This verse warns against prideful ambition and calls us to pursue humility before God.
“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, Who carve a resting place for yourself in the rock?” (v.16) In this verse, the prophet Isaiah confronts an official who appears consumed by ambition and pride. Historically, this verse is directed at Shebna, a steward in the court of King Hezekiah in late eighth-century BC Judah. Seeking to carve out a grand tomb within Jerusalem’s rocky heights, Shebna’s self-exalting actions reveal a heart that sought worldly prestige rather than humble obedience to the LORD. Jerusalem was the spiritual center of Judah, a fortified city that housed the temple and served as the political seat of the king. To exalt one’s own memory within its walls, as Shebna did, was a bold statement of inflated self-importance.
Isaiah’s rebuke underscores that God sees every motive of human ambition. Shebna’s self-promoting legacy was neither authorized by God nor rooted in service to others, and thus it was doomed to fail. Indeed, Isaiah went on to declare that the LORD would remove Shebna from his station, stripping him of the power he tried to seize (Isaiah 22:19). His fall reminds us of Jesus’s teaching that “whoever exalts himself shall be humbled” (Matthew 23:12). Although Shebna held an important place in the palace, the lesson is that God exalts the humble and humbles those who lift themselves high.
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Isaiah 22:16 meaning
“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, Who carve a resting place for yourself in the rock?” (v.16) In this verse, the prophet Isaiah confronts an official who appears consumed by ambition and pride. Historically, this verse is directed at Shebna, a steward in the court of King Hezekiah in late eighth-century BC Judah. Seeking to carve out a grand tomb within Jerusalem’s rocky heights, Shebna’s self-exalting actions reveal a heart that sought worldly prestige rather than humble obedience to the LORD. Jerusalem was the spiritual center of Judah, a fortified city that housed the temple and served as the political seat of the king. To exalt one’s own memory within its walls, as Shebna did, was a bold statement of inflated self-importance.
Isaiah’s rebuke underscores that God sees every motive of human ambition. Shebna’s self-promoting legacy was neither authorized by God nor rooted in service to others, and thus it was doomed to fail. Indeed, Isaiah went on to declare that the LORD would remove Shebna from his station, stripping him of the power he tried to seize (Isaiah 22:19). His fall reminds us of Jesus’s teaching that “whoever exalts himself shall be humbled” (Matthew 23:12). Although Shebna held an important place in the palace, the lesson is that God exalts the humble and humbles those who lift themselves high.