The Key and the Nail

Isa 22:20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:

Isa 36:3 Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah's son, which was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph's son, the recorder.

Both Shebna and Eliakim were servants of Hezekiah. Shebna's heart was directed towards selfish ambition and glory, but Eliakim's heart was turned towards serving the king.

Isa 22:21 And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.

Shebna is unfaithful, the LORD will remove him from his office, strip him of his authority, and give it to Eliakim. The LORD shall cloth Eliakim with his robe. The robe of God is his righteousness, his covering and protection. The priests were given robes to serve in the temple. The girdle or belt was given to priests or high officials. The LORD was making him as a father, loving and caring for the people of Judah. He was given as a faithful servant, not for his own selfish interests. The LORD sets up powers and removes them.

Isa 22:22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

The righteous Eliakim as the steward of the house of David, was a type of Jesus, as spoken in Revelation 3:7.

Rev 3:7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
Rev 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

A key represents authority. Authority was given to Peter and the apostles and to those who Jesus chooses to have authority. We must be a faithful servant to be given his authority. His authority is his presence and power.

Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Mat 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Eliakim as the steward of the house of David, was given the authority and responsibility delegated to the name of King David. Authority is power. Jesus shared authority and power, in his name, with his disciples.

Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Luke 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Luke 24:48 And ye are witnesses of these things.Luke 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to his born again disciples, with power and authority to accomplish his work. If we have no power, we are operating in the flesh, in our own power. We are to submit all to God, to be used of him. Not to manipulate or pretend to be what we are not. Eliakim had proven himself by faithfulness to the king.We are to be faithful stewards to King Jesus.

Nails and Vessels

Isa 22:23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.

Eliakim shall be given the key of king David (vs 22) and the LORD will make him well known before the people, because he was faithful. A metaphor is used, of him fastened as a nail, in a sure place. He was firmly established.

Isa 22:24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.

He shall bring glory to his father's house and his offspring shall be blessed. the vessels shall hang upon him, from the small vessels, those of humble people and also vessels of flagons, the skin storage bottles, the more honorable vessels. Each held secure by the honorable service of Eliakim. We are held in honor and respect because of our trust in Jesus, the one who was nailed securely to the cross, to atone for our sins. We are vessels for the masters use.

Rom 9:22 What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Rom 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
Rom 9:24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

Isa 22:25 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it.

This applies to the wicked treasurer, Shebna, in verse 15. The LORD was sending the invader to take him away, rolling him away as a ball.

Isa 22:18 He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house.

If Eliakim is a type of Christ, then Shebna could be a type of Judas Iscariot. He was given authority but he used it for self glory; he betrayed his master's trust. The nail of authority, was removed from him. He would be destroyed. We must be faithful and not fall into the temptations of the world, for we have been given the authority of Christ to do his work. We are to nail our selfish ambitions to the cross and put on the robe of righteousness to follow our Lord Jesus in His service. His authority is given to us to do his will. The nail keeps us one with Christ, our old flesh nature was nailed with Jesus to the cross. We are given the keys of his authority.

When my oldest brother was president of a mobile home factory, he gave both of his brothers a key to the gate. I was just a young man working as a laborer in the factory, but the key gave me permission to return at any time to work on personal projects. I used this authority to make things for other people. I paid for the materials but provided the labor free. Jesus paid for the keys of authority; what will you do with the keys that Jesus has given to you?