1 The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?

 2Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.

 3All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far.

 4Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.

 5For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.

 6And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.

 7And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.

 8And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.

 9Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.

 10And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.

 11Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.

 12And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:

 13And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.

 14And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

 15Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say,

 16What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?

 17Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee.

 18He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house.

 19And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.

 20And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:

 21And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.

 22And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

 23And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.

 24And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.

 25In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it.

COMMENTARY by Dr. Dave Burnette

Written By: God through Inspiration

Penned By: Isaiah

Date Penned: (700-681 BC)

Overview: To Tell of God's Salvation through the Messiah (c 1-66)

Theme: Words of Judgment (c 1-39)

Message: Prophecy Against Jerusalem (v 1-25)

Isaiah 22 Commentary 

(22:1) Valley of Vision - 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. But instead of asking God for help, they used whatever other means of protection were available to them. They preferred to trust in their ingenuity, their weapons, and even their pagan neighbors. (See 2 Chronicles 32 for a description of a siege of Jerusalem.) 

(22:4) God's Judgment - Isaiah had warned his people, but they did not repent; thus, they would experience God's judgment. Because he cared for them, Isaiah was hurt by their punishment and mourned deeply 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 this we grieve because of our concern. God expects us to be involved with others, and this will sometimes require us to suffer with them. 

(22:6-7) The Assyrians - Elam and Kir were under Assyrian rule. The entire Assyrian army, including its vassals, joined in the attack against Jerusalem. 

(22:8-11) Seeking the Lord - The leaders of Judah did what they could to prepare for war: They gathered weapons, inspected the walls, and stored up water in a reservoir. But all their work was pointless because they never asked God for help. And without his help, their efforts were useless. Too often we take steps that, though 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. 

(22:13-14) Turn to the Lord - The people said, "Let us eat and drink," because they had given up hope. Attacked on every side (22:7), they should have repented (22:12), but they chose to feast instead. The root problem was that Judah did not trust God's power or his promises (see 56:12; 1 Corinthians 15:32). When you face difficulties, turn to God. Today we still see people giving up hope. The two common responses to hopelessness are despair and self-indulgence. But this life is not all there is, so we are not to act as if we had no hope. We should always trust God and his promise to include us in the perfect and just new world that he will create. 

(22:15-25) The Nail - Shebna, the palace treasurer, 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 (22:20-21). Eliakim would be the "nail" driven into a sure place (22:23), but God also said that Eliakim, too, would fall (22:25). 

(22:22) The Key - The "key of the house of David" represented great authority. This key is also mentioned in Revelation 3:7. A similar instance where keys are associated with authority is found in Matthew 16:19, where Jesus entrusts Peter with the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

LIFE APPLICATION by Dr. Dave Burnette

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today, we continue in the Book of Isaiah with Chapter 22. In our text today, we see a prophecy about Jerusalem. They are warned to repent and depend on the Lord but instead choose to rely on themselves and their abilities, ignoring the Lord as their enemies rise against them. In making applications, we see ourselves, our families, and our nation making the same mistakes. We believe that our knowledge, finances, and pride can overcome the challenges and enemies in our lives. Still, the truth is only the Lord can deliver us from those who challenge us and take us captive. We, too, must repent as a people and a nation to see victory in our lives. How about you? Do you see the need to repent to attain victory? Let us learn from our text today and the warning from Isaiah about the need to repent and depend on the Lord, for it is in Him. He alone will find victory against the challenges and enemies in our lives.