Isaiah 22
I. (1-39) Condemnation A. Chapters 1-12 - Prophecies against Judah
B. Chapters 13-23 - Prophecies against the Nations
1. \\#13:1-14:32\\ Babylon
2. \\#15:1-16:14\\ Moab
3. \\#17:1-14\\ Syria and Israel (northern kingdom)
4. \\#18:1-7\\ Unknown
5. \\#19:1-20:6\\ Egypt - The message to Egypt continues
6. \\#21:1-10\\ The Desert Area
7. \\#21:11-12\\ Edom
8. \\#21:13-17\\ Arabia
9. \\#22:1-25\\ Israel - For some reason, God is not calling some
of these nations by their names; but rather, gives clues to their
identity. Isaiah calls the land "the daughter of my people"
\\#4\\ and weeps bitterly for what is happening there. He will
also make reference to the "city of David" \\#9\\ and Judah
\\#8\\.
Note:
This chapter has caused some confusion. There seems to be
little doubt that the prophecy refers to Judah \\#Is 22:8\\ and
specifically Jerusalem (i.e. "city of David \\#Is 22:9\\. It is
also apparent that it deals with the city being besieged
\\#Is 22:6-7\\. Elam (Persia) and Kir ( a city of Media) are mentioned
\\#Is 22:6\\ but that does not necessitate that this is referring to
the Persian conquest for the Persians did not conquer the land of
Israel until 614 AD, a time when the Jews did not directly possess
the land. (At that time, the Persians were actually welcomed by the
Jews!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(614)
That being the case, I regard this passage as unclear and consider it
could be historic (although I do not know when), dual reference, or
strictly prophetic of a battle yet to be fought.
a. \\#1-14\\ A Condemnation of Israel - Again, God mentions His people in
a section of Scripture which should be reserved for the destruction of
the wicked \\#Is 15:4, 17:1-3\\. It is a sad realization that His
people were so far removed from Him that He would deal with them as with
heathen.
(1) \\#1-3\\ God’s View Of Israel
(a) \\#1\\ Israel is called the "Valley of Vision," because so
many visions have been given to them.
(b) \\#1-2\\ The question is being asked, "What aileth thee?"
1. "aileth" - Something had recently begun to bother Israel,
causing them to run to their housetops. Until then, they
had been "a tumultuous city, a joyous city."
1. "full of stirs" - Meaning noise, crying or shouting.
2. "tumultuous" - Meaning loud, clamorous, uproar.
3. "joyous" - The other two terms could mean extremely sad or
happy, but joyous points to the fact they were very happy.
See \\#13\\.
(c) \\#2\\ The point of the vision is that as Jerusalem celebrated,
God was seeing a city of "slain men."
1. Most take it that as Assyria (or maybe Babylon) was
gathering forces to come against Israel, Israel was so
engrossed in its frivolous lifestyle, it did not notice
until it was too late.
NOTE: I have much doubt as to what battle is being described in this chapter.
There are discrepancies between this text and every national enemy that Israel
fought (i.e. Assyria, Babylon, Persia. etc). The discrepancies are noted with
comments throughout the chapter study.
2. Even though the description is one of war in \\#3-12\\,
God says the dead are not the result of "the sword, nor
dead in battle."
3. I take it, that although these people may perish in battle,
the battle was not the primary cause of their death but
rather the spiritual condition of the nation \\#11-13\\.
4. The implication may be that because of their sin, Israel
would lose whatever battle they fought even before the
first weapon had been raised in battle.
(d) \\#3\\ In this death scene, the "rulers" would flee and the
survivors would be captured. (It is not likely that this is
the Assyrians coming against Jerusalem since God delivered
Jerusalem in that battle.)
(2) \\#4-8\\ Isaiah’s View of the Battle
(a) \\#4\\ What Isaiah sees causes him to "weep bitterly". It is
the spoiling of "the daughter of my people," a likely
reference to Israel’s capital, Jerusalem, being destroyed.
(b) \\#5\\ It is "a day of trouble." While that could be a
reference to the end time tribulation, it does not have to be.
A "day of trouble" could be any single day of great distress,
either for the nation of Israel \\#Is 37:3\\ or an individual
\\#Psalm 20:1\\. Most do not take this to be an end time
prophecy.
(c) \\#5\\ "by the Lord God of hosts" - Even so, this battle is
the Lord’s work. He uses it to "tread down" and to "break
down the walls," (i.e. of Jerusalem).
(d) \\#6\\ Because of the mention of "Elam" (Persia or modern-day
Iran), I tend to believe God either has fulfilled or will
fulfill these prophecies through the Persians.
i. \\#7\\ Israel’s "choicest valleys" will be "full of
chariots" and "horsemen." This would indicate an
infantry conquest of Israel, which was done by both the
Assyrians and the Babylonians (although the Assyrians did
not take Jerusalem). Because Elam is specifically
mentioned in \\#6\\, I would suppose that Persia, not
Assyria or Babylon, would be leading the attack. (Some
commentaries answer this objection by stating that both
the Assyrian and Babylonian armies had Persian soldiers
in the ranks. However, that does not satisfy the
prominent role this verse gives to Elam.)
ii. The problem with suggesting that this is the Persians
coming against Israel is that the NATION of Israel has
never actually been defeated by Persia. Israel was already
Babylon’s captive at the time of the Persian empire,
having some of its occupants already in the city of
Babylon (Daniel 5-6).
iii. Even though the NATION of Israel was never defeated by
the Persians, the land was conquered by Persia in 614 AD.
aa. 70 AD - Temple was destroyed
bb. 135 AD - The Jews were expelled from Jerusalem.
cc. 312 - Constantine, the Roman emperor, has a vision
of cross. He takes that to mean that if he will
accept Christianity, God will bless his army.
dd. 313 - Byzantine Empire - Constantine makes
Christianity a state religion. The Roman Catholic
church, which was anti-Semitic, begins.
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/4952/Israel.htm
ee. 614 - Persian conquered the land once belonging to
the Jews (and they were welcomed by the Jews).
ff. 629 - The Byzantine Empire retook the land.
iv. Admittedly, referring to the 614 AD conquest as
fulfillment of this prophecy has great problems, but
at least Persia is the conquering country as mentioned
in the text.
(e) \\#8\\ The "he" is the enemy army. They shall "discover" the
"covering of Judah"; that is, the things that are protected.
\\#8\\ shifts topics in the middle to start discussing what
Israel does in response to this attack.
(f) \\#6\\ "Kir" - Some say it is a city in the region of modern-
day Armenia, north of Persia and Iran. Others say it is a
city of Moab. The Assyrians did use it as a holding area for
prisoners it took \\#2Kings 16:9\\.
(3) \\#8-14\\ Israel’s Response to the Threat - As mentioned in
\\#1-2\\, Israel, in general, and Jerusalem, in particular, seem
to be celebrating while an enemy was amassing upon it. While they
celebrated, God was seeing Israel slain, primarily for
spiritual shortcomings. However, Israel realized the danger they
were in and ran to the housetops to see the enemy approaching.
This section explains what they did to prepare when the perceived
the danger.
(a) \\#8\\ Israel will "look… to the armour of the house of the
forest."
i. The "House of the Forest" was built by Solomon with the
mighty cedars of Lebanon \\#1Kings 7:2-5\\.
ii. This became a treasury of sorts, being filled with
Solomon’s precious treasures \\#1Kings 10:21\\.
iii. It seems to also have been an armoury \\#Is 22:8\\
\\#1Ki 10:17\\
iv. In other words, Israel looked (or will look) to set proper
military defenses with their weapons.
v. The reference to a historic armoury in Jerusalem which
would have surely been destroyed during Babylon’s conquest
of the city suggests that this prophecy had to be
fulfilled during the time period of the kings (i.e.
before Babylon destroyed Jerusalem). This gives addition
reason to judge either Assyria or Babylon was the attacker.
(b) \\#9-10\\ They also noted and repaired the "breaches of the
city of David" (Jerusalem) by tearing down some of the houses
inside the city to fortify the wall.
(c) \\#9\\ They also "gathered together the waters of the lower
pool" - Having water is crucial to surviving a siege. Hezekiah
cut a tunnel from Gihon Springs to the Pool of Siloam in
Jerusalem. It appears the lower pool is the Pool of Siloam
while the upper or older pool is Gihon Springs.
(d) \\#11\\ This sounds like Hezekiah, making the Pool of Siloam
between two walls, and at the same time, cutting the water off
from the Assyrians. \\#2Chron 32:2-4\\
(e) \\#11-13\\ However, God brings judgment against Israel (their
defeat) because they failed to call upon GOD!
i. This part had nothing to do with Hezekiah and the Assyria
army for Hezekiah lead Israel to call upon the Lord
\\#2Kings 19:1-7\\. In this prophecy, there is no
turning to God.
ii. \\#12\\ God desired that Israel would truly repent.
iii. \\#13\\ Instead, they continued their unrepentant,
celebratory lifestyle. These verses sound like the
celebration mentioned in \\#2\\.
(f) \\#14\\ Because Israel did not repent when they knew they were
in danger, they would perish.
(4) God does not identify the battle in which these events are to happen
and because of the conflicting prophecies, it is difficult to
isolate a specific defeat. It may even be that these verses do not
describe a single national defeat but are a conglomeration of several
national defeats. Below is a summary of the known possibilities.
(a) Could it be the Assyrian Empire attacking?
i. It sounds like the city (or nation) falls \\#3\\. The
walls are broken down \\#5\\, but Jerusalem does not fall
to Assyria.
ii. It sounds like the city (or nation) is not seeking the Lord
\\#11-13\\. Hezekiah lead the people to repent.
iii. Assyria is not Elam \\#6\\.
(b) Could it be the Babylonian Empire attacking?
i. The biggest problem is that Babylon is not Elam \\#6\\.
ii. The description of pool of water being built \\#11\\
sounds like what Hezekiah did when the Assyrians attacked.
(c) Could it be the Persians in 614 BC?
i. That battle was not specifically against Israel, and the
Jews living in the land actually welcomed the Persians.
ii. The preparation mentioned \\#8\\ makes mention of the
"house of the forest" which was Jewish and was destroyed
before 614 BC.
iii. The description water being supplied to the city sounds
like Hezekiah’s work when defending against the Assyrians.
(d) Could it be part of the end time battles?
i. It is possible. \\#Eze 38:5\\ mentions Persia as being
one of the nations that comes against Israel in the end
time.
ii. The biggest problem is the reference to historical events
such as the House of the Forest \\#8\\ and the water
being routed into the city \\#9, 11\\.
iii. And concerning the endtime battles, I don’t know of another
prophecy that so details an army of Elamites coming
against and defeating Israel.
(e) Could it be another battle, perhaps before the tribulation
begins?
i. I am no prophet of future events and would not make any
claim; but if the prophecies in this chapter are a single
battle, I have not found a historical fulfillment.
ii. Elam, Persian, Iran - They are all the same people.
iii. Iran is certainly hostile enough toward Israel at the
present.
(f) Could it be that this chapter is some kind of collection of
several different battles against Jerusalem?
i. Prophets often failed to see the time gaps between their
prophecies.
ii. Prophets do give prophecies which are "out-of-order" and
some even seem to go back and forth between different
events.
(g) This may be one of those passages that we just have to wait
and see about. Historically, I do not see its completed
fulfillment, but neither do I see an easy time for it to be
fulfilled.
b. \\#15-25\\ A Personal Prophecy (This prophecy seems as though it may be
out of its proper section, but if God put it here, it is not.)
(1) \\#15-19\\ Prophecy against Shebna
(a) \\#15\\ Shebna, was a high officer in the kingdom.
(b) \\#16\\ "he that heweth him out a sepulchre" - He obviously
thought he was going to live the remainder of his life in
Jerusalem and be buried there. (It is probable that the
Assyrians had laid siege to Jerusalem by this time and his
actions were an indication that he felt save, not because he
had any confidence in the Lord but because he had confidence
in men.)
(c) \\#17\\ God promised Shebna that he would be carried away
captive.
i. Jerusalem did not fall to the Assyrians; however, many other
cities of Judah did. For Shebna to be taken prisoner, all
he needed was to be caught outside of Jerusalem.
ii. It is obvious that God is displeased with Shebna, but the
reason is not given.
(d) \\#18-19\\ "there shalt thou die" - Apparently, Shebna was to
die in "a large country."
(e) Some believe that Shebna was reduced to the position of a scribe
under Eliakim and is referred to in other passages
\\#2Kings 18:18, 26, 37, 19:2, Is 36:11, 22, 37:2\\.
Considering the prophecy of captivity \\#17\\ and violence
\\#18\\ toward him, that would be very doubtful.
(2) \\#20-25\\ Prophecy for Eliakim
(a) It would be interesting to know if this man was from Judah. He
seems to be type of Jesus. He becomes the second highest in
the kingdom.
(b) \\#20\\ "my servant" - God, not Hezekiah, calls Eliakim His
servant.
(c) \\#21-24\\ God gives him his very high position.
i. \\#21\\ "I will clothe him with thy (Shebna’s) robe."
ii. "…strengthen him with thy girdle"
iii. "…I will commit thy government into his hand"
iv. "…he shall be a father to… Jerusalem… Judah"
v. \\#22\\ "the key of the house of David will I lay upon his
shoulder"
aa. This sounds like he is to be the king himself (but he
serves Hezekiah).
bb. It is also similar to what is said of our Lord.
Rev 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for
evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
vi. "he shall open and none shall shut… shut, and none shall
open"
aa. He will have absolute authority in matters.
bb. This description is again similar to that of Christ,
(speaking to the church of Philadelphia…)
Revelation 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door,
and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word,
and hast not denied my name.
vii. \\#23\\ "I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place"
aa. To call Eliakim "a nail" means that he will be stable
enough that others make rest upon him.
bb. That Eliakim is placed in a "sure place," speaks of an
important place.
cc. Faithful servants can be given an important position.
viii. "he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house" -
aa. Without doubt, Eliakim is being spoken of as the ruler
and not the ruler’s (Hezekiah) servant.
bb. This is what makes us think the language is a type of
Christ.
cc. It also makes me wonder if Eliakim was of the tribe of
Judah.
dd. Whatever reference this may be to Christ, it certainly
speaks well of Eliakim. He honored his father’s
house.
ix. \\#24\\ "And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his
father’s house…." Some say it is the ancients’ custom
to hang ornaments which represent the household name on the
outside of the house. Others refer to the peg as a modern-
day clothesline. Regardless, the peg is important and must
be trustworthy to hold valuables.
x. \\#25\\ "in that day" - A phrase that has end time
ramifications. I do not believe verse 25 speaks of Eliakim,
as he has already been spoken of as faithful. Rather, it
moves us to the end time and speaks of whomever will be
holding these important positions at that time. They will
not be so faithful.
xi. "the nail…shall be removed…cut down… and fall" - This
could be a direct reference to the anti-Christ or to those
who fill his positions, but whoever the peg is, they will
be unfaithful and whoever places their trust in them will
be disappointed.
<Outline
Index> <Close Window>
