This is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:

“Go, say to this steward,
    to Shebna the palace administrator:
What are you doing here and who gave you permission
    to cut out a grave for yourself here,
hewing your grave on the height
    and chiseling your resting place in the rock?

“Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you
    and hurl you away, you mighty man.
He will roll you up tightly like a ball
    and throw you into a large country.
There you will die
    and there the chariots you were so proud of
    will become a disgrace to your master’s house.
I will depose you from your office,
    and you will be ousted from your position.

“In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will become a seat of honor for the house of his father. All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.

“In that day,” declares the Lord Almighty, “the peg driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.” The Lord has spoken. (New International Version)

The nation of Judah was in a pickle. The Babylonian Empire loomed over them to the East as a mighty army about to swallow them whole. What’s more, the prophets were proclaiming judgment against Judah, with Babylon as the instrument.

Although we don’t always know why hard circumstances come about, in the case of ancient Judah, the prophet Isaiah made it clear what was going on. Isaiah wasn’t afraid to name the names of those responsible for Judah’s situation. Particular government officials were the objects of blame, as well as punishment.

Shebna, the palace administrator or master of the household, held a position somewhat like the prime minister of today. He had a great deal of power, and was second only to King Hezekiah. Isaiah identified and called out Shebna for misusing his administrative office.

The specific offense Isaiah spoke of was that Shebna made arrangements to ensure his personal grave-sight would have all of the grandeur of a royal tomb. Shebna – the conniving rascal that he was – arrogantly put himself on the same level of the royal king, Hezekiah, who was a righteous man.

The God of Judah, the Lord God Almighty, observed what was happening. And God was not okay with what Shebna was doing, and how he was going about his duties. Shebna was failing to discharge his responsibilities. Instead, he was finagling to make sure his own name would be remembered as great.

Shebna was a disgrace to his king, Hezekiah. So, the Lord would have him violently dislodged from his position, and exiled. In that place he would die and never see his country again. Because Shebna was so taken up with selfish concerns, he failed to do the job of preparing his nation for the growing threat of Babylon.

In place of Shebna, Eliakim son of Hilkiah would become the administrator, the prime minister. He would use his authority for the common good of the nation, and not for making his own name significant, and his own tomb big.

God promised security and honor for Eliakim and his family. Yet, even Eliakim would feel the weight of severe consequences along with the entire nation of Judah.

Although a change in leadership brought hope for peace and prosperity, it never materialized. Future leaders would sink lower than Shebna. And future kings would go to the lowest depths of depravity. All of it anticipated the Babylonian army’s invasion and the people’s exile.

Does any of today’s Old Testament lesson sound familiar in today’s governmental workings in the world, including and especially in the United States?

Being concerned and enamored with putting one’s name on places one does not deserve; being unconcerned with the plight of the poor, the immigrant, and the powerless; and being unprepared to use authority for just and right purposes, puts one in the legacy of Shebna, not Eliakim. The selfish politician ought only to expect eventual divine judgment, and not any sort of praise from neither the people, nor God.

If the God of the universe takes notice of a prime minister’s intended creation of a permanent mausoleum, then how much more will the Lord take note of a president’s abuse of authority and the tearing down and erecting of buildings which benefit his own name, and not the concerns of the needy in the land?

Whenever talk of compassion and practice of humility is replaced with petty arrogance and unmerciful arrest of citizens, then we really ought to expect nothing less than what happened to the selfish persons and governmental officials of old who came to an ignominious end.

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.