Isaiah 22:15 says. Thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say, God sent Isaiah to the treasurer with a question. As Christians, we should not be surprised if God through the work of the Holy Spirit causes us to question how we are using the things He blesses us with.
Verse sixteen adds, What hast thou 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? The question was what did Shebna, the treasurer, think he was going to do with all the riches he had amassed, since he viewed them all for his honor and glory and didn’t give God the glory and use them for His purpose. If God blesses us with riches today, we need to give Him the glory and use the things that He blesses us with for the advancement of His kingdom. I don’t believe that we are ever to use them to bring honor and glory to ourselves.
Verse seventeen continues, Behold, the Lord will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee. After asking Shebna about all the riches he had accumulated, Isaiah said God’s message to him was that he was to be carried away to a mighty captivity by God’s authority. When Jesus Christ returns, all that we own cannot keep us from being sent away as captives in hell forever if we have not put our faith in Him as our Savior and Lord and this will be done because God has pronounced the penalty of sin to be death. This is not just a physical death, which we all will face if Jesus Christ doesn’t return before we die, but an everlasting spiritual death.
Verse eighteen concludes, He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house. Isaiah said God was going to cause Shebna to be violently tossed a like a ball, something of no real value or power, into a large country where his riches would do him no good. This was going to happen because he had sought his own glory to while bringing shame to God’s house. We should never seek our own glory while at the same time ignoring the work of God, which by our actions bring shame to Him and His work in the world.
Verse nineteen states, And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down. Isaiah said that God told him that Shebna was going to be driven from his station, which could have meant out of the country and his position of power. It is not clear who in the world was going to cause this to happen, but whether it was the Assyrians, Hezekiah, or even Shebna himself fleeing for his life, it was going to be God Who was responsible for this happening. It doesn’t matter if who is responsible if we fall from a position of authority and strength in the world if we do so while we deny God, since the ultimate defeat will be from God. Even if we remain powerful in this lifetime, if we have not put our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, He has already declared our everlasting defeat.
Verse twenty adds, And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: Isaiah also said that God was going to promote His servant Eliakim to the position that Shebna had held. Eliakim had not worked against Shebna in order to get his position but had simply remained true to God while doing his job. We should never plot against the leaders in the church today in order to make ourselves look better or even to claim their position. All we should do is follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit and do what He calls us to do without being concerned about personal glory.
Verse twenty-one continues, 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. Isaiah said God was going to give to Eliakim everything that had once belonged to Shebna, including his position in the government. We should never serve God for earthly riches, but at times, He may bless us with them, but if He does, that doesn’t mean we can suddenly start to think that we deserve whatever riches He blesses us with. We just need to give Him the honor and glory and continue to serve Him faithfully.
Verse twenty-two says, 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. Eliakim would also be given the physical key to the house of David, and if he opened it, no one else could close it, and if he closed it, no one else could open it. Jesus Christ is the spiritual key to entering into God’s kingdom today, and He will unlock the door to all who put their faith in Him and will close it to all who don’t. As follower of Christ, He has opened the door to salvation for us and we have entered in and no one can then shut us out.
Verse twenty-three adds, 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. Isaiah said God was going to secure this honor for Eliakim, comparing it to a nail being driven in place. A nail is used to secure things and is not easily removed. Isaiah said that Eliakim would be like a glorious throne to his father’s house. Jesus Christ is the nail that will not be shaken in God’s kingdom, and He is like a glorious throne in His kingdom.
Verse twenty-four continues, 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. Everything in his father’s house would be at the disposal of Eliakim at that time, and everything in God’s kingdom is always at the disposal of Jesus Christ. This has been true since the beginning and will be true forevermore.
Verse twenty-five concludes, 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. I believe this refers to when Jesus was crucified, or like the nail cut down, and all the sins of mankind were placed on Him for the time in the tomb, but then they were removed when He arose. He bore that burden once and for all time, and now it is lifted. Matthew Henry didn’t say anything about the verse, so this is not something that I can say others may interpret this to mean, but this is my understanding.
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