Isaiah chapter 22, I'm going to begin at verse 15 and read
through the end of the chapter, 10 verses. The title of my message tonight
is Shemna and Eliakim. Have fun trying to spell that.
Hymn number 15. or excuse me, hymn number 15,
verse number 15, Thus saith the Lord God of hosts, and he's speaking
to Isaiah, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna,
which is over the house, and say, What hast thou here, and
whom hast thou here, that thou hast shewed thee a sepulcher
here, as he sheweth him out of a sepulcher on high? that graveth
inhabitation for himself in a rock. Behold, the Lord will carry thee
away with mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee. He will
surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large
country. There thou shalt not die, there thou shalt die, and
there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of the Lord's
house. And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy
state shall he pull thee down. And it will come to pass in that
day that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and
I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle,
and I will commit thy government unto his hand. And he shall be
a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the house of Judah.
And the key of the house of David shall I lay upon his shoulder,
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, and he shall be for a glorious throne to his
father's house. They shall hang upon him all
the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue,
all the vessels of small quantities, from vessels of cups even to
vessels of flagons. And that day, saith the Lord
of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in a sure place be
removed, and be cut down, and fall, and the burden that was
upon it shall be cut off. For the Lord has spoken it. Let
us pray. Father in heaven, we praise you
and thank you that you have been mindful of your children, that
you have considered them from all eternity. You've chosen them
in Jesus Christ. predestinated them to be conformed
to the image of your son, predestinated them to the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ unto yourself. The task of surety has been assigned
to the Lord Jesus Christ and he signed his name to their sin
debt. And wonder of wonders that they were sinners all born with
lies upon their lips. They were never responsible to
you for the payment of that debt. for the Lord Jesus Christ himself
had assumed that responsibility. We bless you for such a thing
that no human mind could ever come up with. The very thought
of it would be blasphemy if we thought of such a thing as God
dying for his children that they might be saved. We bless you
that your thoughts are not our thoughts nor your ways our ways.
We thank you for this passage of scripture that so clearly
sets forth the old and the new covenant. the law and grace, the glory of Israel in its truest
state as the church of the living God, and the blessedness of Jesus
Christ the Savior. We thank you, Father, for granting
us the privilege to understand these things. We know by nature
we understand nothing, yet you have given your children spiritual
understanding. They discern all things. You
give them an unction from on high and they know all things,
all things that concern the salvation of your people. We bless you,
Father, and thank you for your goodness and your mercy. We pray
for those of our company and those of our congregation and
family members who are sick. Watch over them, I pray. Strengthen
them in Jesus Christ. And where it would please thee,
we would ask for healing. The more we pray for thy will
to be done, For we know that what you do as judge of all the
earth shall be right. And we thank you for hearing
the prayers of your people. We ask these things in the name
of Jesus Christ. Amen. Now I don't know whether you
remember Shebna or not in our studies in 1 Kings, but this
is the record here of the prophet being sent to
Shebna the treasurer in the house of Hezekiah, in the realm of
Hezekiah. Shebna had aligned himself, if
you remember, against Hezekiah. Once Sennacherib had sent that
letter of threat to Hezekiah, Shebna decided that Hezekiah
could not defeat Sennacherib, and so he went out and talked
a great talk about the greatness of Sennacherib and not the greatness
of Hezekiah. And he saw himself as a permanent
fixture in the future of Israel because he had built himself
a sepulcher in a high place. So even in death, his name would
go on in posterity, believing that in Israel his legacy would
remain. And our Lord quickly puts a stop
to that with the language spoken by the prophet. Shebna thought
himself to be a nail secured that could not be removed. And
he wasn't hedging his bets. He believed Hezekiah would fall.
He believed that. Now remember, he's the treasurer
in the house of Hezekiah. He's in the house of the Lord.
He's in Judah. He's a member of the house of Judah. But he
believed that Israel was going to fall and he would become the
big dog in Israel under the rule of Sennacherib in that future
reign as Israel became the servant of the king of Assyria. This
was all his plan. He had it all worked out. God overruled his
plans, as God often does, and sent Isaiah to describe in detail
his just and right end, how things are really going to turn out
for Shebna. The old saying goes, man proposes and God disposes,
and that's always the case. Our Lord, through the words of
the prophet, reveals that Shebna's lofty ambitions were nothing
but smoke, and soon would be dissipated by the winds of sovereign
power and sovereign providence. Beginning in verse 15, Isaiah
is sent to this treasurer. This is how our Lord describes
him, this treasurer. We use that kind of language,
that, you know, that old so-and-so, that Debbie, or this Debbie,
you know, we use that terminology to diminish the value of the
character. And that's how our Lord begins
by diminishing the character of Shebna. He calls him treasurer,
this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and
this is what you say to him, What hast thou here, and whom
hast thou here? He said, What are you doing here?
And what Shebna has done, he's gone up and he has done what
kings do, or what people do for kings. He has hewn him out a
huge sepulcher upon a high place. He's got his gravestone there
and that's where he's going to be buried because he's going
to be like the kings of old who have a special place to be buried.
Because he knows that things are going to turn out his way.
He has aligned himself with the man who has natural power, Sennacherib,
against Judah, which is small and does not have power of humanity,
but has the power of God behind it. So he is hewing himself out
of sepulchre, as he that heweth out of sepulchre on high, and
that graven in the habitation of himself in a rock. This is
his idea. He believes that he's going to
have a fine and fruitful life under the rule of Sennacherib,
not Hezekiah. And in the end, he's going to
be made big, his name's going to be famous, he's going to be
renowned, and he's built himself a huge mausoleum or a tomb or
a sepulcher so everybody, when they walk by, they'll see his
name and say, what a great man that was. What a great man that
was. And our Lord says, Behold, the
Lord will carry thee away. carry thee away with a mighty
captivity and will surely cover thee up." Nobody's going to see
you anymore. Nobody's going to pay attention
because the Lord is going to undo your great plans that you
have about yourself. That's what He's saying. The
Lord's going to undo that. He said, He will violently turn
and toss thee like a ball in a large country. You think you're
great. You think you're powerful. Like
to God, you're just a little ball and He'll just throw you
out in the middle of a dry field. That's all you are. That's all
you are. You have no significance whatsoever.
And there shall you die. You're not going to die in Israel.
Somebody else is going to use that mausoleum you built or that
sepulcher. Somebody else is going to give
it. Maybe they'll make it a mockery of you. But you're not going
to die in Israel. You're going to die out in that
field that I throw into you. And the field he throws him out
to is in the army, among the armies of Sennacherib. And there
shalt you die, and the charge of thy glory, your glory, shall
be the shame of the Lord's house. They're not going to remember
you in greatness. They're going to remember you as a shameful
thing that they don't even want to talk about. They don't even
want to bring your name up. Let's talk about Sheba. Let's not talk
about Sheba. Let's leave Shedinah where he is out there somewhere,
buried out there somewhere where nobody knows. God's tossed him
out into a field and he has no glory whatsoever. And the Lord
said, I will drive thee from thy station. You're no longer
going to be a treasure. You're going to be broke. And
from thy state shall he pull thee down. You're high lifted
up now, but God's going to grab you by the coattails and jerk
you right down to the ground. That's the estate. That's the
promise that God has made. And then verse 25 refers to Sheeban
and what he thinks about himself. And he says this, In that day,
saith the Lord of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in
a sure place be removed. You think you are a nail. You
think you are nailed into the wall of Israel's history. You
are nailed into the wall of God's purpose. But I'm going to jerk
the nail out. I'm going to jerk the nail out.
And everybody that counts on you. Everybody that's hanging
on you. They're going to fall just like you. They're going
to fall with you. And the burden that is upon it
shall be cut off. Whatever was hanging on that
nail, there'll be nothing more to it. Whatever was counting
on you, Shebna, whatever was believing in you and following
you and your thoughts, it's all going to end up being nothing. This is the end of all flesh.
This is the end of all your confidence and my confidence that is not
founded wholly in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the way it turns
out. In this record is a picture of
the dissolution of the Old Covenant and the institution of the New
Covenant. Shebna represents the Old Covenant and the Lord serves
Eliakim represents the New Covenant. Shebna represents natural election. Eliakim represents spiritual
election. Shebna represents natural Israel.
the religion of the law of Moses that engenders bondage. Eliakim
pictures true Israel, spiritual Israel, the church of the living
God, and their religion is a religion of grace, and it brings about
freedom and liberty rather than bondage, and it casts aside the
shackles and the chains that the law brings in. This is mostly
clearly seen as Shebna, who thought himself to be an L and a sure
place, is removed and cut down and falls and all that put their
confidence in him fall with him, as we've seen in verse 25. Now,
the reason he's called a nail in a sure place, because he is
a counterfeit. He is a counterfeit. He comes
forth as one who can be counted on. He comes forth with God-like
characteristics. After all, he has the money.
He has the purse. He's the treasurer. And he thinks
he's sided himself with the victor, but he's not. But he thinks that
about himself. He feels he is solid and nobody
can move him. And God says, I'm going to move
you big time. But he uses that terminology
as being one who is there and stable and one someone can count
on because he counterfeits himself to the one who truly is the nail
in a sure place, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. By contrast,
in divine distinction, God raises up a man named Eliakim, and he
pictures the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ as the true
nail in a sure place, upon which hangs all that God has ordained
for His elect remnant according to the election of grace. You
see, Christ is that nail in a sure place, and Eliakim pictures Him
precisely in verses 20 through 24. In verses 20 through 22,
the Lord reveals His Christ. Eliakim means God raises or God
sets up. Remember what the Lord said in
Psalm 2, Yet have I set my king on Zion's holy hill. and all
you kings of the earth who thought to cast his course from you and
say he will not bind you and let's get rid of him you're going
to bow down you're going to kiss the son you better kiss him in
love and before he gets angry because when he's angry he'll
do with you do away with you without any problem whatsoever
This is that's what I like him's name is now. Shebna has set himself
up and God has promised to cast him down. But now God sets someone
up and that one set up is the one set up the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Lord promised the coming of the of the of the of this
great prophet the Lord Jesus Christ back in in Deuteronomy
18. And then Peter preached from it in the Acts in Deuteronomy
18. We read these words in verse 18 and 19. Our Lord says, I will
raise him up. I'll raise him up a prophet.
Notice that's a capital P. That name only belongs to one.
There were many prophets in the Old Testament, and they prophesied
according to the word of God as He gave them visions and dreams. But there is one prophet here
who is promised. And you'll look in the New Testament,
and when he spake as one having authority, not as the scribes
and the Pharisees, many people say it. Is this that prophet? That prophet that was promised
back there in Deuteronomy? I will raise them up a prophet
from among their brethren like unto thee. He was a man born
of a woman, born under the law. And I will put my words in his
mouth. He is the Word, the Word made flesh that dwelt among us.
And he spoke the truth. He spoke the Word of God. Which
he shall speak in my name, and I will require it of him. But
the prophet which shall come to pass that whosoever will not
hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I'll
require of him. You're going to have to pay for
that if you don't listen to what Christ said. In Hebrews 12 the
Lord said we should certainly listen to him who speaks from
heaven. Certainly listen to him who speaks from heaven. So this
is the Christ, this one whom God has raised up. And as I said,
Peter in the Acts said that that prophet is the Lord Jesus Christ.
And the words of these verses apply to Christ throughout the
Scripture. Let's read on in verse 21 and
22. I will clothe him with thy robe,
and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government
unto his hand. Now what was Shebna? Shebna was a treasury held the
money of the kingdom. Our Lord owns the cattle on a
thousand hills, and what he has and what he gives is greater
than any money, but he is the one who governs his people. He
says, I will commit thy government unto his head, and he shall be
a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of
Judah. And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his
shoulder. So he shall open, and none shall shut, and he shall
shut, and none shall open. Now if you know anything about
the Scriptures, you know that these words apply to the Lord
Jesus Christ throughout the Scriptures. Just go back to Isaiah chapter
9 and read these words concerning the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now this will be celebrated extensively in a few days. People will be
talking about this, about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the incarnation of Christ, but they won't talk about it in this
language. They'll talk about it as baby Jesus in a manger
and so forth and things like that. But here's what our Lord
said in Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6, But unto us a child
is born, that speaks of his humanity. He was a child. He was a babe
born in Jerusalem. He who was ancient of days became
the infant of days. He who ruled the world and held
the universe in the span of his hand was diminished by his own
self down to a spermatozoa united with a woman's egg and there
formed a zygote and later was delivered as a little child who
suckled on his mother's breath, whose diapers had to be changed,
who had to live as a human being on this earth. A child is born
unto Israel and to God's people, a child is born. And it says,
unto us a son is given. Now that's the same person, but
it's a different scenario. The child born is also the son
of God. He's a son. The son was not born,
the son was given. The son was given. The child,
his humanity was born, but he was the seed of God. Remember
what the angel said concerning him. The angel said, that holy
thing born of thee. shall be called the Son of God.
That holy thing. I don't even know what to call
it, that holy thing. You see, the reason for that
was, as being born of a virgin, meant that he did not have the
stain or the taint or the imputed sin from Adam. Because Adam was
the one who was our federal head and our representative, and we
all died in Adam. We didn't die in Eve. In fact,
Eve didn't die in Eve. When Eve ate of the fruit, she
didn't die. When she gave that fruit to her
husband, and he did eat, then she died. She died in him. She died in him. But that taint
that is passed down from father to child is not upon the Lord
Jesus Christ, because His Father is God. So He was born perfect
and without sin. For unto us a child is born,
and unto us a son is given. And what about this one? Is he
the namby-pamby nobody who can't get done what he wants done?
Is this weak and foolish character they present today? I saw a picture
of this strange-looking so-called Jesus the other day on the interweb,
whatever it is, and there he was. He had on a yellow robe,
a white robe with a yellow scarf on, and he had one thumb up. One hand pointed out like that
and he says, you know, I'm a savior and if you want me to save you,
if you let me, I will. Yeah, I know it's funny. It's sad, but it's funny. Let's
see if I fit with the description of this one child born and son
given. The government should be upon
his shoulder. What does that mean? He's the sovereign governor
of the universe. makes things work in this universe,
is governed by God Almighty, the Son of God. And His name
shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government
and peace, there shall be no end. It's an eternal government
and an eternal peace. and upon the throne of David,
and upon his kingdom to order it, to establish it with judgment
and justice from henceforth for evermore, the zeal of the Lord
of hosts shall perform it. We just read over here in Isaiah
22 about him, it says, I will commit thy government to his
hand, and he shall be a father to the inhabitants. Who's that
talking about? The same one he was talking about in Isaiah chapter
9 and verse 6. Then if you turn over to the
revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the last book of the
Bible, in Revelation 1, this great description, this vision
of the Lord Jesus Christ that is given to Saint John on the
Isle of Patmos says this, the Lord says this in verse 18, I
am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive forevermore,
amen, and I have the keys of hell and death. He has the keys to them, nobody
else does. Then over in chapter 3 in verse
7 it says this, And to the angel of the church
of Philadelphia write, These things saith he that is holy,
and he that is true, he that has the key of David, that's
exactly what it was described over here, of Eliakim, wasn't
it? The key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth,
and he that shutteth, and no man openeth. Those are stern
and powerful words. If God shuts the door, it ain't
ever going to be open again. Nobody can open it. You can't
open it. God opens the door, no man can shut it. No man can
shut it. He has the keys, and He has the
power, and He shuts and no man's opens. So those all picture,
these verses, back in our text in verses 21 and 22, they all
picture the Lord Jesus Christ throughout the Scriptures. Then
in verses 23 and 24, Christ is set forth as that nail that God
has fashioned in a sure place. It says in verse 23, I will fasten
him, I will fasten him, God says, as a 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 of his father's house. And the
glory of his father's house is the offspring and the issue,
that's the children of God, the elect of God, from the vessels
of cups even to the vessels of flagons. So this is a description
of the Lord Jesus Christ as the nail that God puts in a sure
place. And what does that mean? Well,
the nail is a fixture secured to a wall upon which things are
hung. I've got nails that hang pictures.
Out in my building, I've got nails on the wall to hang the
hubcaps for my old Chevy truck. I've got nails in the wall to
hang things on, and that's what this is talking about. So he
uses something that we can understand to understand a wonderful principle
of God's predestinating power and purpose. He's saying this
concerning that I'm going to put Him as the nail in the short
place. Where is that nail? That nail
is right in the center of the universe. And everything in the
universe hangs on that right there. It all hangs on that one
singular nail. And this nail is fixed into a
wall of eternal purpose upon which all things are hung. John
the Baptist, when he talked about the Lord Jesus Christ, he says,
The Father loveth the Son, and hath put all things in his hand. He put all things in the hand
of Jesus Christ. Remember what the Lord said in
John 17? He hath given me authority over
all flesh, that I might give eternal life to as many as He
has given me, or as many as thou hast given me. So our Lord, our
Lord God, the God, the Father in heaven has placed all that
is of value and eternity in the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Also, he has placed all things in Christ's hands, which have
nothing to do with eternity, except as they are employed to
bring the elect to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. But all
things are in his hands. Everything hangs on this nail.
It's one thing. If we could ever get anything
out of Scripture, if we could ever get in our mind that this
is just the one thing God has done. It's the one person. He's
the one way, the one truth, the one light. You'll never be confused
about that. People will try to confuse you
by bringing in other stuff. They'll want you to believe this
or think that or think that. Just get back to that one thing.
No, I got the one thing. I've got the one thing, and if
there's just one thing, you're either in it or you're out of
it. You either believe it or you don't. You either bow to
it or you're going to be crushed by it, but it's just one thing.
That's that nail that God fastens, and it's your place. This denotes
the stability of Christ and the security of all things that hang
upon Him. I remember hearing many times preachers say this
after the gospel was preached, and clearly they say, well, I
can hang my soul on that. Well, that'll do when the world's
on fire. And that's true. If you know Christ, that'll do
when the world's on fire. You can hang your soul on His.
Why? Because God's the one that drove in the nail. God's the
one that hung everything on the nail. And you can rest assured
that nail's never going to be plucked out. Never going to be
plucked out. You see, nothing is too hard
for God. He is able to bear the weight of all things, whether
it be a gigantic heap of sin laid upon Him on Calvary, or
the wrath of God's holy justice poured out on Him, or upholding
the universe by the Word of His power. Nothing to Him. For God
to call this world into existence, for God to pay for our sins,
for God to do all those things, His power to do that, it takes
more power for me to raise this handkerchief, for me physically
to raise this handkerchief. God speaks and it's done. God
says it and it shall come to pass. God's thoughts shall come
to pass. We're no problem for Him. We're no problem for Him. So this talks about Christ's
ability, and his ability to hold things all together. He's a male
in his sure place, and all who trust in him shall never be confounded,
they shall never be ashamed, and they shall never be lost.
The vessels of mercy, talks about vessels, and we hear about vessels.
Paul, when he talked about preaching the gospel, he says, we're earthen
vessels. We're mud pots. And God has poured that mercy
and grace into us. We're mud pots and God has entrusted
us with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's a vessel.
You know in Romans 9, he takes it the same lump and makes one
vessel under honor and another under dishonor. What does that
mean? He'll take one vessel and make
it to be used for a purpose that he has designed and then when
he's finished with it, he'll throw it on the pile with broken
pot shards. Now it served its purpose. God
made it that way. But there's other vessels he
will make vessels of mercy. What does that mean? These he
made to destroy, these he made to keep, and the vessels of mercy
are trophies of his grace. I like to go in the shop sometime
and look at some of the pottery. One of my favorite potters around
here was Amanda Swimmer. I loved the way she burned her
pottery. I loved the way she made her
marriage vases. I just thought they were beautiful. I've got
a couple pieces of her pottery over at the house. But you know, every
time I turn it up on the bottom of that thing, it's signed Amanda
Swimmer. The vessels of mercy are signed
by God. They're signed by God. They're His trophies of His grace. And here it says, though what
hangs on the Lord's, on that nail, the vessels, the vessels
of cups and the vessels of flagons. Now here our Lord makes a distinction,
a distinction in these vessels. He says some of them are small
vessels. But they hold what they're supposed to hold. Some of them
are large vessels, but they hold what they're supposed to hold.
They're supposed to hold. This nail shall be glorious throne
of the Father's house, he said. This nail is where God sits. upon his throne. This represents
the government of the Father's house wholly hanging upon the
Lord Jesus Christ. The governor is referred to as
a glorious throne, as a residing and active sovereignty. Over in Zechariah, if you want
to know where that's at, turn to Malachi, the last book in
the Old Testament, and back up one. Zechariah chapter 6, Here's
how Jesus Christ is described. In verse 12 it says, And speak
unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold
the man whose name is The Branch, all capital letters. That's the
man, Christ Jesus, who is the branch of God. And he shall grow
up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of God. Who
built the temple of God? Who builds the church? Well,
we've got soul-winning programs. Does that do it? No. Well, we
pray a lot. Does that do it? No. Well, we
give, we meet together, we do all the right things, and that
adds to the church. No. If you read Acts chapter 2, the
first four verses or so, you'll find that the apostles and the
disciples and the followers of Christ did all those things.
They prayed, they met daily, they had communion, they had
joy together, they had peace together, they prayed to God,
and it says, and the Lord added to the church daily, them that
should or must be The Lord adds to the church. The Lord adds
to the church. But he says he builds the temple. He shall grow up and out of his
place. He shall build the temple of the Lord. Even he shall build
the temple of the Lord. And he shall bear the glory.
Who's going to get glory for building this church? Jesus Christ
is. And shall sit and rule upon his throne. And he shall be a
priest upon his throne. What? A king and a priest? Who
ever heard of such a thing? There's only one that's ever
lived. You remember there's one that tried that one time. Remember
his name? Back in Isaiah chapter 6. In
the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord lifted up. Then
I found out he was holy. How did I find out he was holy?
Well, he was kind of watching King Uzziah, whom God had made
great. And King Uzziah said, I want to be king, but I tell
you what, I want to be priest too. So he took himself a censer
and he was going into the Holy of Holies. Only one person allowed
in there once a day a year, and that was the high priest. And
Uzziah said, I'm going to be a priest. And so he took that
censer and 86 priests stopped him and said, oh king, this doesn't
pertain to you. This is not your business. Because
we have a governor which is the king and we have religious activities
which has to do with the priesthood. These two don't mix. These two
don't mix. This doesn't pertain to you.
And he said, get out of my way. I'm the king. I'm going to do
what I want to do. And so he went in there and he
shook that censer and smoked up that place and he came out.
white as snow, covered with leprosy. And he was a leper till he died.
And that was the end of Uzziah. Why? Because there is but one
king who is also the priest, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ.
Even he shall build the temple of the Lord, he shall bear the
glory, and shall rule upon his throne. He shall be a priest
upon the throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them
both. A king and a priest, and the
counsel, the teaching of peace is from this king and from this
priest. That's the language used to describe
the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is that nail fastened in
his sure place for the glorious throne of his Father's house.
He shall hang all the glory of his Father's house, the offspring. Just three things here we'll
look at. And I'll be quick. There are three things that are
declared to hang on this secure nail. Verse 24, it says, They
shall hang upon him the glory of the Father's house. What does
that mean? The church is dependent upon
Christ. Their hope hangs on Him alone. And the church is supported
by Christ. Their existence hangs on Him
alone. And the glory that comes from building the house hangs
on Christ alone. It's that simple. All of it hangs
on Christ. All of it hangs on Christ. The
making of the house to be glorious hangs wholly on Christ. It is
He who removed the sin of His people and became their perfect
righteousness. He put His comeliness upon them and made them to be
unblameable and unreprovable in God's sight. He did all that. All that hangs on Him. Their
glory hangs on Christ alone. The saving of the Father's house
hangs solely on Christ. Why? Because He's the Savior
and He's the only Savior and His salvation is a glorious salvation. So glorious that it actually
glorified God and honored God. Secondly, it says the offspring
and the issue. The offspring in the issue speaks
of the children of God. They all hang on that nail in
sure place. It's talking about you and me. All of the family
of God, all who are born from above, all who are adopted into
the kingdom, all His sons and daughters hang or depend upon
Christ, the nail in a sure place. Your eternal destiny hangs on
Christ, not on you. What if I mess up tomorrow, and
I'm a child of God, and I mess up tomorrow and kill somebody?
Your eternity hangs on Christ and not on you. David killed
somebody. David committed adultery. David
stole another man's wife, got her pregnant, tried to blame
the guy for it. And then when that didn't work, he had the
guy killed. And he's the apple of God's eye.
You say, well, it just don't seem right. That's because you
don't understand grace yet. If you ever get ahold of grace,
you'll understand that what you do or don't do has nothing to
do with your salvation. Now it will affect your character
and conduct, no doubt about that, but your character and conduct
have nothing to do with your salvation. Your soul, the issue
and the offspring hang upon the Lord Jesus Christ, upon this
nail in a sure place. This nail in a sure place. This
refers to the fact that the daughters and sons of God are daughters
and sons of God because God has hung them on the Lord Jesus Christ. And it says all vessels of small
quantity and vessels of cups, even the vessels of flagging
hang on Christ. This refers to the fact that
in the economy of God there are vessels of different functions
and capacities. There is no hierarchy in the
church. There are no big dogs in the church. No big dogs whatsoever. Our Lord spoke of of those upon whom the seed fell on good
ground as bringing forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold,
some a hundredfold. They're different. The Bible
speaks of the church being a living organism wherein the most uncomely
parts, the ones that aren't even seen, are actually the ones that
have the power. Not the ones that are seen, but
the ones that aren't seen. You look at my body, you say,
well, there's a living being. Well, what's keeping this going?
Is it my handsome face? Is it my blue suspenders? What's
keeping me going? Things you can't see. A liver,
a heart, intestines, a pancreas, things that you can't see. And
if you looked at them, you wouldn't really want to see them anyway. They're
not that handsome. They're not that pretty. But I couldn't live
without them. Same way with the church, small
vessels, large vessels, small quantity vessels are large. The
thing about it is each one of these vessels is just the right
size for whatever the Lord pours into it and however it's used. And all of it hangs on Christ.
All of them produce 100% because it is God who fills them because
their good works are ordained of God in Jesus Christ. and no
matter the capacity of function, you might say, well I don't have
much capacity, well you'll be full though. Say, well I got
a lot of capacity, you'll be full too. It ain't a glass half
empty or a glass half full scenario, it's a right size glass scenario.
Right size glass. No matter the capacity of function,
they all hang on the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because he's the
nail in the sure place. God put him there. Everything
about us from eternity to eternity hangs on that nail in a sure
place. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, is the
nail in a sure place.