Today in God’s Word

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.