Isaiah 22:20-21

Isaiah 22:20-21

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

What does Isaiah 22:20-21 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The Lord also predicted that He would appoint Eliakim to a special position of authority, complete with the symbols of that authority, to replace proud Shebna. In chapters36-37 Shebna and Eliakim appear as officials who were both serving King Hezekiah when Sennacherib invaded Jerusalem (701 B.C.). Thus Shebna"s humiliation and Eliakim"s exaltation apparently occurred sometime after that. Eliakim would become a father to the people of Jerusalem in that he would care for them sacrificially at God"s appointed time.
"Shebna had been riding ostentatiously in his chariots and building a splendid grave for himself, seeking in all this the praise of men. How much better to have God"s smile of approval and to be described, in a simple but eloquent phrase, as "my servant" ( Isaiah 22:20; cf. Isaiah 20:3; Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 52:13)." [1]
"When God designates a man my servant, He attributes high honor to that man; He asserts that that man is one who will serve Him." [2]