Message about Jerusalem

ISAIAH CHAPTER 22

Isaiah received a message from God regarding Jerusalem. He asks why everyone was running to the rooftops and why the whole city was in an uproar. He saw bodies everywhere, killed by famine and disease. All the leaders had flown or surrendered without resistance. People try to slip away but were captured. He wishes to be left alone to weep and cry while his people are destroyed.

The Lord has brought a day of confusion and terror upon the Valley of Vision and the walls of Jerusalem have been broken. Elamites are the archers. Arameans drive the chariots, the men of Kir hold up shields. Judah's defenses have been stripped away. And so the people try to run for weapons, repair the walls or store up water, but all plans are to no avail because the people did not ask for God's help. God planned this years ago.

Now the Lord called the people to mourn and weep and shave their heads in sorrow and wear sackcloth. But instead, they danced and played and feasted. The Lord will never forgive them until they die. And furthermore, the Lord confronts Shebna, the palace administrator, and give him the message that admonishes him for building his own tomb in the rock. For the Lord will seize Shebna and hurl him away and send him into captivity and he would die in a distant, barren land. Then the Lord said he would replace Shebna with his servant Eliakim and to him will be given the key to the house of David and the highest position. The Lord said he would drive Eliakim firmly in place like a tent stake. Eliakim would bring honor to his family name and he would bring honor to even the lowliest members of his family. But a time would come, said the Lord, when he would pull out the stake that seemed so firm, and let it fall to the ground and all that it supports will fall with it.

BIBLE NOTES SHOW: The Valley of Vision refers to Jerusalem. Elam and Kir were under Assyrians rule and thus joined in the attack on Jerusalem.
Shebna, a high priest, may have favored an alliance with foreigners; thus ignoring Isaiah's advice. So the Lord revealed that Eliakim would be the "tent stake", but he too would fall.

HOW DOES THIS CHAPTER RELATE TO US TODAY? Isaiah saw the downfall of Jerusalem. He warned his people but they would not listen. He cared for them and was hurt by their punishment. Goes to show that sometimes, God requires us to suffer along with others. Can you deal with that? Can you deal with warning people of their excesses and watch the Lord punish them when they don't obey him? Certainly it would take every ounce of our faith to be in that situation. Which is why we must keep trying to give people hope. We must let everyone know that its not too late to obey the Lord. As Christians it is your duty; mine and yours, to get in the battle for souls.

Yours in Christ,
Mary

Prayer Requests are needed for:
HEALTH: Pray for Gabe. Pray for Logan during her difficult pregnancy.
Pray for Janice Long’s parents, especially her mother who faces another round of chemotherapy and her father with Alzheimer’s and now her mother in law also with Alzheimer’s. Their family is feeling the strain both emotionally and financially. Pray for them. Update on this family: Her mother-in-law is being taken to Oklahoma to live with an aunt who will care for her.
Pray for Arlene’s nephew David and for my neighbor Al who is nearing the end of his life.
Pray for Carolyn’s brother Ronald who has cancer and for her sister Wanda’s soul which went to heaven.
Pray for our friend Michelle who was diagnosed with MS.
UPDATE on Barb who went in for back surgery and had a heart attack and stroke, she has her speech back and is home , but continues to have a problem with one arm and hand. Thanks to your prayers, she is able to hobble without a cane and has been granted disability. She still has surgery scheduled on her hand, but I saw her recently and her attitude is fantastic.
Pray for Robert Sargent who is quite ill with lung cancer.
Pray for Gary Summers, my friend from church, who has cancer.
Pray for Judy’s husband who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. Pray for her too, that she can deal with the side effects of his illness.
Pray too for Charly’s husband Robert who is undergoing chemo for his prostate cancer. Update on Robert: he has one more treatment and then three months of waiting for his psat test to come back clean.
Pray for James’s sister Cynthia whose chemo has lost its effect as the cancer grows powerful.
Pray for another friend named Carolyn whose faith remains strong, but is lost and confused about where and how to spend her elder years.
SPIRITUAL UPLIFTING: Gail, Mary
RESTORATION OF FAITH: Al, John
LOVE AND SUPPORT: Claire, Hunter, Brian
SUPPORT: Haiti, Chile, survivors of Japan’s earthquake, survivors of the devastating tornadoes in our southernmost states and Joplin, Missouri. Pray too, for our country’s leaders and our military people who die each day for our freedom.