69. The Valley of Vision (1)

Hymns: RHC 320 ‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus 321 He Hideth My Soul 325 A Shelter in the Time of Storm

¹The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops? 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. 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. 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. 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. ⁶ And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. 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. ⁸ And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest. 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. ¹⁰ And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall. 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. 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: 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. ¹⁴ And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts. ¹⁵ Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say, ¹⁶ What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock? ¹⁷ Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee. ¹⁸ He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord’s house. ¹⁹ And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down. ²⁰ And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: ²¹ And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. ²² And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. ²³ And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house. ²⁴ And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons. ²⁵ In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it.

The Valley of Vision (1)

OUTLINE

Ironic Weakness (v1-4)

INTRODUCTION

The vision of valley is a vision of the desolation of the city of Jerusalem. Geographically, a most strategic location of strength, being surrounded by hills and is set upon a hill; nevertheless, in contrast to the mountains roundabout, it may be regarded as a valley.

From the Mount of Olives, from whose summit one may look down upon Jerusalem as it were into a valley. That was the place when our Lord Jesus ascended to heaven and will be the same place that He will descend to rule the earth for a thousand years setting up His earthly kingdom with His saints.

Implied in the designation may also be the thought that as the mountains surround a valley and exclude its inhabitants from the world round about, so the swellers in Jerusalem were in a valley, shut off from the world, separated so that they might not look for help to the world around, but only to God upward. [EJ Young]

King David, by God’s appointment, strategically chosen because of the water source that Jerusalem possessed where natural springs provided the supply of water in a largely desert country. Jerusalem is naturally strong and fortified, a safe residence from which a king could govern. And it is also at the crossroads from every direction – north, south, east and west, making it accessible to all tribes and all foreigners who would come to worship the one true and living God. More so, it was not part of any tribal territory, so it was equally important and accessible to all the tribes. It was in Jerusalem or Salem where Abraham first give tribute when he won the battle to rescue his nephew Lot against the coalition of five kings. It was the place where the prophet Gad told David to purchase the threshing floor in the city which was later the site in which the Holy Temple of God was built by Solomon, David’s son.

1 Kings 6:1 (KJV) And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.

It was later also to be the place where the second Temple was built after their exile – Ezra 6:3 (KJV) In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits;

King David established Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel. He legally purchased the site of the Temple. The Jewish people never forfeited their right to Jerusalem or the Temple.[1]

Jerusalem is the valley of vision, for it is the place where the light of heaven fell, the words of God were made known. Here in the Temple was the dwelling place of God, and here the abode of His prophets, the men who proclaimed His words to the nations. It is identified as the valley where revelation is to be found.

Why was Jerusalem called a holy city? Because God has chosen to put His name there. And for the people of God, He is His people’s impregnable fortress, stronghold and refuge, safety and security.

The psalmist observed well in Psalm 125:1 (KJV) A Song of degrees. They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.

Psalm 125:2 (KJV) As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.

But when God’s people are deluded to shift their trust from God to themselves and it their own strength, it was the beginning of trouble – Jeremiah 21:13 (KJV) Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the LORD; which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?

This was what happened to Israel during Isaiah’s time and to the prophet was revealed God’s judgment upon their pride.

When man departs from God, their strength in the flesh is in fact weakness and leads ultimately to desolation.

Ironic Weakness (v1-4)

In Isaiah 21, we are given the oracles with Babylon, Edom (Dumah) and Arabia, the first three heathen lands, whereas the last is the dwelling place of God.

The city of worldly power, includes two districts which have felt the effects of that worldly power, and then concludes with the city of the living God.

Why the association? Because Jerusalem has looked to flesh; she has placed her confidence not in the living God whose prophets dwell in her walls, but in that mighty power of man which finally came to supreme expression in the empire whose name heads the tetralogy. [EJ Young]

This is illustrated by Isaiah in the manner how Jerusalem has become occupied with the flesh by one of her officials – Shebna.

Isaiah 22:15 (KJV) Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say,

Shebna used his office for personal gain (v15-19) and the crisis brought him only shame. In taking inventory of the city’s resources, somebody uncovered his deceit and exposed him. Instead of enjoying retirement, security and a fine burial, he experienced captivity, exile and a lonely death.

Although the Assyrian army unexpectedly came to Jerusalem after the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C. where was demanded from Jerusalem tribute and found Jerusalem unprepared, the Assyrian army was quickly withdrawn, as a result the people ascended their roofs to rejoice. The prophet does not agree with the rejoicing of the people, whereas in actual fact he did support Hezekiah as over against Sennacherib.

Here the reference was to the final destruction of Jerusalem under Babylon. In this tetralogy Jerusalem and Babylon have both been included. Jerusalem has in reality appealed to Babylon; unto Babylon she shall go.

The time was desperate and Jerusalem could hold out no longer – 2 Kings 25:4 (KJV) And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.

Jeremiah 52:8 (KJV) But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.

For a year and half the city has been attacked. Possibly Zedekiah has fled, and there is a lull in the fighting. The people ascended the housetops to see what has happened; this is to be taken as a predictive prophecy and not the narrative of events that are already past, or that are in the near future.

It is best to interpret the passage in a generic sense, as a description of the oncoming of an enemy and of the terrible worldliness and paganism found in the city of Jerusalem when that enemy comes. That enemy is really Babylon. In appealing to Tiglath-pileser, Ahaz had in reality appealed to the spirit of Babylon, for the Assyrian king was the first great representative of that human power represented by Daniel’s head of gold and in the lion with eagle’ wings (Daniel 2 & 7).

In this chapter is given certain phases of the warfare which the Mesopotamian power brought against the city of God. It was a necessary warfare, for the city must be purged of its pagan elements. Such warfare may have led to temporary conversions and returns to the Lord, as in the case of Hezekiah.

It did not produce a lasting change in the city; and finally the Babylonian power came in the person of Nebuchadnezzar.

When the city of God seeks help from the city of paganism, she will sone be controlled by the city of paganism. [EJ Young]

Verse 2 and 3 depict the final outcome of the struggle, whereas some of the succeeding verses picture certain pervious phases thereof.

In reality, however, it is a generic prophecy of the long struggle between the city of peace and light and the city of paganism and darkness, a struggle that saw the climax of its first great stage in the deportation of the inhabitants of Jerusalem to Babylonia. [EJ Young]

When the crisis occurs, different people respond in different ways. The leaders depended on their defences and did not call for fasting and prayer – ⁸ And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest. 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. ¹⁰ And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall. 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.

The people feasted and expect the worst. They had no faith in God – 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: 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. ¹⁴ And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

1 Corinthians 15:32 (KJV) If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.

“The crisis brought out the best in Eliakim (v20-25). He was a servant who became a father to the people, a person who could be trusted with authority (the keys), and a strong peg on which the nation could put their burdens. The kind of leaders needed today”, well said Wiersbe.

²⁰ And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: ²¹ And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. ²² And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. ²³ And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house. ²⁴ And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons. ²⁵ In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it.

To be continued…

[1] https://www.ifcj.org/news/fellowship-blog/four-reasons-king-david-chose-jerusalem-as-israels-capital

69. The Valley of Vision (1)

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