Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"The LORD will throw you away violently"
Text: Isaiah 22:17
JUDGMENT AGAINST SHEBNA
We have a glimpse of how the officers appointed by the king abused their positions and authority. Shebna was singled out for he held a very high office in the kingdom of Judah.
“Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts:
‘Go, proceed to this steward,
To Shebna, who is over the house, and say:
‘What have you here, and whom have you here,
That you have hewn a sepulcher here,
As he who hews himself a sepulcher on high,
Who carves a tomb for himself in a rock?
Indeed, the LORD will throw you away violently,
O mighty man,
And will surely seize you.
He will surely turn violently and toss you like a ball
Into a large country;
There you shall die, and there your glorious chariots
Shall be the shame of your master’s house.
So I will drive you out of your office,
And from your position he will pull you down.””
Isaiah 22:15-19
1. Isaiah was sent to deliver this judgment against Shebna.
2. The office that Shebna held:
a) He was called “a steward”.
b) The word “house” may be understood as the king’s palace.
c) He was at the least, the chief of staff, in the reign of King Hezekiah.
3. The arrogance of Shebna.
a) He had planned an elaborate sepulcher for himself.
b) It was like a royal tomb for himself, though he was not of royal blood.
c) He owned “glorious chariots” that displayed:
i) His authority.
ii) His wealth.
iii) His personal glory.
iv) His arrogance.
4. The punishment of Shebna.
a) He would be removed from his high office.
b) He would be tossed away violently.
c) He would be exiled to “a large country”.
d) He would be there in that foreign country.
e) This punishment would come from the LORD Himself.