We are still in the section of Isaiah known as the "burdens". These are heavy prophecies, they deal with serious things. We now turn to a prophecy that deals with things going on in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is on a kind of mountain top, but it is surrounded by mountains higher than it is, in a way, it’s in a kind of valley. It is a valley of vision in that it is one of the chief places where prophecy, vision, is given. This is a prophecy about the conquering of the city of Jerusalem.

The inhabitants going up to their flat roof tops to see the enemy approaching.

Some have suggested that this might mean that though the city at one time was a real "party" town, now there are people dead because of famine and pestilence. Those who are dead weren’t killed by the sword.

It might mean simply that there are no dead people in the city yet because of a war.

bound by the archers – captured by the archers.

Breaking down the walls of the city. The last defenses are going down.

Elam – they eventually became the Persians. They were located at the southern part of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. After Ethiopia, they were among the best bow men.

Kir – a city about a hundred miles north of the Persian Gulf. The idea is that soldiers from all over the Assyrian empire were coming to attack Jerusalem.

uncovered the shield – pull the shields out of their protective cases.

choicest valleys – Jerusalem itself is surrounded by small valleys. As I mentioned in the beginning, this was mainly describing the Assyrians surrounding Jerusalem, but it also was descriptive of the Babylonians, the Romans, and a group of nations yet to be named.

Or, "the veil of Judah shall be taken off", either in the sense of being exposed to shame as a captive, or the idea of removing the protective defenses.

house of the forest – a building constructed by Solomon at the time when he also built the temple (1Kings 7:2). It was called the "house of the forest of Lebanon" because it was built out of cedar imported from Lebanon. It was an armory where they stored weapons (1Kings 10:17).

Gaps in the wall around the city of Jerusalem

Probably referring to the building of Hezekiah’s tunnel, where a 1777 foot tunnel was cut through solid rock to the Gihon spring, which then brought the water into the city. Then the spring was covered up so the Assyrian army wouldn’t be able to get water from it.

Houses were torn down and the materials used to build repair the gaps in the wall.

There are two pools of water that are fed by aqueducts from the Gihon spring. This is referring to the connecting of these pools.

Referring to God, who made the Gihon spring.

It’s not that the preparations for war were wrong. But some of the people were trusting in their preparations, and not in the Lord.

weeping – crying to God in prayer for deliverance

mourning – grief over their sin, grief over what brought them to this place.

baldness – When a person wanted to be specially dedicated to serving the Lord, they would take the vow of the Nazirite. This meant that they let their hair grow, without cutting it. But when something came up and the person became defiled in some way (Num. 6:9), the process of cleansing started with shaving their head.

girding with sackcloth – like wearing a gunny sack, this was a sign of repentance, a sign of sorrow over sin.

In these ancient societies, they didn’t eat meat like we do. Meat was a special thing, meant for rare occasions. This is just more of a description of the party.

While God was calling for a repentance, the people were calling for a party.

I believe these people would not find forgiveness because they were unwilling to confess their sin and turn from it. The Bible says:

I believe that though this seems to be a different prophecy from that of the first half of the chapter, I believe they’re all tied into one. Isaiah is going to have some specific things to say about some specific people.

treasurer – cakan – to be of use or service or profit or benefit; servitor, steward (participle). He was an important person in the court, a high official.

Apparently, Isaiah met Shebna at the site where he was busy building a sepulchre for himself and his family. The guy was busy building a monument to himself.

violently turn – literally, "whirling He will whirl thee". Some translations give the idea of crumpling him up into a ball and tossing him. It could also be the idea of putting him in a sling and whirling him around overhead before tossing him.

Gill: "The Jews say he was brought to a very shameful end. They say that when he went out of the city of Jerusalem in order to deliver Hezekiah's forces into the hands of the enemy, Gabriel shut the gate before his army; to whom the enemy said, where's thy army? he replied, they are turned back. Say they, thou hast mocked us: upon which they bored his heels, and fastened him to the tails of horses, and drew him upon thorns and briers. So says Kimchi, instead of chariots of glory, he thought they would give him, they put him to shame, binding him to the tails of horses."

Eliakim – His name means "God raises" or "God sets up". It’s also very possible that this "Eliakim" is a picture of Jesus. Jesus was after all one whom "God raises". Literally. From the dead.

When the Assyrian siege finally takes place, apparently Hezekiah has been listening to Isaiah, because Shebna is no longer over the household, but now Eliakim is in charge (2Ki. 18:18). Yet Shebna is still around, with the title "scribe".

Shebna’s robe and position given to Eliakim.

The idea is that Eliakim will have control over things in the kingdom. He’s got the key that opens all the right doors. When he locks something up, it stays locked up.

In ancient times, a nail or peg in the wall was where you would hang your family’s ornaments or treasures, to display them.

This Eliakim, also known as Azariah (1Chron. 6:13; 9:11; 2Chron. 31:13), was in the priestly line. He will be a credit to his father’s house.

The idea is that all that is valuable to the nation will rest on this man. In fact, everything will rest on this man.

I believe this is referring back to Shebna, the one who should have been like a nail in a secure place, but who would lose his position.

Jesus Himself tells us that this verse is also prophetic of Himself: