The people of Judah were behaving like their pagan neighbors, so it was only right that Isaiah should include them in the list of nations God would judge. Yes, in His mercy, the Lord would deliver Jerusalem from the Assyrian army, but He would not deliver them from Babylon. Isaiah pointed out two particular sins that would cause Judah to decline and ultimately go into captivity in Babylon.
The unbelief of the people (vv. 1–14). While some parts of this description may seem to apply to the Assyrian invasion in Hezekiah’s day (chaps. 36—37; 2 Kings 18—19; 2 Chron. 32), the primary reference is to the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC. In Isaiah’s day, Jerusalem was a “joyous city” as people engaged in all kinds of celebrations (Isa. 5:11–13; 32:12–13). The popular philosophy was, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die” (22:13; 56:12; 1 Cor. 15:32). But the prophet did not participate in the parties, for he saw a day coming when death and destruction would reign in the City of David. The people went up to the housetops, but the prophet went down into one of the three valleys around Jerusalem; there God gave him a vision. Visions and valleys often go together.
He saw people dying, not from battle wounds, but from famine and disease (Isa. 22:2). He saw the nation’s rulers fleeing in fear as the enemy army approached (vv. 3–7; 2 Kings 25:1–10). The people would do everything possible to prepare for a long siege (Isa. 22:8–11): collecting armor (1 Kings 7:2; 10:17), fortifying the walls (Isa. 22:9–10), servicing the water supply (v. 9; 2 Chron. 32:1–4, 30; 2 Kings 20:20), and building a reservoir between the walls (Isa. 22:11). But all of this frantic preparation would not deliver them from the enemy. “The defenses of Judah are stripped away (v. 8 niv). In their false confidence, they said, “Just as the Lord delivered Jerusalem from Assyria, so He will deliver us from Babylon.”
The people did everything but trust the Lord (v. 11). Instead of feasting, they should have been fasting, weeping, putting on sackcloth, and pulling out their hair in grief (v. 12; Ezra 9:3; James 4:8–10). God had sent the nation many prophets to warn them, but the people would not listen. Now it was too late; their sins could not be forgiven because their hearts were hard. Judah would go into captivity, and God’s word to Isaiah would be fulfilled (Isa. 6:9–13).
The unfaithfulness of the leaders (vv. 15–25). Had the leaders been faithful to the Lord and called the people to repentance, there might have been hope, but too many of the leaders were like Shebna, thinking only of themselves. As treasurer (steward), Shebna was second to King Hezekiah in authority (see chaps. 36— 37), but he used his authority (and possibly the king’s money) to build himself a monumental tomb (22:16) and to acquire chariots (v. 18; see 2:7). Shebna was not a spiritual man, and he probably sided with the proEgypt party in Judah.
God judged Shebna by demoting him (he became “secretary” according to 36: niv), disgracing him, and deporting him. Eventually he was thrown “like a ball” (22:18) into a far country (Assyria?), where he died. He could not have an expensive funeral and be buried in his elaborate tomb.
God chose a new man, Eliakim (“God will raise up”), and called him “my servant.” Instead of exploiting the people, he would be a father to them and use his “key” (authority) for the good of the nation. He would be like a dependable peg, hammered into the wall, on which you could hang many burdens. But even a godly leader like Eliakim could not prevent the ultimate fall of Judah, for one day the whole nation would fall (v. 25). Eliakim is a picture of Jesus Christ (Rev. 3:7), the greatest Servant of all.