Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"The burden against the Valley of Vision"
Text: Isaiah 22:1
CREATIVE IMAGERY
The LORD’s messages were always deep and insightful. They were always creatively uttered and were thus very impactful.
“The burden against the Valley of Vision.
What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops,
You who are full of noise,
A tumultuous city, a joyous city?
Your slain men are not slain with the sword,
Nor dead in battle.
All your rulers have fled together;
They are captured by the archers.
All who are found in you are bound together;
They have fled from afar.
Therefore I said, ‘Look away from me,
I will weep bitterly;
Do not labor to comfort me
Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.'”
Isaiah 22:1-4
1. “The Valley of Vision”
a) The word “vision” is associated with the LORD.
i) It is He who gave dreams and visions to His servants the prophets.
ii) Many were the prophets who proclaimed messages to the nation.
b) Jerusalem was both the political and spiritual capital of Judah.
i) Jerusalem was on a hill but there were also valleys nearby.
ii) Jerusalem was not on the mountain peak spiritually.
iii) It was actually in the valley of humiliation instead, despite the visions given.
c) Now, Jerusalem was also given a strong message (a burden).
2. On the housetops.
a) Houses had flat roofs in the ancient days.
b) Gatherings of families were quite common.
c) This time, people got up to their housetops to see what was happening.
3. Jerusalem was in serious trouble.
a) Many were slain but they had not been killed by swords.
b) Many were slain by other means:
i) Starvation
ii) Illness
c) The leaders thought only of themselves.
i) They had fled before the Babylonians had even entered the city.
ii) Jerusalem was heavily under siege.
d) But their attempts to escape failed.
i) They were captured by the enemy archers.
ii) They were all arrested.
4. Isaiah’s response:
a) He wept for his city and its inhabitants.
b) He was nearly inconsolable.
c) His heart was broken to note how far Jerusalem had fallen.
d) It was truly now in the valley of the shadow of death, despite all the visions given.