And when they called for the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder.
Assyria's top officers stand outside Jerusalem's wall and call for the king, but Hezekiah does not come out. Three of his officials come out instead, and their names and offices carry far more weight than this one errand.
Three officers meet three officers
The three men Assyria sent to the wall each held high office:
H. L. RossierThe king of Assyria had besieged and captured Lachish. Now he sends his servants. First the Tartan, the general at the head of his armies. Then the Rabsaris (chief chamberlain), whose duties are not well known. Then the Rabshakeh, the political head of the king's household and his spokesman on important occasions. They stand before Jerusalem, and Hezekiah's servants — Eliakim, Shebna and Joah — come out to them.
Hezekiah did not go out to them himself:
Leslie M. GrantThe leader of the Assyrian army (called the Rabshakeh) called from outside Jerusalem to talk with Hezekiah. Hezekiah sent three of his trusted men to hear what the Rabshakeh had to say. Of course, walls and barred gates protected the city.
Eliakim, the man named first
The man named first held the highest place, and Isaiah gives him a far larger future:
Morrish Bible DictionarySon of Hilkiah, and chief of the household of Hezekiah… Eliakim must have held a high office. Scripture names him 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. Eliakim was to have the key of David, and to open and shut with real power. He is here a type — a picture — of Christ when He comes to take His place over Israel.
Isaiah's words about this same man go far beyond any palace office:
William Kelly"In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah… 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"… Here we cannot fail to see the type — the picture — of Christ replacing the Antichrist.
Shebna, under God's sentence
The second man on the list came to the wall with God's judgment already spoken over him:
Morrish Bible DictionaryTreasurer to Hezekiah. God denounced him through the prophet Isaiah. It seems he later became scribe or secretary.
The charge against him was simple. He lived for himself:
William KellyThe 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. Even beyond death he sought nothing but his own name and glory.
The ground they stood on
Judah's kings had faced God's word on this same spot before, about thirty years earlier:
William KellyThat is the place where Ahaz despised the gracious word of the LORD spoken through Isaiah some thirty years before. Now, in that same place, the Assyrian hurled insults at the LORD and the king.
Envoys who were afraid
These three men did not handle the meeting well. When they asked Rabshakeh to switch languages, they handed him a new weapon:
William KellyIt is true that Hezekiah's servants were weak here. Nothing could be won by trying to appease the enemies of the Lord. It is always good to remember that they are enemies. Ask no favours of them, and expect none. But these three men were alarmed. They feared the effect on the Jewish people, so they begged him not to speak in the Jews' language where the people could hear… That suggested an idea to him. It gave him a new weapon, a new argument, a new way of appealing to the people. He might never have thought of it if the fears of Hezekiah's servants had not put it into his head.
The king's chosen answer
Hezekiah had already decided how the meeting would end. His men were to give no answer:
C. H. MackintoshHow, then, does Hezekiah meet all these proud words? With the silent dignity of faith. "The king's command was, 'Do not answer him.'" That was how the king carried himself in front of the people. In fact, that is always how faith carries itself: calm, composed and dignified before men, while ready at the same time to sink into the dust in humility before God.
Summary
- Summons. Assyria sends three top officers to the wall of Jerusalem: a general, a chamberlain and a spokesman. They call for the king himself.
- Servants. Hezekiah stays behind barred gates. He sends three trusted men out instead: Eliakim over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the recorder.
- Spot. They stand where Ahaz once brushed aside God's word through Isaiah. Now the same ground hears the Assyrian insult God and the king.
- Stumble. Fear made these three men weak. Their plea to change the language only handed Rabshakeh a new weapon: he appealed straight to the people.
- Successor. Eliakim heads the list, and Isaiah 22 lifts him higher still. God clothes him and gives him the key of David, so that he opens and shuts and no one can reverse it. Shebna, who lived for his own name, comes down. Commentators see in that exchange a picture of Christ taking His place.