Isaiah 22

The oracle concerning the valley of vision. What do you mean that you have gone up, all of you, to the housetops, 2 you who are full of shoutings, tumultuous city, exultant town? Your slain are not slain with the sword or dead in battle. 3 All your leaders have fled together; without the bow they were captured. All of you who were found were captured, though they had fled far away. 4 Therefore I said: “Look away from me; let me weep bitter tears; do not labor to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.” 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. 6 And Elam bore the quiver with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. 7 Your choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen took their stand at the gates. 8 He has taken away the covering of Judah. In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest, 9 and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool, 10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. 11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago. 12 In that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth; 13 and behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 14 The Lord of hosts has revealed himself in my ears: “Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die,” says the Lord God of hosts. 15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him: 16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock? 17 Behold, the Lord will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you 18 and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be your glorious chariots, you shame of your master’s house. 19 I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. 20 In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21 and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23 And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father’s house. 24 And they will hang on him the whole honor of his father’s house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. 25 In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the Lord has spoken.”

Target Date: Sunday, 23 June 2024

Sermon Text:

This morning we will look at the 22nd chapter of Isaiah, a message, a burden, for Jerusalem itself.

It does seem oddly placed, here in the middle of oracles about all the surrounding nations of Judah, yet here it stands.

Many commentators spend ink on the reasons for this, and if I should ever deal with this passage again, I hope I will be wiser to help answer that question adequately.

As it stands, I do think it follows in the same vein of the lamentation over Babylon we looked at last week in chapter 21 in this way:

It continues to show the difference between the ways of God and the ways of men.

Last week, we saw God, through Isaiah, weeping for those who had been destroyed in His righteous judgment,

Where every natural inclination, every carnal bone in our body, would tend toward rejoicing when our enemies fell.

In a similar contrast, we see in this chapter three entirely worldly desires that we would not only recognize, but perhaps even find ourselves wanting at times.

Specifically, there are three things I find in this chapter that God’s people in Jerusalem were seeking that I think we all might easily recognize:

1. They sought victory without the fight.

2. They sought salvation without repentance.

3. They sought a legacy without endurance.

1. They sought victory without the fight.

The first thing we see in this passage is that Jerusalem is called “the Valley of Vision.”

On my first reading, I thought this was quite a compliment, perhaps referring to the prophecies that occurred and would occur in Jerusalem.

In this, I was probably influenced by the title of a wonderful little book of Puritan prayers called The Valley of Vision.

In its preface, the first prayer explains why the book was named so as it begins thus:

Lord, High and Holy, Meek and Lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory.

And that truth is so hopeful and grace-filled, I almost wish that was what I think Isaiah meant by calling Jerusalem “the Valley of Vision” – but I don’t think it is.

In defense of the writer of this poem/ prayer, the rest of it is entirely consistent with our theme this morning – the difference between our fleshly state and God’s holiness.

So when Isaiah calls Jerusalem “the Valley of Vision”, it is not at all complimentary.

Jerusalem is built on Mount Zion, and is surrounded by valleys.

From the city, you could, in those days, see miles around.

But what do you see from a valley? What kind of vision do you have there?

Nothing you need to see.

Nothing that will do you any good in preparing.

All you can be guaranteed to see is yourself if you are in the valley.

Just you and your immediate surroundings.

And so we see the people at the beginning of this chapter, in a fit of selfish celebration.

What do you mean that you have gone up, all of you, to the housetops, 2 you who are full of shoutings, tumultuous city, exultant town? Your slain are not slain with the sword or dead in battle.

What are they celebrating?

Perhaps the deliverance of Jerusalem by God from the Assyrians?

That does happen – while they are encamped right in the valleys surrounding Jerusalem.

Perhaps he is looking forward to the fall of Babylon from the last chapter.

And if that is the case, it is even sadder:

What brought sadness to God has made them glad.

Whatever the event, and there could be many others, what they are celebrating most is that they survived.

No matter which devastation of God’s judgments they had witnessed, they are still here.

And they intend to party.

Thousands of their brothers lay dead on the field of battle, but they were safe and alive.

Some in our day might even say they OWED it to the fallen to celebrate the victory.

But the message of this, I think, is not about appreciating our military, even though we should thank God for them and pray for His protection of them.

Or for appreciating our public servants, law enforcement, and others who work for the public good.

Certainly, we should appreciate them and include them often in our prayers, even when the lines are long at the courthouse or when we are pulled over for speeding.

But the thing I want to get to is the offense these people gave: they wanted victory without battle.

They wanted all the benefits of the winner without any effort on their part.

The church at Thessalonica apparently had that problem:

That church had really generous people in it, who gave in a way that is exemplary.

But there were some who were content to live off the charity of others when they did not NEED the help – they were just being idle:

For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. - 2 Thessalonians 3:11-12

In our study of 1 Corinthians, we have seen much the same teaching: the gifts the Spirit has given to believers is to build up each other in the church.

Now, there will be times in every believer’s life where they will need to receive from your brothers and sisters;

But there are also times of great effort and exertion on their behalf in prayer, labor, or resources.

And if you want to get down to it, this applies to families as well – husbands and wives and children – not always taking or expecting from the other, but outdoing each other in generosity and love.

There are those who think that they don’t need to attend church – that if they send some money, think good thoughts about the church, and perhaps say nice things about their congregation, they have done their part.

But there is no way these paltry exercises fulfill your service to one another.

That would be like a father who didn’t live at home, who sent a check occasionally, and who posted pictures about his children: is he being a complete father?

Or is someone a member of a football team who never shows up for practice, doesn’t dress out during the game, and will not go into the game when the coach calls on him?

That is a fan – not a member of the team.

Just to be clear – these things don’t make you a Christian.

They don’t even make you a good Christian.

They are what Christians DO, what flows out of them.

They are the fruit of the grace of God, perhaps the evidence of the Spirit’s action in a life.

But just because salvation is all of Christ and all of His grace through faith doesn’t mean we won’t walk in the good works God has prepared for us.

The second thing we see in the passage is similar: they sought salvation without repentance.

In that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth; 13 and behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

All the judgment they had seen had been for one purpose: to bring them to repentance.

To bring them to the end of themselves and their efforts.

They wanted a salvation that simply allows them to celebrate, not one that holds the mirror of the Law up to their face and shows them reality.

There are Christians who attend church every week for the good feelings and the powerful emotions and spiritual recharge they get from the music, the lecture, and the show.

And these emotional highs might be ok sometimes.

But look at how the Bible leads us to the truth of God’s redemption story:

It starts by showing us how GOOD God created everything.

Then immediately shows us how man’s sin ruined God’s good creation.

And then the final redemption, the seed of the woman, the one whose blood will cleanse and whose righteousness will clothe His people – Jesus Christ.

And the first five books of the Bible?

The LAW of God.

The Torah – the Instruction of God.

And what is the message of the LAW?

You, as a person descended from Adam, are entirely incapable of being good.

You are never going to be righteous before God.

And you will be rightly condemned…

Unless your sin is covered and a foreign righteousness is given to you.

And in the New Testament, in the very first book, the gospel of Matthew, after the narrative of the birth of Jesus (the “last Adam”), we see Him successfully reject the serpent’s (devil’s) temptation.

But then, in chapters 5-7, we see His first sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, and what is it about?

The Law.

And not just the Ten Commandments, but a deeper understanding of the Law.

So that those who thought they might be doing pretty well keeping the Law of Moses themselves might face the truth: they were no more worthy of salvation than a tax collector, a Samaritan, or a Gentile.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 5:17-20

The Law was much more demanding than we ever knew, and we were much worse sinners than we ever realized.

That is the point – the Law WILL ALWAYS CONDEMN.

It will never make you good, or right.

And anyone who tells you otherwise is not reading from this Bible.

So where is the good news, the gospel?

In possibly the most unlikely place:

On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ - Matthew 7:22-23

The picture of the great judgment seat of Christ, where everyone will give an account of their lives.

These self-righteous will come declaring what THEY did before Him, and they will be crushed by the Law of God.

But see the phrase: “I never knew you.”

That is the judgment: that we KNOW Christ and, more importantly, He knows us.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. - John 10:27-28

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. – John 3:18

That is what the Bible means by repentance: that you see your complete unworthiness before God and His Law, and you turn to trust Christ to give you His righteousness.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. – Matthew 6:33

Do you need life? Seek, first of all, his righteousness.

Do you need to be clothed? Seek, first of all, His righteousness – and be clothed in it before God.

Repentance is the act of someone who has been made alive in Christ when they see the truth of their sin – nothing more, nothing less.

It is the mark of salvation, the continuing mark of a believer.

Because we will be repenting of sin as long as we inhabit this flesh.

The third and final thing in our passage that the people sought was a legacy, a name, without endurance.

Thus says the Lord God of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him: 16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock?

How much effort and money and life has been expended to carve someone’s name into a rock?

Be it a tombstone, or a university building, or a great pyramid, people down through the ages have wanted to leave a legacy.

Something to say “I was here!”

Perhaps even hoping to say “I mattered!”

But I would daresay that very few here today could tell me much about your great, great grandfather.

Perhaps not even his name (although you had eight of them).

But maybe you say: Well, nobody in my family was famous.

Does anyone here know who Janet Gaynor was?

She was the first actress to win a Best Actress Academy Award (1929).

What about Israel Pickens?

He was the first governor of Alabama to serve a full term in office.

Nothing in this world will endure you for very long.

So there are two places to make a name:

1. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. - Matthew 6:19-21

2. Fathers (and mothers), do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. - Ephesians 6:4

The only Who’s Who we need is the great book of the Lamb:

Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” - Luke 10:20