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We probably don’t remember being taught about Shebna in
Sunday School. We should have been.Shebna was "treasurer over the house", meaning comptroller or governor of the palace during the reign of king Hezekiah. Because of his pride he was ejected from his office, and replaced by Eliakim the son of Hilkiah. Shebna also appears to have been the leader of the party who favored an alliance with Egypt against Assyria.
His tomb…referred to here by Isaiah…has actually been excavated
just outside the ancient walls of Jerusalem. Shebna had actually bought himself
a tomb in the cemetery of Kings. “Just a bit cheeky” as the Brits would
say. Who told him he could do that?
Isaiah asked the same question. “What are you doing here outside the city? Who allowed you to
cut out a tomb for yourself here?
Who said you could carve out your grave on the hillside? Who allowed you to cut out your resting place in the rock?”
Prideful people do crazy things. General Custer divided his
forces three ways and…Who said you could carve out your grave on the hillside? Who allowed you to cut out your resting place in the rock?”
President Nixon thought he could lie to the people who
elected him and…
General MacArthur thought he was mightier than the president
and…
Kenneth Lay thought he could run Enron according to his
rules and…
And…”There you will die”.
We all have a bit of Shebna in us. There’s a lesson here
that each of us needs to learn regularly and with some pain. Or, we could try
to be more like Eliakim. Isaiah said ‘The Lord will
give Eliakim the key of authority in David’s royal house. No one can shut what
he opens. And no one can open what he shuts”At
his installation Eliakim was given authority over the entire government. He was
called "father
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah".
Now, that’s a legacy worth pursuing. But, of course we’re
told God honored Eliakim because, He said, “Eliakim is my servant”.
Live
boldly out there today…
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