September 29, Isaiah 22
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." - Isaiah 22:4
I cannot imagine and do not want to know from
experience what it would be like to lose a
daughter (or a son). For any of you who have
suffered such a loss, I apologize for bringing
that painful subject to mind as we reflect on
Chapter 22.
The Lord gave Isaiah messages to deliver to the
nations of Israel and their surrounding
neighbors and enemies. The words "oracle" or
"burden" introduce and describe the weighty
content of those messages. Most of them are
about judgment, destruction and ruin. Isaiah's
tender heart wept as he received and delivered
these dark messages to the nations around
Israel. But when his own nation was the subject
of the prophecy, Isaiah wept with a broken heart
mourning the loss of a child, specifically a
daughter. Judah was headed to ruin because
they would not listen to the warnings and turn
from their idolatry and other sins. As God
revealed the details of the coming tragedy, the
prophet wept and asked to be left alone to
mourn for the daughter of his people. God found no joy or delight in destroying sinners, and neither did Isaiah as his faithful prophet.
Judah deserved the same fate as their ungodly
neighbors because they had behaved just as
badly. They had embraced idols and
participated in all the sensual rituals of the
pagan worshipers. By engaging in the same
ungodly behaviors as the nations around them,
they deserved the same judgment. Israel and
Judah were even more guilty than the neighbors because they knew better. They had a covenant and a law God gave them to make them his holy people. If God was righteous in judging and punishing their enemies for their sins, he was also righteous to punish his own rebellious people.
God delivered the city of Jerusalem from the
invading Assyrians by killing 185,00 Assyrian
soldiers in a single night. After the stunning
destruction of the Assyrian army and
Sennacherib's retreat, the freshly delivered
people of Jerusalem should have bowed in
reverent awe and thanksgiving before God who
had delivered them. Instead, the Israelites had a
raucous party to celebrate the victory. Isaiah
called them to weep and mourn for their sins.
But instead they partied, eating and drinking like there was no tomorrow. Isaiah reminded them that there had been no battle. They had not won the victory by drawing their own swords. Their leaders had run away, and many people had already been captured. They failed to honor God who had saved them.
God would remove Shebna, their self-serving,
arrogant leader. He had been an unfaithful
steward of God's people and had exalted
himself. He built up his own house and even
commissioned his own fine tomb to be honored
and remembered. God would remove Shebna
and replace him with a righteous God-fearing
man named Eliakim. He would be like a father
over the people. God would give him "the key of
David" (divine authority of the rightful king).
Isaiah told them another siege would come
because of their persistent disobedience. The
next time, God would not deliver them from the
enemy's hands. Their city would be destroyed
and the survivors would be taken captive into a
foreign land. Isaiah wept as he told them their
future fate.
Let's remember that God and his faithful
messengers are broken-hearted when people
will not turn from the sins that are destroying
them. God is a God of mercy, but also justice.
Sheba and other persistent rebels cannot
escape his wrath. Eliakim stands for the
righteous ones who will submit to God.
That "key of David" language has Messianic
overtones pointing to Jesus, the Righteous One, who would take our sins upon himself and die in our place to make us partakers of his
righteousness. Christ died to give us a victory
we could never have won for ourselves. Let's
never be like the people of Judah who
celebrated their deliverance by persisting in sin!
The gospel brings us liberty; it does not give us
license to continue.
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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