Passage:Isaiah 22
Proclamation Against Jerusalem
Proclamation Against Jerusalem
1 The burden against the Valley of Vision.
What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops,
2 You who are full of noise,
A tumultuous city, a joyous city?
Your slain men are not slain with the sword,
Nor dead in battle.
3 All your rulers have fled together;
They are captured by the archers.
All who are found in you are bound together;
They have fled from afar.
4 Therefore I said, “Look away from me,
I will weep bitterly;
Do not labor to comfort me
Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.”
5 For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity
By the Lord GOD of hosts
In the Valley of Vision—
Breaking down the walls
And of crying to the mountain.
6 Elam bore the quiver
With chariots of men and horsemen,
And Kir uncovered the shield.
7 It shall come to pass that your choicest valleys
Shall be full of chariots,
And the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.
8 He removed the protection of Judah.
You looked in that day to the armor of the House of the Forest;
9 You also saw the damage to the city of David,
That it was great;
And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
10 You numbered the houses of Jerusalem,
And the houses you broke down
To fortify the wall.
11 You also made a reservoir between the two walls
For the water of the old pool.
But you did not look to its Maker,
or did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago.
12 And in that day the Lord GOD of hosts
Called for weeping and for mourning,
For baldness and for girding with sackcloth.
13 But instead, joy and gladness,
Slaying oxen and killing sheep,
Eating meat and drinking wine:
“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
14 Then it was revealed in my hearing by the LORD of hosts,
“Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you,
Even to your death,” says the Lord GOD of hosts.
Journal:
To date, Isaiah has pronounced judgment on Babylon [twice], Assyria, Moab, Damascus, Cush, Egypt, Philistia, Edom and Arabia [as well as Tyre in Chapter 23]. What about Judah? Judah has been warned throughout that it greatly resembles these heathen nations, and therefore should be in great fear. This chapter [Chapter 22] is directed at Jerusalem, the city of God. The people of Jerusalem were given much, for they had been given the Word of God and the prophet of God. Therefore, the judgment would be severe, for to whom much is given much is expected.
Jerusalem, as well as all of Judah, lacked direction and conviction. It had started at the top with King Ahaz and his wicked leadership. It is evidenced here with a contradiction. Jerusalem is engaged in revelry ["You who are full of noise, a tumultuous city, a joyous city" . . . "But instead, joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating meat and drinking wine . . ."], and yet is in the midst of death and destruction from the attacking Assyrians ["Your slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle. All your rulers have fled together; they are captured by the archers. All who are found in you are bound together; they have fled from afar" . . . "For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the Valley of Vision— breaking down the walls and of crying to the mountain."]. Jerusalem never fell to the Assyrians; yet, two-thirds of the inhabitants of Jerusalem died or were taken captive. This chastening was from God Himself.
And so it is. The small picture of Jerusalem in the day of Isaiah reveals the big picture of the atonement of man throughout eternity. The walls crash around the rebellion of man. Death and destruction are at every turn. Yet, there is revelry and ignorance. There is defiance to the end because there is blindness to the end. There is man shaking his fist at God even as the foundation of his temporal humanity shakes around him. “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” There is a finality here that is ignored. There is a certainty here that is disregarded. 'Then it was revealed in my hearing by the LORD of hosts, “Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, even to your death,” says the Lord GOD of hosts.' The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom . . .
Heard 'Round the House:
It is with great pride that I bring this edition of "Heard 'Round the House" to you. We adopted Ella from Colombia one year ago. She was two then and is now three. She has Down Syndrome and does not speak [she wasn't even walking when we got her but is now Speedy Gonzales, who I submit was Colombian and not Mexican]. Ella does a lot of nudging and pointing to communicate. One of her favorite activities is to sit in my lap. For some reason, we often find ourselves in this position while watching a football game. Throughout the game, she will nudge me and point at the game on TV. I often say something with "football" in it. A couple of days ago, she nudged and pointed, I said blah blah blah something or other football, and she said her first word. Yes indeed, the word "football." My suspicion is that Jill is not as proud of this moment as I am, though she is glad to note the accomplishment. I am now going to work hard on expanding her vocabulary, and will diligently instruct her on saying "Go Tech!"
