A Peg in a Secure Place

Who You Rest Your Weight On (part two)

Isaiah 22:20-25; 2 Kings 18-19

Yesterday we focused on Shebna. Today we turn to his successor, Eliakim. Shebna and Eliakim served Hezekiah at the same time. Based on what we read in 2 Kings and Isaiah 22, Shebna had a position of authority that ranked above Eliakim. But because of his pride and arrogance God “thrust him from office and pulled him down from his station,” (Isaiah 22:19). Eliakim was promoted and took Shebna’s place, (Isaiah 22:20-21).

Eliakim had a different spirit than Shebna. Therefore, he was given great authority. He had “the key of the house of David,” (Isaiah 22:22). He became a respected and honored leader, (Isaiah 22:23). His character was such that he provided stability and was able to carry the responsibilities of his office and gain the trust of the people of Judah (Isaiah 22:24). He was a “peg in a secure place.” Eliakim was a humble, wise, courageous leader.

But eventually Eliakim would “give way, and be cut down and fall,” (Isaiah 22:25). The point that is being made is that as good a man as Eliakim was, he was still a man. The weight of the nation that rested on him was too great. It was too great, not in the sense that he became overwhelmed with responsibilities, but in the sense that the nation came to trust in him and not God.

This is always a danger when it comes to leadership. It is wonderful to have good, godly, wise leadership. That is a blessing from the Lord. It is good to have trustworthy men leading a church, a company, or a nation. But we must be cautious that we don’t direct our trust away from God and onto mere men. Isaiah 2:22 makes this exact point: “Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?”

Tomorrow we turn to Jesus and the time he quoted from Isaiah 22…