Isaiah 22:15-24 - Homiletics

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 the punishment of the wicked in this life by a grievous downfall, and the reward of the righteous by an exaltation to worldly greatness and honor. The most signal instance presented to us in Scripture of the double Nemesis is that of Haman and Mordecai in the Book of Esther. In that most striking tale, the whole history of the two men is set before us, and the rise of the one and fall of the other are interconnected in a way that lends peculiar interest to the narrative. Here we have simply a moral contrast, leading to a contrast of result.

I. A MORAL CONTRAST .

1. Shebna, selfish, isolated, vain-glorious; noted for his display of chariots, like Absalom ( 2 Samuel 15:1 ); no " father " to the people under his charge; no good adviser of the king his master; chiefly desirous of handing his name down to posterity by a magnificent tomb; perhaps not even a worshipper of Jehovah.

2. Eliakim, God's " servant ;" kind and thoughtful for others; regarded as "a father," not only by the people of Jerusalem, but by the entire "house" or tribe of Judah; looked up to by a large body of relations, of whom many were poor and of low rank, and willingly sharing his prosperity with them; an honest and prudent counselor to his king; a faithful worshipper of the One God, whose unity his name proclaimed. No two dwellers at the same court, no two servants of the same king, could well be more different in character, in circumstances, in moral desert.

II. A CONTRAST OF RESULT .

1. Shebna, degraded from his office, is forced for a time to serve in one of very inferior dignity. Then he is either further degraded or so dissatisfied with his position that he cannot bear to retain it. He becomes a refugee in a distant land, an exile, an outcast.

2. Eliakim, advanced into Shebna's place, has the key of the house of David placed upon his shoulder, becomes his king's most trusty counselor and representative, is a glory and a support to his father's house, and retains his position, if not till his death, at any rate for a long period. In estimating the extent to which God's moral government is carried on in this world, such instances as those of Haman and Mordecai, Shebna and Eliakim, should by no means be omitted from our calculation. History contains very many such cases.