Isaiah 22:1-25
1 The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?
2 Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.
3 All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far.
4 Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weepa bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.
5 For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.
6 And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncoveredb the shield.
7 And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.
8 And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.
9 Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
10 And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.
11 Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.
12 And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
13 And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.
14 And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
15 Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say,
16 What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?
17 Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee.
18 He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a largec country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house.
19 And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.
20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:
21 And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.
22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.
24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.d
25 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it.
Isaiah 22:1. The valley of vision. A valley near Jerusalem, so called because of a school of the prophets said to have been there.
Isaiah 22:3. All thy rulers are fled. All thy captains of hundreds and thousands are gone beyond the Jordan, or wherever they could, from the bow and piercing arrows of the bloody Assyrians. The terror of the invaders deprived the people of natural courage.
Isaiah 22:6. Elam, then subject to the Assyrians, bare the quiver, and were famed for archery. Jeremiah 49:35. Men and horsemen. Isaiah saw the far-famed Persian cavalry in the beautiful vales of Jerusalem, for the horse cannot act on rugged hills. Kir, a city of Media; but there were other towns of that name. He saw the infantry of that country uncover the shield, and prepare for battle.
Isaiah 22:8. He discovered the covering of Judah. It might read, Judah hath removed her covering, and looked for carnal armour, instead of the covering promised in chap. 5:5, the shield of Jehovah's angels.
Isaiah 22:13. Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall die. St. Paul cites this text as epicurean language. If there be no hereafter, yet the infidel had better die sober, and die bravely; for by courage he might save himself and his country. The prophet says, that this should be a time of weeping and of sackcloth, not of feasting.
Isaiah 22:20. My servant Eliakim, supposed to be a highpriest, and a great minister. But mystically the reference is to Christ, on whose shoulders the government shall rest.
On a review of this chapter, a special reference is had to the invasion under Sennacherib, king of Assyria, for there was no Eliakim to heal and restore Zion after the invasion made by Nebuchadnezzar.
Isaiah 22:22. The key of the house of David. A key worn over the shoulder, or pendant to the neck, was a badge of high office and dignity. Christ gave Peter and the apostles the keys of his kingdom; and this honour he will confer on every victorious soul.
Isaiah 22:23. As a nail in a sure place. Hebrews יתד itad, designates strength and security to the state, or to the flock. Ecclesiastes 12:11.
REFLECTIONS.
We see in this chapter, as well as in other correspondent passages of vision, the abundant light which broke into the mind of the holy prophets. All the particulars of the investiture of Jerusalem by the Assyrians were depicted to Isaiah. He saw the multitude approach the city, and all the trembling inhabitants of Jerusalem viewing them from the flat roofs of their houses. He saw the nobles leaving their mansions in the country to take refuge in the city; and their panic was so great that they seemed as dead men before the sword could approach them; slain, but not with the sword.
The despair of the whole city he described as the last stage of despondency, and in the highest style of grief. Labour not to comfort me. This shows that the progress of the Assyrian army was bloody, cruel, and devastating to the last degree.
But while he saw the inhabitants of Jerusalem repair their walls, open their arsenals, number their houses, and secure their water; he saw that they had no particular regard to the Lord, who made all these things; that when the Lord called them to weeping, to fasting, and to prayer, he saw them eating flesh and drinking wine in despair; for they said, To-morrow we shall die. What a portrait of despair: what a character of carnal and irreligious men in the day of trouble! Where is now the spirit of their fathers, which sought divine protection from the invader, and relied on arms only in a secondary view? Oh that wicked men could see their own portrait in the sentiments of the wicked shut up in Jerusalem. They promise themselves impunity in crimes, they talk of a mercy nowhere promised in the sacred writings, and hope that the end of a sinful course will be happy. But when that day shall come, and they know not but it is at the door, then they shall be all gloom, indecision, and despair.
The reproof of Shebna is very instructive. This man, whether priest or prince, had the reins of government in his hands, and was unworthy of his honours. Elated with the vanity of oriental luxury, he was preparing himself a splendid mausoleum, hewn out of the rock and decorated. Isaiah had the arduous service of mortifying his pride by a positive declaration that he should never need it, as the enemy would carry him away to die in a distant land, where his funeral would require less of pomp! And what thousands of Shebnas do we see building houses, and engaged in works which neither they nor their heirs shall ever enjoy. And it was no small addition to his mortification to hear of Eliakim's nomination to his place, a man of piety and worth. This man entered into office in difficult times, with the promise that he should be as a nail in a sure place; or as a pin built in the wall of a house, so he should long enjoy his place, and be a stay and a blessing to the whole nation. The worth of a good minister is above all estimation.