By the time they've reached high school, every straight A student knows that there's one type of assignment, above all others, that's difficult and annoying: the group project. When you get put in a group of three or four students, inevitably, one of two things happens. You either carry the weak links in the group, doing far more than your fare share, or you accept your fate and get a B. Maybe the A student can look back fondly on those times when they got carried once or twice, but as a rule, group projects were the pits.
And then you become an adult, and for most people, their life becomes one giant group project. Most of life is too hard, and too big, to be handled by yourself. You need to work with other people to get everything done. And so you're forced to work in collaboration with other people. Some people are a blessing, and a huge help. They help you carry the load, and you're thankful for them. Other people, honestly, are a burden. They are dead weight. You can't trust them to do a good job, or to get the job done on time. They do their part, and you hold your breath that it'll all work out.
All of this is true not only in ordinary day-to-day relationships, but it's also true in the spiritual realm. Throughout history, most people, in most parts of the world, understand that life is hard, and that you need help not only from humans, but also from divine beings. You need sunshine, and rain. You need protection, and guidance. You need spiritual help to win your human battles. To be successful in life, you need to be carried by a god. And the question, is which god you choose to give your allegiance to. Who will you put your trust in? Who is most powerful? Who will listen to you, and pay attention to you, when you cry out? Who will make a great partner (2 Corinthians 13:14), as you go through life?
Basically, who will carry you?
In our passage today, the main theme revolves around the idea of being carried. The assumption our verses make is that everyone needs to be carried through life by something. Being carried isn't something you outgrow when you become toddler. Toddlers get it wrong, actually: You can't do everything all by yourself. Life is hard. You need help. And the question, is who, or what, will you turn to, and open up your arms to, and have carry you.
In our Isaiah study, we've seen that God's people in Babylonian exile have turned from Yahweh, to other gods. They've decided that the Babylonian gods carry harder, carry better, carry more reliably. And so they're doing the exact sins-- idolatry-- that led to God's judgment, and to their exile from the promised land. Their rebellion in this comes out of a place of fear, and doubt. And it also comes out of a place of ignorance-- at least up to this point, they still don't understand what God is doing, and they keep refusing to believe what the prophet tells them. The prophet tells them over and over, God is rescuing you through Cyrus. And the people just don't budge. They cling to their idols (contrast Deuteronomy 4:4).
And what we see in this passage is God, through his prophet, responding to all of this. God mocks their choice of gods, and He invites them to Someone better.
I want to read the first two verses, Isaiah 46:1-2, really slowly. There's a lot here to mock, and think about, and I want to give it justice. Verse 1, first two lines:
(1) He knelt down (2 Kings 1:13)-- Bel;
Cowering [*Shalom Paul]/Stooping down/over, Nebo [is]. [Isaiah 21:9; Jeremiah 50:2]
The prophet begins his oracle by painting a mocking picture of the two highest deities in the Babylonian pantheon-- Bel, and Nebo. [Technically, "Bel" is a title meaning something like "Lord," and the god's actual name is Merodach (Jeremiah 50:2), but I'm just going to pass over the details. The exiles know who "Bel" is.].
Our prophet sees these two gods, first of all, kneeling down, and crouching.
There are moments in life that are scary, and overwhelming. These moments, and how you respond to them, define you forever. You can stand tall, and be courageous, and fight to the end. Or you can duck, and cover, and adopt a posture of fearful surrender, and submission.
https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/2861814-female-secret-service-agents-at-donald-trump-shooting
The prophet sees the Babylonian empire falling apart. And the gods who were worshipped, who were supposed to protect the people, knelt down, and ducked. They are in a battle with Yahweh, and they are overmatched, and overpowered.
Still verse 1:
Their images/idols [are] consigned to [* Shalom Paul] living animals and consigned to domestic animals.
Your carried load [is] loaded;
A burden for the weary.
These two Babylonian deities have images, or idols. Just as we are made in the image of God (same word), so the idols are made in the image of Bel and Nebo.
By right, these images "belong" in a temple, as a way to make it easier for people to pray to, and worship, the gods. They belong in a place of honor, and worship. But what's happened, is that the images now "belong" (the preposition "l") to animals. They're loaded up, and are a burden for cattle. Why? The prophet doesn't say, yet. But in the days before FedEx, when heavy things needed to get moved, you'd choose pack animals. So we picture them being packed carefully, double boxed, with at least 2" inches of protection all the way around.
And if we can picture this, we find ourselves understanding the gods' posture. Imagine a 10 foot idol being shipped. Do you ship it upright? (No). You have to put it on either its back or its stomach. It doesn't stand tall; it bows down, and assumes the posture of submission, and surrender.
The other thing the images do, still verse 1, is weigh down the pack animals. The images are a heavy load. They are a burden. So you'll never hear Bel or Nebo say, "Come to me, because my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). No. Their burden weighs a ton, and they don't lend their strength to the animals carrying their image. They're just dead weight. The gods aren't helping. The gods are a burden to be carried by tired pack animals.
Verse 2:
(2) They cowered/stooped over; they knelt together.
They [=the Babylonian gods] aren't able save/rescue the burden [=the idol images of themselves],
while they [=their "souls," KJV style woodenly], into captivity they go.
Verse 2 is one of the most important verses in the whole OT for helping us understand what an image, or an idol, is.
So we see, at the start, that "they" cower and "they" kneel "together." Who is "they"? And what group is being described?
This verse draws a distinction between the gods, and their images. The gods are cowering and kneeling with their images. The gods can't save their images. And the gods are pictured going off into exile with their images.
So gods, and their images, are distinct. An image, by itself, is not the god. It's more complicated than that. At the same time, gods and their images can't be completely separated. The god is somehow tied to that image. If the image goes off into captivity, then the god goes with it (and this is part of why Yahweh won't let people make images of himself. He refuses to let himself be attached to some bit of wood or metal).
And both the gods, and their images, are helpless in all of this. All they can do, in the face of Yahweh's judgment, is cower, and kneel, and be a burden to those who rely on them.
So do we have a clear picture of these gods, and their images, in our heads? The gods are afraid. They can't protect the Babylonians who trust in them. They can't protect their images. They can only do two things: (1) Be a burden to those who rely on them, and (2) Suffer a humiliating defeat.
In verse 3, God, through his prophet, turns from this picture to offer his people an alternative:
(3) Listen to me, O House of Jacob, and all the remnant of the House of Israel--
the ones loaded up/carried from the belly/womb,
the ones being carried from the womb--
(4) Even to your old age, I-I [am] He, [Psalm 71:17-18] ["I" is focused, probably, throughout here]
while even to your gray-headedness, I- I will bear [you].
I-I made [you],
while I-I will carry you,
while I-I will bear you,
and I will save [you]. [same word as verse 2 line 2].
God knows that you need help. You need someone to carry you. And God says, "That's been me all along. I've carried you, like a mother, from the time before you were even born. And I will keep carrying you up until the very end of your life, when your hair is gray.
There's a famous poem called "Footprints in the Sand." Let me read a shortened version of it:
Lord you said that once I decided to follow You,
We would walk side by side through life;
but when I needed You the most,
I saw only one set of footprints in the sand.
The Lord replied, "I love You and I would never leave You.
During your times of trial and suffering, when you see
only ones set of footprints, it was then that I carried You."
https://poem4today.com/footprints-poem.html
What God is offering in this passage, is basically this poem, except that God says, "There's only ever been one set of footprints." Yahweh, the God of Israel, offers, "I" will be the One who bears you, and "I" will carry you, and "I" will save you. "I," and not the Babylonian gods, will do this." [trying to catch the force of the "I" in the verses].
So at this point, we've seen contrasting pictures of deities. We've seen Bel and Nebo cowering, kneeling down, being a burden to be carried by tired pack animals. And we've seen Yahweh, offering to carry you for the rest of your life.
Verse 5:
(5) To whom will you compare me,
and [to whom] will you count as an equal,
and [to whom] will you liken me,
that we would be like each other?
It's common, when you look at little kids, to try to figure out which parent they resemble. Sometimes, there's no mystery at all. The kids look entirely like their mother, or their father. There's something really cute about seeing a little miniature version of a big adult, and we can't help but smile at it.
The other thing we try to do, sometimes, is compare kids' personality to their parents.' If the kid is a little genius, or good with his hands, or really good with people, or super stubborn, or whatever-- we smile and say, "he's like that parent." I heard someone's wife the other day say, "Your daughter is just like you. She leaves all the lights on when she leaves the house, and she doesn't put anything away."
In verse 5, Yahweh says, "To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal? Who is like me?"
Can you compare Yahweh to the Babylonian gods? Can you hold them up, and say, they resemble each other?
Can you? (no).
In verse 6, I imagine God's exiled people really starting to squirm, because here they start to see themselves. It's awkward when people paint an embarrassing picture of you, and help you to see reality:
(6) The ones squandering [*Paul]/pouring out gold from the purse,
while silver, in the balance scales, they weigh out.
They (will) hire a goldsmith,
and he makes it a god/el.
They bow down.
What's more, they bow/worship.
(7) They will carry (see verse 4) it upon the shoulder;
They will bear it,
that they may set it in its place,
that it may stand/remain [Exodus 16:29; *Paul].
From its place it won't depart.
What's more, he [=anyone, someone] cries out to it,
and it won't answer.
From his distress, he won't save him.
Many people today struggle financially. Things get more expensive, month after month. The rate of inflation may go down, but it's not things ever get cheaper. And whatever wealth you have stored up in the bank, or in stocks, or whatever, starts to feel more and more important. Your rainy day fund is the thing that keeps the credit card balance at zero, and the thing that guarantees your A/C and car can be fixed when they break down.
I would imagine that for God's people in Babylonian exile, their stores of wealth-- their silver, and gold-- were a comforting safety blanket. But what's described here, is an incredibly extravagant, and wasteful, pouring out of gold (scholars disagree about what exactly the verb means-- two main options-- but either way, there is an extravagance and even carelessness about how the gold is poured out). They open up their money bags, and they pour out their precious wealth, because they want to make an image of a god. [A coin jar prop would be really helpful here].
When my firstborn was a toddler, she had a money jar filled with coins. One day, she was walking around with it, and she tripped, or something. The money jar fell over, and the coins poured out of the jar, right into the floor vent. I will always remember the sound of money being poured down the drain, and my firstborn's heartbroken cry, "All my moneys!"
That's what God's people are doing, to make images for themselves.
They pay money for the raw materials. They pay money to the goldsmith. And then, they find themselves in the position of being a pack animal for their idol. They carry the god. They bear the weight. And they carry it until they get it home, and can get it set up right.
And how does the whole process end? When you've stood it up. At that point, you know you're set, because the image won't leave. It can't move, or do anything, without you, its pack animal, carrying it.
This picture, I think, teaches us something else about images, and idols. Part of what makes an image attractive, is you can get really close to it (compare Deuteronomy 4:7). You know it's with you. You can turn it, so that its eyes are on you, and it's ears are toward you. You can look at it, and know it's paying attention to you. And when you pray to Yahweh, you don't have that certainty. Right? How do you know that God is close, and that He's listening? How do you know that God's face is turned toward you? How do you know that your prayers are heard? There's room for doubt, and fear. When things get hard, you wonder, is God even there? But with an image, you don't have to worry about those things.
Now, the catch with an image, is that it's greatest strengths-- its unmovable nature, and permanent availability-- are also its weaknesses. It can't move, without you, its pack animal. It can't answer. It can't save you. It's there, but what can it do for you?
So you're in distress. You need help. But that thing you squandered your wealth on, and spent your strength carrying, isn't going to do what you need it to do. You're carrying it; it can't carry you.
With this, we come to verses 8-13. Here, we see God's plea to his people. And the plea mostly revolves around encouraging his people to think. Use your brains. You can be smarter than this. So be smarter. Verse 8:
(8) Call this to mind,
and be encouraged! [Hebrew uncertain]
Come back, O rebels, to your senses.
(9) Call to mind the beginning/first things from long ago,
because/surely I [am] God/El,
and there is no god/elohim beside me,
while none like me--
(10) The One declaring from the beginning/first things, the end, [probably, a reference to Cyrus]
while from far off times what they haven't done;
The One saying,
"My plan/purpose shall stand; [verse 7, line 4]
while everything I desire I will do!,";
(11) The One calling from the east a bird of prey;
from a far off land, the man of his plan/purpose. [=Mystery Dude, Cyrus]
What's more, I have spoken.
What's more, I will bring it [to pass].
I have formed;
What's more, I will do it.
(12) Listen to me, O mighty ones of heart/mind [=super stubborn ones; cf. Ezekiel 2:4]--
the ones far from righteousness:
(13) I have presented/brought near my righteousness;
It isn't far off,
while my salvation won't delay,
that/and I will put in Zion salvation;
for Israel, my splendor/glory.
To God's people in exile, it looks like life is falling apart, and like the Babylonian gods are more powerful than Yahweh. It maybe looks like Bel and Nebo are more committed to their followers than Yahweh. It looks like Bel and Nebo are the kind of gods you want images of in your living room.
But God says, "Think." We are quite a ways into our Isaiah study, and we've seen God repeatedly tell his people in advance what his plan is. God is like Babe Ruth, calling his home run. At every point, all the way along, God has been telling his people through his prophet that He was in the act of rescuing them through his anointed servant Cyrus. That, verse 13, is his righteousness.
And actually, let me just unpack this word "righteousness" a little. Some of us grew up in church traditions were "righteousness" was always explained using forensic, or legal, jargon. But righteousness is fundamentally a word describing relationships.
The people, in verse 12, are described as being "far from righteousness." They are not acting rightly toward Yahweh their God. They don't serve Yahweh. They aren't committed to him. And now we find out, they are blowing their wealth on idols. They are about as far from righteousness as you can get.
But Yahweh, verse 13, is bringing near his righteousness. Yahweh acts rightly toward his people. In fact, He acts toward them with far more grace, and mercy, than He would have to (given the nature of covenant). Even though the people still refuse to budge from their stubbornness, and still refuse to repent, God is still committed to his people. God's righteousness, is his rescuing his people. God's righteousness, is his salvation.
This is something that might be new to you, but it's core to everything we believe. Let's turn to Romans 1:17 (NIV no reason):
17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,[e] just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”[f]
Paul says that it's through the gospel-- through the good news about Jesus-- that God's righteousness is revealed. God acts rightly toward all people, Jew and Gentile, by offering them freedom from Sin, and entrance into His kingdom family through Jesus. Bel and Nebo can't save their own images from going off into captivity. But Yahweh our God offers salvation to everyone made in his image.
---------------------------------------------------------
I've tried to offer you applications along the way today, but let me leave you with one, in particular.
The big question all of us have to decide, as we go through life, is whether or not we will trust God to carry us. If we answer that question with uncertainty, we will find ourselves turning away from God to other things. We will find ourselves chasing money, or power, or social status, or nice things. We will pour out our money jars on things that can't help, and watch all our monies disappear. And we will pour out our strength, carrying things that can't carry us.
But if we trust the prophet, when he says that God is righteous, then we will trust God to carry us through the hard times. This doesn't mean we quietly accept whatever happens to us. There is room here for crying out to God, and calling on Him to help, to be righteous, to be faithful. There is room for the questions, when we don't feel very carried.
But when we cry out, we do so from a posture of bent knee, and allegiance, and loyalty to God. We do this as people who choose to not be super stubborn (verse 12), and who are smart enough to see that God has a long history of keeping his word, and fighting for his people.
So let me encourage you this week, be smart. Think about how God acts rightly toward his people. Think about who and what can be trusted to carry you as you go through life. And think about who you ought to lift your arms up to, like a toddler, to carry you.
Translation:
(1) He knelt down (2 Kings 1:13)-- Bel;
Cowering [*Shalom Paul]/Stooping down/over, Nebo [is]. [Isaiah 21:9; Jeremiah 50:2]
Their images/idols [are] consigned to [Paul] living animals and consigned to domestic animals.
Your carried load [is] loaded;
A burden for the weary.
(2) They cowered/stooped over; they knelt together.
They [=the Babylonian gods] aren't able save/rescue the burden [=the idol images of themselves],
while they [=their "souls," KJV style woodenly], into captivity they go.
(3) Listen to me, O House of Jacob, and all the remnant of the House of Israel--
the ones loaded up/carried from the belly/womb,
the ones being carried from the womb--
(4) Even to your old age, I-I [am] He, [Psalm 71:17-18]
while even to your gray-headedness, I- I will bear [you].
I-I made [you],
while I-I will carry you,
while I-I will bear you,
and I will save [you]. [same word as verse 2 line 2].
(5) To whom will you compare me,
and [to whom] will you count as an equal,
and [to whom] will you liken me,
that we would be like each other.
(6) The ones squandering [*Paul]/pouring out gold from the purse,
while silver, in the balance scales, they weigh out.
They (will) hire a goldsmith,
and he makes it a god/el.
They bow down.
What's more, they bow/worship.
(7) They will carry (see verse 4) it upon the shoulder;
They will bear it,
that they may set it in its place,
that it may stand/remain [Exodus 16:29; *Paul].
From its place it won't depart.
What's more, he [=anyone, someone] cries out to it,
and it won't answer.
From his distress, he won't save him.
(8) Call this to mind,
and be encouraged!
Come back, O rebels, to your senses.
(9) Call to mind the beginning/first things from long ago,
because/surely I [am] God/El,
and there is no god/elohim beside me,
while none like me--
(10) The One declaring from the beginning/first things, the end,
while from far off times what they haven't done;
The One saying,
"My plan/purpose shall stand; [verse 7, line 4]
while everything I desire I will do!,"
(11) The One calling from the east a bird of prey;
from a far off land, the man of his plan/purpose.
What's more, I have spoken.
What's more, I will bring it [to pass].
I have formed;
What's more, I will do it.
(12) Listen to me, O mighty ones of heart/mind [=super stubborn ones; cf. Ezekiel 2:4]--
the ones far from righteousness:
(13) I have presented/brought near my righteousness;
It isn't far off,
while my salvation won't delay,
that/and I will put in Zion salvation;
for Israel, my splendor/glory.
