Sometimes there are thoughts that come to my mind that I need to sift through to completely understand. I call these thoughts “something to think about” thoughts. As I was studying this morning, I came across this passage in Isaiah, and it caused me to wonder what God wanted us to learn from it. God never makes a mistake, and all that is written is for our benefit. In II Timothy 3:16, Paul reminds us that all, that’s everything in the Bible, was inspired by God for our benefit. If you read through the Old Testament, you will see history repeating itself over and over. As God tries to get His people’s attention to turn to Him and repent of their sins. Today, I want you to think with me about the events of Isaiah chapter 22.
II Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
In Isaiah 22, destruction is coming, and the call is for repentance. Jerusalem was located on hills surrounded by mountains. The people felt they had everything they needed and were indispensable—a strange way to feel when your people’s history is full of captivity, disasters, miracles, and enemies. They, too, were like us, short-sighted in their memory.
In verse one, we see them going to the housetops. They had become accustomed to being on the housetop. Houses were built with flat roofs, which was cooler in the evening. God had been so good to them, but they had forgotten Him. In verse 2, Isaiah recounts their actions. Their city was a great city of trade. People were busy with their own affairs, very self-consumed. Prosperity was common. It had become a joyous reveling city where God was forgotten or followed as a ritualistic habit. They had fixed their eyes on worldly things and expected to solve their problems themselves by the world’s ways. Their lives had been totally given over to pleasure.
Isaiah 22:1-2 “The burden of the valley of vision. What ailed thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops? 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 coming Babylonian invasion will cause the people to go up to the housetops, not to party this time, but to observe the siege of the city. The armies of the enemies were on their way, and they went to the housetops to see the enemy, or to seek refuge, or maybe in hopes that the God they had forgotten would rescue them again. The rulers that were supposed to lead them were now trying to escape. They did not care about those they were to lead or protect. They were only interested in self-preservation. All those in authority fled, but they were captured and bound.
Isaiah 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.”
In Isaiah 22:4 Isaiah’s pain was deep. His grief was overwhelming. The great preacher could not participate in their attitudes and actions of “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” He kept preaching repentance, but they chose not to listen. He loved God and the people, he was so grieved he couldn’t look upon their sin. He wept bitterly for them.
Isaiah 22:13 “And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we shall die.”
Isaiah 22:4 “Therefore said I, Look away from me: I will weep bitterly, labor not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.”
The lifestyle of the people was based on pleasure. If it appealed to the flesh, they bought into it. Even their worship had become one that appealed to the flesh rather than the spirit. God had blessed them with plenty. Water was abundant, food in no short supply, with pride and arrogance at the top. They did not need or look to God for their sustenance. They thought they had it all together. They did not defy God by proclaiming their lack of need for Him, they did not shout “we don’t need you,” but their actions spoke much louder than their words. They subtly fell away from Him day by day. They had grown so cold they could go through the motions of worship without feeling guilty. God allowed them to suffer to humble them, and bring them to a sense and acknowledgment of their sins before Him.
This bustling, prosperous city was now living in fear. No longer were they enjoying business as usual. In verse 2, we learn they were not slain with the sword, as was normal when in a battle, but they were slain with famine. The country and its provisions were gone. No longer could they depend on what they had built to take care of themselves. Sennacherib’s army had destroyed their land. They were also slain with fear. Matthew Henry says, “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.”
Isaiah tells the story of a people blessed greatly by God. However, their blessings become their curse. They stopped depending on God. They stopped giving Him the glory for all He had done for them. They stopped putting Him first, finding enjoyment in spending time with Him alone. They stopped seeking Him in prayer and representing Him in all His glory to those who didn’t know Him. They felt self-sufficient, feeling no need to repent and acting like God was just another cog in their wheel of life.
God’s response was to bring them to a point of repentance. He seeks for us to humble ourselves before Him and acknowledge that all good gifts are from Him. He wants us to know Him in a personal way through prayer and study. He longs for us to have a relationship with Him, to love Him, and to desire Him. He longs to heal our land, and He gives us the pattern for that.
II Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
