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!” Isaiah 22:12, 13
The Oracle concerning the Valley of Vision – Jerusalem
The people of Judah have refused to listen to Isaiah’s call to a life of justice and his threats of Jerusalem. Now, in the valley, Isaiah experiences a vision in which he sees the destruction of this people. In the vision Isaiah is gripped by and shares God’s own bitter sorrow. He sees the landscape around Jerusalem covered by enemy armies, but even then the people trust in their weapons and in great underground reservoirs, hewn to store water against a siege. God calls, but the people ignore him.
Isaiah is sent to a high official Shebna, to tell him the reservoirs in which he trusts are nothing but graves. The Lord will depose this man and replace him with another.
Weeping bitterly (22:1-13). The city has been delivered from Assyrian attack in the time of Hezekiah, but Isaiah weeps because he foresees coming judgment. This is because when the city was threatened the people hurried to strengthen its defenses, but failed to look to God for help, as King Hezekiah did. Instead, they turned to revelry, determined to enjoy life as long as they could. This overt rejection of God by the people of Jerusalem was a sin that “will not be atoned for.”What a warning to us. Our first resort in time of trouble must be to appeal to God.
“Shebna” (22:15). Pride is the sin of this official, who like the pharaohs of Egypt sought to build himself a lasting monument while his land was in peril. Perhaps we can see a parallel between Shebna and those modern elected officials who put reelection above the good of the nation who put reelection above the good of the nation.
Key Verses: 22:12-13, 22:22
22:1 Valley of Vision sarcastically describes Jerusalem. Mount Zion is ironically personified in its valleys from which it could see nothing. Instead of partying on housetops, the ailing city should have been in its prayer closets.
The burden against the Valley of Vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops,
22:6, 7 Kir is Elam. The Elamites may have been part of the Assyrian army. Gate: The same army that plundered Babylon will arrive at Jerusalem’s gates.
Elam bore the quiver With chariots of men and horsemen, And Kir uncovered the shield. 7 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.
22:12, 13 God demanded repentance and renewal; the people instead turned to pleasure and parties. At times, this is a proper response to adversity; but to use food, drink and sensual pleasures as a means of shielding oneself from righteousness before the Lord is disastrous.
And in that day the Lord God of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning, For baldness and for girding with sackcloth. 13 But instead, joy and gladness, Slaying oxen and killing sheep, Eating meat and drinking wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
Eliakim (22:20). This successor of Shebna is first commended. When he first takes office, he will function as a tent peg that gives stability to the kingdom. But Eliakim’s advancement will corrupt his family, as they seek constant advancement, until their weight breaks another peg – that driven into the wall of a house on which kitchen utensils were held. Let’s hang our hopes on the Lord, not even on His servants.
‘Then it shall be in that day, That I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah;
22:24 All vessels is a metaphor for all of the inhabitants, both the influential and the insignificant.
‘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.
22:25 the peg that is fastened in the secure place: The reference here appears to be Eliakim. Even the noble Eliakim could not sustain the burden of government. Only Immanuel could do that (9:6, 7).
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 Oracle concerning the Valley of Vision
22 1 The burden against the Valley of Vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops, 2 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. 3 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. 4 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.” 5 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. 6 Elam bore the quiver With chariots of men and horsemen, And Kir uncovered the shield. 7 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.
8 He removed the protection of Judah. You looked in that day to the armor of the House of the Forest; 9 You also saw the damage to the city of David, That it was great; And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool. 10 You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, And the houses you broke down To fortify the wall. 11 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. 12 And in that day the Lord God of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning, For baldness and for girding with sackcloth. 13 But instead, joy and gladness, Slaying oxen and killing sheep, Eating meat and drinking wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” 14 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.
Shebna to Be Replaced by Eliakim
15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts: “Go, proceed to this steward, To Shebna, who is over the house, and say: 16 ‘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? 17 Indeed, the Lord will throw you away violently, O mighty man, And will surely seize you. 18 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. 19 So I will drive you out of your office, And from your position he will pull you down. 20 ‘Then it shall be in that day, That I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah; 21 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. 22 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. 23 I will fasten him as a peg in a secure place, And he will become a glorious throne to his father’s house. 24 ‘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. 25 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.’ ”
