By Bob Bunn
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 22:1-25, Isaiah 23:1-18, Psalm 74:1-2, Psalm 74:20-23, 1 Corinthians 15:31-34
In his book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C. S. Lewis introduced readers to Eustace Scrubb, a nasty lad who ended up on a Narnian ship against his will. From the very start of the adventure, Eustace made it his mission to be miserable—and to share his misery with others.
In fact, the only time Eustace really found any pleasure was when the crew of the Dawn Treader landed on an isolated island, and he happened upon a dragon’s lair filled with treasure. For a selfish and greedy boy, a cave full of riches was a dream come true. But Eustace soon ran into a problem.
The more time he spent in the dragon’s home, the more “dragonish” he became. Eventually, he became a dragon himself—a sad situation that was only remedied by a painful (but liberating) encounter with Aslan, the great lion.
The story of Eustace reminds us that getting exactly what we want in the moment often might be the worst thing for us in the long run. We think we’re on top of the world, so we fail to avoid the inevitable crash on the other side.
That’s what the prophet spoke against in Isaiah 22. In historical context, the people of Judah had just escaped a dangerous encounter with the Assyrian army. The Assyrians had already captured and exiled the northern tribes of Israel, and they had marched up to the very gates of Jerusalem in the southern kingdom of Judah.
While God had protected the city, the people were convinced that their own preparations had won the day. They ignored God and celebrated what they saw as their own victory. But Isaiah knew better. He recognized that the Lord had rescued His people—and that a time was coming when He would no longer stand in the gap for them. Because of their sin, a day was coming when the Lord would let Jerusalem’s enemies destroy the city and humiliate the people.
Instead of celebrating, the people should have been repenting of their sin. Rather than bragging on their own abilities, they should have been expressing gratitude and praise to the One who had spared them. The residents of Jerusalem thought they were getting all they wanted in that moment, but Isaiah urged them to avoid catastrophe by turning back to God.
If we’re not careful, we can fall into that same trap. As humans, we have a tendency to convince ourselves that we have it all together when we’re actually setting ourselves up for a fall. We can spend so much time with dragons that we don’t realize we’re becoming dragons ourselves.
The cure is to keep our perspective where it belongs, on our God. Instead of patting ourselves on the back and celebrating our own accomplishments, we should remember that we are nothing without the Lord. He has saved us, and He has redeemed us.
And because He loves us, He will judge us if we refuse to acknowledge His work and His authority in our lives.
Written by Bob Bunn
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