Isaiah 22:15-25
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 large 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.
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.
This prophetic word came to Isaiah during the reign of King Hezekiah, during the time in which Sennacherib & the Syrian army had begun to surround Jerusalem “laying siege” to the city. When an enemy would surround a city, they would build embankments of dirt & stone around the city up to the tops of the walls, essentially sealing the city, so that one day they would simply walk up and jump the walls and take over.
The people seemed to be ignoring the prophecies and the impending doom that was coming and Isaiah felt he was the only one left who was concerned with the coming captivity & annihilation of Jerusalem. It was almost like the people had the mindset, “if you ignore it long enough, maybe it will go away.”
Then in verse 15, the Lord narrows the Word down to deal with two persons: Shebna & Eliakim.
Shebna was a man who some writers believed could have been an Egyptian who had risen to prominence in the administration of King Hezekiah. Shebna represented those who wanted to depend on men’s ability to save & protect the city. He had built himself a reputation (as steward of the King’s house & treasuries) and wanted people to know long after his death he was an important man (this is evidenced in him building himself a giant sepulcher). It’s also very possible Shebna could have misused some of Hezekiah’s funds to build his tomb.
Shebna, in Hebrew, means “to grow strong, vigor” Or it could be said, he was a man who depended on his own ability and strength to gain success and notoriety.
Eliakim, in Hebrew means “a man whom GOD sets up, a set man” Eliakim, who represented those who wanted to repent and turn totally to the Lord, was a man completely sold out to God.
When reading scripture, we must remember three key points:
1.To keep this passage (and all scripture) in context. This is specifically a prophetic word for Jerusalem and for Israel in Hezekiah & Isaiah’s day. Remember to keep it in the time in which it is given. God is addressing needs and situations of that time.
2.This is also considered by many Bible scholars to be a Messianic passage foretelling of Jesus’ first coming; Him almost being installed as King in that day, being a nail in a sure place; but then being “cut off” representing His death.
3.Thirdly, is God speaking to us in this passage? How does it apply to us to the time in which we live?
Here is what I am sensing at this moment:
1.There will be an unusual increase in the “changing of the guard”. I know, some will say, that’s not a prophetic word! People are dying every day! But we have seen a rash of spiritual fathers & mothers go to heaven over the last few years that tell me, God is re-arranging leadership. This will increase. The most famous ones in 2021 being: Luis Palau, Carman, David Yonggi Cho, Marcus Lamb. In recent years, Billy Graham, Reinhard Bonkke, & Myles Monroe are just three that went to heaven who greatly impacted the Body of Christ world-wide.
Many younger ministers that I personally know who were not widely known in the last year have gone to heaven. Many it seems, before their time!
This changing of the guard signals the need for us to constantly check our motives and our hearts and make sure we are not trying to build something that will be a monument to our name. Are we truly building His Kingdom and a work that will remember HIM? Or are we attempting to build something that will live on longer than we do, just so our name won’t be forgotten when we are gone?
We will continue this word in next month’s Revival Now Newsletter.
