ISAIAH 22:15-25 [HOPE FOR LIFE Series]
HOPING IN HUMANS
[LUKE 16:10]
[After the gloomy view of Judah’s present and future, the prophet turns his attention to an internal matter in the affairs of Jerusalem during his own time. This segment serves to personalize the generalized statements made concerning the nation in 22:1-14.]
The nation of Judea had blinded itself in the face of approaching judgment, choosing revelry instead of repentance, pleasure instead of purpose, carelessness instead of character, selfishness instead of sanctification, folly instead of faith. To help us grasp the previously generalized folly of the nation our text brings the complaint to focus on a single individual. The individual chosen (no doubt because he was particularly guilty) to illustrate the condition of the nation is Shebna, the prime minister. He is a high-office holder in Judea who has betrayed his office by attempting to memorialize himself [or lifted himself up] while failing to carry out the obligations of his office. He plans for his own well-being and not for the ongoing life of the nation. He should have been acting in the interest of his people, formulating far-seeing policies which took into account all the factors, particularly God's Word. Instead this government official looks only to the immediate future and only as it relates to himself. As a result, says Isaiah with biting words, God will toss him aside like a filthy rag and give his office to another, who will truly act as a father to the people. This man will be trustworthy and dependable. But even that godly man will not be able to save the nation single-handedly. Ultimately the accumulated weight of the nation’s rebellion will pull God’s leader down with it. The sin of the nation, its blindness, is such that one sighted capable leader will be inadequate to turn the nation from its downward direction. [Background for this message was taken from The Book of Isaiah by John Oswalt, pp 415-424]
[Our Scripture lesson this morning is] though godly men are a sign of hope, they are not to be our hope (CIM). We are to hope in God, not in man.
I. A MAN OF WRONG PRIORITIES, 15-19.
II. THE RAISING UP OF GOD’S MAN, 20-24.
III. THE INSUFFICIENCY OF GOD’S MAN, 25.
In verse 15 God sends Isaiah to Shebna, the prime minister, who is over all governmental activity. Thus says the Lord God of Hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is in charge of the royal household,
Thus says the Lord God of Hosts, the Sovereign of the Universe, the Commander of the Hosts of Heaven. He is the One who has something to say to him who thinks himself somebody in the small circles of Judah. The One who sees everything will speak to one of those who seem to see nothing of spiritual import or of his responsibility to God.
He tells Isaiah to go to this steward Shebna. The demonstrative pronoun indicates contempt. This steward is over or in charge of the royal household. To us the title of Prime Minister would be better understood. He was second only to the king [Hezekiah] and in charge of all government activity (36:3; 1 Kgs 4:6; 2 Kgs 15:5). God is pointing out that the rot and misguided priorities among His people commences at the very highest levels. This deterioration was working its way through the nation as a whole.
We seem to envy the mighty and want their power and prestige, but they are mere humans and prone to corruption more than most because of the opportunities their position affords. God raises up shepherds over His people and expects them to walk according to a higher standard, but in their pride and rebellion they act as evil as those who are only responsible for themselves.
God’s charge against the chief-steward is found in verse16. ‘What right do you have here? And whom do you have here, that you have hewn a tomb for yourself here, you who hew a tomb on the heights? You who carve a resting place for yourself in the rock?
Shebna violated the trust of his stewardship as the Master of the Palace. According to Isaiah’s charge, he used the role to advance his own agenda and make his mark on history. Though the tomb on the heights was undoubtably literally hewn it is use to indicate that Shebna purpose was to establish a lasting name for himself. His pyramid of pharaoh influenced tomb [in ancient cultures one’s place of burial indicated who he was in life] was intended to establish him in history and provide his family enduring prominence. He thought he could immortalize himself as somebody of great significance.
The thought is that he was more concerned about his place and his legacy than he was about the welfare of the people he was asked to govern. Here at the place of self-interests is where he invested his life when he should have focused on the critical condition of the nation. Instead of seeking to glorify God, he was seeking to glorify himself. Right here therefore is where the prophet confronts him. [God’s covenant people’s continuous establishing of self-sufficiency over dependency on God often brought confrontation by God’s prophets (1 Sam. 13:10; 1 Kgs 13:1-6; 18:16-17). This is typical of God. He will not allow His people to escape from Him and most especially when they wish to avoid Him. Oswalt, pp 420-421.] We will always be better served by remaining in God’s will than by trying to establish a life separate from Him.
Obsessed with his own self-glory, Shebna tried to make his mark in history and in so doing, betrayed the trust of his high office. Yet he is not alone. Kings and presidents, chiefs of staff, and secretaries of state have been obsessed with the judgment of history. Richard Nixon, for instance, is reputed to have tape recorded the conversations in the Oval Office with the idea of preserving his role in American and world history. But his tapes became his tomb with the revelations of the Watergate scandal. [McKenna, David. The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 17 : Isaiah 1-39. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1993, S. 222.]
Verses 17 & 18 reveal actions that God would take against the corrupt, misguided leader. ‘Behold, the Lord is about to hurl you headlong, O man. And He is about to grasp you firmly (18) and roll you tightly like a ball, to be cast into a vast country. There you will die and there your splendid chariots will be, You shame of your master’s house.’
For his corruption and dereliction of duty the Lord would removed him from office. Instead of being buried in a lofty memorial tomb in Judah, one fit for a great man, Shebna will be violently thrown away like a disgusting filthy smelly rag to die in obscurity in a foreign country. His end will not be one of dignity or honor but of disgrace and shame (Jer. 22:26). [The wading up in a ball and the long throw is an indication to me that God likes sports.]
The Bible tells us that true honor and glory are gifts of God. That which we selfishly reach out to obtain from this world for ourselves will become like sand in our fingers, like the over-collected or hoarded manna kept overnight by the children of Israel in the wildness (Ex. 16:20) and end up foul and decaying.
Shebna rode in splendid chariots as a sign of his exalted station in life. One day they will belong to someone else (the Assyrians). So it is with all our acquisitions. We cannot keep them. If they outlast us, they will belong to others. Why do we live as though we will never die? Why not live for those eternal values which will endure with us and in us forever? Why burn ourselves out attempting to find some scraps of earthly enjoyment before death overtakes us. The quest for our own glory is most likely to disgrace us just as it did Shebna.
The outcome of the prime minister Shebna’s powerful office is found in verse 19. “I will depose you from your office, And I will pull you down from your station.
Ultimate consequences were not the only ones coming because of Shebna’s prideful attempt to raise himself up. He would face immediate repercussion as well. He would lose his position over the king’s house (36:3, 22) as the nation attempted to come out of the situation into which they had eroded. [Note the boldness and freedom with which Isaiah rebuked a public official of such wealth and position. Delitzsch, p. 401.]
II. THE RAISING UP OF GOD’S MAN, 20-24.
In verses 20-24 the focus shifts to Eliakim, Shebna’s successor. God has already determined to lift up one who has been serving His purposes in verse 20. “Then it will come about in that day, That I will summon My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah.”
Eliakim, formerly the Secretary of State, is announced as the successor to Shebna, the deposed Prime Minister. “My servant” is a title of great significance in the Book of Isaiah. It is first applied to Isaiah (20:3) and then to Israel and then to the coming Suffering Servant, the Lord Jesus Christ (40-55). Throughout the O T it is applied to prophets and others God used in a special way.
Although God’s servant has obligations he has far more privileges. Those who belong to God, who are His instruments, are those who experience and will experience the fruits of His love and grace.
Eliakim was a worthy successor to prideful Shebna. Godly Eliakim was dependable and faithful (2 Kings 18:18, 26, 37; Isa. 36:3, 11, 22; 37:2) in stark contrast to Shebna. Eliakim had proved himself faithful in his other employments, and therefore God will call him or summon him to this high station. Those that are diligent in doing their duty in low positions stand ready for advancements in God’s books (Lk. 16:10).
Eliakim does not undermine Shebna, nor come out against him. Nor does he covet the office; but God calls him to it. What God calls us to we can expect He will provide the strength and wisdom to do no matter it’s responsibilities and pressures.
Verse 21 informs us that not only would Shebna’s place & authority be given to God’s servant so would his royal robes. “And I will clothe him with your tunic and tie your sash securely about him. I will entrust him with your authority, And he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.”
Evidently the prime minister[, and perhaps other high officials,] wore a special uniform. [The terms used here for robe and sash appear elsewhere for garb worn by the priests.] Eliakim would replace Shebna who initially would be demoted to secretary (36:3, 11, 22, 37:2), while he await the timing of God’s judgment.
High places are slippery places; and God justly removes officials from their powerful position when they are proud and puffed up with it. God acts in governments and proves Himself to be God by looking upon proud men and abasing them, Job 40:11, 12. [Henry, Matthew: Matthew Henry's Commentary: On the Whole Bible. electronic ed. Peabody : Hendrickson, 1996, c1991, Is 22:15]
He will become a father expresses the attitude which a true governor should take toward his people. Not one of superiority or paternalism, but one of genuine care and self-sacrificing love. Eliakim’s rule is performed out of genuine care for the people and not out of self-serving pride.
Again and again the prophets lay blame for Israel's lostness at the feet of vain, misguided leaders whom the people alternately flattered and despised, but who did not have the people's interests at heart. It was out of this experience that the longing for the Messiah came. Surely somewhere God had a ruler who would rule justly. Eliakim excellent qualities and abilities gave the people a glimmer of God’s just ruler, but even God blessed humanity is not sufficient to lead rebellious humanity.
Eliakim’s responsibility in advising and protecting the Davidic line is seen in verse 22. “Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, When he opens no one will shut, When he shuts no one will open.”
The key of the house of David (may have been a literal key of considerable size slung from the shoulder, but equally likely) the reference here is symbolic. The key represent position and authority to make decisions. The process of opening and shutting refers to his absolute authority in civil affairs. This authority to admit people or exclude people from the king’s presence is shouldered by the one who is over the house.
Obviously this authority constituted tremendous power and required great integrity if it was not to be abused (Gen. 39:6, 8). By the same token, the one to whom such power was given could know the depth of the king's trust in him.
This trust Jesus showed His disciples in Matthew 16:19. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Similar words are spoken by the Spirit about Christ Himself in Rev. 3:7. His power in the kingdom of heaven, and in the ordering of all the affairs of that kingdom, is absolute, irresistible, and uncontrollable.
Verse 23 talks about the obscure family of Eliakim becoming prominent. “I will drive him like a peg in a firm place, And he will become a throne of glory to his father’s house.
Eliakim will be like a peg set firmly in a wall, able to bear prodigious weight without apparent strain. Though the administration of his office was weighty, by God’s enabling he was able to bear it.
The second half of verse 23 changes the metaphor [from peg to throne] but keeps the same meaning. Rather than disgracing his lord and people as Shebna did, Eliakim will be the means through which his people will be honored, and the people will then honor Eliakim and even his family will be lifted up. The people will confidently place their trust in him.
The result of Eliakim’s trustworthiness is reported in verse 24. “So they will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, offspring and issue, all the least of vessels, from bowls to all the jars.
Eliakim would be a person upon whom people could rely, like a “peg” driven into the wall. It is describing a man who is so dependable that even the insignificant (figuratively called lesser vessels), not just the influential (called bowls and jars), can entrust themselves and their concerns to him.
We are invited to measure ourselves against him, and ask ourselves whether even the most common can depend on us? Or are we like Shebna too busy planning our future, too busy building memorials to ourselves? Jesus’ commendation to the man who multiplied His talents through wise investments fits Eliakim. He will hear from our Lord, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21).
[ V. 25 begins with "In that day," which is taken by some to mark the beginning of a new section.]
III. THE INSUFFICIENCY OF GOD’S MAN, 25.
In verse 25 the virtually irremovable large peg built into the wall will gives way under the load. “In that day,” declares the Lord of Hosts, “the peg driven in a firm place will give way; it will even break off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off, for the Lord has spoken.”
How can Eliakim, who has been so soundly praised, be the one who fails and is cut off? For it is surely Eliakim to whom reference is being made. [Reflection shows that a word on Eliakim's fall is not at all unlikely in this setting.] Over and over Isaiah says that any deliverance from man, any man, even a capable and godly, is only temporary.
Even as a “steward” of the Lord, Eliakim is a human being in whom the children of Israel cannot put their ultimate trust. Even God’s man was not able to save the nation. Ultimately the accumulated weight of the nation’s rebellion pulled God’s leader down with it. The continued heaping up of sin upon sin by the people of the nation was such that even a sighted most capable leader was inadequate to turn the nation from its downward direction. If the people turned to even the most capable leader or leadership rather than the Lord, they will be disappointed.
Through the brief biographies of Shebna and Eliakim, Isaiah has reinforced his dominant theme: Our trust and hope must be in God and God alone. [The last we hear about Eliakim, he is leading the delegation that includes Shebna and Joah to inform the Assyrian ambassador that King Hezekiah rejects the offer of a protective alliance with the king of Assyria and he will trust in God alone (37:20). [McKenna, S. 224.]
IN CLOSING / INVITATION
Shebna is an example of one who should have been mourning in repentance (v. 12) and begin caring for the needs of the people; but rather he was the high life (v. 13) and preparing for himself a grand memorial tomb. He was replaced by a faithful man who was assigned a humanly impossible tasks by a care free royalty. Despite his ability and faithfulness and lofty hopes, Eliakim was doomed to fail. Eliakim was merely human and if a nation placed all its hopes in him, those hopes would certainly be dashed. The nation's true hope was God and in the kind of repentance which would enable whole-hearted commitment. But Judah would be unwilling to do so [as v. 14 clearly envisioned]. As a result, too much was demanded of too few Eliakims, and they all fell.
Modern nations have done the same. We praise a Wilson or a Chamberlain as demi-gods and then, when they fail, as they must, we berate them. [Sic transit gloriam.] Like Judah [and Rome], we refuse to trust God and instead deify human leaders in the hope that they can save us. Inevitably, we must be disappointed, as Judah was. Our only true hope is in God.
There is only One man on whom we can hang our all hopes and rest assured that He will not fail us. Our Lord Jesus is the One who has the keys who opens and no one can shut. Who shuts and no one can open. He and He alone opens the way to our Father’s House and to all eternity for us. He is God’s secure peg, and all the glory of His Father’s house hangs upon Him, is derived from Him, and depends upon Him. Even the least that belong to His Church are welcome to Him, and He is able to bear the stress of them all. That soul cannot perish, nor that concern fall to the ground, though ever so weighty, that is by faith hung upon Christ. [Henry, Matthew]
In whom are you placing your hope? In Christ, in yourself, or in some other human? Or maybe the question should be in whose future are you placing your hope -one of your own making, or one that will arise as you place your hope in the Lord Jesus and serve Him?
Dear reader, if you do not have a personal relationship with God; this prayer is for you:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner in need of forgiveness. I believe that You died on the cross to take the punishment that I deserve for my sins and that You were raised from the dead. Please forgive me of my sins and come into my heart and life as my Savior and Lord. From this day forward, please be glorified in and through me. Thank You for Your amazing grace. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
