Okay, back to Isaiah 22. And I'm taking the title with
a message from what is said in verse 23. Isaiah 22, verse 23. I will fasten him as a nail in
a sure place. I'm talking about a person, talking
about a person. And of course, you know, this
is referring to the Lord Jesus Christ. And the key of the house
of David will lay upon his shoulder. So he shall open, none shall
shut. He shall shut and none shall
open. And I'll fasten him as a nail
in a sure place. And he shall be for a glorious
throne to his father's house. All of that is a description
description of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord in the Revelation
chapter 3 verse 7 makes reference directly to this scripture in
Isaiah 22 and he applies it to himself. These things saith he
that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David,
he that openeth and no man shutteth, he that shutteth and no man openeth.
Revelation 3. Verse 7, we can be sure that
when Isaiah writes these words, he is looking to the Lord Jesus
Christ as a fulfillment of them. To him, give all the prophets
witness. It doesn't matter which prophet,
Old Testament prophet that we're talking about, Isaiah or Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, or others. They all bear witness to the
person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. I quoted this verse so
often when we were studying through 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd
Kings, from Romans 15.4, for whatsoever things were written
aforetime were written for our learning, remember, that we,
through patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have
hope. The Old Testament is not just an old, worn-out story of
Jewish history. It's a ever-living, new story
about the Lord Jesus Christ. All through the Old Testament,
we see the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in picture, type,
and shadow. Picture, type, and shadow. And we put those types and shadows
into three categories. Instituted types, we studied
about instituted types. The Passover sacrifice there
in Egypt, we read about in Exodus 12, when they were instructed
to put a lamb up, slay the lamb, put the blood over the door,
And God said, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. Remember
when God said all the firstborn would die, except the house that
had the blood upon the door? Well, we know that is a picturing
type, a instituted type of the gospel. We know that the scriptures
teach us that Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. So there's
an instituted type. The second type we run into The
type of the gospel in the Old Testament is what we call providential
types. Providential types. We read about
that in Exodus 14 last week. The exodus of Egypt and the Lord
sustaining them in the wilderness for 40 years. The crossing of
that Red Sea when God told Moses to stretch out his rod over the
sea and instructed the children to stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord. That is a providential type of
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. How he has delivered
us. Now it's amazing how many times
that that is mentioned just as you read through the book of
Psalms. That is often brought up how God delivered Israel from
all that Egyptian bondage. And all that is a type and picture
of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now what's the third
type? Instituted types. Providential types. What's the
third type? Personal types. Personal types. All through the Old Testament,
we see personal types of the Lord Jesus Christ. For example,
Aaron is a priest, or the Lord Jesus Christ. Aaron is typical
of the priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then, we read
about Moses. Moses was God's prophet. You
remember the Lord said, I'll raise up a prophet like unto
your brethren, from among the brethren, and we know that Moses
is a type and picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Priest and
prophet, and then when we talk about prophet, priest, and king,
when we talk about personal types, And when we talk about and consider
a king, we'll talk about David, don't we? David was a man after
God's own heart who God raised up to be the king in Israel to
reign over Israel for 40 years. So the Lord Jesus Christ in type
and picture, instituted type, providential type, personal type. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
priest to redeem us from our sin. The Lord Jesus Christ is
that prophet to reveal the Father unto us. And of course, He is
our King. What does the King do? The King
reigns. He's the sovereign. He reigns.
to redeem, to reveal, and to reign over us. All that is, you
see how all that is teaching us the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, today in our message from
Isaiah 22, we have a personal type of Christ in the faithful
servant of the Lord. His name is called Eliakim. You see that in verse 20. And
it shall come to pass Why shall it come to pass? Because God's
ordained it. It shall come to pass in that
day that I will call my servant Eliakim, and he will serve me
in a faithful way. And Eliakim here is a personal
type of the Lord Jesus Christ. in that he is a faithful servant. Even his name means, Eliakim,
his name means one who God has raised up, one who God has established,
one who God has sent. And even his name is a description
of the Lord Jesus Christ, isn't it? For the Lord Jesus Christ
was certainly raised up, established, and sent by God to accomplish
our salvation. In the fullness of time, God
sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem
them that were under the law. So Eliakim here is a picture,
a personal type of the Lord Jesus Christ, like Joseph and David
and others. we don't normally and very often
hear people comparing or using Eliakim as a picture of Christ. We see here another man described
in these verses, his name is Shebna. Shebna, his name means
one that trusts himself. And that's what Shebna does.
Shebna here is a picture of fallen, sinful humanity. It's a picture
of us. It could be very well considered
a picture of fallen Adam in his rebellion against God. His name
means one that trusts himself, and certainly that is a good
description of what men are by nature. Our Lord said, you are
they that justify yourselves before men, but God knows your
heart. That which is highly esteemed
among men is an abomination in the sight of God. Isaiah had
a Isaiah had a pretty tough job. God told him to go down to this
man's house, who was in charge over all the house of Hezekiah,
over all the money, over all the finances, and God told Isaiah
to go down to his house and tell him God's gonna kill him. Boy. That's a pretty tough job. But
he did it because God sent him. Isaiah was told to go to the
house of Sheba, tell him the Lord was going to end his office,
kick him out of office, going to end his life, and the Lord
was going to raise up another in his stead to reign in his
stead. This is the message of the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Out with the old and in with
the new. The old covenant of works is
fulfilled. By the new covenant, the eternal
covenant of grace. Remember from Hebrews 10, the
Lord said, Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.
He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
That second is that eternal covenant of grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. is a type and picture of the
unbelieving sinner and of our fallen nature and sinful pride
before God. Shebna was appointed by King
Hezekiah to take charge of the king's money and his personal
affairs of his house, but soon he became filled and lifted up
with pride and turned a traitor against the king. That's exactly
what Adam did in the garden. Shebna proceeded in his vicious
campaign of self-glory and self-righteousness. He said, I'm going to build me
a sepulcher among the kings, and I'm going to have all this,
and I'm going to do that, and I'm going to go here. God sent
a messenger by the mouth, a message by the mouth of Isaiah of judgment
against him. He said, you thought you were
sitting pretty, but he says, in that day, verse 25, said the
Lord of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure
place be removed and cut down and fall, and the burden that
was upon it shall be cut off. The Lord has spoken it. Notice what he says in verse
17. Isaiah 22 verse 17, Behold, the
Lord will carry thee away with a mighty captivity and will surely
cover thee. The Lord's going to bury you
out there in the dirt somewhere and nobody's going to know. The
Lord's going to cover thee. He will surely violently turn
and toss thee like a ball into a large country. And there shalt
thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame
of the Lord's house. And I'll drive thee from thy
station, your office, from your house, from your stake." And
God said, I'm going to pull you down. I'm going to pull you down. I'm going to make an end of all
your doings. Even so, in the experience of
grace, salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Even so, in the
experience of grace and the salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ. And
in order for Christ to establish in our heart his reign, there
must be an overthrow of all of our sinful and religious pride. Every rival to the king, the
Lord Jesus Christ, must be cut off. For he will not let the
sinful pride of man reign on his parade. His parade is a parade
of glory, the glory of himself. Christ must have all the honor
and glory in saving sinners. Shebna's got to go. His pride's
got to go. And that's what God does when
he saves a sinner named Shebna. He cuts us down, he whittles
us down, he shows us that we're nothing and makes us totally
dependent upon him. All our ideas of self-righteousness
must be discarded and abandoned as filthy rags, as Isaiah describes
in Isaiah 64. He says, all of your righteousnesses
are as filthy rags and you do fade as a leaf. This is a hard
lesson, but it's a needful lesson. to learn how God saves sinners. No longer when he saves us, no
longer do we go about to establish the righteousness of our own.
We submit unto the righteousness of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. All ideas of self-righteousness
must be discarded. All chariots of glory shall be
shameful before the Lord. We must, by God's grace, count
all our former religious idolatry as dung, all our legal hopes,
law hopes, all of our refuges of lies, and all of our religious
feelings and experiences. We must cast them all aside and
count them but dung, as the Apostle Paul writes about in Philippians
chapter 3. He says, I was a Pharisee of
Pharisee, a Hebrew of Hebrews. At touching the law, Saul of
Tarsus said, no one could accuse me of any violation of the law.
But when he met the Lord Jesus Christ and was unhorsed and put
in the dust before the Lord, he said, Lord, I count all things
now but dung, lost and ruined, that I may win Christ and be
found in him. That's how God saves sinners. He shows us that we're nothing.
He shows us that our self-righteousness is just shameful sin, and our
pride is nothing but wickedness. And He makes us to look to the
Lord Jesus Christ alone for all of salvation. We studied that
recently. Isaiah 45, 22, where the Lord
said, I'm the only just God and Savior now. He said, look unto
Me. Look unto Me and be ye saved. God has from all eternity determined
to save a multitude of sinners for whom Christ died. God has
put all our salvation in Him. Now, don't look to yourself. Don't look to your feelings.
Don't look to your ceremony or tradition or anything but Christ. Look to the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the author and finisher of our faith. looking unto the
Lord Jesus Christ, who for the joy that was set before him endured
the cross, despising the shame, and he sat down at the right
hand of God. We must look to the Lord Jesus
Christ alone for all of our salvation, nothing less, nothing more, and
nothing else. Neither is there salvation in
any other. Know the name under heaven, given
among men, whereby we must be saved. Christ said, I am the
way, the truth, and the life. Shedna's got to come down. Shedna's
got to be cut off. Shedna's got to be put in the
dust and then raised up by the grace of God. Now, the second
part of this, we'll consider verse 20, verse 21, 22, and 23. And verse 24, we see Eliakim
here as a beautiful titan picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse
20 says, and I like the way it begins, verse 20, Isaiah 22,
verse 20, and it shall come to pass. Now,
I can't say that. I can't say tomorrow. Tomorrow
it shall come to pass. I can't say that. No man can. Only God can speak that way.
He said, I've spoken it, I've purposed it, I'll bring it to
pass, I will do it. And it shall come to pass in
that day, in that day, sayeth the Lord, in that day, that I'll
call my servant, who will do my will, my work, my way, Eliakim,
the servant of God, and he's the son of Hilkiah. Eliakim was
a faithful servant to the Lord. And certainly that is true of
our Lord Jesus Christ. A faithful servant of the Lord
that cannot fail. Let's turn to Isaiah 42. Remember this scripture, Isaiah
42, 1? Isaiah 42, 1. The Lord Jesus
Christ is that faithful servant. Isaiah 42, 1. Behold my servant. whom I uphold,
my elect, and whom my soul delighteth, I put my spirit upon him, he
shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles, he shall not cry
nor lift up nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A
bruised reed shall he not break. He's a tender Savior. A smoking
flack shall he not quench. He shall bring forth judgment
and the truth. Verse four is one of my favorite
verses. He shall not fail. A servant of God cannot fail
nor be discouraged till he has set judgment in the earth and
the isle shall wait for his law. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
faithful servant of the Lord. He's a willing servant of the
Lord. A willing servant of the Lord
turned to Isaiah 50. A willing faithful servant of
the Lord turned to Isaiah 50. Look at verse 5. Isaiah 50 verse
5, The Lord God hath opened mine ear. I was not rebellious, neither
turned I way back. I gave my back to the smiters
and my cheeks to them that plucked off my hair. I hid not my face
from shame and spitting. The Lord God will help me, therefore
I shall not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face
like a flint. I know I shall not be ashamed. Here's God's faithful servant.
Our Lord said, No man takes my life from me. I lay it down of
myself. I have power to lay it down.
I have power to take again this commandment I have received of
my father. He became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross. No one could turn his way, his
face away. It sat like a flint. He said,
I must go to Jerusalem. I must die. And then he's the
righteous servant of the Lord. Turn to Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53. Look at verse 11, Isaiah 53,
11. He shall see the travail of his
soul and shall be satisfied by his knowledge. Shall my righteous
servant justify many? We shall bear their iniquities. That's how it justifies us. He
puts away our sin by the sacrifice of himself. Now back to Isaiah
22, Isaiah 22. So the Lord Jesus Christ, He
is that faithful servant of the Lord. As God's servant and Savior,
the Lord is never frustrated in His purpose, never defeated
in His design or hindered in His redemptive purpose. He said,
all the work the Father has given me to perform, He said, I will
faithfully execute it. I will faithfully perform all
things. Psalm 57 verse 2 says, he shall
perform all things for us. Now, look at verse 21, Isaiah
22, 21. I will clothe him with thy robe
and strengthen him with thy girdle. 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." Again,
another fit description of our Lord Jesus Christ. I'll clothe
him with thy robe. The robe here is a badge and
token of his office as prophet, priest, and king. We studied
in Revelation 1 verse 13 that he had that robe that he was
clothed with down to his foot in his kingly and priestly office. He's a king priest. And then
he says here, you'll strengthen him with thy girdle, which was
a symbol of power and strength. Both the priest and princes had
their girdles, and Christ in his office as prophet, priest,
and king is a faithful and righteous servant who rules and reigns
with all power, strength, glory, honor, and blessing. Remember
Revelation 5 verse 9, worthy is the lamb that was slain to
receive all power, blessing, glory, and honor. And then it
says there, the government, the government, I will commit thy
government into his hand. You remember Isaiah 9, 6. We
had that not too many weeks ago. A child A child is born, a son
is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders,
and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor of the Mighty
God, the Everlasting Father. The government is given into
his hand. The father loveth the son, and
given all things into his hand. You remember the book of Daniel,
when King Nebuchadnezzar was put out in the wilderness. Pasture
like a wild animal God put him off the throne and then God taught
him who he is who God is And he said all the inhabitants of
the earth are reputed as nothing and the Lord doeth according
to his will in the army of heaven Among the habitants of this earth
and none can stay his hand or say unto him Lord God what doest
thou? You see the government in his
hand The government's not in Washington's hands. They think
it is. The government's in his hands.
He rules and reigns and controls all dictators, emperors, kings. The king's heart is in the hands
of the Lord. What's old Putin going to do
in Russia? He's not going to do anything
unless God brings it to pass. And whatever he brings to pass
will accomplish God's purpose. The government in his hand, and
then it says, he shall be a father. He shall be a father not to all
men everywhere. He shall be a father to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, to the house of Judah. Talking here about his
elect, the Lord Jesus Christ as our father provides all things
for us, doesn't he? My God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory through the Lord Jesus
Christ. He shall be a father to His people
who stands, the Lord Jesus does, stands in relation to His elect,
as the everlasting father to his church, his people, whom
the whole family in heaven and earth is named, and he provides
for them generously. When he opens his hand, he satisfies
the desires of his people. He takes care of them as the good shepherd. He is tenderly
affectionate toward them. As a father pitieth his son,
so the Lord pitieth them that know him. Psalm 103. He sympathizes
with us. He was tempted and tested in
all points like as we are, yet without sin. He knows what it's
like to live in this flesh, in this world. He was tempted and
tested in all points like as we are, yet without sin. And yet, the Lord Jesus Christ,
as our exalted King and Savior, He provides all things for us
through His sacrificial death. Verse 22, look there. The key
of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder. Verse 22. So shall he open, and none will
shut. And he shall shut, and none shall
open Him." Here we see a fit description of the Lord Jesus
Christ in His sovereign mercy, giving and showing mercy to whom
He will, to whom He will. The King of the house of David,
that is the Lord Jesus Christ, has the key of salvation. You
remember Revelation 1.18? The Lord said, I am he that liveth
and was dead. Behold, I'm alive forevermore.
And then what did he say? I've got the keys of hell and
death. He has the key to every man's
heart. He opens some and invites himself
in. Others, he shuts the door. He will have mercy on whom he
will have mercy. He will be gracious to whom he
will be gracious. It's not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. That's
what we call sovereign mercy. That's what we call sovereign
salvation. He will save whom he will. Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ,
has a sovereign absolute power in the kingdom of God. To his
covenant people, he opened the door of mercy. To others, he
rightfully excludes and shuts the door of mercy according to
his will, according to his purpose. That's what he says there. When
he opens, well, none can shut that door. When he shuts the
door, no man can open that door. And then verse 23 says this of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and they shall hang upon him all the glory
of his father's house. The offspring and the issue. And all vessels, small quantity,
vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of the flagon, they
all hang upon this nail in a sure place. Again, this is a fit description
of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
believer's nail in a sure place. from studying the book of Ezra.
We studied that not too long ago. Ezra and Nehemiah. Remember,
there's three great prayers that we find in the word of God. Ezra
chapter 9, Nehemiah chapter 9, and Daniel chapter 9. We studied
this and we read this in Ezra 9. And now for a little space,
grace has been showed from the Lord our God to leave us a remnant
to escape, to give us a nail in his holy place. that our God
may lighten our eyes and give us a little reviving in our bondage.
The Lord Jesus Christ is that certain and sure hiding place
and appointed refuge for sinners to rest upon, and all of our
salvation hangs upon that nail in a sure place. If the nail
fails, we fail. If the nail is in a sure place,
Salvation is certain and sure in the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn
just a couple pages over to Isaiah 28. Isaiah 28, 16. I like things that are sure,
don't you? The foundation of God then is sure, having this
seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His. Isaiah 28, 16. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, A stone, a tried
stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. A sure foundation,
ordered in all things and it's sure. He that believeth shall
not make hate. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
sure foundation and he supplies all our need. That was David's
hope on his death bed, wasn't it? God had made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things, and is sure. Now turn a couple
scriptures here with me. First of all, turn to Isaiah
32, 17. Thinking about that sure foundation,
Isaiah 32, 17. Isaiah 32, 17. The work of righteousness shall
be peace. Now that's talking about his
righteousness. And the effect of righteousness, quietness and
assurance forever. And my people shall dwell in
a peaceful habitation, in sure dwellings, and in a quiet resting
place." We have a sure dwelling in Christ our Lord. Now, you know this one. You've
got this one memorized, Isaiah 55. Turn over there. Isaiah 55,
25. Isaiah 55, verse 3. Isaiah 55 verse 3. Incline your
ear, come unto me and hear, and your soul shall live, and I'll
make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercy
of David. That's that nail in a sure place. That's that nail in a sure place. When I think of that word sure,
I often think of this verse, let me read it to you. Romans 4, 16, therefore it is
of grace, excuse me, it is of faith that it might be by grace
to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed, all
the elect of God. They shall hang upon him all
the glory of his father's house, the offspring of the issue and
all the vessels. vessels of mercy aforeprepared
unto glory. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
anchor of our soul, the anchor of our salvation. His people,
His people are exalted in Him. He shall be, the last part of
verse 23, and He shall be for a glorious throne to His Father's
house. Christ is the anchor of our salvation,
certain and sure. Christ is seated in glory, and
all of his people are seated in him. They're seated in him. Christ is able to bear the burden
laid upon him and to receive all the honor and all the glory. Salvation is dependent, determined,
and accomplished exclusively, only by the Lord Jesus Christ. It all hangs upon Him, this nail
in a sure place. And He shall be for a glorious
throne to His Father's house, and they shall hang upon Him
all the glory. all the glory worthy as a lamb
that was slain to receive all the honor glory and blessing
both now and forever. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
brightness of the Father's glory and to them that believe he is
an honor. He is a glorious he sits on a
glorious throne himself and will bring all his father's family
to sit with Him on that eternal throne of glory. We read this recently, and I'll
close with this. Revelation 3 verse 21, remember
this? To Him that overcometh will I
grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcome and am
set down with my Father in His throne. When the Lord died for
us according to Scripture, we were in Him when He died. When
He died, we died, crucified with Christ. When He was buried, we
were buried in Him. When He ascended to the Father's
throne, we ascended when He ascended, being in union with Him. And
when He sat down, we sat down with Him. Now this is so. We are right now seated together
in the heavenlies in the Lord Jesus Christ. The forerunner
has entered in and is seated and we're in him. We're one with
him. Now one day in our experience,
we'll enjoy that, but in the reality of God's purpose and
decree, it's already done. It's already done.