The oracle concerning the valley of vision.
What do you mean that you have gone up, all of you, to the housetops, 2 you who are full of shoutings, tumultuous city, exultant town? Your slain are not slain with the sword or dead in battle. 3 All your leaders have fled together; without the bow they were captured. All of you who were found were captured, though they had fled far away. 4 Therefore I said: “Look away from me; let me weep bitter tears; do not labor to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.” 5 For the Lord God of hosts has a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the valley of vision, a battering down of walls and a shouting to the mountains. 6 And Elam bore the quiver with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. 7 Your choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen took their stand at the gates. 8 He has taken away the covering of Judah. In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest, 9 and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool, 10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall.11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago. 12 In that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth; 13 and behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 14 The Lord of hosts has revealed himself in my ears: “Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die,” says the Lord God of hosts. 15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him: 16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock? 17 Behold, the Lord will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you 18 and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be your glorious chariots, you shame of your master's house. 19 I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. 20 In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21 and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23 And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father's house. 24 And they will hang on him the whole honor of his father's house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. 25 In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the Lord has spoken.” Meditation I battle spiritual pride, often thinking of myself more highly than I ought. This sin births self-justification and self-righteousness as it moves my heart away from realizing the depth of God’s love and the power of His gospel in my life. Today’s passage is a Divine rebuke of a hardhearted and prideful people. Isaiah’s message is entitled the “Valley of Vision.” (1, 5) Judah was called to be a mountain, high and lifted up for all nations to stream to, (2:2) but they had lost their purpose and were a valley filled with hopelessness. Judah lost sight of the victory of God (Paul uses Isaiah 22:13 to illustrate the futility of faith if Jesus has not raised from the dead- 1 Corinthians 15:32). Judah had Divine revelation, the ability to truly see, but their eyes could not see because they did not believe. (Isaiah 6:9) Paul directs the Church to think of ourselves with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given (Romans 12:3). None of us have embodied the life God has called us to live and we have all lose sight of the victory of God. With Judah, we receive the Lord’s loving rebuke. Jesus Christ came in humility to save us from our pride. We are in and out of the cesspool of our sin but God’s covenant faithfulness will give us hearts to receive and eyes to see. God loves us in the valley to move us to the mountain of His love. God’s grace restores our vision. Richly Dwelling -Valley of Vision is the opposite of how Judah was living. What would be the Divine sarcasm used to describe you right now, diagnosing your sin? -The heart of the rebuke is the loss of sight in the victory of God (22:13, 1 Corinthians 15:32). Why does losing sight of God’s victory lead to personal pride, arrogance, and sin? -The relentless love of God offers us to return to the Lord. How can you kill your pride and take up the invitation of the love of God? Jesus is offering, “Come to me.” Key Verse 12 In that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth; 13 and behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Comments are closed.
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AuthorPastor Mitchell celebrates twenty-five years of marriage with Lisa & together they have four adventurous children. |