Dwell in the Word: Isaiah 22:1-25

Think on these questions as you dwell in Isaiah 22:1-25:

1. In this passage, Jerusalem is rebuked for its indifference and disobedience in the face of impending judgment. How does their attitude of celebration and disregard for God's call to repentance serve as a warning for us today? What can we learn about the dangers of spiritual complacency?

2. Shebna, a leader in Jerusalem, is mentioned as someone who trusts in his own authority and builds a tomb for himself. How does God's response to Shebna's pride and presumption demonstrate His sovereignty and the consequences of human pride? What lessons can we draw from this regarding leadership and humility?

3. The chapter emphasizes that the word of the Lord always comes to pass, both in judgment and salvation. How should this truth impact our relationship with God's Word and our commitment to obedience? How can we ensure that we are aligning our lives with His will as revealed in Scripture?

Transcript:

This is a very interesting, prophetic word here, isn't it? Because we have seen the focus being other places on other nations. And now, Isaiah is turning it back around. God is speaking about the people of Jerusalem. And it's interesting what is done here in how Jerusalem is being spoken of. The oracle concerning the Valley of Vision. Wait a minute. Isn't Jerusalem on a hill? Well, the idea here is that they think they have vision, they think they can see, they think everything is fine, but their hill has become a valley. That's the idea being expressed here. We see here that they've gone up, they've gone up on the house tops, they're celebrating, they're looking at their enemies going away, but they really didn't have anything to do with it. They're celebrating all this. And now they're finding that they are the ones who are receiving judgment—and we see this in verse 5, For the Lord God of hosts has a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the Valley of Vision, a battering down of walls and a shouting to the mountains. All these judgments you've heard, you liked them because they were going to the Assyrians and the Egyptians, but there's some for you too.

You have not been faithful. You have not followed God as you ought. Here we have these statements towards Jerusalem, and we see what has happened. God called for weeping and mourning and boldness and sackcloth, but instead, what were there? Joy and gladness, killing oxen, slaughtered sheep, eating flesh, drinking wine. They were partying. God called for repentance, for grieving, and they did the exact opposite. In fact, instead of thinking about the gravity of their lives and what God has to offer them, as we see here that their motto is a well-known motto. Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die. We know what that means. It means let's go after the material things of this world because nothing else matters. Let's party. There's nothing beyond this. So let's dance. Let's get together and celebrate ourselves and the material things of this world. But God says something else. He says, You need to consider more than this. He talks here about this one called Shebna. Now, he would have been a leader who believes that he's going to be in charge for a very long time. This idea is that he's cut a tomb for himself.

This is where he's going to rule until he dies. He is in control. He's the one doing all this. But instead, we see that he's going to be thrown down. God is going to get rid of him. We see in verse 22 that God is going to bring someone else in who will have the authority here. We see in verse 22, And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. In other words, he is going to be the one who is in charge. He will be the true king. He shall open and none shall shut, and he shall shut and none shall open. God is the one who is doing this. And so this is the one who is going to have authority. And we see in verse 25, this similar statement. Notice how it ends here. We have read this quite a bit recently. This idea of how we know this is going to happen. What are the last words here of this chapter? For the Lord has spoken. It's important for us to remember that as we read these words of judgment, as we read about these things, we need to remember that we're reading the word of the Lord and what he speaks comes to pass.

Now, we live in a time where we are able to find great joy in the truth that God spoke in His word about bringing salvation to His people, and we have that sure confidence. But at the same time, that does not exclude us from considering how God has spoken and desiring to follow what He has said to follow His law to keep His word. And so as we hear these words of judgment, not only on the outsiders here, but on the insiders, on the people of God, the people who think that they're fine because they are close to God, may we remember that God also disciplines His people. And so may we seek to be obedient to Him, be obedient to His word, and be His faithful servants.