As in the first series of oracles, God's people occupy the fourth place in this second series, which points farther into the future, surrounded by the nations of the world. In the first series the Northern Kingdom was in view, but in the second series Judah takes the spotlight. Three aspects of life in Judah receive separate attention in this chapter: the city of Jerusalem (vv. 1-14), the individual Shebna (vv. 15-19), and the family of Eliakim (vv. 20-25). All three sections reveal the thoroughness of Israel's sin of seeking security in the world rather than in the Lord, namely, self-sufficiency.
". . . Jerusalem is found cannibalizing itself to make itself safe, without a thought of looking to the Lord (verses 8-11); Shebna is portrayed as the man concerned only for his own worldly glory, before and after death (verses 16-18); and Eliakim is at risk of becoming the focal point of the security of others to his own and their downfall (verses 23-24)."201
The first part of the oracle deals with self-sufficient Jerusalem (vv. 1-14). At present there was joy in the city (vv. 1-2a), but in the future there would be sorrow (vv. 2b-7). Past actions (vv. 8-11) had produced the present joy, and they determined future consequences (vv. 12-14).
22:1 The prophet employed another enigmatic title that implied a contrast with the actual condition of the place described to indicate the object of this oracle (cf. 21:1). "Valley of vision"refers to Jerusalem (cf. vv. 5, 9-10). Isaiah pictured it as the depressed place (cf. Ps. 125:2) where he received a depressing vision, namely, the inevitable judgment that would come on the city. In this valley there was a notable lack of vision among God's people when it came to seeing things from His perspective.202
Isaiah thought the residents of Jerusalem had behaved inappropriately by going up on their flat housetops to rejoice. Some turn of events in his day had resulted in the people feeling very secure.203
22:2-3 Such rejoicing was inappropriate, however, because Isaiah saw in his vision that they would fall to an enemy, not because of combat but starvation. This happened when the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and took it in 586 B.C. (cf. 2 Kings 25:3-4; Jer. 52:6). Jerusalem, as well as Babylon, would fall (cf. 2:6-22; 21:1-10).
22:4 Therefore Isaiah rejected the attempts of his fellow citizens to get him to participate in their celebrating. The terrible end of the city drew tears from him that the present rejoicing could not stop. Isaiah was a compassionate person because he identified with his countrymen in their suffering.
22:5 The Lord Himself would bring this fate on Jerusalem. The residents would then panic, be subjugated and confused, and cry to the surrounding mountains for help as the city walls broke down.
22:6 The enemy would be Elam, an ally of Babylon's to her east, and Kir, whose exact location is unknown but was the destination of some Israelites taken into Assyrian captivity (cf. 2 Kings 16:9; Amos 1:5; 9:7). Isaiah did not identify the main enemy, Babylon herself, but only two of her allies here, perhaps to emphasize the size (by merism) and or distance of the foe.
22:7 This enemy would conquer the countryside around Jerusalem and then set up a siege of the city outside her walls at her very gates.
22:8 Such an attack would be possible because the Lord would remove His defensive screen from around the city. The reason was that the people had relied on physical implements of warfare for their security rather than on Him. Evidently the "house of the forest"of Lebanon was an armory in Isaiah's day (cf. 1 Kings 7:2; 10:17).
"The Lord is always the ultimate agent in his people's experiences . . ."204
22:9-11 The people would try many forms of defense, but all would fail because they did not depend on the Lord who had made the city what it had become. Strong walls and adequate water would be their hope rather than their God. Hezekiah's strengthening Jerusalem's walls and securing her water source were not wrong in themselves. The people's reliance on these physical securities was their sin.
"If it is true that God is the Sovereign of the universe, then our first task in a moment of crisis is to be sure that all is clear between him and ourselves. Then other preparations, if necessary, can follow."205
22:12 Rather in that day the people should turn to the Lord in repentance and reaffirm their trust in Him for their security. He is the sovereign, almighty God who can save.
22:13 However, they would not repent but rejoice in their apparent security believing that if they could not save themselves nothing else could (cf. Rev. 9:20-21). Isaiah saw in the present rejoicing over security (vv. 1b-2a) the same attitude of self-sufficiency that would doom the Jerusalemites in the future.
Normally ancient Near Easterners used cattle and sheep for producing milk and wool; they did not slaughter them to eat very often because these animals produced valuable products. Killing them to eat, therefore, expresses the people's utter despair and their self-indulgence thinking there was no future left for them (cf. 1 Cor. 15:32).
22:14 The Lord had revealed to Isaiah that He would not forgive their unbelief in Himself. As long as they continued to trust in themselves rather than in Him, He would not save them.
Unbelief persisted in until death is the only sin that God will not forgive. In the unsaved it results in eternal damnation, and in the saved it results in the loss of some eternal reward plus temporal punishment in some cases. However, as long as people can repent there is hope.206Repentance was still possible for Isaiah's original audience.
The oracles against Shebna and Eliakim that follow are the only ones on individuals in chapters 13-27. They show that the choice between faith and works with its attending results is individual as well as national. They also provided immediate signs of the prophecies that Isaiah gave here concerning the fate of Jerusalem in the future. Shebna was as self-reliant individually as the people of Jerusalem were collectively (vv. 15-19). Eliakim was an object of trust by the members of his family and the residents of Jerusalem and so risked taking the Lord's place in their affections (vv. 20-25).
22:15 The Lord commanded Isaiah to go to Shebna who was steward (ruler) over the royal household (cf. Joseph).
22:16 Isaiah's question is almost identical to the one in verse 1 tying Shebna's error to that of the people of Jerusalem. He had no personal right nor a right by reason of his position to prepare a permanent and prominent tomb for himself. A person's tomb made a statement about his importance, and Shebna wanted to guarantee his future recognition by building himself a respectable monument in Jerusalem.207
22:17-18 Shebna would not die in peace in Jerusalem as he anticipated. God would throw him like a balled up rag that cannot control where it is going into a distant land where he would die. Presumably the Assyrians took him captive. His emblems of greatness would also end up there rather than in the place where he wished to be remembered. His attitude of self-glorification made him unworthy of the office he occupied, in Isaiah's view (cf. 1 Cor. 10:12).
22:19 The Lord promised to drive Shebna out of his office and to tear him down from his exalted position in which he took so much pride.
22:20-21 The Lord also predicted that He would appoint Eliakim to a special position of authority, complete with the symbols of that authority, to replace proud Shebna.208He would become a father to the people of Jerusalem in that he would care for them sacrificially at God's appointed time.
"Shebna had been riding ostentatiously in his chariots and building a splendid grave for himself, seeking in all this the praise of men. How much better to have God's smile of approval and to be described, in a simple but eloquent phrase, as my servant' (v. 20; cf. 20:3; 42:1; 52:13)."209
"When god designates a man my servant, He attributes high honor to that man; He asserts that that man is one who will serve Him."210
22:22 Eliakim would bear authority to administer the affairs of David's royal house, which the key on the shoulder symbolizes. His decisions would be binding, as when one unlocks or locks a door with a key (cf. Matt. 16:19; 18:18; Rev. 3:7).
22:23-24 He would also serve as a tent peg holding the royal house and all Jerusalem stable against the winds of adversity. He would bring glory to his father's house. He would be such a strong figure that many people would rely on him and commit much responsibility to him.
22:25 Unfortunately, Eliakim would not be able to carry all the weight of responsibility committed to him and would fail. Thus the people's trust in another human being, even a very capable person, would prove misplaced. They could only safely trust in the Lord Almighty; He is the only one who would not fail them.211
This oracle reproved the people of Jerusalem for trusting in the arm of flesh to protect them from their enemies. Isaiah epitomized and condemned this attitude by citing Shebna's self-confident behavior. He also showed that trusting in even the most capable of people, such as Eliakim, would prove disappointing. Rather their trust should be in their sovereign, almighty Lord.
Christians face temptations similar to the ones Isaiah identified here. We may fail to trust the Lord first and to pray for His guidance resting rather on our own or another's ability to solve problems. We may become so preoccupied with our own interests and reputations that we fail to serve the Lord and people. We may also put too much hope in our leaders and not enough in our God.
