Today let’s look at the last half of Isaiah 22. Chapter 22 is “an oracle concerning the Valley of Vision.” (1) In other words, it is talking about a prophecy of judgment upon Jerusalem. In last week’s passage Israel did not look to God, but to weapons of war and to securing a water source and to repairing the wall. In other words, they look at humanistic things. They are advised to repent of that sin.
In today’s passage two servants, Shebna and Eliakim appear. By these two servants we are taught how “the Valley of Vision,”(1) Jerusalem, and the people of God, Israel, should be. In other words, as God’s servants they must walk humbly and faithfully.

I. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled (vs.15-19)
First look at verses 15 to 19.
Here the person, Shebna appears. Here it says, “Shebna, who is charge of the palace.” (15) In 36:22 it is written, “Shebna the secretary.” In any case, he was “in charge of the palace” of the King of Judah, Hezekiah. What the Lord says to him is recorded in verse 16.
Shebna wanted a tomb worthy of a king. He was wanted to leave a reminder of his glory. Man makes memorials, and makes　luxurious graves to show how splendid and how great they were. Now too if you go to Jerusalem there are tombs of the past leaders like Absalom. Shebna too wanted to build a luxurious tomb for himself. Since they were surrounded by Assyria and they were in the dangerous condition of being invaded, he was completely off base.
Concerning Shebna what the Lord said is recorded in verses 17 to 19.
“Mighty man“ (17) means a strong person or a brave soldier. It was a word that wasn’t used in normal conversation. The reason that Shebna is called a “mighty man“(17) is because Shebna is not a “mighty man“(17). Like the Lord hurled the mighty man away, the Lord grabbed hold of him and hurled him away. It’s like Judo. Judo athletes grab hold of their opponent’s collar, and using Judo throws hurl their opponent far away. Like this the Lord took a firm hold of Shebna and hurled him away.

Also if you look at verse 18 it says, “He will roll you up tightly like a ball and throw you into a large country.“ This is easy to understand. He will be rolled up tightly like a ball and then thrown “into a large country.” (18) Then he will die there. His end was not the grave, but wide open land. That was because he exalted himself. The Lord said, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matt. 23:12)

II. The faithful servants of the God (vs. 20-24)
Next let’s look at verses 20 to 23. First look at verses 20 and 21.
Here another person appears. “Eliakim, son of Hilkiah“. (20) If you look at 36:3 you will see that he was “the palace administrator“. He too served the King of Judah, Hezekiah. The “your“ of verse 21 is Shebna. God will put the robe that Shebna wore on Eliakim, and fasten the sash that Shebna wore on Eliakim, and hand over Shebna’s authority to Eliakin. The authority and status that had been given to Shebna will be given to Eliakim.
The reason is given in verse 20. Here it says, “my servant“. It was because he faithfully persisted in the position that was given him as a servant of God. Shebena exalted himself and he was humbled, but Eliakim persisted in his position as a servant of God and reversely he was exalted. While Eliakim was in a high governmental post, and of high rank, but he was humble before God.
Mark 10:42-45
This is the answer Jesus gave when James and John, the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus and asked to sit on the left and right of Jesus in God’s kingdom. In this world those who are regarded as rulers exercise authority over people. It is not to be with you. It is not like that in the kingdom of God. “Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” (Matt. 10:43,44) This is the principle of the kingdom of God. Jesus “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matt. 10:45)
Before in a church there was a woman who retired from a job of many years in an office only. After retirement she served as a paid church secretary. In a church in the city usually there is a young staff, but this church was in the countryside so there weren’t very many young people. Therefore, this person who had been secretary in an everyday business sustained the church. When I had some business with the church, this person often answered the phone. I can’t begin to express what a gentle and kind feeling her response gave and it caused my heart to be soothed.

One day this person after finishing a day of service in the church went home after 5:00 on the train, but about 6:00 she got back on the train and returned to the church. She was afraid that she had forgotten to lock the church.
It feels good to see a young person quickly doing his job, but to see someone like this person earnestly and faithfully serving doing each job like an offering to the Lord has flavor. Even though she is paid, such service cannot be done without a devoted heart.
Shebna used his ranking and position to give himself glory and didn’t serve God, but Eliakim wasn’t like that. As the servant of God, he faithfully performed the duties that were given to him. Each one of his jobs he did from his heart and if he was doing it for the Lord. Therefore, he was used of God. The important thing is to be conscious of yourself as a servant of God and to do the jobs you are given faithfully.
In Matt. 25 there is the story of the servants who received 5 talents, 2 talents, and 1 talent from their Master and how they managed the money. The servants who received 5 talents and 2 talents both made money. However, the servant that received 1 talent hid it in the ground. To the servants that received 5 and 2 talents the Master said, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matt. 25:21,23)
What is interesting is that both the servant that received 5 talents and the servant that received 2 talents were praised the same by their Master. The Master was not happy about the amount of money they said they made, but by how faithful they had been. Such faithfulness is born out of a consciousness that you are a servant of God.
If you look at verse 22 you will see how great an honor was given to Eliakim. Here it says, “I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David, what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.” Eliakim will receive “the key to the house of David.” (22) “The key to the house of David” (22) is the authority as king. He will be given the final authority on decisions. “What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.” (22) He will be given that much authority.
This passage is quoted in Rev. 3:7. The Lord Jesus writes in a letter that is sent to the church in Philadelphia about himself, “These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut and what he shuts no one can open.” Jesus holds the keys to heaven. What the Lord “opens no one can shut and what he shuts no one can open.” (Rev. 3:7) The Lord has the authority to

open and close the doors to heaven. It is such a great an authority that he has the authority to determine man’s eternity. Eliakim is a type of Jesus and paints his image. He is given that much authority.
The Lord Jesus says to the church in Philadelphia in verse 8 of Rev. chapter 3, “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”
“An open door that no one can shut” (Rev. 3:8) is the gate to the kingdom of heaven. The door to heaven is open to them. This is because they have little strength, yet they have kept God’s word and have not denied the name of the Lord. In other words, they were faithful to the Lord.
The real value of the church is not its appearance or numbers. Even if there are few people, and it is seen as being in poverty, it doesn’t make any difference. Its real value depends on whether there is true faith or not, whether the Christians are following the Word of God or not. That is the foundation of our life of faith. If we make the Word of God the foundation of our life then this will be seen in us testifying to Christ. There are Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Shintoism and other many various new religions, but what is important is not that among these religions that you believe in Christianity. It is not that you are acting like a Christian. What is important is that you have a faithful faith in the Word of God. The Church of Philadelphia had such a faithful faith in the word of God.
Last week I spoke at a symposium entitled, “Thinking about evangelism in local areas”. A pastor and his wife who evangelize in Sado in Niigata prefecture attended. From the time they started evangelizing in Sado with a population between 50,000 to 60,000 people, 16 years ago until now only a few people have gathered. He said it feels like he is preaching to the tatami mats every week. I thought how hard it must be to evangelize in such a situation. Under such conditions he attended the symposium and received encouragement from the Lord and is faithfully serving the Lord where he was sent to. I think it is the Philadelphia Church of Japan.
When we go to heaven there will be Billy Graham (But he is still living) who has led hundreds of thousands, millions of people to Christ and there may be a son and his mother who brought up the son wonderfully in Christ. They will both receive the same reward and praise from the Lord. The important thing is whether we are a faithful servant of God or not.

Please look at verse 23. Here it says, “I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will be a seat of honor for the house of his father.” “Him”, and “he” (23) is Eliakim, but at the same time it is also a prophecy about Jesus Christ. That is because the words of verse 22 also refer to Christ. “I will drive him like a peg into a firm place” refers to the cross. This “peg” was normally the Hebrew word used for the peg the holds the tabernacle securely in place. In order to hold the tabernacle securely in place, a peg had to be driven into firm ground. By doing so lasting prosperity and success will come to David’s house. This peg is Eliakim and it is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ’s cross is the foundation of God’s house. It is the firm ground. It will become the glory of the kingdom of God. It is the firm ground of our life.
What is the foundation of your life? The cross is the firm foundation of your life. If you nail your life on this firm ground, that will be your glory and it will bring you lots of prosperity and security.

III. Believe in Christ (vs. 25)
Therefore, the third point is to believe in Christ. Please look at verse 25.
This is a difficult passage to interpret. Many commentaries say that “the peg driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down” (25) means that Eliakim like Sｈebｎa　will eventually fall from power due to his depravity. However, it is more than that.
Here the words, “in that day” (25) are written. “In that day” is one of the key words of Isaiah. I have already said many times that means that Isaiah is talking more about something that will occur at a much later time than about the age of Isaiah.
Here “the peg”, Jesus Christ who was driven “into a firm place” and provided security for Israel “will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.” (25)
John 1:11,12
Christ “came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” (John 1:11) Israel rejected the peg which was driven “into a firm foundation”. (23) Therefore, that salvation will be taken away and will be given to the Gentiles. However, “to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12) The Jews did not receive Jesus as their Savior so they will be cut down. Christ was the Messiah and who we should accept and believe in. If we don’t, we are the same as the Jews and will be cut down.

Have you accepted Christ? Do you believe in Him and are you saved? So that you are not cut off, open your eyes up big, and receive his salvation. Jesus who died on the cross and 3 days later rose again is our savior. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2) Satan attacks us in many ways trying to get us to take our eyes off Christ. He says things like “You really don’t have to believe in Christ” or “I can live freely even if I don’t go to church every week” or “More important than believing in God that I can’t see is to understand the reality of the world from the internet.” Like this Satan tries to get us to reject Christ. However, there is no salvation in that. “The peg driven “into a firm foundation will give way.” (25) To all who receive Jesus Christ who died on the cross and rose again three days late, “to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12) This is the starting point for being a servant of God. As a servant of Christ let’s accept Christ, and desire to live in his grace. Upon each one of you who live believing in Him, may God’s grace and blessings be upon you.

Applying it to our lives
 Do you have thoughts that you want to leave a name for yourself? Or do have thoughts of desiring to put yourself above God.

 Are you doing the duties that have been given to you with a servant’s heart humbly and sincerely? When the Lord sees you serving, what will he say?