Passage Read: Isaiah 19-22
Meditation Verses: 22:21-25
Thought
Eliakim gets Shebna's position and honor, and seems like a better guy than Shebna, but in the end, he too is cut off! He gains authority and brings honor to his father's family, but the Lord has determined that even he will fall. He will not be able to bear the weight of all the responsibility and expectations placed on him. This is during a time of threat, where they are making preparations for a siege. Shebna is thinking only of himself and carving a tomb for himself on the heights, as if he is worthy, as if he will actually have time for burial. Instead, he will be cast out headlong and die in shame with nothing to show for it. Eliakim will receive his position, but still things will end badly even though Eliakim seems like an honorable guy. Putting a better man in a position of responsibility does not necessarily stop the coming disaster. The one thing they didn't do in all their preparations for defense was look to the Lord and seek His help. So the Lord guaranteed the disaster would come, even though they replaced a key official and hoped that somehow he could fix things. It doesn't matter how great the person is who steps in to lead if there is no humbling of the whole to seek and honor the Lord. Instead, they just set that guy up to fail.
Application
It probably would have gone better for Eliakim if he had read the room and seen the inevitability of the disaster and abandoned the city. Perhaps he wasn't in a position to know all the important details. Perhaps everyone professed a desire to do whatever was necessary to save the city, but really, they had already given up all hope and were just going to ride things out. It would be tough to be Eliakim, raised up a hero, dashed to pieces because things were worse than he realized. If he trusted in the Lord, at least he would have his integrity. It wouldn't be his fault that things failed; it was beyond saving because of the failure of those who came before, and the lateness of the hour of their turning to him. I've seen this play out several times. When the problem is misdiagnosed or those responsible don't really want to admit or face the real problem, the organization can't succeed. It's just a matter of time before it all crumbles. Even if leadership changes at the last minute, the real problem remains hidden or denied, so the key change to invite God's blessing can't be made. God remains set against it, and whoever is brought in to fix it is set up to fail. This shouldn't happen among Christians, but even we're too ashamed of our mistakes and failings to provide true honesty and transparency. So in all things, it's best not to set my heart on any future but heaven. I always need to be flexible, no matter how great the next opportunity seems.