Thus saith the Lord Jehovah of hosts Go, get thee in unto this steward, unto Shebna, who is over the house, [and say,]
The chapter has just pronounced judgment on a whole city. Now God sends Isaiah to one man — so why does Shebna, the head of the royal household, get a message of his own?
The verse calls Shebna a steward. Older translations use the word "treasurer."
Shebna was a man with much riches passing through his hand, for he was the treasurer. So he had distinction in this life, and by building himself "a sepulchre on high" he wanted to keep his memory alive after his life was over. Self-exaltation was clearly his aim. He was rejected, and God would strip him of his place so completely that the chariots of his glory would become the shame of his master's house.
Shebna had climbed to the second place in the kingdom. What he lived for is the charge against him.
The end of the chapter shows the unworthy Shebna set aside. He had crept into the place of chief minister, next to the throne. He lived only for himself, and even after death he wanted nothing but his own name and glory.
At verse 15 the prophecy turns to named men. What happens to them reaches far past Hezekiah's court.
Along with this, we have a prophecy (v. 15 to the end) which clearly in its immediate reference speaks of people of Hezekiah's time. One is deposed, and another is set up, referring, I think, to the last days — verse 25 clearly points to "that day," the last days.
God did not single out Shebna only to record one man's failure. The warning reaches everyone in a position like his.
While things stood like this, Shebna, one of the chief men of Judah, was over the royal household. He thought only of his own interests, and of his name after he was gone. God pronounces His solemn judgment on Shebna. It is a warning to everyone who does not keep the honour of God's Name before them. They think only of their own prosperity, and of their name with those who come after them.
The rest of Isaiah lets you watch the sentence take effect.
Isaiah 22:15 calls Shebna the man "over the household." But in Isaiah 36:3, 22 and Isaiah 37:2, Eliakim holds that title, and Shebna comes after him as "the scribe." So during Hezekiah's reign Eliakim rose, and Shebna fell from his very high position.
The change of office points beyond Hezekiah's palace. Commentators see a much larger exchange pictured here.
From verse 15 to the end, I have no doubt that we should see in Shebna the Antichrist set aside for the Messiah, pictured by Eliakim. All the glory, great or small, belongs to Jesus on the throne of David, and all the power of Antichrist will be cut off. Until the LORD speaks, Antichrist looks strong and secure and counts on the future; but the moment God speaks, he falls.
One question remains: was the problem the office or the man?
It was not the position, but the person, that made the difference. Shebna had exactly the same place, but he utterly failed and caused ruin. Not so Eliakim, who followed.
- Position. Shebna held the highest post under the king. The wealth of the nation passed through his hands.
- Person. He used the post for himself. He wanted his own name to last, even after death.
- Pronouncement. God sends Isaiah to him by name, with a solemn judgment on his self-seeking.
- Replacement. Later chapters give Eliakim the title Shebna held here. Shebna drops to scribe.
- Picture. Commentators see a preview here: the self-exalting ruler set aside, Christ established. The office never made the man; the man made the office.
What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewn thee out a sepulchre here, [as] he that heweth out his sepulchre on high, cutting out in the rock a habitation for himself?
God sends Isaiah to the palace to confront the man who ran the royal household. That man had cut his own grave high in the rock. God's first words are not about the tomb. They ask what right he had to be there at all: what claim, and what family, did he have in Jerusalem?
Shebna held the top administrative post in Judah, and the chapter ends by removing him from it. One writer describes how he reached the post and what he did with it:
The close of the chapter shows us the setting aside of the unworthy Shebna. He had crept into the place of chief minister, next to the throne. He lived only for self, and even after death he sought nothing but his own name and glory.
Cutting out a tomb and carving a dwelling in rock was costly work. His post explains where the money came from, and his aim explains where it went:
Shebna was a man with much riches passing through his hands, for he was the treasurer. So he had distinction in this life, and by building for himself "a tomb on the height" he wanted to keep his memory alive after his life was over. Self-exaltation was clearly his aim.
The tomb on the height and the dwelling in the rock were built to outlast him. One writer names what he was reaching for, and what had no place in him:
Not content with making a name for himself while in this life, he had "cut out a tomb on the height" like one who "carves a dwelling for himself in the rock" (verse 16). Shebna wanted present glory, and a name with those who came after him, for the glory of the God of Israel had no place in his thoughts or his ways.
The earlier part of the chapter describes a city under judgment that answered God with feasting. Shebna stands here as a sample of its leadership:
Shebna appears here to show the character of those in leading positions in Israel who, with no thought of God, care only for themselves. Shebna was one of king Hezekiah's chief ministers. But his conduct offended God. It stood in sharp contrast to what a servant of the Lord should be.
The warning reaches past Shebna to every reader:
God pronounces His solemn judgment on Shebna as a warning. It warns all who do not have the honour of God's Name before them. They think only of their own prosperity, and of their name with those who come after them.
Commentators read this passage on two levels. Beside the history of Hezekiah's court, one writer sees Shebna as a picture of the Antichrist, and Eliakim as a picture of the Messiah:
From verse 15 to the end I have no doubt what we should see. Shebna pictures the Antichrist, set aside for the Messiah, who is pictured by Eliakim (that is, the God of resurrection). All the glory, great or small, belongs to Jesus on the throne of David; and all the power of Antichrist will be cut off. Until the Lord speaks, Antichrist looks strong and secure, and he counts on the future; but from the moment God speaks, he falls.
The threat was not left in the air. A later chapter shows the two men again, with their titles swapped:
Isaiah 22:15 calls Shebna the one "over the household." But Isaiah 36:3, 22 and Isaiah 37:2 give that title to Eliakim, and name Shebna after him as "the secretary." So during the reign of Hezekiah, Eliakim rose, and Shebna was falling from his very high position.
The appetite Shebna fed is not limited to officials with money to spend on stonework:
Many a professing Christian has fallen through being occupied with a name. The effort to keep up a name has destroyed many a useful servant... The enemy will lead me to make my reputation my object instead of Christ. I shall be working to keep up a name instead of the glory of Christ.
- Position. Shebna had crept into the place next to the throne, and he used it living only for self.
- Project. The treasurer spent his standing and wealth carving a tomb on high, so his memory would outlive him.
- Motive. He wanted present glory and a name with later generations; the glory of God had no place in his thoughts.
- Removal. God carried out the threat — by Isaiah 36 Eliakim is "over the household" and Shebna is only the secretary.
- Pattern. One writer sees the usurper set aside for God's chosen servant as a picture of the Antichrist replaced by Christ. The warning stands for anyone who works to keep up a name instead of the glory of Christ.
Behold, Jehovah will hurl thee with the force of a mighty man, and will cover thee entirely.
Isaiah 22 closes with God naming one man: Shebna, the officer in charge of the royal household. Verse 17 opens God's sentence on him, and it raises two questions: what had this man done, and why does a chapter about a besieged city end with the fall of one official?
The verses before this one show a city busy with walls, weapons and water supplies. All the while, God was dealing with that city in judgment. One writer explains what is wrong with human wisdom in God's city, and with outward work that hides a corrupt heart:
In the first place all the wisdom of man is not enough to keep evil away, if the power of God is not with it. When the city of God is at stake, this wisdom forgets the God who built and founded His holy city. That is an unpardonable sin (Isa. 22:11).
This happens often. People do God's work in outward faith, and He blesses the work. Yet the heart is corrupt in that very thing, and God will surely judge it. They forget God Himself, and they forget that they belong to Him. This is what happens when the people of God lean on human means.
The chapter then narrows from the city to one man.
The one God calls "you strong man" held the highest position under the king. His problem was not weak ability. It was what he lived for:
The close of the chapter shows us the unworthy Shebna set aside. He had crept into the place of chief minister, next to the throne. He lived only for himself, and even after death he sought nothing but his own name and glory.
The specific charge in the verses just before is a tomb cut high in the rock. Money and standing had come into his hands, and he spent them on his own memory:
Shebna was a man with much riches passing through his hand, for he was the treasurer. So he had distinction in this life, and by building himself "a tomb on high," he wanted to keep his memory alive after his life was over. He was plainly aiming at his own exaltation. He was rejected. God would strip him of his place so completely that the chariots of his glory would turn out to be the shame of his lord's house. We see that at the end of verse 18.
The grave he built for his name would not hold him. God would fling him far away instead.
Scripture never tells us how the sentence landed. That silence does not weaken it:
God's word to Shebna was a solemn one: "Behold, the Lord will carry you away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover you. He will surely violently turn and toss you like a ball into a large country; there you shall die" (Isa. 22:17-18). Although there is no record of what happened to Shebna, we can be sure that it was all carried out to the letter.
(This quotation follows an older translation.)
A ball has no say in where it lands. God handles the man who arranged his own monument like an object.
The move from Shebna to Eliakim happened in history. One writer sees a further meaning in it:
Shebna was then rejected, and Eliakim was to take his place. His name appears to mean "God is setting up." This transfer happened during the reign of Hezekiah, just as the prophet said. But we see in it a picture of what will take place at the end of the age. Then the self-exalting "man of sin" will be violently turned and tossed to destruction, and the once rejected Christ will be exalted and established.
The office Shebna held was not the problem. That is the sharpest lesson in the whole passage:
It was not the position, but the person that made the difference. Shebna had exactly the same place, but he utterly failed and brought ruin. Not so Eliakim, who followed. Revelation 3:7 makes it right to apply this to Christ.
- Setting — Jerusalem answered God's judgment with walls, weapons and water. Wisdom that forgets the God who founded the city is an unpardonable sin.
- Self — Shebna reached the top post and used it for himself, wanting a name both in life and after death.
- Sentence — God Himself does the hurling. He tosses the man who carved his own resting place like a ball into a far country to die there.
- Sureness — no record tells us how it happened, yet we can be sure God carried out every word.
- Successor — the office was not at fault; the man was. Shebna's fall makes room for Eliakim, and one writer sees there the man of sin displaced by the once-rejected Christ.
Rolling thee up completely, he will roll thee as a ball into a wide country there shalt thou die, and there shall be the chariots of thy glory, O shame of thy lord's house!
Isaiah 22 ends with a message from God to one man. Shebna ran King Hezekiah's household, and he used the job to build his own name. Verse 18 is the sentence God passes on him. God picks him up, throws him far away, and leaves his fine chariots standing as a public disgrace to the master he served.
The judgment lands on a character, not just a career. One writer describes what made Shebna's conduct offensive to God:
Shebna is introduced here to show the character of those in leading positions in Israel. They care only for themselves, with no thought of God. Shebna was in fact one of King Hezekiah's chief ministers. But his conduct was objectionable to God. It stood in sharp contrast to what a servant of the Lord should be. Instead of caring for the interests of the Lord among His people, he had the glory of his own name in front of him.
William Kelly sees the same ambition reaching beyond the grave:
The close of the chapter shows us the unworthy Shebna set aside. He had crept into the place of chief minister, next to the throne. He lived only for himself, and even after death he sought nothing but his own name and glory.
The picture of a man rolled up and hurled into open country is deliberately violent. Nothing about it suggests a dignified retirement:
Under the figures of Shebna and Eliakim we have the complete rejection of everything that was offensive to God on one side, and the establishment of what would be to God's glory on the other… It would be hard to find a more striking picture of rejection than this.
The chariots were the visible proof of Shebna's rank. God's judgment does not simply take them away; it turns them into evidence against him.
Shebna was a man with great riches passing through his hands, since he was the treasurer. So he had distinction in this life, and by building himself "a tomb on high" he wanted to keep his memory alive after his life was over. Self-exaltation was clearly his aim. He was rejected. God would strip him so completely that the chariots of his glory would turn out to be the shame of his lord's house. We see this at the end of verse 18.
God's word here is more than a threat. One writer takes it as certain, even though the outcome is never reported:
God's word to Shebna was a solemn one. Although there is no record of what happened to Shebna, we can be sure that it was all carried out to the letter.
The same pattern appears elsewhere in the Bible. Writing about Haman, the official in the book of Esther who plotted to destroy the Jews, one commentator points back to this verse:
His fall is prepared, just like that of Shebna.
One writer has no doubt that the passage looks past Hezekiah's day, to the false king still to come:
From verse 15 to the end, I have no doubt that we should see in Shebna the antichrist set aside for the Messiah, pictured by Eliakim. All the glory, great or small, belongs to Jesus on the throne of David, and all the power of antichrist will be cut off. Until the LORD speaks, antichrist looks strong and secure, and he counts on the future. But from the moment God speaks, he falls.
The removal is not the end of the story. One writer names who takes the place:
Who can doubt that Eliakim here is a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ, the One who will be seen exalted, lifted up and very high, after antichrist has been thrown into the lake of fire? The robe and the belt that truly belonged to God's Christ had been taken over by antichrist, the man of sin, the false king. But when he is thrown out and judged, the true King will take up the robe and the belt that are His by right. He will be "over the house," as He is even now.
- Glory sought. Shebna held a trusted office and used it for his own name, right down to carving himself a splendid tomb.
- Glory hurled. God does not simply remove Shebna from office. He rolls him up, throws him like a ball into a wide land, and leaves him to die far from the tomb he built.
- Glory shamed. The chariots that displayed his rank end up as the disgrace of the house he was supposed to serve.
- Glory forecast. Shebna pictures the antichrist. He looks unshakeable until God speaks. Then he falls.
- Glory given. God gives the office to Eliakim, a picture of Christ, who wears the robe by right and is over the house.
And I will drive thee from thine office, and from thy station will I pull thee down.
Isaiah 22 ends with God turning from a doomed city to one man at the top of its government. Shebna ran the royal household. The sentence is personal and total: office and standing both go. Two questions follow, and the chapter answers both. What made this man unfit, and who takes his place?
Why does a prophecy about a city stop to name one court official?
Shebna appears here to show the character of leaders in Israel who give no thought to God and care only for themselves. Shebna was one of king Hezekiah's chief ministers. But his conduct offended God. It was the opposite of what a servant of the Lord should be. Instead of caring for the Lord's interests among His people, he had the glory of his own name in view.
His ambition did not stop at the end of his life.
Shebna was a man with much wealth passing through his hands, for he was the treasurer. So he had distinction in this life. By building himself "a tomb on high", he wanted his memory to last after his life was over. Self-exaltation was clearly his aim. God rejected him, and would dispossess him so completely that the chariots of his glory would turn out to be the shame of his master's house.
Notice who speaks the "I" of the verse. Shebna is not voted out or outmanoeuvred by rivals; the Lord announces that He will thrust him from office.
The close of the chapter sets before us the setting aside of the unworthy Shebna, who had crept into the place of chief minister, next to the throne, living only for self, and even seeking after death nothing but his own name and glory.
Shebna's fall raises a question about the office itself.
It was not the position, but the person, that made the difference. Shebna had exactly the same place, but he utterly failed and brought ruin. Eliakim, who came after him, did not. Revelation 3:7 warrants applying the picture to Christ.
Commentators read this removal as more than court history.
From verse 15 to the end, I have no doubt that we should see the Antichrist in Shebna. He is set aside for the Messiah, who is pictured by Eliakim (that is, the God of resurrection). All the glory, great and small, belongs to Jesus on the throne of David, and all the power of Antichrist will be cut off. Until the Lord speaks, Antichrist looks strong and secure, and he counts on the future. But from the moment God speaks, he falls.
The vacant place did not stay empty.
Shebna then was rejected, and Eliakim — whose name seems to mean "God is setting up" — was to take his place. This transfer happened during the reign of Hezekiah, just as the prophet had said. But we see in it a picture of what will take place at the end of the age. Then the self-exalting "man of sin" will be violently turned and tossed to destruction, and the once-rejected Christ will be exalted and established.
Scripture never reports Shebna's end, yet the silence changes nothing about the sentence.
Although there is no record of what happened to Shebna, we can be sure that it was all carried out to the letter.
The verse is set in a chapter where the whole city was feasting instead of mourning, and it is preserved for readers far outside Jerusalem.
God had called His people to repent of their sins. Instead of mourning before Him and turning back to Him, they recklessly gave themselves over to eating and drinking, with His judgment right ahead. At such a time Shebna, one of the chief men of Judah, was over the royal household. He thought only of his own affairs, and of his name after he was gone. God pronounces His solemn judgment on Shebna as a warning. It is for all who do not keep the honour of God's name before them. They think only of their own prosperity, and of their name with those who come after them.
- Cause. Shebna held high office but used it for his own name and memory instead of God's interests.
- Sentence. God Himself says "I will thrust you" — the removal comes from above, not from politics below.
- Person. The office was not at fault. Eliakim later filled the same place well, so the difference lay in the man.
- Reach. Writers see the fall of a self-exalting official as a picture of the man of sin, who looks secure until God speaks.
- Result. God gives the self-seeker's place to His own servant — a shadow of the rejected Christ exalted and established.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkijah;
Isaiah 22 has just announced the fall of Shebna, a man who held high office in Hezekiah's court and failed in it. Verse 20 is the turn. God calls a replacement, and He names him.
The office is not seized, inherited, or won. God takes the initiative, and the title He gives Eliakim — "my servant" — is the exact opposite of what Shebna had made of the same job. A summary of the man's place brings this out:
Son of Hilkiah, and chief of the household of Hezekiah. Eliakim must have held a high office; he is named before the scribe and the recorder. In Isaiah 22 God calls him His servant: God would set Shebna aside, and clothe Eliakim and raise him up as governor. He was to have the key of David, and be able to open and shut effectively. He is here a type of Christ when He comes to take His place over Israel.
Shebna and Eliakim held the same rank. The difference between ruin and blessing lay somewhere else:
It was not the position, but the person that made the difference. Shebna had just the same place, but he utterly failed and caused ruin. Not so Eliakim who followed. Revelation 3:7 makes it right to apply this to Christ.
This was not only a picture of the future. The change of staff can be traced in the later chapters of Isaiah, where the two men have swapped places:
It is worth noticing that Isaiah 22:15 speaks of Shebna as being "over the house." But in Isaiah 36:3, 22, and Isaiah 37:2, Eliakim holds the place "over the house," and Shebna comes after him as "the scribe." So during the reign of Hezekiah, Eliakim was exalted, and Shebna was falling from his very high position.
Eliakim's own name points past the man who carried it:
Eliakim carries the key of the house of David here. His name means "whom God will raise up." He plainly points on to our Lord Jesus Christ, whom God has raised up to secure all "the sure mercies of David" — the promises connected with David's Seed. God robes him, strengthens him, and puts the government into his hand, and he becomes a father to the people.
"In that day" reaches further than Hezekiah's court. One man is pushed out and God's chosen man takes his place. That pattern comes round again:
Shebna then was rejected and Eliakim, whose name appears to mean "God is setting up," was to take his place. This transfer actually took place during the reign of Hezekiah, just as the prophet had said. But we also see in it a picture of what will take place at the end of the age. Then the self-exalting "man of sin" will be violently turned and tossed to destruction, and the once rejected Christ will be exalted and established. Of Him Eliakim, in this incident, was a faint type.
The New Testament shows who this points to, and how far it reaches:
Eliakim the son of Hilkiah is a type of the coming Christ. Of Him it is said prophetically, "And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open." Revelation 3:7 clearly shows that this Scripture brings Christ before us. And it is not for Israel only, but also for the saints of this day.
- Called — the office is given, not grabbed: God says "I will call my servant," and names the man Himself.
- Cleared — Shebna is set aside first. God raises up His servant in the place another man had ruined.
- Character — Shebna held the identical post and wrecked it. The person, not the position, made the difference.
- Christ — Eliakim's name and his key point on to the One God raised up, of whom Eliakim was only a faint type.
- Coming — the change in Hezekiah's court previews the end of the age. The man of sin goes; the rejected Christ is exalted. Revelation 3:7 shows that His authority covers believers today.
and 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.
Isaiah 22 ends with a change of office. God takes the post from one man and hands the robe, the sash and the authority to another. Commentators read the scene on two levels: a real change in Hezekiah's court, and a picture of a far greater Servant taking up rule.
The promise makes sense only when you know the man it replaces.
Shebna appears here to show the character of leaders in Israel who care only for themselves, with no thought of God. Shebna was one of King Hezekiah's chief ministers. But his conduct was offensive to God. It stood in sharp contrast to what a servant of the Lord should be. Instead of caring for the Lord's interests among His people, he had the glory of his own name before him.
The contrast is the point. Shebna wanted his own name to shine. God removes him and hands the office to a servant of His own choosing.
This was not only a promise about the distant future. Isaiah's own book shows the change taking place.
God's judgment on Shebna's pride and arrogance made way for a true servant of the Lord. Notice the change. Isaiah 22:15 speaks of Shebna as "over the house." But in Isaiah 36:3, 22 and Isaiah 37:2 Eliakim holds that place, and Shebna comes after him as "the scribe." So during Hezekiah's reign Eliakim rose, and Shebna was falling from his very high position.
One writer weighs what the name Eliakim means, and asks who the robing and strengthening point to.
Eliakim carries the key of the house of David here. His name means "whom God will raise up." He points clearly to our Lord Jesus Christ, whom God has raised up to secure all "the sure mercies of David" — the promises connected with David's Seed. He is robed and strengthened, and the government committed into his hand, and he becomes a father to the people (v. 21).
The verse calls him a father to the people. One writer looks at how Scripture uses that word elsewhere.
In Genesis 45:8 Joseph is described as a father to Pharaoh. This suggests that he cared for the king's interests. He would advise him and manage his affairs. Is it unreasonable to believe that the Seed of David will fulfil a similar role for Israel and the nations? In Job 29:16 Job described himself as a father to the needy. The Lord Jesus will help the poor and helpless in the kingdom to come. Here in Isaiah 22:21 Eliakim, a picture of the Lord Jesus, is promised to be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Being a father here would involve protection, provision, love and care. It also includes fatherly discipline when needed.
So the office means care for others, not just power held.
One writer reads the name Eliakim a little differently, and sees the whole exchange as a preview of the end of the age.
Shebna was rejected, and Eliakim — whose name appears to mean "God is setting up" — was to take his place. This transfer took place during the reign of Hezekiah, just as the prophet had said. But we see in it a parable of what will happen at the end of the age. Then the self-exalting "man of sin" will be violently turned and tossed to destruction, and the once rejected Christ will be exalted and established. Of Him Eliakim, in this incident, was a faint type.
The words here and in the next verse are too large for any court official. Christ claims one of them for Himself.
This is evident when we read Revelation 3:7, and note how our Lord claims for Himself the very things that are said of Eliakim in verse 22 of our chapter. He is the One worthy to have the government laid on His shoulder — not only of Jerusalem and Israel but of the whole universe... Eliakim doubtless had a place of much authority under Hezekiah, but the graphic and conclusive figures we find here go far beyond him.
- Cause — Shebna lost the office because he used a high place for his own name instead of God's interests.
- Call — God chooses the replacement Himself, and the name Eliakim is read as "whom God will raise up."
- Clothing — God hands over the robe, the sash and the authority, and He did it in Hezekiah's own reign.
- Care — "father" says how he uses the office: he manages affairs for others and helps the poor and helpless.
- Christ — the language reaches past Eliakim to the One who claims it in Revelation 3:7: once rejected, now exalted.
And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
God strips Shebna of his post as palace steward and gives Eliakim a key that carries the whole government of the royal house. The picture is far bigger than one official in Jerusalem, because the risen Christ takes these words as His own title in Revelation 3:7.
The image was plain to anyone who had ever locked a door: whoever holds the key runs the household. One writer sets the scene from the history:
Shebna, who came from David's line, was over Hezekiah's household. But because the LORD was displeased with him, his office was to be given to another — to Eliakim the son of Hilkiah. With the key of David on his shoulder, the government of the royal house was placed in Eliakim's hand. He was to serve in his high position, as one called by God, for the good of "the inhabitants of Jerusalem and … the house of Judah".
Hamilton Smith sets the key beside the other symbol of rule, and dates each one:
The two great symbols of government in Scripture are the sword and the key. The sword stands for government that judges evil. The key stands for government that holds evil back, or that opens a door for blessing. The day is coming when the Lord will use the sword in overwhelming judgment. Today He uses the key for His people, to make a way for what is of Himself and to hold back what opposes Him.
Eliakim's name is not incidental. H. J. Vine reads it as a signpost:
Eliakim carries the key of the house of David here. His name means "whom God will raise up." He points on to our Lord Jesus Christ, whom God has raised up to secure all "the sure mercies of David" — the promises connected with David's Seed. Eliakim is robed and strengthened, the government is placed in his hand, and he becomes a father to the people (v. 21).
William Kelly explains why the passage cannot stop at Hezekiah's court:
These past events are put together without regard to their dates, as we have seen. The people brought in did not hold the highest offices, yet they are described in words that open out to a rule and power beyond the highest. All this prepares us for the great events of the last days in the Holy Land, which are the only complete fulfilment of the scripture before us.
In the same passage Kelly sees Shebna's fall and Eliakim's rise as a picture of Christ displacing the Antichrist: the false ruler put out, the true one installed.
What He opens stays open. J. N. Darby applies that to believers who feel weak:
He has here, not the display of power, but the key of power. This is what the LORD said of Eliakim to Shebna in Isaiah 22:22… where there is this weakness, He encourages the church to look to Himself as the holy and the true One, and to trust Him… Let all the power of man or Satan do their worst. If I am resting in Christ, who is completely true, and He has opened a door, neither man nor devil can shut it.
Jesus gave keys to Peter too, and this verse is often used to turn that into a claim of church office. Darby answers it:
Peter received the administration of the kingdom, not the administration of the church… "I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David" (Isaiah 22:22) has the same meaning. It is the charge of administering the kingdom of heaven down here.
Eliakim's own office did not last. W. Trotter points to how the chapter ends:
At the end of Isaiah 22 the peg fastened in a firm place — Eliakim — was to be removed, cut down, and to fall, and the burden hanging on it cut off with it. "The key of David" is in the hand of His risen Son. But it is still "the key of David," and that is how it is seen in the hands of Jesus in Revelation 3:7-12.
- Key. A key is authority over a house: whoever holds it opens and shuts, and the whole household answers to him.
- Shoulder. God lays the key on Eliakim; he does not seize it. The office comes from God, taken from a man God was displeased with.
- Sword or key. Government has two symbols. The sword judges evil; this verse hands over the key, which holds evil back and opens a door for blessing.
- Irreversible. What He opens no one shuts — so weak believers rest on His strength, not their own, to keep the door open.
- Kingdom. The key governs the kingdom, not the church. Peter held that charge over the kingdom on earth; the key of David itself stays in the risen Christ's hand.
And I will fasten him [as] a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a throne of glory to his father's house
Isaiah turns here from Shebna, an official who failed, to Eliakim. God will clothe this man with authority and fasten him in place. The promise sounds small: a peg in a wall, and a seat of honour for his family. Commentators say the words are far too large for any court official, and read them as pointing beyond Eliakim to Christ.
God gave Eliakim charge of the royal household. His name carries the weight of the whole picture.
Eliakim carries the key of the house of David here. His name means "whom God will raise up." He points straight on to our Lord Jesus Christ, whom God has raised up to secure all "the sure mercies of David" — the promises connected with David's Seed. He is robed and strengthened, the government is put into his hand, and he becomes a father to the people (v. 21).
Shebna, the man Eliakim replaced, had held the very same office.
It was not the position, but the person that made the difference. Shebna had exactly the same place, but he failed completely and brought ruin. Eliakim, who came after him, was not like that… Revelation 3:7 warrants applying this to Christ.
The picture comes from everyday household life. Older translations say "a nail in a sure place"; the ESV renders it "a peg in a secure place."
In eastern houses many things are hung on nails for safety. So "a nail in a sure place" means security. It is a picture of the safety of anything that depends on God.
One writer tests the wording against the real world.
Second, "the nail in a sure place." What place on earth is sure? Where has such a nail been found? The nail is also to be "for a glorious throne to his father's house," and to have "all the glory of his father's house" hung on him. What huge statements these are! They find their proper fulfilment only in our Lord Jesus Christ. On Him hangs not only the glory of the house of David, but also the glory of God found in redemption.
A peg is only as safe as the wall it is driven into.
The nail might be all that it should be. But it must also be fixed in a firm spot, or whatever is entrusted to it will not be safe. This golden nail before us is also "a glorious throne to His Father's house" (v. 23)… He is truly set in "a sure place," in the very glory of God, His Father's house… everything hangs safely on this golden nail of God's own providing. Nothing here can give way or break down, though all else is shaken.
The second half of the verse turns from safety to rule.
In the day of His glory, "He shall be for a glorious throne to His father's house." All the glory of the house of David will then be His. Everyone who is blessed will be blessed in relation to Him (verses 22–24). Christ is seen here as "a glorious throne," because all authority will belong to Him, and He will reign in righteousness.
Two verses later that same secure peg comes down (v. 25). The promise of permanence seems to collapse.
But now, third, comes the paradox. The nail fastened in the sure place is to "be removed, and be cut down and fall." Here we surely have one of those half-hidden references to the rejection and death of the Messiah that the Old Testament gives us.
The public display of this rule is still future, yet the security is available today.
He has complete sovereignty and the undisputed right to enter and use all the authority that is needed. He is not yet using this power in world government. But God has exalted Him in the heavens as Lord and Christ (Acts 2:33-36), and He now uses His lordship for weak believers who trust in Him, clearing obstacles out of their way. He is indeed "as a nail in a sure place." We can rely on Him completely and hang all our confidence on Him.
- Person, not post. Shebna held the same office and ruined it. The promise rests on the man God chooses, and Eliakim's name means "whom God will raise up."
- Peg. In eastern houses things were hung on a nail for safety. The image stands for the security of whatever depends on God.
- Place. A peg is only as strong as the wall it is driven into. No spot on earth is sure, so writers put the sure place in the glory of God Himself.
- Paradox. The same peg is cut down two verses later, read as a veiled reference to the rejection and death of the Messiah.
- Purpose. All the glory of the father's house hangs on one peg. That glory is still future, but weak believers can hang their confidence on Him today.
and they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all the small vessels, as well the vessels of cups as all the vessels of flagons.
Isaiah 22 closes its picture of Eliakim with a striking image: everything in his father's house hangs on one man, down to the smallest cup. Commentators read the peg in the wall as a picture of Christ, and the hanging vessels as all who will one day rest their whole weight on Him.
The picture comes from ordinary household life. A dictionary of Bible terms explains what such a peg meant in an eastern house:
In houses in the East many things hang on nails for safety. So "a nail in a sure place" means security. It pictures the safety of anything that depends on God.
The verse also names "flagons." The word behind it is nebel, a bottle of any size, which other passages translate as "bottle" (Morrish Bible Dictionary).
Two men stand in this passage, Shebna and Eliakim. One writer reads the pair as a picture of something far larger:
The key of David points back to Isaiah 22:20–24. There the picture of Shebna and Eliakim sets out God's rejection of man after the flesh. It shows Him causing all the glory of the Father's house to hang upon Christ.
One commentator weighs what that peg has to carry:
This is another name for the Messiah. He is as "a peg in a secure place." "The nail" is a hanger for clothes or other articles. He will bear up all the glory that no one else can bear, a weight of glory far beyond mere human strength.
The verse does not stop at the honor itself. It keeps listing, from the cups to the flagons, and the list carries the point. One writer finds that whole list acted out in a single scene:
Look at the King and His close companions on the holy mountain, and there you see the Nail and all the vessels hanging on it. All the vessels — not only the outstanding ones, but the hidden and obscure, who lived their lives in relation to God. For all the vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups to the vessels of flagons, were there.
A short couplet printed alongside this verse in one magazine puts the same thought in two lines:
To great and small things love alike can reach, And cares for each as all, and all as each.
The verse looks ahead to a day. One writer names when this hanging happens:
Christ will be a glorious throne to Israel as the One risen from the dead, returned from His Father's throne to this world. And it will be in that day that "they will hang on him the whole honor of his father's house." All the earthly glory that belonged to Jesus as Son of David was refused Him when He came the first time. In the day of His glory it will gladly be given to Him.
One writer describes that day from the side of the vessels:
All the glory will be seen hanging on Him, and everyone, from the least to the greatest, will rely on Him who once was rejected and crucified.
Commentators differ on how far the verse stretches. Some keep it tied to Israel:
Although the Lord will rule over all as Son of Man in the day of His glory, Eliakim pictures only that part of the Lord's rule connected with Israel. All the glory of Israel will hang upon Him, the Nail in the sure place. He was removed and cut down. Yet in resurrection He fulfils all that the Old Testament Scriptures foreshadowed and prophesied about Him.
Others read the hanging vessels as a picture of every believer's dependence on the love of Christ:
Vessels of every description hang upon that Nail. Every believer knows the love of Christ, for the Cross is its eternal monument. We love Him in the assurance of His love.
- Sure — a peg in a wall pictures security: the safety of whatever depends on God.
- Set — in the picture of Shebna and Eliakim, God sets man after the flesh aside, so the glory of the Father's house hangs on Christ.
- Strong — what hangs there is a weight of glory no merely human strength could carry.
- Small — the list runs down to cups, so the hidden and obscure hang there beside the outstanding, and every kind of vessel knows His love.
- Soon — the honor men refused Him at His first coming comes back to Him in the day of His glory. Then least and greatest alike will rely on the One once rejected.
In that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in a sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off for Jehovah hath spoken.
One verse turns the picture of security upside down. God had fixed a peg in a secure place. Now He says it will give way, fall, and take the whole load down with it. Who is this peg, and why does the God who fastened it announce its fall?
Older translations call this peg a nail, and the writers quoted here use that word. In ordinary houses in the East, a nail in the wall held the family's valuables. Scripture borrows that everyday object to say something about safety.
In houses in the East, people hang many things on nails to keep them safe. So "a nail in a sure place" means security. It pictures the safety of anything that depends on God.
The promises hung on this nail in the earlier verses are far too big for any man to carry. The size of the language is itself the clue.
Second, "the nail in a sure place." What place on earth is sure? Where has such a nail been found? This nail must also be "a glorious throne to his father's house." It must carry "all the glory of his father's house." These are great statements! They only find their proper fulfilment in our Lord Jesus Christ. On Him hangs not only the glory of the house of David, but also the glory of God that is found in redemption.
Shebna held this office first, and Eliakim came after him. Same place, two men — and opposite results.
It was not the position, but the person that made the difference. Shebna had exactly the same place, but he utterly failed and brought ruin. Not so Eliakim who followed, as we have seen in the verses just before us. Revelation 3:7 warrants the application to Christ.
Commentators differ over who the falling nail is. One reading sees the whole passage as the Messiah taking the place of the Antichrist. Verse 25 then records the fall of the false claimant, timed by God's word.
From verse 15 to the end I have no doubt what we should see. Shebna stands for the Antichrist, set aside for the Messiah, who is pictured by Eliakim (that is, the God of resurrection). All the glory, great or small, attaches to Jesus on the throne of David; and all the power of Antichrist shall be cut off. Until Jehovah speaks, Antichrist looks strong and sure, and he counts on the future — but from the moment God speaks, he falls (v. 25).
The other reading keeps the nail as a picture of Christ all the way through. The sudden reversal is the prophet turning from glory to suffering.
In vision, the prophet now turns to the rejection and death of Him who is the Nail in the sure place. He makes the same sudden turn from the glory to the sufferings, and from the sufferings to the glory, in Isaiah 52:13-15 and Isaiah 53:10. Christ was "removed" from the place that was truly His. He was "cut down," yes, "cut off" in the middle of His days. All Israel's glory left with Him, and it will not be seen again until His return.
On that reading, the verse says something surprising. Christ's coming into the world as man, by itself, did not settle the matter.
Here comes a most solemn turn in the chapter. It shows that the Incarnation of the Son of God, however great, is not enough for the divine glory in a world of sin and death… So we read in another place that He was cut off out of the land of the living (see Isaiah 53:8; Daniel 9:26).
The verse ends with the load cut off: everything hanging on the nail goes down with it. That fall is not the last word.
The Lord said in John 6:39, "And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day." All that fell with the nail in the sure place will indeed be raised up again. He will raise it up when He comes out in triumph and glory. Nothing will be lost of all that the Father has given Him, whether heavenly or earthly.
- Nail — a peg in a wall held the household's treasures. A nail in a sure place means safety that rests on God.
- Person — Shebna and Eliakim held the same office with opposite results. Security lies in who holds the place, not in the place.
- Fall — commentators differ. Some read the cut-down nail as the Antichrist, who falls the moment God speaks. Others read it as Christ, removed and cut off in death.
- Cross — on the second reading, His coming as man was not enough for God's glory in a world of sin and death. The nail had to fall.
- Raised — He raises everything that fell with Him, and He loses nothing the Father gave Him.