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Isaiah 46

Isaiah 46. ISAIAH. CH 46 690 BC. Isaiah 46 This is part of 8 consecutive chapters in Isaiah where God speaks in the First Person of His unique status as the One and Only God: the God of power and of creation we can never fathom the God of wisdom and good counsel

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Isaiah 46

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  1. Isaiah 46

  2. ISAIAH CH 46 690 BC

  3. Isaiah 46 This is part of 8 consecutive chapters in Isaiah where God speaks in the First Person of His unique status as the One and Only God: the God of power and of creation we can never fathom the God of wisdom and good counsel the God Who can rightly ridicule all pretenders and goddies the God Who loves people and vows to protect Israel the God Who sets kings up and brings them down the God Who uses kings, people, nature and history for purposes of His own the God of the NT Gospel of redemption and restoration, through Christ, His Anointed One (Good News) the God of judgment (Bad News)

  4. Isaiah 46 Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast. 2 They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity. Bel is the more familiar Baal, which means “lord”, or “owner”, or “master”. The whole middle-eastern region worshiped some form of Bel. For the Babylonians, it was Bel-Marduk. The myths regard Bel-Marduk as a mythical man who is inhabited by the sun god. In another astrological sense, Bel-Marduk is thought to have been at the head of some pantheon of goddies, and represented by the planet Jupiter. I suspect that many of the Israelites had seen “wisdom” in kowtowing to Bel-Marduk as a means of buttering their bread on both sides – having Jehovah, the God of Israel (the one true God), while dividing their allegiance toward Bel, “just in case”. Go figure.

  5. Isaiah 46 Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast. 2 They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity. Ahab, you recall, had married Jezebel, a gentile Bel-worshiper, and had tried to have all the prophets of the real God put out of action. That is where Elijah came in, and the great contest on Mt. Carmel.

  6. Isaiah 46 And so, of course, the Israelites should know better. So should Judah, the southern half of the divided kingdoms of Israel. But they seem to have more faith in appearances than in the Word of God. Isaiah writes this to warn His people NOT to seek protection except in Him – NOT to divide their allegiances between the real God and the goddie of some earthly culture or empire. Some other scriptures: Isaiah 44:6-24; Romans 1:21-25; 2 Cor 6:14-18

  7. Isaiah 46 Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast. 2 They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity. Then there is “nebo”, the goddie of writing (sort of like the Greek “muses”) who supposedly inspires creativity and imagination. As with many creative folk of the past 150 years or so, though, it is likely that this “nebo” represents the goddie of mind-altering drugs. It is amazing how many of our recent writers and composers did most of their work under the influence. Have you seen how druggies worship their drugs? Sorcerers, too. In Revelation, “sorceries” = pharmakia. At any rate, God makes fun here. If Bel is so great, why does he fall over when unattended? If Nebo is so great, why do those who call on it become addicted, crazy, or die so young of overdose? If goddies are so much greater than humans, why does it require humans to carve them? Why can’t they move around without being carried? And by beasts, no less? Who is REALLY greater – the beast, or the load? Oh yes, a goddie is a LOAD, and cannot relieve anything.

  8. Isaiah 46 3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb: 4 And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you. This is God telling Israel: “I’ve got your best interests at heart, even more than YOU do. And I am the One Who is able to foster your interests. I’ve kept you from the womb, of Sarah, and Rebekah, and Leah and Rachel; I’ve kept you until now; I will keep you, Israel, on into the future.” “Your precious little goddies have to be carried; but I will carry you. Neither your goddies nor their craftsmen can deliver anything except the lies in their right hands (Isaiah 44:20); but I the LORD your God will carry and deliver. I AM the Deliverer” (Psalm 70:5; Romans 11:26). The Lord is saying He is with Israel over the long haul, despite Israel’s tendency to abandon God at the drop of a prayer shawl.

  9. Isaiah 46 5 To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like? All you can hear is the sound of crickets… It’s a rhetorical question. 6 They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship. 7 They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble. God repeats Himself here for emphasis, harking back to chapter 44. 8 Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. It takes a man to 1) admit being wrong, and 2) repent. But there is benefit in it. It is always wise to leave the wrong road and get back on the right one. Even a mindless GPS knows that.

  10. Isaiah 46 9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: God reminds Israel of His past interventions on their behalf. He reassures them that there is no other god lurking behind Him, no other god for them to be worried about, no other god, period. Here, as we often emphasize, God declares that it is impossible for anyone to declare the end from the beginning; time just has too many variables to allow that – EXCEPT THAT HE CAN AND DOES DO THAT. We emphasize this aspect of God because we know that the very impossibility of declaring the end from the beginning is a perfect way to authenticate the validity of scripture itself. It is such a powerful testimony of God’s omniscience. And who but God Almighty can do whatever He desires?

  11. Isaiah 46 11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. Many scholars suppose this to be a reference to the Assyrians, under Shalmaneser II, who recently cleaned house on the northern kingdom of Israel. Others propose that it refers to Nebuchadnezzar, who will shortly do the same to the southern kingdom of Judah. Still others say it refers to Cyrus of Persia, who will at an appointed time come swooping down on Babylon, to prepare the way for Israel to return to her land. Or maybe it is a reference to Matthew 24 where Jesus says, following His dire predictions about Armageddon, “where the carcass lies, there shall the eagles be gathered together.” I say it is God saying all of the above, as the events unfold in layers.

  12. Isaiah 46 12 Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness: 13 I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory. And then God says, “Not to worry… Even if your sins are scarlet, they shall be white as snow (Isaiah 1, etc.). I got your righteousness right here (‘He Who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God through Him.’) And salvation? Let me just tell you about that. Oh, when you see what salvation I have in store for you, Israel, and for the whole world, a little over 700 years from now… Oh, you just wait! It’ll be glorious! The intimacy alone will blow your mind. So much for nebo and his pharmacy.” Thus, God ends His forecast on a wonderful and positive note. Thank God for that!

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