A Day of Panic

Isaiah’s home was nestled between two valleys in the city of Jerusalem. From his home he could see the Temple and the great city, hear the noises of the people and the mountain that surrounded it. And it was from his home that God would often come to him with a prophetic burden or dream, interrupting his rest and sleep. Where the previous burdens had been concerning other lands, this one in particular was against Jerusalem itself. God had a controversy with Jerusalem and its inhabitants for the way they had been living and how they had been treating God.

The Assyrians were defeating city states and nations all around the Levant. Sargon II had bypassed Jerusalem to conquer bigger fish many times, but a day was coming that God had appointed for its demise. Isaiah’s vision in his home in the valley was not for the next day or year, as the previous one had been, but for a set date known only to the LORD. God knew His rebellious people and He was warning them of what was coming so they could hear the prophetic call for judgment and repent. And yet even Isaiah knew that that fair city would one day fall just as God said it would. And it would not happen just once, there would be multiple fulfillments. All of them would be for the same reason - the children of Israel would break their covenant with God and the LORD would bring down the promised calamities on them they agreed to on entrance to the land of promise.

’What is the matter with you now, all you that have gone up to the housetops? You who were full of noise, you boisterous town, you exultant city; your slain were not slain by the sword, nor did they die in battle. All your rulers have fled together, and have been captured without the bow; all of you who were found were taken capture together, though they had fled far away.’ Isaiah foresaw the ways that Jerusalem would fall each time it would happen. As a city with great walls and towers for protection, high up in the mountains of central Judea, Jerusalem thought they were above it all, protected automatically because God has chosen it as the Place for His Name to dwell. But they forgot the covenant God made with them and the warnings He clearly stated.

They would remember these words, albeit too late to stop what would indeed happen. Isaiah wept over the future loss, though it was far off from his day. He told the people to look away from his weeping, that they should not attempt to comfort him, because the destruction would surely come. The LORD God of hosts has a Day of Panic, Subjugation, and Confusion allotted for the city of Jerusalem, which dwells in the valley of vision. Its walls would be broken down, and there would be crying to the mountains. 

Elam would take up its quiver with chariots, horseman, and infantry. Kir would uncover the shield. The valleys around Jerusalem would be filled with chariots, horsemen would be at every gate. God Himself would remove the defense of Judah. When that Day came, the inhabitants would run to the armory of the House of the Forest of Lebanon which Solomon built to gather weapons of defense. They would look at their walls, count the houses in the city, deconstruct the houses and build up the walls for defense. An outer wall would be built, in King Hezekiah’s time. Hezekiah would collect the waters of the Gihon Springs, route them through a tunnel and into the pool of Siloam for besieging armies had no water. They would make reservoirs between the walls. But most importantly, and most offensive to God, they would not depend on God nor take into consideration that God had planned the demise of Jerusalem from long ago. They would say, ‘Never Again!’ as they depend on their own strength and that of allies instead of the God who brought them out of Egypt.

For this reason, the LORD God of Hosts had called for weeping, wailing, shaving of the head and wearing of sackcloth in grief. Instead of the gaiety and gladness, cattle and sheep would be slaughtered for survival. Instead of eating and drinking in celebration, people would somberly state, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’ This happened during the Babylonian siege, the overthrow by Antiochus Epiphanes, the sack of Jerusalem by Rome, and every other time Jerusalem has been taken by armies. And it will happen once more right before Jesus returns. And no one can stop what God has planned for His rebellious people and His Chosen City. 

The LORD of Hosts came personally to Isaiah to reveal this. The pre incarnate Jesus walked with Isaiah many times to explain what would happen in the future. And He clearly stated that He would not forgive the sins of Jerusalem. They had rejected Him and worshiped false gods far too long, even setting up idols to other gods in the very Temple itself. They even burned their babies alive to Molech not too far from Isaiah’s home. No, these would not be forgiven. There would be judgment to pay and many would die.

Then God used a current day situation to highlight the problem and how He was going to solve it. When Rabshekah and other envoys came from Sennacherib as he was destroying Lachish, Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder met him at the conduit to the upper pool, on the highway to the fuller’s field. This was the very same spot Isaiah and his son Shear Jashub had met King Ahaz to warn him about to fall of Damascus. These men had delivered the message to King Hezekiah, but Shebna had exalted himself over many people in the kingdom, even building himself a royal tomb in a place he had no right to do so. So God pointed out his sin, questioning what right he had, and then told him through Isaiah that he was about to die in a far away land with his splendid chariots, to the shame of his own house.

In his place, God would raise up Eliakim son of Hilkiah, whose name means ‘The LORD Will Raise Up Mine Inheritance.’ This is literally what would happen with Eliakim, who would become the second in charge under Hezekiah. He would be a righteous steward who would have the sole authority to allow entrance to see the king of Judah. God would drive him firmly into the position like a peg in a wall that carries a heavy load. Then when the Day of Judgment against Jerusalem came, that peg would break off and fall, its load hanging on it would be cut off. 

A royal seal bearing Eliakim’s name has been found in the rubble of Jerusalem. The Word of the LORD happened just as He said it would. And the judgment coming to Jerusalem will happen once again, when God draws all the nations into the Valley of Vision and tramples His enemies underfoot. Jesus will saves the remnant of His disobedient people as they call on His Name for Salvation. Isaiah saw all of this and wept over the future of his beloved city. God had planned all of this long ago and no one can stop what He has planned for the City He chose for His Name to dwell.