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16 What
hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out [chatsab] a sepulchre [qeber] here [poh], as he that
heweth him out [chatsab] a sepulchre [qeber] on high [marowm], and that
graveth [chaqaq] an habitation [mishkan] for himself in a rock [cela`]? KJV-Interlinear
16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, that you have
cut out here a tomb for yourself, you who cut out a tomb on the height and
carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock? ESV
Thus far, what we know of Shebna, is that he was in an elevated position in the Palace of the King. He will be replaced by Eliakim, who replaces him as governor of the palace of Hezekiah. This last part is still ahead of us in the passage.
Shebna is not only a traitor as the meaning of his name implies, but he is a presumptuous one at that. Betraying a country while at the same time constructing an ostentatious grave site or sepulcher or tomb, within that same country, for himself, presuming that he will one day be placed in it for all time.
It is the quintessence of contradiction, hypocrisy, self-centeredness, and disloyalty, all wrapped up into one attitude, that lacks concern for anyone but himself. As well as a total lack of orientation to the realities that will then be swirling around the entire world.
And such can be the nature of one who rejects God and doctrine, and thus rely on their own self-centered priorities, to the total disregard for others.
‘Not me,’ you say!
But remember that this is all pointing to the general attitude of people in that last generation of human history, people who will live in a time even later than the one that we are in, presumably. What with the world swirling out of control all around them, at that time, one group is partying as though it is their last fling, while another is constructing a fancy grave, of which they will never see its inside. No ceremony, no fanfare, no organized funeral.
While current saying can be, ‘Well this is afterall, 2014.’ As though the number of our year implies some form of advancement in humanity. But we know that in future years, this saying would seem to mean a decline in humanity, rather than some advancement. The Tribulation, which is future, will find the very worst of human nature.
From Revelation and other passages, we already know how these people are going to end up, scattered to the wind and unidentified and forgotten on the great battlefield of the Middle East and the world.
But Shebna is building a tomb that he believes will bring him remembrance for generations to come. Which generations will not exist.
At the very lowest point in all of human history, those folks, instead of investing in their eternal future, are doing what?
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