Faithful And Unfaithful Servants (Isaiah 22:15-25; Revelation 3:7-13) Series

Last week, we took a one week rabbit trail into the first part of Isaiah 22. Today, we'll begin by finishing off Isaiah 22, reading the second oracle in that chapter. I will then more or less smoothly transition back to Revelation, to the letter addressed to the church in Philadelphia. So this is sort of a two part sermon, of the type that preaching classes tell you is a total mistake.

In the prophetic oracle we read last week, Isaiah 22:1-14, the prophet Isaiah basically tells everyone that it's way too soon to celebrate one single defeat of the nation of Assyria. In a vision, Isaiah sees that what happens next, will be a string of disasters for everyone fighting against Assyria-- Babylon will fall, and its leaders will be scattered. Isaiah also foresees that the leadership of Jerusalem will respond by turning into preppers-- they will try to prepare for the inevitable coming siege of the capital by taking inventory of their weapons, securing their water supply, and strengthening the wall. But in all of this, the one thing they won't do, is look to God. God has a prophet right there, and they won't ask Isaiah what God is doing, and what God wants. But God tells them anyway, and the question the passage leaves us with, is whether or not they will listen.

The oracle we will start with today is almost certainly set against the same historical background. God is coming in judgment against Jerusalem, but we will see today that God is upset with one person in particular-- a guy named Shebna, who is in a key position of influence and power within the royal household. Shebna is the palace administrator. We should think of him as being something like a cabinet member, or trusted advisor to the king. He is someone who has the king's ear, and who is relied on by the king for advice, and carrying out plans (2 Kings 18:17-18).

Let's read Isaiah 22:15-16 to start things off:

(15) Thus has said the Lord Yahweh of Armies:

Go to this administrator-- to Shebna, who is over the house.

(16) "Why are you here,

and who to you [is] here, that you have cut out for yourself here a tomb,

cutting on the height his tomb,

carving in the rock a resting place for him?

God calls Isaiah to go to Shebna, and Shebna is found nowhere near the house of David. He has all these responsibilities. He's like the #2 man in the kingdom. But what Shebna is doing, is supervising a pet project of his-- he's making his tomb. And he's making it, apparently, in some area that's reserved for really important people, who are descendants of really important people. Shebna is determined that he will be buried with the elites.

God asks him two questions:

"Why are you here?"

Who in your family gives you the right to cut yourself a tomb, here? Does Shebna have an uncle who has royal blood? Is there someone notable in his family tree, that gives him the right to make his tomb here?

The answer, seemingly, is no. And in answer to the first question, there is no good reason for Shebna to be here, working on his tomb.

Now, all of this maybe strikes us as confusing. Why would Shebna pick out a burial spot for himself among the elite? And why God care?

This is maybe mostly a guy thing, but my guess is one of the things that men hope to do with their life, is try to leave some legacy behind. They want to be remembered. They want their accomplishments to last well beyond their own time on earth. My neighbor passed away a few years ago, and he left behind this row of pear and apple trees. Every year, the people picking that fruit think of him, and feel gratitude toward him. We want our lives to matter. We want to be remembered.

Shebna wants to remembered, and so he picks out a spot among the ruling elites of Jerusalem to be buried. And Shebna goes to a great deal of effort to build a tomb that's big, and noticeable, on good ground. Shebna's end goal, will be that people think of him forever as being among the elite. It's like when you walk through a cemetery, and you see an enormous headstone. That person was obviously important.

So what bothers God about all of this?

We saw last week that the nation of Israel is doomed. Israel has lost its covering, and Assyria will turn its attention to Israel very shortly. Things are falling apart. I would think in this environment, an administrator would have plenty of responsibilities to help prepare the people for the coming siege. And the king of Israel-- King Hezekiah-- really needs someone to tell him: "Remember to look to God. Seek the counsel of God's prophet Isaiah."