15 Thus says the Lord [q]God of hosts,
“Come, go to this steward,
To Shebna, who is in charge of the royal household,
16 ‘What right do you have here,
And whom do you have here,
That you have hewn a tomb for yourself here,
You who hew a tomb on the height,
You who carve a resting place for [r]yourself in the rock?
17 ‘Behold, the Lord is about to hurl you headlong, O man.
And He is about to grasp you firmly
18 And roll you tightly like a ball,
To be cast into a vast country;
There you will die
And there your splendid chariots will be,
You shame of your master’s house.’
19 “I will depose you from your office,
And [s]I will pull you down from your station.
20 “Then it will come about in that day,
That I will summon My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,
21 And I will clothe him with your tunic
And tie your sash securely about him.
I will entrust him with your [t]authority,
And he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
22 “Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder,
When he opens no one will shut,
When he shuts no one will open.
23 “I will drive him like a peg in a firm place,
And he will become a throne of glory to his father’s house.24 So they will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, offspring and [u]issue, all the least of vessels, from bowls to all the jars. 25 In that day,” declares the Lord of hosts, “the peg driven in a firm place will give way; it will even break off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off, for the Lord has spoken.”
Suddenly, the attention is turned to a single individual, Shebna the steward, who was in charge of the royal household. He is listed several times (2 Kings 18) alongside Eliakim as delivering messages between Isaiah and Hezekiah the king of Judah. Based on this passage though, it seems he had been taking advantage of his position and had even built himself a tomb “on the height”.
Likely, this was where the kings built their tombs, and Shebna thought he was pretty important and wanted folks to remember him. Instead, God tells him of his certain doom and that everything he has amassed will be handed over to Eliakim. That’s quite the reversal, but it reminds us not to build monuments to ourselves.
Okay, maybe you never thought of building a monument, but when we do good things, do we try to make sure others know about them? Or do we do as Jesus instructed, “But when you [b]give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your [c]giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
Naturally, our hands don’t know anything, only our brain does, but the point is still the same. Give so secretly, that even your other hand might be left wondering what just happened. We will eventually have our reward, and it probably won’t be what we think, but better I’m sure. It’s interesting that this must be balanced with “Let them see your good works, so that they may glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
In both cases, we must not seek the glory, for “there is only One who is good”, and that isn’t us. So don’t be carried away with pride, but follow the instructions of God (via Micah), “… to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.”