Day 10 — Isaiah 46:1-13 Carried By God, Not Idols
Opening prayer
Lord God, please show me today the difference between the idols I must carry and the Saviour who carries me. Help me to remember your faithfulness, trust your promises, and rest in your saving strength. Amen.
Headline
Idols are burdens that must be carried, but the LORD carries, sustains, and rescues his people.
Isaiah 46:1-13
46 Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low;
their idols are borne by beasts of burden.
The images that are carried about are burdensome,
a burden for the weary.
2 They stoop and bow down together;
unable to rescue the burden,
they themselves go off into captivity.
3 “Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob,
all the remnant of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,
and have carried since you were born.
4 Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
5 “With whom will you compare me or count me equal?
To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?
6 Some pour out gold from their bags
and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god,
and they bow down and worship it.
7 They lift it to their shoulders and carry it;
they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
From that spot it cannot move.
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;
it cannot save them from their troubles.
8 “Remember this, keep it in mind,
take it to heart, you rebels.
9 Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
10 I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summon a bird of prey;
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
what I have planned, that I will do.
12 Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted,
you who are now far from my righteousness.
13 I am bringing my righteousness near,
it is not far away;
and my salvation will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,
my splendor to Israel.
Comment
Yesterday ended with a wonderful invitation: “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other” (45:22).
Today Isaiah shows us why there really is no other Saviour.
The scene is Babylon. The city is about to fall to Cyrus, just as the LORD has promised. But Isaiah does not first describe soldiers, walls, weapons, or politics. He describes a religious evacuation.
Babylon’s gods are on the move: “Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low” (v.1). Bel, another name for Marduk, was the chief god of Babylon. Nebo was associated with wisdom. These gods would have seemed impressive while Babylon was powerful. But now Babylon is falling, and the idols have to be loaded onto animals and carried away.
Isaiah’s point is devastating. What sort of god needs rescuing by its worshippers? “The images that are carried about are burdensome, a burden for the weary” (v.1). They cannot save Babylon. They cannot save their worshippers. They cannot even save themselves: “They themselves go off into captivity” (v.2).
Then comes the contrast. The gods of Babylon must be carried, but the LORD carries his people.
God says to Israel, “you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born” (v.3). Then he makes the promise even more personal and tender: “Even to your old age and grey hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you” (v.4).
That is a beautiful picture of covenant faithfulness. From birth to old age, from first breath to grey hair, God carries his people. They may pass through exile, weakness, discipline, and uncertainty, but they are not abandoned. The LORD who made them will not drop them.
Verse 4 gathers it all together: “I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” Four verbs. One comfort. God made us, so he knows us. He carries us, so we are not alone. He sustains us, so we will not collapse. He rescues us, so our future is not in the hands of our enemies.
This is the opposite of idolatry. Idols promise to carry us, but in the end we carry them. They become burdens. Money must be protected. Reputation must be managed. Comfort must be maintained. Control must be defended. Success must be repeated. Approval must be chased. Even good things become exhausting when we make them ultimate.
That is why Isaiah asks, “With whom will you compare me or count me equal?” (v.5). There is no comparison. A man-made god is carried into place, set down, and cannot move. People cry out to it, but “it does not answer; it cannot save them from their troubles” (v.7).
So God says, “Remember this, keep it in mind” (v.8). Biblical remembering is not mere mental recollection. It is calling the truth to mind so that we act on it. We are forgetful people. When life feels uncertain, we forget who carries whom. We start picking up burdens that only God can bear.
What are we to remember? That God alone is God. That he knows the end from the beginning. That his purpose will stand. That he will summon Cyrus, “a bird of prey from the east” (v.11), and accomplish all he has promised. Babylon will fall. God’s people will be rescued. His righteousness and salvation will come (v.13).
Why does God want me to hear this today? Because I am tempted to carry what cannot save me, while forgetting the God who carries me. My idols may not look like Bel and Nebo, but they still make me weary. The gospel tells me that Jesus did not come to add another burden to my back. He came to bear my sin, carry my shame, and bring me home. So today I can stop trusting burdensome saviours and rest in the LORD who says, “I will carry you.”
Reflect
What am I trying to carry at the moment that only God can bear?
Which idols or false securities are making me weary rather than giving me life?
How does God’s promise, “I will sustain you and I will rescue you” (v.4), comfort me today?
Closing prayer
Lord God, thank you that you are not like the idols I must carry. You made me, carry me, sustain me, and rescue me. Forgive me for trusting burdensome things that cannot save. Help me to remember your faithfulness, rest in Jesus, and trust you from this day to my old age and grey hairs. Amen.
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