Isaiah 22:15-25 - Shebna, Eliakim, and Jesus
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
What kind of leader should you be voting for, praying for, hoping in this Tuesday?
Isaiah 22 can help you answer that question.
[CONTEXT] The year is 701 B.C. and Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, is attacking Judah.
By his own account, Sennacherib destroys 46 walled cities and takes 200,150 prisoners.
His numbers may be exaggerated, but he is a real threat.
He will eventually lay siege to Jerusalem, where, in his words, he made Judah’s king, King Hezekiah, “like a bird in a cage.”
God will, however, miraculously deliver Jerusalem out of Sennacherib’s hand, but in the uncertain period leading up to the siege, there is a leader who serves himself rather than the people—a leader who will soon be disgraced and replaced.
[READING - Isaiah 22:15-25]
15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, To Shebna, who is in charge of the royal household, 16 ‘What right do you have here, And whom do you have here, That you have hewn a tomb for yourself here, You who hew a tomb on the height, You who carve a resting place for yourself in the rock? 17 ‘Behold, the Lord is about to hurl you headlong, O man. And He is about to grasp you firmly 18 And roll you tightly like a ball, To be cast into a vast country; There you will die And there your splendid chariots will be, You shame of your master’s house.’ 19 “I will depose you from your office, And I will pull you down from your station. 20 “Then it will come about in that day, That I will summon My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21 And I will clothe him with your tunic And tie your sash securely about him. I will entrust him with your authority, And he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 “Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, When he opens no one will shut, When he shuts no one will open. 23 “I will drive him like a peg in a firm place, And he will become a throne of glory to his father’s house. 24 “So they will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, offspring and issue, all the least of vessels, from bowls to all the jars. 25 “In that day,” declares the Lord of hosts, “the peg driven in a firm place will give way; it will even break off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off, for the Lord has spoken.”
[PRAYER]
[CIT] Isaiah 22:15-25 was God’s rejection of Shebna, King Hezekiah’s right-hand man, and it was God’s endorsement of Eliakim, God’s servant, the one who would replace Shebna.
[PROP] This passage in Isaiah warns against prideful, self-promoting leadership while it also promotes humble, God-glorifying, service-minded leadership.
This passage helps us understand what to look for in leaders in every arena of life—in our personal lives, in the church, in government.
This passage encourages us to pray for leaders who are humble, God-glorifying, and service-minded.
It calls leaders to aspire to these qualities.
It calls on us to hold our leaders accountable when they fail to live up to these qualities.
[INTER] Choosing good leaders is essential for the flourishing of God's people—so who will you vote for? Who will you pray for? Who will hope in this Tuesday?
[TS] Let’s take a closer look at Isaiah’s words by thinking about them in three SECTIONS…
MAJOR IDEAS
MAJOR IDEAS
SECTION #1. The Peril of Prideful Leadership (Isa. 22:15-19)
SECTION #1. The Peril of Prideful Leadership (Isa. 22:15-19)
15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, To Shebna, who is in charge of the royal household, 16 ‘What right do you have here, And whom do you have here, That you have hewn a tomb for yourself here, You who hew a tomb on the height, You who carve a resting place for yourself in the rock? 17 ‘Behold, the Lord is about to hurl you headlong, O man. And He is about to grasp you firmly 18 And roll you tightly like a ball, To be cast into a vast country; There you will die And there your splendid chariots will be, You shame of your master’s house.’ 19 “I will depose you from your office, And I will pull you down from your station.
[EXP] Shebna was King Hezekiah’s steward, his palace administrator, a position perhaps similar to our President’s Chief of Staff. He may have been second in command to the king, and as the one who had charge of the royal household, he controlled access to the king.
Shebna was a leader with position.
Shebna was a leader with power.
Shebna was a leader with influence.
In a time of uncertainty, Shebna could have and should have used the power of his influential position to serve God’s people, but instead he served himself.
One day Shebna took his splendid chariots (v. 18) to admire the construction of his new tomb.
It was a tomb on the height (v. 16), which means it was exalted. It was likely the royal graveyard.
It was a tomb in the rock (v. 16), which means it was permanent—as permanent as he could make it.
It was a tomb for himself (v. 16), which means it was about Shebna. It was always about Shebna.
This was meant to be Shebna’s final resting place, but more than that it was to be a forever monument to his own perceived greatness.
But as he stood admiring himself and his new tomb, God (through the prophet Isaiah) began to interrogate Shebna: “What right do you have here? And who do you have here? That you have hewn a tomb for yourself here?” (v. 16a)
The repetition of the word here suggests that with the construction of this tomb Shebna bestowed on himself an honor that did not belong to him.
In God’s sight, he had no right to build this tomb.
In God’s sight, he had no authority to build this tomb.
In God’s sight, he had no sense in building this tomb.
It was foolish!
The Assyrians were marching toward Jerusalem, and Shebna was busy admiring a monument to himself.
Wouldn’t those laborers be better used in shoring up Jerusalem’s defenses?
Wouldn’t Shebna’s time be better spent in help the King Hezekiah make wise decisions?
But Shebna was only thinking about Shebna.
Shebna was always thinking about Shebna.
In response to Shebna’s pride, God would punish him. This supposedly great man (v. 17) would be violently hurled into a vast country, wadded up in a ball and thrown away like scrap paper (v. 18).
Because of his pride and selfishness, Shebna’s splendid chariots will only be useful in carrying him away into exile.
There he will die only remembered for the shame that he brought to the kingdom.
But that was still ahead; in the meantime, Shebna would be demoted; later in Isaiah we see that he is no longer the king’s steward but a a mere scribe—still an exalted position but a far fall from the position of palace administrator.
And he still had further to fall.
The peril of prideful leadership is the fall that comes after.
The peril of prideful leadership is always destruction.
[ILLUS] Herod Agrippa was a leader who learned this lesson in dramatic fashion.
He was the ruler in Judaea who put James the brother of John to the death and attempted to do the same to Peter.
One day, Herod Agrippa was giving a speech. He was dressed in his royal best, seated on his royal seat, and the people kept crying out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!”
Were they impressed with his worldly wisdom? Maybe.
Were they impressed with his stunning oratory? Perhaps.
Were they just trying to flatter him so they could get what they wanted from him? Definitely.
In any case, Herod Agrippa received their praise as a testimony to his own perceived greatness, and the Lord struck him dead.
His story in Acts 12 concludes with these words…
23 And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.
[APP] Perhaps not as dramatically, but just as certainly, all self-serving, prideful leaders will be brought down. Just as Agrippa was brought down and just as Shebna was brought down, all prideful, self-serving leaders will fall.
Good leaders serve as they should when they punish wickedness and encourage righteousness as God defines it (Rom. 13:2; 1 Pet. 2:14), but self-centered leaders rob God of His praise and prey upon others to exalt themselves.
Leadership is about serving others to the glory of God.
It isn’t about building monuments to self.
Consider your vote this Tuesday: In these uncertain times, will you be voting for a prideful, self-exalting Shebna or is there a better alternative?
Let us lament if we feel there is no better alternative; let us lament and ask God to give us a godly leader like Eliakim.
[TS] That brings us to…
SECTION #2: The Foundation of Faithful Leadership (Isa. 22:20-23)
SECTION #2: The Foundation of Faithful Leadership (Isa. 22:20-23)
20 “Then it will come about in that day, That I will summon My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21 And I will clothe him with your tunic And tie your sash securely about him. I will entrust him with your authority, And he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 “Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, When he opens no one will shut, When he shuts no one will open. 23 “I will drive him like a peg in a firm place, And he will become a throne of glory to his father’s house.
[EXP] Eliakim is described as “Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah.” Some think that Shebna’s isn’t described as “Shebna, the son of So and So” because he was a foreigner; that’s not certain. But perhaps Shebna isn’t described as “Shebna, the son of So and So” because he was an embarrassment to his family.
Eliakim’s father, Hilkiah, is mentioned because Eliakim’s leadership will result in glory for his father’s house.
Eliakim is the opposite of Shebna.
Shebna is rebellious, but Eliakim is obedient.
God summons Eliakim, and Eliakim reports for duty.
Shebna served himself, but Eliakim is the servant of God.
The phrase “My servant” in v. 20 is common through out the OT, but it is a significant descriptor of Eliakim when we consider that men like Abraham, Job, Moses, Caleb, David, Israel, and even the Messiah were all described by God as “My servant.”
Here Eliakim joins their ranks.
God said, “He is My servant.”
Eliakim will wear the tunic and sash that once belonged to Shebna, the uniform that belongs to the position of palace administrator; he will be entrusted with all the authority that position affords.
We can imagine Shebna taking such pride in his royal tunic and sash, such pride in his kingdom authority; it all went to his head.
But although Eliakim will be dressed in the same royal clothes and wield the same authority, he will be different from Shebna.
He will be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah (v. 21).
Shebna looked after his own needs and wants, but Eliakim will have the character of a good father, and a good father looks after the needs of his family.
This is the genuine care and self-sacrificing love that should characterize everyone who leads.
Eliakim will also be given a key—the key of the house of David; it will be placed on his shoulder (v. 22).
Whether the key was literal or symbolic, the point was that the power to admit or exclude people from the king’s presence was vested in or put on the shoulder of Eliakim.
The government was on his shoulder.
When he opens the door to the king, no one will shut it.
When he shuts the door to the king, no one will open it.
And in this time of uncertainty, Eliakim will be firm and stable, like a tent peg, wall hanger, or nail driven firmly in place (v. 23).
Eliakim will be a humble, self-sacrificing, reliable leader, and the people of God will put all their weight on him.
[ILLUS] When I was in elementary school, the we used to compete in Field Day, which was like the Olympics for little kids but only better. We trained, strategized, and competed to take home as many cheap blue ribbons as possible both individually and as a class.
One year, we competed in Tug of War.
Mrs. So and So’s class was on one side of the rope, we were on the other side, and I was up front for our class.
This meant that if we were pulled to the other side, I would be the first to go over the line.
The match began with both classes pulling hard, but the other class was stronger and began to pull us over.
My feet slid in the dirt until the sole of my shoe found a rock hidden in the dirt; when I braced myself against the rock, the other class could pull us no further.
The match went back and forth; they would pull us but then their momentum would stall when my foot found the rock; then we couldn’t be moved, and we would even begin to pull them a little.
Back and forth it went, and so long as my foot found the rock, we were OK.
We weren’t exactly winning, but we couldn’t lose.
Eliakim would be a rock for his people. Times were uncertain. Assyria was one of many threats, but so long as the people had Eliakim, they would be OK.
They could trust him. They could lean on him.
His selfless-service, his compassionate care, and his proven reliability would mean stability for the people of God in uncertain times.
[APP] The foundation of faithful leadership is humility before God; it is to understand that a leader leads by the authority of God, is accountable to God, and leads for the glory of God.
Faithful leaders are like footholds for their people in uncertain times.
As wickedness pulls on a people, the reliability of a faithful leader keeps them from crossing the line, keeps them from going over the edge.
Consider your vote on Tuesday: Do you see an Eliakim on the ballot? Do you see a humble servant of God?
And if you don’t see an Eliakim on the ballot, consider your praying: Are you asking God to send us an Eliakim—a humble, trustworthy, reliable leader that we can depend on?
James says that we have not because we ask not.
Let’s make sure we’re asking.
[ILLUS] The match went back and forth; they would pull us but then their momentum would stall when my foot found the rock; then we couldn’t be moved and we would even begin to pull them a little.
Back and forth it went, and so long as my foot found the rock, we were OK.
We weren’t really winning, but we couldn’t lose.
But one time my foot didn’t find the rock, and the opposing team pulled us over the line.
Although I was scrabbling to find it, the rock seemed to be gone or at least well-hidden in the dust, and we lost.
[TS] That brings us to...
SECTION #3: The Limitation of Human Leadership (Isa. 22:24-25)
SECTION #3: The Limitation of Human Leadership (Isa. 22:24-25)
24 “So they will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, offspring and issue, all the least of vessels, from bowls to all the jars. 25 “In that day,” declares the Lord of hosts, “the peg driven in a firm place will give way; it will even break off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off, for the Lord has spoken.”
[EXP] Verse 23 said that Eliakim would be like a peg driven firmly in place; his reliability as a leader would make offspring and issue (i.e., everyone) and all vessels, bowls, and jars (i.e., everything) hang on him.
Even for a good leader that would be a lot of pressure, and eventually the peg would give way. Eliakim was only human and if all of Judah’s hopes rested on him, they would surely be disappointed when he was no longer able to lead them.
Perhaps Eliakim’s strength as a leader would give way because of some character flaw or maybe the position of palace administrator went away as some speculate, but I think Eliakim gave way when he died or became too weak to serve.
Even faithful leaders are merely human; they too will grow old, grow weak, and die; and God’s people will be left to look for another faithful leader.
Such is the limitation of merely human leadership; we dare not set all our hope on merely human leaders.
[ILLUS] The first followers of Jesus found themselves in an uncertain situation. They were traveling with Jesus by boat across the Sea of Galilee when a fierce storm blew up. The wind was howling, the waves were breaking over the boat—some of these men were fisherman and knew that this was bad; they knew they were about to die.
But Jesus was in the stern of the boat asleep on a cushion; they woke Him and yelled, “Don’t you care that we are perishing?”
Perhaps we want to ask Jesus the same thing when we look at the political situation in our country, “Don’t you care, Jesus, that we are perishing?”
But when they asked Jesus this question, He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Hush, be still,” and the wind died down and the water became completely calm.
Jesus then had a question for them, “Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?”
Then they asked one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him? (Mk. 4:35-41)
[APP] That’s a question for us in our uncertain times: Who then is this Jesus? Can all our hopes hang on Him?
Well, He is not merely human like Eliakim.
He is very God of very God; God in the flesh; the One who treads on the waves of sea; the One who calms winds and waves with a command.
And He is not just a mere servant of God.
He is the beloved servant of God upon whom God’s Spirit rests (Isa. 42:1; Mt. 12:18).
And He is not just a father to His people temporarily as Eliakim was.
Jesus is an everlasting father to His people, which means that He provides for and protects those that belong to Him for all time (Isa. 9:6).
And He doesn’t just have the key of David momentarily as Eliakim had it.
Jesus has the key of David for all time (Rev. 3:7); He opens and no one will shut; He shuts and no one will open.
The government rests on His shoulder, and all who come to the Father must come through Him.
And He isn’t just a peg driven in a firm place for a short time as Eliakim was.
He is the cornerstone of the household of God for all time (Zech. 10:4; Eph. 2:19-22). He cannot be shaken. He cannot be moved.
He is the glory of His Father’s house forever!
He will never break off and fall!
Therefore, all our hope can rest on Him!
We don’t want to vote for a Shebna!
We pray for an Eliakim!
But in all times, we place all our hope in Jesus!
He lived without sin as God demands!
He died to save us from the wrath of God that was due to us because of our sin!
He rose from the dead having forever defeated sin and death for all of us who trust in Him!
If He did all that, do you think the uncertainty of our political scene unnerves Him?
No. Jesus is so at peace that He might as well be asleep in the stern of the boat once again.
At any moment, He could rise and say to all our uncertainty, “Hush, be still,” and it would be.
And then perhaps He would turn to us who are so worried this election and ask, “Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?”
[TS]…
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
I don’t want to vote for a Shebna.
I am praying for an Eliakim.
But I am putting all my hope in Jesus.
You should too.
[PRAYER]
