Saturday, July 2, 2022

Christ the Nail




"And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: 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. 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. 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. 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. 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." (Isa. 22: 20-25)

John Gill wrote:

"This man (Eliakim) was a type of Christ; his name agrees with him which signifies, "my God will raise up".

I agree that the above text is a prophecy of Christ. Christ has "the key of the house of David" and it is the one, above all, who "opens and no man shuts, and shuts and no man opens." Said Christ of himself in the Apocalypse:

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens.” (Rev. 3: 7)

Not only does Christ the Son of God have the key of David, but he also has other keys. 

“I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death."

In the above prophecy Christ the Messiah is likened to a "nail fastened in a sure place." There is much truth conveyed in such a figure. He is the peg that holds the building together. But, he is also the nail or peg upon which to hang things. Think of the pegs upon which a person hangs hats and umbrellas. Upon Christ will hang all the glory of God. That is another wonderful truth about Christ being a nail that is secure. 

But, I also like to think of Christ being a nail or peg upon which we can hang all our anxieties, worries, and cares. He invites us to bring our burdens to him and hang them upon him. 

"...casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (I Peter 5: 7)

"Cast your care upon the Lord," or we may say "hang all your burdens upon the Lord." Or, we may say as the old hymn, "tell it to Jesus." Or we may say "what a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear, what a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer."

No comments: