Isaiah 22:15 - Meaning and Application

Here we have a prophecy about Shebna, a high official in the court, being removed, and Eliakim being raised to the place of honor and trust he held. Changes like this often happen in royal courts, so it may seem strange that the prophet gives it so much attention. But God used the fulfillment of this prophecy about these men to confirm Isaiah’s message about greater events, and to show that he has judgments ready not only for hostile nations abroad, but also for false friends at home who betray his people.

This also shows God’s hand in events that seem to us random and dependent on the wishes of rulers. Promotion does not come from the east, west, or south, but God is the one who judges (Psalm 75:6, Psalm 75:7). This prophecy was likely given around the same time as the earlier part of the chapter, and it probably began to be fulfilled before Sennacherib’s invasion. Shebna was then over the household, while Eliakim later held that office (Isaiah 36:3). Shebna was then being lowered step by step, and Eliakim was moving up.

The prophecy first speaks of Shebna’s disgrace. He is called the treasurer because he managed the kingdom’s income, and he is also said to be over the house, because his ambition and greed were so great that one major office was not enough for him. Self-seeking people often try to grasp more than they can properly manage. Then their work suffers, while they focus only on the honor and profit of the position.

We are not told exactly what Shebna had done wrong, though Isaiah was sent to speak against him. The Jews said he had been secretly dealing with the king of Assyria and was trying to hand the city over to him. Whatever the exact charge, he seems to have been a foreigner, since his father’s name is never given, and he was an enemy to Judah and Jerusalem’s true good. He may first have been promoted under Ahaz. Hezekiah was a good king, but even the best rulers cannot always be sure of good servants. That is why we should pray for rulers, that they may choose wisely those they trust.

These were days of reform, yet Shebna, a bad man, still kept his place at court. Many others likely did the same, which may be why Sennacherib is said to have been sent against a hypocritical nation (Isaiah 10:6). In the message to Shebna, the first thing is a rebuke of his pride, showiness, and false sense of security (Isaiah 22:16). The words, “What have you here, and whom have you here?” mean, in effect, What right do you have to make such a stir? What property do you truly have here? What family ties bind you here? Are you not from a low and ordinary background, a mere common man, whose rise is not what it seems?

What does it mean, then, that you have built yourself such a fine house, and carved out such a dwelling? It was so carefully made that it looked more like the work of an engraver than of a builder. It seemed carved in rock, so firm and secure did it appear. He had even hewn out a tomb for himself, as if he expected his pride to live on after his death. Jerusalem was not the place of his fathers’ graves, as Nehemiah spoke of it tenderly (Nehemiah 2:3), but he wanted it to be his own burial place, and so he set up his memorial while still alive.

People who build grand monuments for their own pride forget that, however fair they look outside, they are full of dead men’s bones inside. It is a shame when a tombstone seems to forget the grave. The second part of the prophecy is that his glory would be brought low and spoiled. God says he will drive him from his place (Isaiah 22:19). High places are slippery places, and those who are proud of their rank and abuse their power deserve to lose it. God does this, showing himself to be God by looking on proud people and bringing them down (Job 40:11, Job 40:12).

This is what Isaiah later means when he says that the nail now fastened in a secure place, meaning Shebna, who thinks he is fixed firmly in office, will be pulled out, cut down, and fall (Isaiah 22:25). Those who think any place in this world is secure are mistaken. Nothing here is certain. When the nail falls, what hung on it is cut off too. So when Shebna was disgraced, everyone who depended on him was brought low with him. People in high places often have many hanging on them as favorites, and they may be proud of that, but those people become a burden. Their weight may even break the nail, and both fall together. That is often the end of great men and their flatterers, who expect too much from each other and then ruin one another.

The prophecy also says that after some time Shebna would not only lose his post, but be driven from his country. “The Lord will carry you away with a mighty captivity” (Isaiah 22:17, Isaiah 22:18). Some think the Assyrians seized him and took him away because he had promised to help them and then turned against them. Others think Hezekiah found out his treachery and banished him, or that Shebna withdrew on his own because he had become hated by the people. He may have gone to another land and spent the rest of his life in poverty and obscurity.

Grotius thought Shebna was struck with leprosy, a disease often seen as coming directly from God’s displeasure, especially as a punishment for pride, as in the cases of Miriam and Uzziah. Because of that disease, he was tossed out of Jerusalem like a ball. Those who, while in power, toss others around will be justly tossed themselves when their turn comes to fall. Many who think they are fixed like a nail may end up being thrown about like a ball, for here we have no lasting city.

Shebna thought his place was too small for him, as if he had no room to rise. So God would send him into a wide land, where he would have room to wander, but never find his way back. There he would die and be buried, not in the grave he had made for himself. Even the chariots that had been his glory, the ones he used to ride through Jerusalem, would go with him into exile and only remind him of his former greatness. They would bring shame on the house of his lord, meaning the court of Ahaz, which had raised him up.

The chapter then turns to the prophecy of Eliakim’s advancement (Isaiah 22:20).

He is God’s servant, and he has shown himself faithful in other duties. For that reason, God will call him to this high office. Those who are diligent in a lower place stand the best chance of promotion in God’s eyes. Eliakim does not push Shebna aside, build support against him, or force his way into the office. God calls him to it, and what God calls us to, we may expect him to support.

It is foretold here that Eliakim will take Shebna’s place as lord chamberlain of the household, lord treasurer, and chief minister of state. The prophet must tell Shebna this in (Isaiah 22:21): “He will wear your robe, the sign of honor, and your sash, the sign of authority, for he will have your government.” Hearing this would deeply humiliate Shebna, and seeing it would be worse. Proud great men can hardly bear to see their successors. God himself brings this about, not only because he puts it in Hezekiah’s heart, and we must recognize God’s hand in the rise and fall of rulers (Proverbs 21:1), but also because all ruling powers, both greater and smaller, are appointed by God. He is the one who clothes princes with their robes, so we submit to them for the Lord’s sake and with our eyes on him (1 Peter 2:13). Since he places government in their hands, they must use it according to his will and for his glory. They must judge for the One by whom they judge and make fair decisions (Proverbs 8:15). And they can depend on him to equip them for the work he assigns, as he says, “I will clothe him,” and then, “I will strengthen him.”

Those called to positions of trust and power should ask God for grace to do their work well. That should be their main concern. Eliakim’s rise is also shown by the key of the house of David being laid on his shoulder (Isaiah 22:22). He may have carried a golden key as a sign of his office, or had one stitched on his robe. As manager of the house, and with the key entrusted to him, he could open and no one could shut, or shut and no one could open. He had access to the house of the valuable things, the silver, gold, and spices, and to the house of weapons and treasures (Isaiah 39:2). He managed these supplies as he saw fit for the public good. He appointed whom he wished to lower offices and removed whom he wished.

Our Lord Jesus speaks of his own authority as Mediator, meaning his role as the one who stands between God and people, by referring to this image (Revelation 3:7). He has the key of David, and he opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens. His power in the kingdom of heaven, and in all its affairs, is complete, unstoppable, and cannot be challenged.

He is also shown as fixed and confirmed in that office. He will have it for life, not just while it pleases another to keep him there (Isaiah 22:23): “I will fasten him like a nail in a sure place,” so he cannot be removed or cut down. This is how lasting the honor is that God gives to those who use it for him. Our Lord Jesus is like a nail in a sure place, his kingdom cannot be shaken, and he remains the same.

He will also be a great blessing in his office, and this is the crown of all these favors. God makes his name great because he will be a blessing (Genesis 12:2). He will be a blessing to his country (Isaiah 22:21). He will be a father to the people of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. He will care not only for the king’s household, but for all public matters in Jerusalem and Judah. Rulers should be like fathers to those under their rule. They should teach wisely, rule with love, correct gently, protect, provide, and care for the people as a man cares for his own children and family. It is a happy thing when the court, the city, and the country have no divided interests, but all seek the same good.

He will also be a blessing to his family (Isaiah 22:23, 24). He will be “a glorious throne to his father’s house.” His wisdom and good character, which qualified him for this trust, will make his family honored. His family may already have been important, but it will now become even more so. Children should aim to bring honor to their parents and relatives. The honor that comes from godliness and usefulness is worth far more than the honor that comes only from family name and rank.

Since Eliakim is promoted, all the glory of his father’s house hangs on him. Others in the family will look to him, and his brothers will bow before him like sheaves before Joseph’s sheaf. But the glory of this world gives no real worth of its own. It is only something hung on a person, and it soon falls away. Eliakim was compared to a nail in a sure place, and in that picture all the relations of his family are said to depend on him. In a house, vessels with handles are hung on nails and pegs. This also means that he will generously care for them all and bear the weight of that care. All the vessels, not only the larger ones, but even the small cups and the least important things in his household, will be provided for by him.

See what a burden people take on when they accept great responsibilities. They often do not realize how many people and how much will depend on them if they are faithful in their duty. Our Lord Jesus, having the key of the house of David, is like a nail in a sure place. All the glory of his Father’s house hangs on him, comes from him, and depends on him. Even the least member of his church is welcome to him, and he is strong enough to bear them all. No soul that is by faith hung on Christ can perish, and no concern entrusted to him can fall to the ground, no matter how heavy it is.