22:1-13“The Valley of Vision” refers to the city of Jerusalem, where God revealed himself. Jerusalem would be attacked unless God’s people returned to him. Instead, they used every means of protection possible except asking God for help. They wanted to trust in their ingenuity, their weapons, and even their pagan neighbors (see 2 Chronicles 32 for the description of a siege of Jerusalem).
Life Application Study BibleIsaiahChapter 22
Isaiah 22
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 1123, 1124
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
22Isaiah 22
A Message about Jerusalem
122 This message came to me concerning Jerusalem—the Valley of Vision*:What is happening?Why is everyone running to the rooftops?
2The whole city is in a terrible uproar.What doI see in this reveling city?Bodies are lying everywhere,killed not in battle but by famine and disease.
3All your leaders have fled.They surrendered without resistance.The people tried to slip away,but they were captured, too.
4That's why I said, “Leave me alone to weep;do not try to comfort me.Let me cry for my peopleas I watch them being destroyed.”
5Oh, what a day of crushing defeat!What a day of confusion and terrorbrought by the LORD, the Lor of Heaven's Armies,upon the Valley of Vision!The walls of Jerusalem have been broken,and cries of death echo from the mountains'des.
6Elamites are the archers,with their chariots and charioteers.The men of Kir hold up the shields.
7Chariots fill your beautiful valleys,and charioteers storm your gates.
8Judah’s defenses have been stripped away.You run to the armory* for your weapons.
9You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem.*You store up water in the lower pool.
10You survey the houses and tear some downfor stone to strengthen the walls.
11Between the city walls, you build a reservoirfor water from the old pool.But you never ask for help from the One who did all this.You never considered the One who planned this long ago.
12At that time the LORD, the LORD of Heaven's Armies, called you to weep and mourn.
He told you to shave your heads in sorrow for your sinsand to wear clothes of burlap to show your remorse.
13But instead, you dance and play;you slaughter cattle and kill sheep.You feast on meat and drink wine.You say, “Let's feast and drink,for tomorrow we die!”
14The LORD of Heaven’s Armies has revealed this to me: “Till the day you die, you will never be forgiven for this sin.” That is the judgment of the LORD, the LORD of Heaven's Armies.
A Message for Shebna
1SThis is what the LORD, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, said to me: “Confront Shebna, the palace administrator, and give him this message:
16“Who do you think you are,and what are you doing here,building a beautiful tomb for yourself—amonument high up in the rock?
17For the LORD is about to hurl you away, mighty man.He is going to grab you,18 crumple you into a ball,and toss you away into a distant, barren land.There you will die,and your glorious chariots will be broken and useless.You are a disgrace to your master!
19” Yes, I will drive you out of office,” says the LORD. “I will pull you down from your high position. 20And then I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah to replace you. 2"J will dress him in your royal robes and will give him your title and your authority. And he will bea father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah. 22I will give him the key to the house of David— the highest position in the royal court. When he opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them. 22He will bring honor to his family name, for I will drive him firmly in place like a nail in the wall. 24They will give him great responsibility, and he will bring honor to even the lowliest members of his family.*” 25But the LORD of Heaven’s Armies also says: “The time will come when I will pull out the nail that seemed so firm. It will come out and fall to the ground. Everything it supports will fall with it. I, the LORD, have spoken!”
Textual footnotes
- three years, as in 16:14.
- see 1 Kgs 7:2-5.
- 22:1 Hebrew concerning the Valley of Vision.
- 22:8 Hebrew to the House of the Forest;
- 22:9 Hebrew the city of David.
- 22:24 Hebrew They will hang on him ail the glory of his father’s house: its offspring and offshoots, ail its lesser vessels, from the bowls to aif the jars.
Life Application Notes 6 notes
22:4Isaiah had warned his people, but they did not repent; thus, they experienced God’s judgment. Because of his care for them, Isaiah was hurt by their punishment and mourned for them. Sometimes people we care for ignore our attempts to help, so they suffer the very grief we wanted to spare them. At times like that we grieve because of our concern. God expects us to be involved with others, and this may sometimes require us to suffer with them.
22:6,7Elam and Kir were under Assyrian rule. The entire Assyrian army, including its vassals, joined in the attack against Jerusalem.
22:8-11The leaders of Judah did what they could to prepare for war: They got weapons, inspected the wails, and stored up water in a reservoir. But all their work was pointless because they never asked God for help. Too often we take steps that, although good in themselves, really won't give us the help we need. We must get the weapons and inspect the walls, but God must guide the work.
22:13,14The people said, “Let’s feast and drink,” because they had given up hope. Attacked on every side (22:7), they should have repented (22:12), but they chase to feast instead. The root problem was that Judah did not trust Ged’s power or his promises (see 56:12; 1 Corinthians 15:32). Today we still see people living without hope. There are two common responses to hopelessness: despair and self-indulgence. But we need not act as if we had no hope. As we face difficulties, our proper response should be to trust God and his promises.
22:15-25Shebna, the palace administrator, was just as materialistic as the rest of the people in Jerusalem (22:13). He may have been in the group favoring an alliance with foreigners, thus ignoring Isaiah's advice. The LORD revealed'that Shebna would lose his position and be replaced by Eliakim (22:20). Eliakim would be the “nail in the wall” driven firmly in place (22:23). Unfortunately, Eliakim too would fall (22:25).