Isaiah 22:1-13
Isa 22:1
The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now,
that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?
The valley of vision would be focused upon Jerusalem
since it lies in a valley. The term
vision would point to the fact that the prophets had received visions from God
for Jerusalem. Going up on the
housetops was not only for gathering or sleeping at night.
The people would gather on the housetops in a time of alarm or anxiety.
Just as people today gather in the streets, the people of Jerusalem would
go to the housetops and were able to look down upon the streets, probably at
this time to look for the invaders which would have been the Assyrians that were
pillaging the areas west of Jerusalem.
Isa 22:2
Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous
city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.
The word “stirs” carries with it the meaning of “loud
shouting or clamor.” “Tumultuous”
carries with the meaning of “troubled or noisy.”
The joyous city was when things were going well and there was an
abundance of activity going on in an environment that was not being threatened
but now all the joy was being turned into anxiety as the city was awaiting their
destruction and the inhabitants were anxious about the approaching Assyrian
army. The Assyrians never entered
the city and those that died had died of fright or anticipation of an invasion.
They could have also died from famine as Assyria was attacking all around
them and burning the fields and vineyards so food would have been scarce. But
the reality was that Sennacherib’s army never entered Jerusalem and this verse
shows how devastating fear can be.
Isa 22:3
All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the
archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled
from far.
Then Isaiah looks to the time when the Babylonians will
come and take Jerusalem. Before that
time many of the leaders of the outward cities of Judah had fled to Jerusalem
for protection from the invading Assyrian army.
When the Babylonians came, the leaders had been in fear of the archers
which caused them to be subservient to Babylon.
When the Babylonians came, they were bound together as slaves and taken
to Babylon, even those who sought to find refuge in Jerusalem from the cities
they fled from.
Isa 22:4
Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep
bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of
my people.
Isaiah had given stern warning to the people concerning
what was to come and they chose to pay no heed to what he said.
He asked they look away from him because he wanted to weep in sorrow for
he knew that everything he prophesied was of the Lord. This is how many
Christians feel when they know what is coming upon the unsaved and those people
being witnessed to are very mocking or angry.
Then Isaiah asks the people to not try and comfort him because he knew
what was coming upon them. The
daughter of my people is a name sometimes given to cities and nations.
The term “spoiling” carries with the meaning of “desolation.”
Isa 22:5
For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down,
and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking
down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.
Here is a prophecy of the coming of Sennacherib as we go
back now to the coming of the Assyrian army.
Now in the fourteenth year of king
Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities
of Judah, and took them. (2 Kings 18:13)
Sennacherib had attacked many of the cities of Judah and had conquered
them in 701 B.C. but he was divinely withheld from attacking and taking
Jerusalem. There was great
perplexity or confusion in Jerusalem at this time because they did not know
whether Assyria was about to attack and destroy them so many of them had fled to
the mountains in hopes to find refuge in them.
They had even cried in anguish facing the mountains to the point their
cry had reverberated throughout them.
Isa 22:6
And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and
horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.
The quivers which were placed both on the backs of the
archers and when attached to the chariot was placed on the side of the vehicles
which made the arrows easily accessible.
The shields were often kept in cases or covers which protected them from
the elements. To uncover the
shields meant a preparation for battle.
Elam if you remember are the Persians and Kir was the Medes.
Isa 22:7
And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest
valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in
array at the gate.
It seemed that Judah’s situation was hopeless where their
choicest valleys which would be where their vineyards were shall be filled with
the chariots of the enemy plus the valleys and hills were their defense.
The horsemen will be in military array at the gate of Jerusalem just
waiting for the order to advance.
The horsemen would also be a prevention from allowing any provisions from
entering the city.
Isa 22:8
And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst
look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.
The covering of Judah were the fenced cities that were
all around it which acted as defense positions for Jerusalem.
Then there was a forest close to Jerusalem which had the trees of Lebanon
growing in them and was also considered a place of defense.
The temple was also known as Lebanon since much of it was made from the
cedars of Lebanon.
Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire
may devour thy cedars. (Zechariah 11:1)
Zechariah 11:1 speaks about the destruction of Jerusalem.
Instead of Judah looking to the LORD as their covering they placed their
trust in surrounding cities to keep them safe.
Isa 22:9
Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that
they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
Jerusalem was not prepared for any type of attack.
There were many breaches or openings in the walls which made easy access
for approaching enemies to be able to enter in.
Instead of keeping up the maintenance of the walls, they allowed them to
go into disrepair and now they were facing a dire situation.
They made sure there was enough water storing it in the lower pool which
was probably the pool of Siloam which was about 200 yards (182 Meters) below the
Gihon Spring.
Isa 22:10
And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the
houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.
In haste, they had allowed themselves to tear down some
houses within Jerusalem and use the materials to fortify the walls.
Instead of taking on these projects in peacetime because there was plenty
of stone available and no one’s home had to be destroyed.
Then they numbered the houses of Jerusalem to know how many men they
could muster quickly when the enemy approaches.
If you notice in all these verses, they were solely depending upon human
strength and wisdom and no one even mentioned seeking the LORD.
Isa 22:11
Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water
of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had
respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.
For further protection they dug a ditch between the outer
and inner walls.
And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and
all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the
city, are they not written in
the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? (2 Kings 20:20)
Hezekiah had built a tunnel under the city which was discovered in Israel
and had writing upon it and was known as the Siloam Tunnel.
Here is a link to more on the tunnel.
https://hezekiahstunnel.com/
As I stated in the previous verse, they were doing all kind of human
preparation instead of seeking the LORD who could defend them in a heartbeat and
drive off the enemy. Their big
mistake was thinking they could actually defend against the Assyrian army with
just a pittance of men and a broken wall.
Isa 22:12
And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to
weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
God had wanted the people of Jerusalem to weep for their
sins in sincerity, not just for show.
For godly sorrow worketh
repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world
worketh death. (2 Corinthians 7:10)
Baldness and girding with sackcloth were real signs of repentance.
Then Job arose, and rent his
mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, (Job
1:20) It would have been
something that a truly repentant person would have done.
The LORD wanted them to repent of their sins so he could restore them but
as long as they remained obstinate, he could not.
Isa 22:13
And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing
sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we
shall die.