Chapter 22:
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Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 Song of Solomon Jeremiah
Isaiah 22
Complete Concise
We have now come nearer home, for this chapter is "the
burden of the valley of vision," Jerusalem; other places had their burden
for the sake of their being concerned in some way or other with Jerusalem, and
were reckoned with either as spiteful enemies or deceitful friends to the people
of God; but now let Jerusalem hear her own doom. This chapter concerns, I. The
city of Jerusalem itself and the neighbourhood depending upon it. Here is, 1. A
prophecy of the grievous distress they should shortly be brought into by
Sennacherib's invasion of the country and laying siege to the city (v. 1-7).
2. A reproof given them for their misconduct in that distress, in two things:
(1.) Not having an eye to God in the use of the means of their preservation (v.
8-11). (2.) Not humbling themselves under his mighty hand (v. 12-14). II.
The court of Hezekiah, and the officers of that court. 1. The displacing of
Shebna, a bad man, and turning him out of the treasury (v. 15-19, 25). 2. The
preferring of Eliakim, who should do his country better service, to his place
(v. 20-24).
Verses 1-7
The title of this prophecy is very observable. It is
the
burden of the valley of vision, of Judah and Jerusalem; so all agree. Fitly
enough is Jerusalem called a valley, for the mountains were round about it, and
the land of Judah abounded with fruitful valleys; and by the judgments of God,
though they had been as a towering mountain, they should be brought low, sunk
and depressed, and become dark and dirty, as a valley. But most emphatically is
it called a
valley of vision because there God was known and his name was
great, there the prophets were made acquainted with his mind by visions, and
there the people saw the goings of their God and King in his sanctuary. Babylon,
being a stranger to God, though rich and great, was called
the desert of the
sea; but Jerusalem, being entrusted with his oracles, is
a valley of
vision. Blessed are their eyes, for they see, and they have seers by office
among them. Where Bibles and ministers are there is a valley of vision, from
which is expected fruit accordingly; but here is a
burden of the valley of
vision, and a heavy burden it is. Note, Church privileges, if they be not
improved, will not secure men from the judgments of God.
You only have I
known of all the families of the earth; therefore will I punish you. The
valley of vision has a particular burden.
Thou Capernaum, Mt. 11:23. The
higher any are lifted up in means and mercies the heavier will their doom be if
they abuse them.
Now the
burden of the valley of vision here is that which
will not quite ruin it, but only frighten it; for it refers not to the
destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, but to the attempt made upon it by
Sennacherib, which we had the prophecy of, ch. 10, and shall meet with the
history of, ch. 36. It is here again prophesied of, because the desolations of
many of the neighbouring countries, which were foretold in the foregoing
chapters, were to be brought to pass by the Assyrian army. Now let Jerusalem
know that when the cup is going round it will be put into her hand; and,
although it will not be to her a fatal cup, yet it will be a cup of trembling.
Here is foretold,
I. The consternation that the city should be in upon the
approach of Sennacherib's army. It used to be full of stirs, a city of great
trade, people hurrying to and fro about their business, a tumultuous city,
populous and noisy. Where there is great trade there is great tumult. It used to
be a joyous revelling city. What with the busy part and what with the merry part
of mankind, places of concourse are places of noise. "But what ails thee
now, that the shops are quitted, and there is no more walking in the streets and
exchange,
but thou hast wholly gone up to the house-tops (v. 1), to
bemoan thyself in silence and solitude, or to secure thyself from the enemy, or
to look abroad and see if any succours come to thy relief, or which way the
enemies' motions are." Let both men of business and sportsmen
rejoice
as though they rejoiced not, for something may happen quickly, which they
little think of, that will be a damp to their mirth and a stop to their
business, and send them to
watch as a sparrow alone upon the house-top,
Ps. 102:7. But why is Jerusalem in such a fright?
Her slain men are not slain
with the sword (v. 2), but, 1. Slain with famine (so some); for Sennacherib's
army having laid the country waste, and destroyed the fruits of the earth,
provisions must needs be very scarce and dear in the city, which would be the
death of many of the poorer sort of people, who would be constrained to feed on
that which was unwholesome. 2. Slain with fear. They were put into this fright
though they had not a man killed, but so disheartened themselves that they
seemed as effectually stabbed with fear as if they had been run through with a
sword.
II. The inglorious flight of the rulers of Judah, who fled from
far, from all parts of the country, to Jerusalem (v. 3), fled together, as it
were by consent, and were found in Jerusalem, having left their respective
cities, which they should have taken care of, to be a prey to the Assyrian army,
which, meeting with no opposition, when it
came up against all the defenced
cities of Judah easily
took them, ch. 36:1. These rulers
were
bound from the bow (so the word is); they not only quitted their own cities
like cowards, but, when they came to Jerusalem, were of no service there, but
were as if their hands were tied from the use of the bow, by the extreme
distraction and confusion they were in; they trembled, so that they could not
draw a bow. See how easily God can dispirit men, and how certainly fear will
dispirit them, when the tyranny of it is yielded to.
III. The great grief which this should occasion to all serious
sensible people among them, which is represented by the prophet's laying the
thing to heart himself; he lived to see it, and was resolved to share with the
children of his people in their sorrows, v. 4, 5. He is not willing to proclaim
his sorrow, and therefore bids those about him to look away from him; he will
abandon himself to grief, and indulge himself in it, will weep secretly, but
weep bitterly, and will have none go about to comfort him, for his grief is
obstinate and he is pleased with his pain. But what is the occasion of his
grief? A poor prophet had little to lose, and had been inured to hardship, when
he walked naked and barefoot; but it is for
the spoiling of the daughter of
his people. It is
a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of
perplexity. Our enemies trouble us and tread us down, and our friends are
perplexed and know not what course to take to do us a kindness. The Lord God of
hosts is now contending with the valley of vision; the enemies with their
battering rams are breaking down the walls, and we are in vain crying to the
mountains (to keep off the enemy, or to fall on us and cover us) or looking for
help to come to us over the mountains, or appealing, as God does, to the
mountains, to hear our controversy (Mic. 6:1) and to judge between us and our
injurious neighbours.
IV. The great numbers and strength of the enemy, that should
invade their country and besiege their city, v. 6, 7. Elam (that is, the
Persians) come with their quiver full of arrows, and with chariots of fighting
men, and horsemen. Kir (that is, the Medes) muster up their arms, unsheath the
sword, and uncover the shield, and get every thing ready for battle, every thing
ready for the besieging of Jerusalem. Then the choice valleys about Jerusalem,
that used to be clothed with flocks and covered over with corn, shall be full of
chariots of war, and at the gate of the city
the horsemen shall set
themselves in array, to cut off all provisions from going in, and to force
their way in. What a condition must the city be in that was beset on all sides
with such an army!
Verses 8-14
What is meant by
the covering of Judah, which in the
beginning of this paragraph is said to be
discovered, is not agreed. The
fenced cities of Judah were a covering to the country; but these, being taken by
the army of the Assyrians, ceased to be a shelter, so that the whole country lay
exposed to be plundered. The weakness of Judah, its nakedness, and inability to
keep itself, now appeared more than ever; and thus the covering of Judah was
discovered. Its magazines and stores, which had been locked up, were now laid
open for the public use. Dr. Lightfoot gives another sense of it, that by this
distress into which Judah should be brought God would discover their covering
(that is, uncloak their hypocrisy), would show all that was in their heart, as
is said of Hezekiah upon another occasion, 2 Chr. 32:31. Thus, by one means or
other,
the iniquity of Ephraim will be discovered and the sin of Samaria,
Hos. 7:1.
They were now in a great fright, and in this fright they
manifested two things much amiss:
I. A great contempt of God's goodness, and his power to help
them. They made use of all the means they could think of for their own
preservation; and it is not for doing this that they are blamed, but, in doing
this, they did not acknowledge God. Observe,
1. How careful they were to improve all advantages that might
contribute to their safety. When Sennacherib had made himself master of all the
defenced cities of Judah, and Jerusalem was left as a cottage in a vineyard,
they thought it was time to look about them. A council was immediately called, a
council of war; and it was resolved to stand upon their defence, and not tamely
to surrender. Pursuant to this resolve, they took all the prudent measures they
could for their own security. We tempt God if, in times of danger, we do not the
best we can for ourselves. (1.) They inspected the magazines and stores, to see
if they were well stocked with arms and ammunition:
They looked to the armour
of the house of the forest, which Solomon built in Jerusalem for an armoury
(1 Ki. 10:17), and thence they delivered out what they had occasion for. It is
the wisdom of princes, in time of peace, to provide for war, that they may not
have arms to seek when they should use them, and perhaps upon a sudden
emergency. (2.) They viewed the fortifications, the
breaches of the city of
David; they walked round the walls, and observed where they had gone to
decay for want of seasonable repairs, or were broken by some former attempts
made upon them. These breaches were many; the more shame for the house of David
that they suffered the city of David to lie neglected. They had probably often
seen those breaches; but now they saw them to consider what course to take about
them. This good we should get by public distresses, we should be awakened by
them to
repair our breaches, and amend what is amiss. (3.) They made sure
of water for the city, and did what they could to deprive the besiegers of it:
You
gathered together the water of the lower pool, of which there was probably
no great store, and of which therefore they were the more concerned to be good
husbands. See what a mercy it is that, as nothing is more necessary to the
support of human life than water, so nothing is more cheap and common; but it is
bad indeed when that, as here, is a scarce commodity. (4.) They
numbered the
houses of Jerusalem, that every house might send in its quota of men for the
public service, or contribute in money to it, which they raised by a poll, so
much a head or so much a house. (5.) Because private property ought to give way
to the public safety, those houses that stood in their way, when the wall was to
be fortified, were broken down, which, in such a case of necessity, is no more
an injury to the owner than blowing up houses in case of fire. (6.) They made a
ditch between the outer and inner wall, for the greater security of the city;
and they contrived to draw the water of the old pool to it, that they might have
plenty of water themselves and might deprive the besiegers of it; for it seems
that was the project, lest the Assyrian army
should come and find much water
(2 Chr. 32:4) and so should be the better able to prolong the siege. If it be
lawful to destroy the forage of a country, much more to divert the streams of
its waters, for the straitening and starving of an enemy.
2. How regardless they were of God in all these preparations:
But
you have not looked unto the Maker thereof (that is, of Jerusalem, the city
you are so solicitous for the defence of) and of all the advantages which nature
has furnished it with for its defencethe
mountains round about it (Ps.
125:2), and the rivers, which were such as the inhabitants might turn which way
soever they pleased for their convenience. Note, (1.) It is God that made his
Jerusalem, and fashioned it long ago, in his counsels. The Jewish writers, upon
this place, say, There were seven things which God made before the world
(meaning which he had in his eye when he made the world):
the garden of Eden,
the law, the just ones, Israel, the throne of glory, Jerusalem, and Messiah the
Prince. The gospel church has God for its Maker. (2.) Whatever service we
do, or endeavour to do, at any time to God's Jerusalem, must be done with an
eye to him as the Maker of it; and he takes it ill if it be done otherwise. It
is here charged upon them that they did not look to God. [1.] They did not
design his glory in what they did. They fortified Jerusalem because it was a
rich city and their own houses were in it, not because it was the holy city and
God's house was in it. In all our cares for the defence of the church we must
look more at God's interest in it than at our own. [2.] They did not depend
upon him for a blessing upon their endeavours, saw no need of it, and therefore
sought not to him for it, but thought their own powers and policies sufficient
for them. Of Hezekiah himself it is said that
he trusted in God (2 Ki.
18:5), and particularly upon this occasion (2 Chr. 32:8); but there were those
about him, it seems, who were great statesmen and soldiers, but had little
religion in them. [3.] They did not give him thanks for the advantages they had,
in fortifying their city, from
the waters of the old pool, which were
fashioned long ago, as Kishon is called
an ancient river, Jdg. 5:21.
Whatever in nature is at any time serviceable to us, we must therein acknowledge
the goodness of the God of nature, who, when he fashioned it long ago, fitted it
to be so, and
according to whose ordinance it continues to this day.
Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; and therefore, whatever
use it is of to us, we must
look at him that fashioned it, bless him for
it, and use it for him.
II. A great contempt of God's wrath and justice in contending
with them, v. 12-14. Here observe,
1. What was God's design in bringing this calamity upon them:
it was to humble them, bring them to repentance, and make them serious. In that
day of trouble, and treading down, and perplexity, the Lord did thereby
call
to weeping and mourning, and all the expressions of sorrow, even
to
baldness and girding with sackcloth; and all this to lament their sins (by
which they had brought those judgments upon their land), to enforce their
prayers (by which they might hope to avert the judgments that were breaking in),
and to dispose themselves to a reformation of their lives by a holy seriousness
and a tenderness of heart under the word of God. To this God called them by his
prophet's explaining his providences, and by his providences awakening them to
regard what his prophets said. Note, When God threatens us with his judgments he
expects and requires that we humble ourselves under his mighty hand, that we
tremble when the lion roars, and in a day of adversity consider.
2. How contrary they walked to this design of God (v. 13):
Behold,
joy and gladness, mirth and feasting, all the gaiety and all the jollity
imaginable. They were as secure and cheerful as they used to be, as if they had
had no enemy in their borders or were in no danger of falling into his hands.
When they had taken the necessary precautions for their security, then they set
all deaths and dangers at defiance, and resolved to be merry, let come on them
what would. Those that should have been among the mourners were among the
wine-bibbers,
the riotous eaters of flesh; and observe what they said,
Let us eat and
drink, for to-morrow we shall die. This may refer either to the particular
danger they were now in, and the fair warning which the prophet gave them of it,
or to the general shortness and uncertainty of human life, and the nearness of
death at all times. This was the language of the profane scoffers who
mocked
the messengers of the Lord and misused his prophets. (1.) They made a jest
of dying. "The prophet tells us we must die shortly, perhaps to-morrow, and
therefore we should mourn and repent to-day; no, rather
let us eat and drink,
that we may be fattened for the slaughter, and may be in good heart to meet our
doom; if we must have a short life, let it be a merry one." (2.) They
ridiculed the doctrine of a future state on the other side death; for, if there
were no such state, the apostle grants there would be something of reason in
what they said, 1 Co. 15:32. If, when we die, there were an end of us, it were
good to make ourselves as easy and merry as we could while we live; but, if
for
all these things God shall bring us into judgment, it is at our peril if we
walk
in the way of our heart and the sight of our eyes, Eccl. 11:9. Note,
A practical disbelief of another life after this is at the bottom of the carnal
security and brutish sensuality which are the sin, and shame, and ruin of so
great a part of mankind, as of the old world, who were
eating and drinking
till the flood came.
3. How much God was displeased at it. He signified his
resentment of it to the prophet,
revealed it in his ears, to be by him
proclaimed upon the house-top:
Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from
you till you die, v. 14. It shall never be expiated with sacrifice and
offering, any more than the iniquity of the house of Eli, 1 Sa. 3:14. It is a
sin against the remedy, a baffling of the utmost means of conviction and
rendering them ineffectual; and therefore it is not likely they should ever
repent of it or have it pardoned. The Chaldee reads it,
It shall not be
forgiven you till you die the second death. Those that walk contrary to
them; with the froward he will show himself froward.
Verses 15-25
We have here a prophecy concerning the displacing of Shebna, a
great officer at court, and the preferring of Eliakim to the post of honour and
trust that he was in. Such changes are common in the courts of princes; it is
therefore strange that so much notice should be taken of it by the prophet here;
but by the accomplishment of what was foretold concerning these particular
persons God designed to confirm his word in the mouth of Isaiah concerning other
and greater events; and it is likewise to show that, as God has burdens in store
for those nations and kingdoms abroad that are open enemies to his church and
people, so he has for those particular persons at home that are false friends to
them and betray them. It is likewise a confirmation in general of the hand of
divine Providence in all events of this kind, which to us seem contingent and to
depend upon the wills and fancies of princes.
Promotion comes not from the
east, nor from the west, nor from the south; but God is the Judge, Ps. 25:6,
7. It is probable that this prophecy was delivered at the same time with that in
the former part of the chapter, and began to be fulfilled before Sennacherib's
invasion; for now Shebna was
over the house, but then Eliakim was (ch.
36:3); and Shebna, coming down gradually, was only scribe. Here is,
I. The prophecy of Shebna's disgrace. He is called
this
treasurer, being entrusted with the management of the revenue; and he is
likewise said to be
over the house, for such was his boundless ambition
and covetousness that less than two places, and those two of the greatest
importance at court, would not satisfy him. It is common for self-seeking men
thus to grasp at more than they can manage, and so the business of their places
is neglected, while the pomp and profit of them wholly engage the mind. It does
not appear what were the particular instances of Shebna's mal-administration,
for which Isaiah is here sent to prophesy against him; but the Jews say,
"He kept up a traitorous correspondence with the king of Assyria, and was
in treaty with him to deliver the city into his hands." However this was,
it should seem that he was a foreigner (for we never read of the name of his
father) and that he was an enemy to the true interests of Judah and Jerusalem:
it is probable that he was first preferred by Ahaz. Hezekiah was himself an
excellent prince; but the best masters cannot always be sure of good servants.
We have need to pray for princes, that they may be wise and happy in the choice
of those they trust. These were times of reformation, yet Shebna, a bad man,
complied so far as to keep his places at court; and it is probable that many
others did like him, for which reason Sennacherib is said to have been
sent
against a hypocritical nation, ch. 10:6. In this message to Shebna we have,
1. A reproof of his pride, vanity, and security (v. 16):
"What
hast thou here, and whom hast thou here? What a mighty noise and bustle dost
thou make! What estate has thou here, that thou was born to?
Whom hast thou
here, what relations, that thou art allied to? Art thou not of mean and
obscure original,
filius populia mere plebeian, that comest we know
not whence? What is the meaning of this then, that thou hast built thyself a
fine house,
hast graved thyself a habitation?" So very nice and
curious was it that it seemed rather to be the work of an engraver than of a
mason or carpenter; and it seemed engraven in a rock, so firmly was it founded
and so impregnable was it. "Nay,
thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre,"
as if he designed that his pomp should survive his funeral. Though Jerusalem was
not
the place of his father's sepulchres (as Nehemiah called it with a
great deal of tenderness, Neh. 2:3), he designed it should be the place of his
own, and therefore set up a monument for himself in his life-time, set it up on
high. Those that make stately monuments for their pride forget that, how
beautiful soever they appear outwardly, within
they are full of dead men's
bones. But it is a pity that the grave-stone should forget the grave.
2. A prophecy of his fall and the sullying of his glory. (1.)
That he should not quickly be displaced and degraded (v. 19):
I will drive
thee from thy station. High places are slippery places; and those are justly
deprived of their honour that are proud of it and puffed up with it, and
deprived of their power that do hurt with it. God will do it, who shows himself
to be God by
looking upon proud men and abasing them, Job 40:11, 12. To
this v. 25 refers. "The nail that is
now fastened in the sure place
(that is, Shebna, who thinks himself immovably fixed in his office)
shall be
removed, and cut down, and fall." Those are mistaken who think any
place in this world a sure place, or themselves as nails fastened in it; for
there is nothing here but uncertainty. When the nail falls the burden that was
upon it is cut off; when Shebna was disgraced all that had a dependence upon him
fell into contempt too. Those that are in high places will have many hanging
upon them as favourites whom they are proud of and trust to; but they are
burdens upon them, and perhaps with their weight break the nail, and both fall
together, and by deceiving ruin one anotherthe common fate of great men and
their flatterers, who expect more from each other than either performs. (2.)
That after a while he should not only be driven from his station, but driven
from his country:
The Lord will carry thee away with the captivity of a
mighty man, v. 17, 18. Some think the Assyrians seized him, and took him
away, because he had promised to assist them and did not, but appeared against
them: or perhaps Hezekiah, finding out his treachery, banished him, and forbade
him ever to return; or he himself, finding that he had become obnoxious to the
people, withdrew into some other country, and there spent the rest of his days
in meanness and obscurity. Grotius thinks he was stricken with a leprosy, which
was a disease commonly supposed to come from the immediate hand of God's
displeasure, particularly for the punishment of the proud, as in the case of
Miriam and Uzziah; and by reason of this disease he was
tossed like a ball
out of Jerusalem. Those who, when they are in power, turn and toss others, will
be justly turned and tossed themselves when their day shall come to fall. Many
who have thought themselves fastened like a nail may come to be tossed like a
ball; for here have we
no continuing city. Shebna thought his place too
strait for him, he had no room to thrive; God will therefore send him
into a
large country, where he shall have room to wander, but never find the way
back again; for
there he shall die, and lay his bones there, and not in
the sepulchre he had hewn out for himself. And
there the chariots which
had been the chariots of his glory, in which he had rattled about the streets of
Jerusalem, and which he took into banishment with him, should but serve to
upbraid him with his former grandeur,
to the shame of his lord's house,
of the court of Ahaz, who had advanced him.
II. The prophecy of Eliakim's advancement, v. 20, etc. He is
God's servant, has approved himself faithfully so in other employments, and
therefore God will call him to this high station. Those that are diligent in
doing the duty of a low sphere stand fairest for preferment in God's books.
Eliakim does not undermine Shebna, nor make an interest against him, nor does he
intrude into his office; but God calls him to it: and what God calls us to we
may expect he will own us in. It is here foretold, 1. That Eliakim should be put
into Shebna's place of lord-chamberlain of the household, lord-treasurer, and
prime-minister of state. The prophet must tell Shebna this, v. 21. "He
shall have
thy robe, the badge of honour, and
thy girdle, the
badge of power; for he shall have
thy government." To hear of it
would be a great mortification to Shebna, much more to see it. Great men,
especially if proud men, cannot endure their successors. God undertakes the
doing of it, not only because he would put it into the heart of Hezekiah to do
it, and his hand must be acknowledged guiding the hearts of princes in placing
and displacing men (Prov. 21:1), but because the powers that are, subordinate as
well as supreme, are ordained of God. It is God that clothes princes with their
robes, and therefore we must submit ourselves to them for the Lord's sake and
with an eye to him, 1 Pt. 2:13. And, since it is he that
commits the
government into their hand, they must administer it according to his will,
for his glory; they must judge for him by whom they judge and
decree justice,
Prov. 8:15. And they may depend upon him to furnish them for what he calls them
to, according to this promise:
I will clothe him; and then it follows,
I
will strengthen him. Those that are called to places of trust and power
should seek unto God for grace to enable them to do the duty of their places;
for that ought to be their chief care. Eliakim's advancement is further
described by the laying of the
key of the house of David upon his shoulders,
v. 22. Probably he carried a golden key upon his shoulder as a badge of his
office, or had one embroidered upon his cloak or robe, to which this alludes.
Being over the house, and having the key delivered to him, as the seals are to
the lord-keeper,
he shall open and none shall shut, shut and none shall open.
He had access to
the house of the precious things, the silver, and the gold,
and the spices; and to the
house of the armour and the
treasures
(ch. 39:2), and disposed of the stores there as he thought fit for the public
service. He put whom he pleased into the inferior offices and turned out whom he
pleased. Our Lord Jesus describes his own power as Mediator by an allusion to
this (Rev. 3:7), that
he has the key of David, wherewith he
opens and
no man shuts, he
shuts and no man opens. His power in the kingdom of
heaven, and in the ordering of all the affairs of that kingdom, is absolute,
irresistible, and uncontrollable. 2. That he should be fixed and confirmed in
that office. he shall have it for life, and not
durante bene placitoduring
pleasure (v. 23):
I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place, not to
be removed or cut down. Thus lasting shall the honour be that comes from God to
all those who use it for him. Our Lord Jesus is
as a nail in a sure place:
his kingdom cannot be shaken, and he himself is still the same. 3. That he
should be a great blessing in his office; and it is this that crowns the favours
here conferred upon him. God
makes his name great, for he shall be a
blessing, Gen. 12:2. (1.) He shall be a blessing to his country (v. 21):
He
shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
he shall take care not only of the affairs of the king's household, but of all
the public interests in Jerusalem and Judah. Note, Rulers should be fathers to
those that are under their government, to teach them with wisdom, rule them with
love, and correct what is amiss with tenderness, to protect them and provide for
them, and be solicitous about them as a man is for his own children and family.
It is happy with a people when the court, the city, and the country, have no
separate interests, but all centre in the same, so that the courtiers are true
patriots, and whom the court blesses the country has reason to bless too; and
when those who are fathers to Jerusalem, the royal city, are no less so to the
house of Judah. (2.) He shall be a blessing to his family (v. 23, 24):
He
shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house. The consummate
wisdom and virtue which recommended him to this great trust made him the honour
of his family, which probably was very considerable before, but now became much
more so. Children should aim to be a credit to their parents and relations. The
honour men reflect upon their families by their piety and usefulness is more to
be valued than that which they derive from their families by their names and
titles. Eliakim being preferred,
all the glory of his father's house
was hung upon him; they all made their court to him, and his brethren's
sheaves bowed to his. Observe, The glory of this world gives a man no intrinsic
worth or excellency; it is but hung upon him as an appurtenance, and it will
soon drop from him. Eliakim was compared to
a nail in a sure place, in
pursuance of which comparison all the relations of his family (which, it is
likely, were numerous, and that was the glory of it) are said to have a
dependence upon him, as in a house the vessels that have handles to them are
hung up upon nails and pins. It intimates likewise that he shall generously take
care of them all, and bear the weight of that care:
All the vessels, not
only
the flagons, but
the cups, the vessels of small quantity, the
meanest that belong to his family, shall be provided for by him. See what a
burden those bring upon themselves that undertake great trusts; they little
think how many and how much will hand upon them if they resolve to be faithful
in the discharge of their trust. Our Lord Jesus, having the key of the house of
David, is as a
nail in a sure place, and all
the glory of his father's
house hangs upon him, is derived from him, and depends upon him; even the
meanest that belong to his church are welcome to him, and he is able to bear the
stress of them all. That soul cannot perish, nor that concern fall to the
ground, though ever so weighty, that is by faith hung upon Christ.
Chapter 22:
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| Wesley
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