So, there are certain mornings when the passage of Scripture that comes next in your quiet time just doesn't look too thrilling. You press on and read anyway asking God to take His Word and teach you something- anything. As you read the text you think - "OK, today will simply be an act of duty." That was the case for me this morning. But duty turned to devotion in the last 3 verses and again by an act of grace my heart is stirred by the beauty of the Word and more so at the greateness of the God of the Word.
In my study through Isaiah I've been amazed at the full-orbed picture of the character of God that is revealed in its pages. I've been awed by the acurate fulfilling of the prophecies of Assyria, Egypt, and Babylon. (I've just been studying these very things in ancient history with Josh and here they are clearly spelled out in the Scriptures - centuries before they occured.) God's Word can be trusted!
Today, however, I hit this seemingly obscure passage about the deposing of Shebna the steward of the house of David and the replacement of him by Eliakim. Oh wow! (Can you hear the sadly sarcastic tone of my heart?) I should NEVER doubt the remarkable practicality of every jot and tittle of the Word of God.
I'm reading along about how Shebna's pride went before Shebna's fall - yada, yada, yada. He's ousted and humbled and Eliakim is lifted up and he serves the king and the people well. Duty, duty, duty - I'm reading out of duty.
Then the part that turned from duty to devotion:“And I will drive [Eliakim] like a peg in a firm place, and he will become a throne of glory to his father’s house. So they will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, offspring and issue, all the least of the vessels, from bowl to all the jars” (vs 23-24).
Eliakim, the steward, will be driven like a peg in a firm place. All his father's house will have a dependance on him, just like coffee cups and pots and pans with handles have a dependence on the nails, hooks, or pegs upon which they are hung. The people could hang their hat on Eliakim. He would take care of them well. He would bear their burdens and carry the weight of their concerns. The text even points out the far reaching extent of his care. He would not only be a hook to hang the greatest on but also a peg of safety and support forthe least. He wouldn't be one to show favoritism to the mighty. He would treat the powerful and the poor equally. All would be provided for.
All I could think of was how this pictures the Lord Jesus Christ. As the greater Eliakim he has the key of the house of David. As the greater Eliakim He is a peg in a firm place. He is THE peg in THE firm place! On Him hangs all the glory of his father's house. On Him my life and all it contains hang as well. And just as Eliakim - more than Eliakim - He is no respector of persons. He will be a firm peg to whoever will rest on Him - rich or poor, black or white, male or female, young or old - there is no distinction!
There is no safer or surer hook I can hang the hat of my life on. The soul that rests on Him shall never be disappointed. No matter how great the weight I am carrying His strength is perfect and His grace is sufficient. I can rest securely in and on Him.Christ is the firmly driven peg that will carry me and bear my burdens - so I must cast my life and my cares upon Him. He bore my nails and hung for me on Calvary’s cross. Now He is my nail and on Him I am to hang everything.
He is a nail that will never rust or weaken. He is the omnipotent , eternal, unchangeable, faithful nail and I can trust Him with whatever comes my way. Is my life, all of it, lived in utter dependence upon the hook of the Lord Jesus Christ? Am I hanging my all on Him? How I need His grace to make it so!
This morning I read His Word out of duty and by the work of the Sprit of His grace that duty was gloriously transformed to devotion. I am foolish to ever doubt!
Hanging on Him,
Lori
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