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The Bible Breakdown
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The Bible Breakdown
Isaiah 22: A Nail in the Wall
What if the leaders we rely on are as fleeting as a nail in the wall? Journey with us as we unravel the rich tapestry of Isaiah 22, exploring the powerful metaphor of temporary support and how it intertwines with the classic tune "Lean on Me." We navigate the turbulent history of Jerusalem under siege, drawing parallels to the persistent calls for repentance that echo through time. Our discussion bridges the past with a prophetic glimpse into the Messiah's coming, linking these ancient lessons to the messages found in the book of Revelation. Discover how God's role as our salvation mirrors the transient nature of leadership, offering a poignant reflection on spiritual perseverance and trust.
In our second segment, we shift our gaze to the "Legacy of Being a Nail," where the focus sharpens on personal growth and spiritual steadfastness. Learn how seeking God's guidance daily can transform us into unwavering supports for those around us, embodying the metaphor of the "nail in the wall" with grace and strength. Through prayer, we find peace and clarity, prompting us to act with courage, whether it's through seeking forgiveness or offering support. This conversation invites us to embrace a life of gratitude, aware of God's unseen work in our lives, and challenges us to never settle, but to continually seek more of His presence, fortified by the assurance of His strength as proclaimed in Isaiah 12:2.
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The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today. Isaiah, chapter 22. Today's title is A Nail in the Wall. A Nail in the Wall. It is one of the most odd analogies I've ever heard, but it is extremely fitting and it makes me think of a song we're going to talk about in just a moment. But, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like share, subscribe to YouTube channel and the podcast, make sure you're leaving us a five-star review on the podcast and make sure you're joining us at the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook.
Speaker 1:Man, the more we dig, the more we find, and they're doing such a great job there, every single day, just digging in deeper, and it's an honor for us to be able to do life together and just rallying around God's word. So make sure you join us there, okay, all right, if you have your Bibles. I want to open up with me to Isaiah, chapter 22. While you're getting there, don't forget, first of all, that the overall theme of Isaiah is God is our salvation and God is constantly calling the nation of Israel back to him. And today he's going to talk about how God raises somebody up for a season, that toward the end of the chapter and they're doing great, but then they're going to fall away. But while they are doing great, it's going to be like a nail in the wall. What made me think of that is remember that old song Lean on me. Where you're not strong and I'll be your friend. Remember that one. I'll help you carry on. That song is like this song from my past right, lean on me.
Speaker 1:And what we used to love to do when I was a kid is we would sing this song and we would be singing and kind of making fun of it because it had been so overdone, right. But then what would be so much fun is that we would lean on each other. We just lean back on each other and just sing this song and kind of making fun of it. But then what would be so much fun is that we would lean on each other. We just lean back on each other and just sing this song and kind of making fun of it. But then what would be so much fun to do is about the time you could feel that your friend had really put their weight on you. You'd move real fast. Okay, well, maybe nobody else did, maybe it was just me, I don't know, but it also happened to me as well. But you really wait until they had leaned on you. You know, when you're not strong and I'll be your friend, and about that time you'd move and they just fall. Well, that's what the end of this chapter really makes me think about. And so we're going to read to this and hear this very interesting analogy and actually, too, remember how we were talking about. We're going on a treasure hunt, and every time we hear something about the coming Messiah, we're going to bring it up. Well, at the end of this it's going to talk about that, about the coming Messiah, but it's also going to be a scripture that the Apostle John uses in the book of Revelation to talk about what God is doing in one of the seven churches of Asia. So, if you're ready, let's dive into all of this and we're going to talk about lean on me and we get to the end. You ready?
Speaker 1:Isaiah, chapter 22, verse one, says this this this message came to me concerning Jerusalem, the valley of vision. What is happening? Why is everyone running to the rooftops? The whole city is in a terrible uproar. What do I see in this reveling city. Bodies are lying everywhere, good heavens. Killed not in battle, but by famine and disease. All your leaders have fled. They surrendered without resistance. The people tried to slip away, but they were captured too. That is why I said leave me alone to weep, do not try to comfort me. Let me cry for my people as I watch them being destroyed.
Speaker 1:Oh, what a day of crushing defeat, what a day of confusion and terror brought on by the Lord, the Lord of heaven's armies, upon the valley of vision. The walls of Jerusalem have been broken. The cries of death echo from the mountainsides. Elamites are the archers and their chariots and charioteers. The men of Kerr hold up the shields. Chariots fill your beautiful valleys. Charioteers storm your gates. Judah's defenses have been stripped away and you run to the armory for your weapons. You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem. You store up water in the lower pool. You survey the houses and tear some down for stone to strengthen the walls. Between the city walls, you build a reservoir for water from the old pool. But you never ask for help from the one who did all this. You never considered the one who planned this long ago.
Speaker 1:At that time, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven's armies called you to weep and mourn. He told you to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins and to wear clothes of burlap to show your remorse. But instead you dance and play, you slaughter cattle and kill sheep, you feast on meat and drink wine, and you say let's feast and drink for tomorrow. We die. The Lord of Heaven's armies has revealed this to me Till the day you die, you will never be forgiven for this. That is the judgment of the Lord, the Lord of heaven's armies. So pause.
Speaker 1:So what Isaiah is seeing is he's seeing a siege where the enemies of God have come to take over the city, and basically what he's saying is that God didn't stop it take over the city and that, and basically what he's saying is that God didn't stop it. Over and over and over again, he has called you to repentance and you never did. And then he so. Then he didn't stop the invading armies, and so now they're laying siege and instead of you turning yourself over to him and repenting, you're just making it even worse. And so he's saying, god's saying, I'm not, I'm not going to stop at this time, I'm not going to forgive it. In other words, if they'd have returned and repented, it would have been different, but he's not going to let it go. He said okay, this is what you wanted, this is what you're going to get, and that's just a terrible, terrible thing. That's happened.
Speaker 1:Verse 15 says this is what the Lord of Heaven's armies said to me. Confront Sheb, the palace administrator, and give him this message who do you think you are and what are you doing here, building a beautiful tomb for yourself and a monument high up in this rock, for the Lord is about to hurl you away, mighty man. He is going to grab you, crumple you into a ball and toss you away into a distant, barren land. There you will die and your glorious chariots will be broken and useless. You are a disgrace to your master. Yes, I will drive you out of office, says the Lord. I will pull you down from your high position. Then I will call my servant, ekleum, son of Hekiah, to replace you. I will dress him in royal robes and give him your title and your authority. He will be a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah. I will give him the key to the house of David, the highest position in the royal court. When he opens doors, no one will be able to close them. When he closes doors, no one will be able to open them.
Speaker 1:Now, pause real quick. That's the verse that is paraphrased and used. Something similar to this in the book of Revelation. Okay, continue. Verse 23,. He will bring honor to his family name, for I will drive him firmly in place like a nail in the wall. They will give him great responsibility and he will bring great honor to even the lowliest members of his family. Ability and he will bring great honor to even the lowliest members of his family. But the Lord of heaven's armies also says the time will come when I will pull out the nail that seemed so firm. It will come out and fall to the ground. Everything it supports will fall with it. I, the Lord, have spoken.
Speaker 1:So, in other words, what Isaiah is saying is is God let all these nations like surround Israel, and they didn't repent. Then they laid siege to Israel and they didn't repent. And then things got bad and they didn't repent. And then God sent a deliverer, someone to help them for a season, to help make things better, to try to show them this is what freedom could look like. But they didn't repent and it just continues to get worse and worse and worse. So then he removes it and they don't repent.
Speaker 1:And so the application today is God is constantly interested in repairing your relationship with him, and so when we turn away from God, we get distant from him. We should always be aware and turn and run to him when things get bad all around us. We shouldn't be looking at this and going God why? Instead, it should be God let me come back to you Always turn back over to him and then sometimes, when we have a little bit of a break, a little bit of a rest period in our life, that may not mean that God is blessing us. It might mean that God is reminding us of his goodness so that we'll return and repent. So we always need to remember to check ourselves and go God, am I close to you? And then not become complacent when facing challenges, but always be turning ourselves over to God.
Speaker 1:Now, that doesn't always mean that just because we're going through a hard time, god is trying to get us to repent of something, but that is an opportunity for us to check ourselves always and say God, am I close to you? Is there anything I could be doing right now that is bringing me closer or further away from you, not as a place of shame or insecurity, but as a desire to constantly be close to God. And when we think about life like that, it becomes an adventure every day. God, what is something else I can do that can honor you? Where's somewhere I can go that will bring you glory? What is a way that I can just check myself and go? God, am I experiencing as much of your blessing and presence and goodness as I possibly could?
Speaker 1:Many times you'll pray that prayer and you'll just feel a peace in your soul of, yeah, I'm doing everything I need to do today, let's go. But then sometimes you'll pray and you go. God am I, and the Lord will bring something up to your attention Maybe a conversation you need to have, maybe a place where you need to go first and asking for forgiveness, or maybe taking the extra step, going the extra mile with somebody you never know, but you always come back to him so that God can maybe make you the person that other people are leaning on. And then other times when you're leaning on others but we're always doing it getting closer to him every day. I tell you what a wonderful legacy it would be if somebody one day said about one of us man, they were a nail in the wall, just like Isaiah 22, is that when God needed someone to stand in that gap and to be a comforter to others, god could depend on you. What an amazing legacy that would be, god.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that you give us so many opportunities to come close to you, to repent of any sin or maybe sometimes there's no sin in our life, it's just a need to get closer to you. God, I haven't got enough yet. There's more that I want to have in you. I pray we'll never grow satisfied. We'll always be seeking more of you and Lord, let it be said of us that we can be that nail in the wall for others to lean on, and then also you'll surround us with people that we can lean on in our times of difficulty. Thank you, god, for all you're doing that we can see and that we can't see. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen. And what God's word says in Isaiah, chapter 12, verse 2, god has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord is my strength and my song. He has given me victory. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Isaiah, chapter 23.
