Isaiah: The Covering

Isaiah 22

Suppose you are driving down the road and see a toddler playing in a busy street. What would you do? I am certain you’d stop your car and ensure the child is safely out of harm’s way. You would likely also feel angry and ask, “Where are the parents!?” Loving, attentive parents don’t let their children play in the roadway. God is our caring and attentive Father. When Israel strayed, he “grabbed” their attention. That’s what we have repeatedly seen in the first part of Isaiah.

In Isaiah 1-12, the prophet warned Judah (the southern kingdom) that if they refused to turn from their sins, they would end up like Israel (the northern kingdom), which was overthrown by the Assyrians in 722 BC. After capturing Israel, the conquering Assyrians turned their attention to Judah, invading in 701 BC and seizing forty-six towns, according to records from the Assyrian ruler Sennacherib.

When faced with a pending invasion, Judah did not turn to the Lord of hosts, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, first for help. Instead, they sought military assistance from other nations. Isaiah 13-23 reminds us that no existing country can aid God’s people, as the most powerful nations would eventually fall. Why would Judah seek an alliance with countries that opposed God and that he ultimately weakened and destroyed? Why did they not turn to him? Sadly, Isaiah 22 lists Judah among the nations that will be judged for their failures. 

I believe the context of Isaiah 22 is when the Assyrians surrounded Jerusalem. We will discuss that further in Isaiah 36-37. Isaiah refers to Jerusalem as the “valley of vision” (Isa. 22:1). Many believe this description relates to the Kidron Valley that runs east of the city, separating it from the Mount of Olives. Others interpret this as a title of irony. Jerusalem, built on high ground and often called Mt. Zion, was laid low, and its spiritual vision was blinded. When Isaiah saw what was happening, he wept “bitter tears” (Isa. 22:4). Numerous leaders in Jerusalem tried to escape but were captured (Isa. 22:3). Isaiah clarified that Jerusalem’s defeat would come at the hands of the Lord they rejected. This declaration is today’s Anchor Point. 

Isaiah 22:5-8
For the Lord God of hosts has a day of tumult and trampling and confusionin the valley of vision . . .Your choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen took their stand at the gates. He has taken away the covering of Judah.

God’s love and forgiveness are amazing! However, it’s a perilous day when he removes his “covering” due to our obstinate sin.

Israel could have turned to the only One who would save them. Instead, they devised plans to protect themselves. They looked to “weapons of the House of the Forest” (Isa. 22:8b). This likely refers to a palace that Solomon built with large cedar columns (1 Kgs. 7:2; 10:13-21), which had been converted into a storage place for artillery. The leaders tore down houses and used the materials to fortify the wall (Isa. 22:10) and “collected the waters of the lower pool” (Isa. 22:9). This mention probably refers to the tunnel that Hezekiah dug to divert the water from the Gihon Springs to the pool of Siloam, securing the water supply within Jerusalem (2 Chron. 32).

Isaiah contrasts how Judah should have responded to this situation with what they actually did. They should have shaved their heads and put on sackcloth to grieve and turn to God (Isa. 22:12). Instead, they responded with “joy and gladness”:

Isaiah 22:12-13
In that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth; and behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. “Let us eat and drink,for tomorrow we die.”

God could not stomach this sin of self-focus during a siege. He said, “‘Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die’…” (Isa. 22:14), serving as a solemn reminder that sin carries serious consequences.

Isaiah 22:15-22 breaks from the general description of Judah’s hardness of heart to focus on two men: Shebna and Eliakim. Eliakim was a worthy man with a significant leadership position. However, the burden proved too heavy for him to bear (Isa. 22:23-25). Shebna was the head of the royal palace before Eliakim. He was self-absorbed, cutting out a tomb for himself “on the height” and carving “a dwelling for [himself] in the rock” (Isa. 22:16). The “Tomb of the Royal Steward,” believed to be Shebna’s tomb, was discovered in 1870 in a Jerusalem neighborhood. Its rare pre-exilic Hebrew inscription was stripped from the tomb and is now housed in the British Museum. The ancient inscription that would have been over the door reads, “This is the tomb [of the one] who is over the house. There is no silver or gold here but [his bones] and the bones of his lady with him. Cursed be the man who will open this!”[1]

It turns out that the arrogant man who built the tomb was cursed. Shebna was condemned for his self-indulgence.

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Time in the Word: Read and reflect on God’s warnings to his people in Isaiah 22. Focus on our Anchor Point: Isaiah 22:5-8. Reflect on the covering of protection that God places on believers.

Talking to God: Ask God to keep you humble and obedient. Thank him for covering you.

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