God of the Nations: Unforgiven?

“An oracle against the Valley of Vision: What’s the matter with you? Why have all of you gone up to the rooftops? The noisy city, the jubilant town, is filled with revelry. Your dead did not die by the sword; they were not killed in battle. All your rulers have fled together, captured without a bow. All your fugitives were captured together; they had fled far away. Therefore I said, “Look away from me! Let me weep bitterly! Do not try to comfort me about the destruction of my dear people.” For the Lord God of Hosts had a day of tumult, trampling, and confusion in the Valley of Vision — people shouting and crying to the mountains; Elam took up a quiver with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. Your best valleys were full of chariots, and horsemen were positioned at the gates. He removed the defenses of Judah. On that day you looked to the weapons in the House of the Forest. You saw that there were many breaches in the walls of the city of David. You collected water from the lower pool. You counted the houses of Jerusalem so that you could tear them down to fortify the wall. You made a reservoir between the walls for the waters of the ancient pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or consider the One who created it long ago.” (Isaiah 22:1-11 HCSB)

Key verse: “The Lord of Hosts has directly revealed to me: “This sin of yours will never be wiped out.” The Lord God of Hosts has spoken.” (Isaiah 22:14 HCSB)

Focus matters. It matters in photography and it matters in life. I am not a master photographer, but I have several family members who are. One thing I know, focus matters. Not just to keep things from being blurry and “out of focus” but also to emphasize what’s most important and the primary subject of the photograph. When I take a photo, I use all of the standard settings of the camera. That generally means that nothing is of primary importance and everything is in focus. That’s because I am an amateur and lazy photographer. But a good photographer will adjust those settings and will make the subject the primary focus of the photograph and much of the periphery and background are out of focus. Why go to such lengths? Because the subject demands it and deserves it.

While we aren’t talking about photography and photographs this week, we are talking about Almighty God. Isaiah introduces us to this week’s oracle or prophecy with an interesting and ironic phrase: “An oracle against the Valley of Vision.” Maybe you didn’t initially catch the irony of that phrase, but a valley is not a place where you have a particularly good vision of the area. In a valley, your vision is limited by the surrounding landscape and mountains. You might be able to see, but you can’t see very far. Isaiah’s point seems to be that the people of Jerusalem and Judah don’t have a good view of what God is doing even though He’s given them insight and vision into His plans.

God has given His people spiritual insight and vision, through prophets and their prophecies and through His Spirit. We tend to think of prophecy as a glimpse into the future and prophecy can certainly include those glimpses of what’s to come. But prophecy is primarily about what God has to say about our current spiritual condition, our relationship with Him. This oracle for Jerusalem, the Valley of Vision, is no different. It is all about what God will do if they refuse to heed His warning.

In the opening verses, Isaiah does not see a city destroyed by invasion and people who have died in battle, but a city filled with the noise of jubilation and revelry with the leadership secretly fleeing (see 2 Kings 25) but being captured without military weapons or might. Notice, when Isaiah sees these things he weeps bitterly over the situation. “Therefore I said, “Look away from me! Let me weep bitterly! Do not try to comfort me about the destruction of my dear people.”” (Isaiah 22:4 HCSB) But this is clearly the judgment of God: “For the Lord God of Hosts had a day of tumult, trampling, and confusion in the Valley of Vision — people shouting and crying to the mountains…” (Isaiah 22:5 HCSB)

Initially, this appears to be a leadership failure to me. The leaders have failed to recognize the threat and, perhaps, failed to alert and prepare the people. But ultimately, this comes down to systemic failure across the board – leadership and populace. But let me be clear, this is NOT a failure to recognize the threat from Assyria, Babylon or any other human foe but a failure to recognize their personal and corporate sin and to respond in repentance to God’s call to holiness. Their lives had lost focus on what is of ultimate importance and was focused on material success. God, His will and His word were no longer the center of their existence and the focus of their desire. They were now focused on their own needs and desires.

As I mentioned above regarding photography, we might have many things that are “in focus” for our lives but doing so means that God is not the central focus of our lives. He is the One who not only demands to be the sole focus of life but deserves to be the sole focus of life. When a photographer is hired for a photography session, the one who hired them determines who or what is to be the photographer’s focus. All of the photography work and the photographic results revolve around that focal point and it is evident in the photographs.

When we properly recognize God as the sole source of life and life’s purpose then our focus will automatically shift. When that happens, other things naturally fade into the background and He becomes the sole focus of our lives. Jesus put it this way: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21 HCSB) Jesus also used a parable to illustrate this same principle: ““The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.”(Matthew 13:44 HCSB) When you find that thing that gives life meaning, purpose and focus then everything else fades into the background and IT becomes your driving force, your focal point, your life’s treasure.

As Judah saw the gathering forces of Elam and Kir coming against Jerusalem, they began to secure the city. The weapons in the “House of the Forest” is likely referring to the royal treasury. As the leaders assess their preparedness, they note the many weaknesses in the city walls and the lack of water within the city walls. So they began to make plans on which houses could be torn down and used to fortify the city walls and they dug a tunnel to bring fresh water from outside the city and a reservoir inside the city to hold the water. But, “you did not look to the One who made it, or consider the One who created it long ago.” (Isaiah 22:11 HCSB) They considered all of these things, but they completely left God out of their preparations and planning.

We should plan and prepare for the future and the inevitable issues that arise in life, but we should never leave God out of those plans and preparations. I live in an area commonly called “Tornado Alley”. Over the past few weeks, we have dealt with a record number of tornadoes. In fact, we are currently under a severe storm watch. We need to have an emergency plan in place along with the necessary items needed to protect ourselves and keep our family safe. However, a key element in our preparations and our safety before and during any storm is prayer for ourselves, our family, our friends and neighbors and our community and trusting the God who loves us.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 HCSB)

“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.”(Proverbs 16:9 HCSB)

“Make Your ways known to me, Lord; teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; I wait for You all day long.” (Psalms 25:4-5 HCSB)

Next, notice what God calls them to: “On that day the Lord God of Hosts called for weeping, for wailing, for shaven heads, and for the wearing of sackcloth.” (Isaiah 22:12 HCSB) God calls them to repentance, to grieve over their sin and their refusal to trust and rely upon Him. But instead of grief over their sin and repentance towards God, they throw a party and say: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” (v. 13) They refuse to trust God and repent and instead decide to go out in a blaze of hedonism and egoism. They aren’t concerned with their personal holiness and God’s glory, but with their sense of personal happiness and physical pleasure.

In making this choice, Isaiah declares: “The Lord of Hosts has directly revealed to me: “This sin of yours will never be wiped out.” The Lord God of Hosts has spoken.” (Isaiah 22:14 HCSB) Their sin will never be forgiven. I want to be very clear here, this is a sin that is unforgivable. It is a sin of spiritual pride that refuses to fall humbly before God in repentance and to seek His forgiveness. It is the same unpardonable sin noted by Jesus in Matthew 12, Mark 3 and Luke 12. It is the called “blasphemy of the Spirit” and it is to refuse the conviction of God’s Spirit of our sin and to deny God’s work of grace through Jesus’ life, sacrificial death and life giving resurrection. The ONLY way for sin to be removed is through the work of God’s Spirit as He calls us to confession, repentance and to fall upon God’s mercy and seek salvation in the grace of Jesus’ sacrifice.

Finally, Isaiah moves into an interesting comparison between Shebna, the palace steward, and Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah. In essence, the comparison that Isaiah makes is the same one we’ve already considered – a life focused on itself and a life focused on the glory of God. So, I won’t go into a lot of detail with the specifics of the comparison but I want to draw your attention to the fact that each of them made a personal choice regarding their life focus. We often want to blame our spiritual condition or spiritual failures on anyone and everyone but ourselves. The church or a church leader failed us. Our parents or family failed us. Life problems, issues or other factors distracted and derailed us. Each of these may have some culpability in your spiritual failure and they will be held accountable before God. But ultimately, your spiritual condition is your own personal responsibility.

“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13 HCSB)

In theological terms, we call this SOUL COMPETENCY. In layman’s terms it means, we each have the capability and responsibility for a personal relationship with God. Nobody else can establish it, develop it or maintain it for us. In our comparison story between Shebna and Eliakim, Isaiah points out that the difference in these two men is where they place their trust and on whom their lives are focused. Nobody else can make this choice for them. Shebna fails in his responsibility, but God raised up Hilkiah in his place. God would clothe Hilkiah with Shebna’s robe and tie his sash around Hilkiah. What Shebna failed to do Hilkiah did and God blessed and honored him for it.

But then Isaiah’s oracle from God goes even further and introduces an analogy to help explain it and the language and glory of what God says soars far above and beyond Hilkiah. God says, “I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; what he opens, no one can close; what he closes, no one can open.” (Isaiah 22:22 HCSB) He then launches into the analogy of a peg that is driven into a firm place and how the entire future of His people hang on this peg. “They will hang on Him the whole burden of his father’s house: the descendants and the offshoots – all the small vessels, from bowls to every kind of jar.”

Perhaps that quote from Isaiah 22:22 sounds familiar. If it doesn’t, it should. It is repeated in the book of Revelation: ““Write to the angel of the church in Philadelphia: “The Holy One, the True One, the One who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and closes and no one opens says…” (Revelation 3:7 HCSB) Maybe you noticed my choice of words there… it wasn’t quoted, it was repeated. The same God spoke those words to Isaiah, repeated them to the Apostle John in Revelation 3:7. And to whom do those words refer? Who is the One who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and who closes and no one opens? I hope you know, but if you don’t it is Jesus.

Now, go back and listen to the last verse of our focal passage: “On that day” — the declaration of the Lord of Hosts — “the peg that was driven into a firm place will give way, be cut off, and fall, and the load on it will be destroyed.” Indeed, the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 22:25 HCSB) If you don’t know the proper context, it sounds like that peg failed to fulfill its task. It failed to hold the load placed upon it. But if that peg is our Savior, then this verse makes perfect sense. All of the sin, all of the failure, all of the shortcomings of God’s people have been hung on Him – that peg, the One who holds the key to God’s kingdom – the eternal throne of David.

But He is cut off and falls, and the load is destroyed.

Wait, what? Yes, He is cut off and dies and the burden of the sin of God’s people that has been placed upon Him is destroyed. So, the peg didn’t fail – in the normal sense of failure – it (or He) fulfilled God’s intended purpose. He was cut off, He fell (died) and the load placed upon Him was destroyed by His sacrificial death.

The oracle against the Valley of Vision or Jerusalem is a declaration of God’s judgment upon His people who have lost focus and no longer trust Him for life. It is also a declaration of judgment upon any of us who fail to focus our lives on Him and trust Him for life. Is it a declaration of judgment on your life? That’s a question that only you and God can answer. I encourage you to have that conversation with Him and I would remind you that anyone who truly desires to know Him will and anyone who truly seeks Him will find Him.