The Valley of Vision was under attack. Death was rampant. Vulnerability abounded. Captivity and devastation were assured. Isaiah’s prophetic eye saw this clearly, so he proclaimed this approaching demise. However, the people couldn’t comprehend more than the present, and their attentiveness to the here and now disabled their ability to respond correctly when destruction arose. Attuned to their senses, they would do the logical thing. They would collect armor for battle. They would gather water in case of siege. They would fortify their city walls. But, they would not look to God, the one who constructed the stones, the water…them. They did not have respect for the one who created what they put their trust in.
Isaiah’s warning was God’s call for repentance, to mourn over the cause of the nation’s demise, to rid themselves of the pride that plunged them into desperate straits in the first place. God wanted them to root out their sources – the cause of the chaos AND the Maker of the materials in which they trusted. Not realizing their spiritual vision was sightless, they had respect only to the existing, tangible, and temporary—the created rather than the Creator. As a result, they were comfortable in their condition, thus continued on the path they were own. Dismissing the signs of pending doom, they carried on blithely, turning caution into jest. At their feasts, they toasted, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
In addition to this call to the people, Isaiah subsequently prophesied of the downfall of an individual, Shebna. God, he said, was going to replace the wicked manager with a godly man who would be empowered with holy authority and spiritual dignity. This man, Eliakim, would be like a nail driven into a sure place. Some of the people, would cling to him, just as others had clunk to their comforts. Neither grip was God-approved, for when the comforts failed and when God removed Eliakim from position, the people fell as well, the crumbled remains of what they’d clung to held tightly in their grasp. THEY were not driven in a sure place. They had clung to other things-both wicked and good- but they had NOT clung to the Lord.
When our trust is in flesh—our goodness, our strength, our abilities, our resources, our Eliakims--our vision has been taken hostage by a bitter adversary. Our perception is blind. We must lift our spiritual eyes from the present and focus on the unseen. On the God of our provision. He alone is our supply. He alone is unchanging and eternal. Trusting Him gives us clarity of sight. Not because we see the distinct answer. Not because the path before us is cleared of all debris. Not because the details we desire are in crisp focus. But when we see God as our Salvation, Help, and Answer, we behold what we need to see… to really see.
Isaiah’s warning was God’s call for repentance, to mourn over the cause of the nation’s demise, to rid themselves of the pride that plunged them into desperate straits in the first place. God wanted them to root out their sources – the cause of the chaos AND the Maker of the materials in which they trusted. Not realizing their spiritual vision was sightless, they had respect only to the existing, tangible, and temporary—the created rather than the Creator. As a result, they were comfortable in their condition, thus continued on the path they were own. Dismissing the signs of pending doom, they carried on blithely, turning caution into jest. At their feasts, they toasted, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
In addition to this call to the people, Isaiah subsequently prophesied of the downfall of an individual, Shebna. God, he said, was going to replace the wicked manager with a godly man who would be empowered with holy authority and spiritual dignity. This man, Eliakim, would be like a nail driven into a sure place. Some of the people, would cling to him, just as others had clunk to their comforts. Neither grip was God-approved, for when the comforts failed and when God removed Eliakim from position, the people fell as well, the crumbled remains of what they’d clung to held tightly in their grasp. THEY were not driven in a sure place. They had clung to other things-both wicked and good- but they had NOT clung to the Lord.
When our trust is in flesh—our goodness, our strength, our abilities, our resources, our Eliakims--our vision has been taken hostage by a bitter adversary. Our perception is blind. We must lift our spiritual eyes from the present and focus on the unseen. On the God of our provision. He alone is our supply. He alone is unchanging and eternal. Trusting Him gives us clarity of sight. Not because we see the distinct answer. Not because the path before us is cleared of all debris. Not because the details we desire are in crisp focus. But when we see God as our Salvation, Help, and Answer, we behold what we need to see… to really see.
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