEST AND MOST SECURE PEG IS OUR SWEET LORD JESUS, AMEN?
Verse 25 tell us of THE LORD'S removal of Shebna.
"In that day," says the LORD of hosts, "the peg that is fastened in the secure place will be removed and be cut down and fall, and the burden that was on it will be cut off; for the LORD has spoken."
The peg that is fastened...If Eliakim is yet to be promoted to the place of honor and responsibility pictured by the peg (I will fasten him as a peg, Isaiah 22:23), then Shebna is the peg that is fastened at the moment. Therefore, before Eliakim can be put in his rightful place, Shebna must be removed and be cut down and fall.
The LORD gave Shebna a place of honor and authority, but he didn't hold it as a servant of the LORD. So, the LORD took the place of honor and authority away from Shebna.
JUST AS, the great authority Jesus gave to His disciples was neither unlimited, nor unattached from Jesus' direction. Even though Jesus gave the promise of the keys to Peter (Matthew 16:19), Peter did not have unlimited authority. Instead, Peter was rightly challenged and rebuked by another apostle, Paul, when he was out of line (Galatians 2:11-21).
And the burden that was on it will be cut off...When Shebna was removed, THE LORD IS TELLING US THAT ALL THOSE who "hung" on him (SHEBNA) were also cut off. We have to make sure that we are "hung" on the right "peg"!
THE SECURE PEG IS OUR JESUS CHRIST.
THE RIGHT PEG IS JESUS HOLY WORD...THE BIBLE.
THE RIGHT PEG TO CLING TO AND HANG ON TO IS JESUS CHRIST AND JESUS CHRIST ALONE...
IF WE PLACE OUR FAITH, TRUST, HOPE, IN OUR OWN ABILITIES, OUR OWN STRENGTH, INTELLIGENCE, OR OTHER PEOPLE, RELIGIOUS LEADERS, CIVIC LEADERS...ANYTHING ELSE OF THIS WORLD OR MAN...IT WILL FAIL US.
BUT OUR JESUS NEVER FAILS!