It was revealed in mine cars by the Lord of hosts ; rather, the Lord of hosts revealed himself in mine ears , saying . This iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die. The sin of turning a call to repentance into an excuse for rioting and drunkenness is one which God will not pardon. It implies a hardness of heart which cannot fail to issue in final impenitence. read more
Iniquity that cannot be purged in this life. God is a God of infinite mercy to forgive sin, and yet he will "by no means clear the guilty." He will surely visit iniquity by fixing its consequences upon the sinner, and even also upon others who may be related to him. I. SIN - PENALTIES THAT CAN BE REMOVED NOW , WHILE WE ARE IN ' THIS WORLD . They are such as rest on the soul . Sin has a twofold aspect—it is both an act of transgression and a spirit of... read more
The Lord God of hosts . This form, Adonay Jehovah Tsabaoth—rarely used by Isaiah, but occurring above in verses 5, 12, and 13—seems to show that this section is in its right place, being intended as a sequel to the description of Sennacherib's siege. This treasurer . The word " this " is contemptuous. That translated "treasurer" is of doubtful import. The key to it is probably to be found in the cognate noun, translated "storehouse" in 2 Chronicles 32:28 , and "store" in 1 Kings... read more
Denunciation of Shebna. I. SHEBNA THE HOUSE STEWARD . He was the steward of the household—a high office, as we may see from the allusion in Isaiah 36:3 ; Isaiah 37:2 . Once it was held by a king's son ( 2 Chronicles 26:21 ; cf. 1 Kings 4:6 ; 1 Kings 18:3 ). This officer stood nearest the king, and had the domestic affairs of the palace under his superintendence. The office of the mayor of the palace under the Merovingian kings of France has been compared with it. It is... read more
PROPHECY ON THE DEPOSITION OF SHEBNA AND THE ELEVATION OF ELIAKIM . In its first and simplest application, this section predicts the fall of one state official and the advancement of an-other—matters, no doubt, of some importance in the court history of the time, but scarcely (with reverence be it said) of such moment as to be worthy either of prophetic announcement or of divinely inspired record. It has, therefore, been generally felt that there must be a secondary... read more
Shebna and Eliakim: a moral lesson. It is a remark of Bishop Butler's, that the moral government of God, though it may be very imperfectly carried out, is at any rate begun, in this world. Many virtues have natural rewards, and many vices natural punishments, attached to them. Again, though undoubtedly the righteous do suffer a large share of affliction, and the ungodly are often seen in great prosperity, yet, on the other hand, very signal instances from time to time manifest themselves, of... read more
Shebna and Eliakim: an allegory. Shebna, set over the house of the king by the king himself, but unfaithful in his office, worldly, carnal, fond of grandeur and display, typifies the old covenant, and the priesthood to which it was committed—a priesthood which looked more to the enrichment of the treasury than to the pure service of God ( Mark 7:11 ), and which was not above the weakness of raising up grand sepulchers for its members in a conspicuous place (1 Macc. 13:27-30). This... read more
Human reckoning and Divine interruption. We have one instance, if not two—according to the application we give to the "nail" of the twenty-fifth verse—of ill-founded security. It is a lesson very necessary to teach, for it seems to be one very hard to learn. I. HUMAN RECKONING . Shebna had carefully and successfully built up his position in the state, and he made sure that he should keep it; he had not only "feathered his nest," but he had made up his mind that he should "die in his... read more
What hast thou here ? i.e. what business , or what right? It seems, certainly, to be implied that Shebna was wholly unconnected with Jerusalem. Whom hast thou here ? i.e. what relations? what family? To be justified in hewing out a large tomb, Shebna should have had a numerous family for whom graves would be needed. Otherwise, his excavation of a grand sepulcher was merely selfish and ostentatious. As he that heweth him out a sepulcher on high. Jewish tombs of any pretension were... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 22:13
And behold joy and gladness (comp. Isaiah 22:2 ). "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die," is a common sentiment, if not a common expression. It has been supposed to have given rise to the Egyptian practice of carrying round the model of a mummy to the guests at feasts. According to the Greeks, Sardanapalus had a phrase very like it engraved upon his tomb. Sailors have often acted upon it, when they found it impossible to save their ship. On seeing their city invested, a portion of... read more