Now in the first half of chapter
22, we saw how God deals with his people when he saves them. Specifically, he kills that he
might make alive. He brought destruction upon the
cities of Jerusalem and Judah. God wounds that he might heal.
He's got to destroy us as we are, as we know ourselves to
be, as we're born into this world. and give us new life in Christ.
But in the midst of this terrible drama of the besieging of Judah
and Jerusalem we have, beginning in verse 15, the identification
of a specific villain. And this is not the only place
he's mentioned in scripture. We won't turn there, but I'll
tell you about Shebna. He's a high official of some
sort in the house of Hezekiah, who is over the Jews at this
time. But Shebna conspires apparently with Sennacherib, the ruler of
Assyria. who is over all of the Assyrian
army and the armies that are confederate with them in the
destruction of the Jews. So he's a traitor. And he wanted to be rewarded
by the conquerors when they took over. He was hedging his bet
here. He thought, well, it doesn't look good for the Jews. The Assyrians
are going to win this thing, so I'll side with them. In other
words, he sided with the world against God's people. That's
a bad move. This is a picture of loving the
flesh and despising God. It's the man who is only concerned
with his own benefit and not the glory of God. How can I come
out ahead in this thing? God's word to Shebna is very
harsh. Let's look at verses 15 and 16
again. Thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Go get thee unto this
treasure, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say, What
hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that
thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre, as he that heweth out a sepulchre
on high, and that graveth inhabitation for himself in a rock? The fact
that Shebna had made himself an elaborate shrine of a sepulchre,
or a grave monument, Symbolic of how he thought of himself
as a great man in this community to be admired and memorialized
even after he was dead That's what that symbolized He thought
of himself as a permanent and prominent figure in that land
that he would die and be buried there But God said verse 17 behold,
I'll carry thee away With a mighty captivity and will surely cover
thee. I He will surely violently turn
and toss thee like a ball into a large country. There shalt
thou die. Your grave is just going to be
a memorial to your foolishness. There the chariots of thy glory
shall be the shame of thy Lord's house. And I will drive thee
from thy station and from thy state shall he pull thee down. Now we see in verse 25 That he is that nail that is
that is fastened in the sure place he thinks But as he says
there, it's gonna be removed And this is the picture God's
gonna take you down. He's gonna toss you out like
a ball The inhabitants of this earth are as grasshoppers to
our God all the opposition against him is foolish and futile and He that sitteth upon the circle
of the earth rules and lasts from his sovereign throne. To
oppose God's people is to oppose his king, their king. And that
is inadvisable. We need to realize that as God's
people, his children, we're precious to him. But in ourselves, we're
nothing. If we find ourselves in opposition
to God and His people, it's the same thing. You can't. You can't be with God and against
His people. You can't be with His people and against Him. Sheebna thought of himself as
a nail in a sheer place. That's what verse 25 refers to.
But God has a big hammer and said He would remove him. This is also, and perhaps most instructively of
all, a picture of the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Flesh versus
Spirit, Old Covenant, New Covenant. Sort of the same picture, but
Sheebna pictures the Old Covenant in that he leaned on the wisdom
and arm of the flesh for his prosperity. He didn't seek God
or have any affinity toward the covenant of God's people. All
of his hope depended upon his own conniving, his own scheming,
his own manipulation of things to his own advantage. And that's
what sinners are in this world. That's what they do. How can
I make this thing work in my favor? That's what religion is.
It's not about honoring God. It's how is it going to come
out for me? What's in it for me? And this is Ishmael. You remember
Isaac was the son of promise. And Ishmael, who also pictured
the old covenant, he was a child that represented Abraham and
Sarah's lack of faith in God's promise. Their own attempt to
make happen what only God can do. What only God can give. God
had promised them a son in their old age. And time went by and
they decided it wasn't going to happen God's way and so they
connived for Abraham to go in unto another and have a son,
and that would be the son of promise, but that's not what
God promised. And so it's a picture of us leaning
upon the arm of the flesh. Shebna has sided himself with
who he thinks is gonna be the winner here. just like any sinner who takes
sides with himself against the counsel of God. But he's built
his house on the sand. He's called a nail in a sure
place because he sees himself as secure in his own goodness,
his own wisdom, his own ability to work things out to his own
advantage. Instead of bowing to the will of God and casting
in his lot with God's people, no matter how the circumstances
look, I'm going to live or die with God's people under God's
covenant, God's way. Both are called nails in sure
places, but the difference is one is God's chosen. One is God's
nail. The other is left to his own
wisdom. One seems secure because according
to the wisdom of this world, he's made a good call. The Assyrians,
sure enough, are going to come out the winners in this battle. It looks like the right way to
do it. But God said, I'll cut you off,
and I'll put my nail in your place. And notice in verse 25
also, that all who hang upon Shebna are going down with him.
See that? The burden that was upon it, whatever is hanging on that nail,
when that nail is removed, will also be removed. Everybody who
thinks that way, who leans on the wisdom and understanding
of the flesh. Everybody who is in it for themselves
and not God. But whoever hangs upon God's
established nail will be established forever as we'll see in the language.
Very beautiful and very beautiful picture. Verse 20 and
it shall come to pass in that day that I will call my servant
Eliakim the son of Hilkiah. Now Eliakim is Christ as we'll
see all through this. The name Eliakim means God raises
or God sets up. That's who Christ is, the one
that God raises up. He said, I set my king on my
holy hill. Shebna was a ruler. He was the
ruler of the house, but only in his own eyes and the eyes
of those who had respect unto him as such, but not God, not
in God's eyes. The apostle Peter preached in
Acts chapter 5 and said in Acts 5.30, The God of our fathers
raised up Jesus. That's what Eliakim means, God
raised him up. Whom you slew and hanged on a
tree, him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a prince
and a savior for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of
sins. He is exalted to save. In the new covenant, Christ is
everything. I know that's easy to say, and
it's easy for that to just roll over us, but Christ truly, in
the new covenant, the covenant of God's grace, Christ is the
high priest. He's the sacrifice. He's the righteousness. He's
the sin offering. He is the atonement made. In the obedience of the sacrifices
under the old covenant, the new was pictured, but not fulfilled. Christ fulfills the covenant.
It is not your obedience that makes you holy before God. It
is the blood of the everlasting covenant. Not the blood of bulls
and goats. It's not your wisdom that will
save you from the wrath to come. And that's the exact picture
here. Israel is being besieged, going to be destroyed. How am
I going to get out of this? Well, I've got a plan. I will scheme
and connive and I'll work this out to my advantage. I'll be
betraying God's people, but I'm going to be okay. It's not your wisdom that will
save you from the wrath to come, but Christ. When God put that nail in a sure
place, Shebna could have hung upon him,
but instead he lifted himself up as a nail in a sure place
and was removed by God. Christ is the wisdom of God and
the power of God. Verse 21, and I will clothe him
with thy robe and strengthen him with thy girdle and I will
commit thy government into his hand and he shall be a father
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. This is the ushering in of a
new king, a new ruler, a new head of the house, a replacement
of the authority that was once in place. And notice that upon
this man hangs all that God has promised and all that God desires
for his people. Clothed by God, strengthened
by God, The government is committed into his hand. He shall be a
father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of
Judah. All that God desires for his
people to be ruled in righteousness, to be protected as a father who
would protect his own family, to be governed in righteousness,
In spite of these captivities and the afflictions that were
brought upon the people of Israel because of their own pride and
rebellion and self-righteousness, this man, capital M, will be
a father to them. Can you imagine, for just a second,
a ruler, a governor or a president, a ruler, who rules over the people
as though they were his actual children? that has no thought
every day as he works and governs and makes things happen. No thought
but for the good of those that he governs. Can you even imagine
that? That's who this man is. Never doing anything but only
what is for their good. Christ rules over us that way
because we are his children. Isaiah said he's the everlasting
father. He is the sovereign of God that
truly and perfectly loves those whom he rules. Isaiah 9.6, unto
us a child is born, just like any other child is born, born
of a woman, made under the law. But unto us a son is given. When that child was born, that
was God giving us his son. The son is not born. He's eternal. The child is born. God had never been a human child
until that day. But the son is not born, he's
given. And the government shall be upon his shoulder. Isn't that
what we just read? God's going to put all the government upon
him in our text. The government shall be upon
his shoulder. The government of what? God's people, God's
kingdom. the only government that matters. Other governments
come and go. They just serve the purpose of
God's ruling over his people and governing his people, protecting
his people. And his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace, and of the increase of his government and
peace there shall be no end. upon the throne of David and
upon his kingdom and to order it and to establish it with judgment
and with justice. This is a nail sure enough in
a sure place. Established with judgment and
justice from henceforth even forever. When God puts a nail
in place, it's there. It's there for good. The zeal
of the Lord of hosts will perform this. So not only does he love
us, he'll be a father to my people, God said. But he has the authority
and power to carry out all of the good that he desires for
us and his love towards us. The whole government's on him.
And verse 22, and the key of the house of David will I lay
upon his shoulder. What does a key do? We just talked
about it. It locks. It shuts so that nobody
can open. And it opens. The key of the
house of David is his. So he shall open and none shall
shut. And he shall shut and none shall
open. And I will fasten him as a nail
in a sure place. The one whose name is God raised
up. Not only did God raise him up,
but he is God who is raised up. The exalted sovereign of God's
kingdom. He opens and nobody shuts. And
he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house. All of God's purposes And the
success of them is pictured as being carried out by the opening
and shutting of doors. You remember one time Paul said,
I believe we'll go preach over here, and the Holy Spirit shut
that door. You're not going there. But he opened another door. And
all throughout the ages in the lives of all of his people, in
all of his providences, all of his decrees, all that he has
ordained, God opens doors and God shuts doors. He causes things
and people to prosper and he causes others to be shut down. He raises up one and puts down
another. He governs in his universe, in his world, in his kingdom.
And it's pictured as the opening and shutting of doors. And the
key to open and lock all of these doors is in the hand of one man. One man. The God-man. the Son of Man,
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The government of God's
kingdom is on His shoulders. He has the authority. And His
is the responsibility. And His is the prerogative. That's
what it means when the government's on your shoulders. You have the
authority. You don't need to make a phone
call. You just do it. That's my Savior. He has the
authority from God the Father to do as he pleases, to give
life to whom he pleases. To say to one, thy sins be forgiven
thee, and to leave another in their sins. He don't need to
check with anybody. Who hath been his counselor? The authority, the responsibility. It's on Him and my salvation
is not on me. It's on Him. You talk about reason
to be happy. It's not on me. This covenant
doesn't depend, it's not conditioned upon my obedience, my performance. It's conditioned upon His. His
obedience, His power, His ability to accomplish what the Father
gave Him to do. It's his responsibility. And
the prerogative is his. He does as he pleases in the
armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. And
none can stay his hand or say unto him, what are you doing?
So the government of God's kingdom on his shoulders, the authority,
the responsibility, the prerogative, he opens and shuts and he himself
is the door. It is himself that he opens.
He gives access to himself or he shuts you down. He didn't
commit himself to some because he knew what was in them. If you have access through him,
the door, it's because of what's in him. If not, it's because
of what's in you. He did not commit himself to
them because he didn't need anybody to tell him about man. He knew
what was in them. The door was locked to them because
of what was in them. But if the door is open to you,
it's not because of what's in you. It's because of what's in
Him. He will open unto you and give
you access to the very throne of grace. Access into the very
holiest of all. Isn't that what Paul said? By,
through Him. Because of our high priest. By
Him and through Him we have access into the holiest. That's everything,
my friends. That's what we lost in the garden.
Communion with God. Access to God. The blessing and
favor and presence of God. He can give you access to that
place by Him, by God, in God, or He will shut. He will shut you out and no man
can open. Revelation 118, I am he that
liveth and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell
and of death. Who lives, who dies. The key
is in his hand. Who goes to hell, And who goes
to live with him forever? It's in his hand. This is weighty, my friends. Shebna exalts himself, and God
puts him down and exalts his own king. And all who humble
themselves and bow to God's authority, God's king, they are all exalted
by him. As the king prospers, we prosper.
And all of the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He's going to win. The victory
is his and he gives it to us. He giveth us the victory, Paul
said. He wins it and says, here you go. His throne is a glorious throne. You see that in the text? It's
a glorious throne. What's glorious about his throne?
Because of who's sitting on it. The all-glorious Son of God. High and holy. His name is wonderful. And really, the throne is what it is only because
of who is sitting on it. In fact, did you notice in the
text that the throne is not a place. It says he shall be for a glorious
throne. The throne is not a place here.
It's not a fancy chair, you know, like men sit in. He is the throne. He is the authority. And it's a glorious throne to
sinners, not a dreaded throne, not a fearsome throne, because
it is the throne of grace. Hebrews 4.14, seeing then that
we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens. And
he went there, he appeared in that most holy place, not made
with hands, the actual one, not the tabernacle, not the temple,
the very presence of God the Father. And he had to have an
offering. The high priest went into that
holy place once a year, not without blood. And my Savior went into
that holy place not made with hands. And he didn't go without
blood. And it wasn't the blood of bulls and goats, but with
his own precious blood. And seeing we have that great
high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of
God, let's hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace. That's why this throne is glorious.
Because our Savior appeared before it as our high priest with a
perfect, acceptable sin offering for me, for you. And so it's
not a dreaded throne now. It's not a fearsome throne. It's the throne of grace because
we have such a high priest. And we come there that we may
obtain mercy. He's already bought and paid for it. We just go there
to pick it up. And find grace to help in time
of need. Mercy eternally, and grace when
I need it. The moment that I need it. We're
not just looking, one day, you know, we're going to enjoy His
grace. We enjoy it right now. In time of need. I need him every hour and then verse 24 I wish I could
I wish I hmm they shall hang upon him all
the glory of his father's house you think about that you think
about the spiritual meaning of that all of the glory of God
of his house, of his government, of his kingdom, is hanging on
Christ. Always has been, and always will
be. The offspring and the issue,
we'll talk about that And the vessels of small quantity, this
is a nail, you know, the picture is just a nail that you put in
a wall. And what would you hang on it? Something you're going
to use, a vessel of some kind. The small vessels, the medium
vessels, the big vessels, they all hang on Him. Even the glory of all of God's
creation hangs upon Christ. The very heavens declare the
glory of God. You know why he has a universe?
For his glory. Where's that hanging? Colossians
115, he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature,
for by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are
in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers. All things were created by him
and for him, and he is before all things, and by him All things
considered, they're all hanging on him. Every authority that
there is hangs upon his authority. Everything that there is hangs
upon him. Everything that was made, he
upholds it and sustains it. We don't have the slightest idea
of what I'm saying. I don't and you don't. But if
we can get a little closer than that, Seeing the majesty of our
Savior, maybe God will reveal to us something
of the majesty of His Son. Everything hangs upon Him. If
He falls, everything falls. And if we fall, it's because
He wanted us to, not because He fell. Hebrews 1.1, God who
at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in times past unto
the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken
unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also he made the worlds, who being the brightness
of his glory and the express image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power. What does a nail do? It holds up stuff. It holds things
together and it holds them up. Christ is that nail that holds
up everything. He upholdeth all things by the
word of his power. And when he had by himself purged
our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on
high. What is, though, the true glory
of the Father's house? Somebody said one time that God, being merciful to sinners
in Christ, is his greatest glory that he's
seen fit to reveal. I believe that's right. Moses
said, show me God, your glory. And God said, all right, I'm
going to make all my goodness to pass before you. Here it is. I will have mercy on whom I will
have mercy. God is glorified by nothing else.
Like he is the salvation of his elect. Notice again the language of
verse 24. The offspring and the issue hang
upon him. What are offspring? Children. All of the children. The whole
family of God hangs on him. All of the descendants. All of
those who are born of God throughout all the ages of the world. And
also the issue. What is the issue? The word means
offshoot or leaf. It's growth. The prosperity or
growth of that kingdom hangs on Him. All the pleasure of the
Lord will prosper in the hand of Christ. All of that hangs on Him. The
life, the increase, the growth of God's house and kingdom all
hangs upon Christ. It doesn't hang upon the children.
The children are hanging on Him. It doesn't hang on me and you.
It hangs on Him for anybody ever to ever say that anything depends
on you is vile blasphemy. It's not up to you and I'm thanking
God it's not up to you. Every purpose of God Every good
will of God toward his people, every mercy, every blessing,
every purpose that he purposed in his love for all of his children
hangs upon his son Jesus Christ. All of my hope and all of my
security hangs upon Christ. Think about everything that we've
seen in this book now. And by God's grace, we've learned
a little bit, I think, over the years from this book. All of God's love is in Christ
Jesus, our Lord. That's where it is, Paul said
in Romans chapter 8. Nothing shall be able to separate
us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. All spiritual blessings in heavenly
places, Ephesians chapter 1. Where are they? All of the promises
of God are yes and so be it. Where? This is the message of this chapter.
Bow to Christ. He is the head of God's house.
Not man, not the wisdom of man. It will all come to naught. Christ
is the wisdom of God and the power of God. the authority and
the mighty ability of God. Bow to Him. Bow to God's established
sovereign. He is the nail in the sheer place.
Come to Him for all you need. Learn of Him and adore and praise
and worship Him, Christ Jesus the Lord. Never lean to your
own understanding. That's what Shebna did. How am
I going to work this out? Let me tell you what you're going
to do. You're not going to work it out. You're going to bow to Him and
pledge your allegiance to Him, and He's going to work it out. Those that put their trust in
God's Son, the scripture says, will never be ashamed. Hang your
very soul upon the Son of God, and you'll never regret it. Let's
pray together.