Isaiah 22 - Bible Study in 5 Minutes
Isaiah 22 Short Summary:
Isaiah 22 begins with a prophecy foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. After this, God rebukes Isaiah’s contemporaries in Jerusalem for preparing to defend the city against Assyria without first repenting of their sins. The final part of the chapter is a rebuke of Hezekiah’s servant, Shebna, and God’s promise to raise up Eliakim, Hezekiah’s secretary, in his place.
Isaiah 22 Bible Study
TIMELINE:
The prophetic ministry of Isaiah spanned the reigns of King Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
Hezekiah was king of Judah from 715-686 BC. The oracle in this chapter appears to have been delivered between the beginning of Hezekiah’s reign and 701 BC, the year Assyria threatened Jerusalem.
KEY CHARACTERS:
Isaiah – The son of Amoz (1:1). God commissioned Isaiah as His prophet to Judah.
The Nation of Assyria – In Isaiah’s time, the Assyrians were the most powerful empire in the world. God used them to punish the people of Israel, but prevented them from capturing Jerusalem.
The Babylonians – The Babylonian Empire dominated the world from 626-539 BC. The capital, Babylon, was in Mesopotamia on the Euphrates River.
Shebna – Servant of King Hezekiah. He was the keeper of the household (2 Kings 18:18).
Eliakim – Secretary in Hezekiah’s court (Isaiah 37:2).
DEFINITIONS:
Oracle (22:1) - A divine announcement; a message from God.
The Valley of Vision (22:1) – A name used to refer to Jerusalem and its inhabitants.
House of the Forest (22:8) – Likely a reference to the palace of Solomon, which is called the “House of the Forest of Lebanon” in 1 Kings 7:2, because it was constructed with cedars from Lebanon.
OUTLINE:
GOD’S FUTURE JUDGEMENT ON JERUSALEM THROUGH BABYLON (22:1-7):
Isaiah 22 contains an oracle directed towards Jerusalem, which is here called “the valley of vision.”
The first part of the chapter (verses 1-7) appears to be talking about God’s ultimate judgement on Jerusalem, when He allowed the Babylonians to demolish the city (586 BC). The remainder of the chapter appears to be talking about events more contemporary to Isaiah’s life, namely the fortification of Jerusalem by Hezekiah in preparation for a potential Assyrian attack (701 BC).
Isaiah asks the inhabitants of Jerusalem why they were going up to the housetops. They may have been doing this to pray, either to their idols or to the God of Heaven. If to their idols, their prayers would not be heard. If to the God of Heaven, it was too late for them to ask for His mercy.
The leaders of the city tried to flee but were captured. Their men were killed, not on the battlefield against the Babylonians, but within the city on account of starvation and disease (the Babylonians besieged Jerusalem for a year and a half).
Jerusalem was destined to be surrounded by chariots (22:7), to have her walls torn down (22:5), and to have her citizens die within her (22:2).
Isaiah wept bitterly over the prophesied fate of the city.
God had protected Judah for many years, including through the Assyrian threat (701 BC), but when the Babylonians came, He would take “away the covering of Judah” (22:8).
GOD’S DISPLEASURE WITH JERUSALEM’S PREPARATIONS FOR THE ASSYRIAN SEIGE (22:8-14):
Now Isaiah shifts to more contemporary issues within Judah. He and God had a problem with the preparations that were being made to defend against the potential Assyrian attack of Jerusalem (701 BC).
The people of Judah were collecting weapons, patching up the city walls, and creating water cisterns to supply the city.
But they failed to do the most important thing, turn their hearts back to God.
They were putting their trust in defensive strategy, not in the God who promised to preserve them.
God would not overlook their sin. Although He promised to save them from Assyria, their day of judgement was on the horizon (586 BC).
GOD REBUKES SHEBNA AND ELEVATES ELIAKIM (22:15-25):
In this final section, God deals with 2 of King Hezekiah’s servants, Shebna and Eliakim.
God was displeased with Shebna. He had built himself an elaborate tomb, thinking he was somebody special, but God told him He was going pull him down into insignificance.
God was going to elevate Eliakim to take Shebna’s place. Eliakim would wear Shebna’s robe, be granted his authority, and God would make Eliakim a “father… to the house of Judah.”
“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” (22:22).
APPLICATION:
Are you forgetting the most important thing?
Hezekiah and the people of Judah were rebuilding walls and constructing cisterns to prepare for the arrival of the Assyrians, but they forgot the most important thing. They forgot that the biggest threat to them wasn’t the Assyrian army, it was the angry God who was already within their walls.
God rebuked Jerusalem’s residents for building fortification before they repented and got right with Him.
Are you trying to defend yourself against the threats of an unknown future without getting right with God first?
The Bible will teach you that there is nothing in the future to fear if God is on your side, but there is great reason to fear if you aren’t on God’s side now.
We need to put first things first!
If you aren’t right with God, you need to get right with Him before you do anything else.
There is no future threat that should concern you more than the danger of rebelling against God in the present.
