Babylon’s Idols
“Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal. The gods cower; they crouch together, unable to relieve the burden; but they themselves go into captivity.
“Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth. Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you.
To whom will you liken Me or count Me equal? To whom will you compare Me, that we should be alike? They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship. They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not answer; it saves no one from his troubles.
Remember this and be brave; take it to heart, you transgressors! Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come, saying: ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’
I summon a bird of prey from the east, a man for My purpose from a far-off land. Truly I have spoken, truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, I will surely do it. Listen to Me, you stubborn people, far removed from righteousness: I am bringing My righteousness near; it is not far away, and My salvation will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion and adorn Israel with My splendor.”
Bel and Nebo were Babylonian gods worshiped throughout their empire. But these idols could not save the Babylonians when the Medes and Persians attacked them, so these idols went into exile with the rest of Babylonia. Very few of the Babylonians may have realized that their gods were no gods and worthless.
There are many different ways in which the elderly are treated around the world. In some Eskimo cultures, traditionally, elders were set adrift on ice floes, where they would die of exposure. Some cultures honor their elderly and care for them in their homes until their deaths. Americans generally allow healthy elderly to stay at home but the elderly themselves may move into retirement centers or assisted living as they become less able to care for themselves. But here God is affirming that just as He has known us from the day of our birth, He will also care for us when we are old. “Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you.”
”Listen to Me, you stubborn people, far removed from righteousness: I am bringing My righteousness near; it is not far away, and My salvation will not be delayed. I will grant salvation to Zion and adorn Israel with My splendor.” God is promising to grant salvation to Zion – why? Because Zion hasn’t earned salvation; if anything, those in Zion are just as guilty as the Babylonians and don’t deserve any better fate. But God is a covenant – keeping God and will be true even if His people are not. God also promises to adorn Israel with His splendor. This promise has been repeatedly demonstrated in recent times. Modern Israel has become a center of advanced technology and innovative methods of desert farming.
APPLICATION: One of my favorite memes reads “I always knew I’d get old. How fast it happened was a bit of a surprise though.” I work in a mission hospital where I am by far the most senior staff member age-wise. I still operate and care for patients, and it’s still fun and rewarding, if sometimes heart-breaking. But my husband and I have reached the time in our lives where we are beginning to recognize all too many names in the obituaries from the areas in which we grew up. In our situation, these verses from Isaiah 46 are particularly meaningful. ““Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth. Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you.”
Look at God’s promises:
- God has sustained us from the womb. Life begins in the womb! Fetuses can play, suck their thumbs, and even do somersaults when someone is doing an ultrasound. This verse is particularly meaningful for me because my mother had several miscarriages before becoming pregnant with me. Even after I was born, Mom was still quite ill. If not for God, I might have died like my siblings before me. Truly, God “carried me along since birth.”
- “Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray.” Aging comes to everyone, no matter who we are or what attempts we make to forestall it. Our faces wrinkle, our waists thicken, we may find ourselves taking medicine for hypertension or diabetes. We quickly learn that “use it or lose it” is not an idle statement; an old person who sits is falling apart as they sit. Walking, riding bicycles, and working out with weights are three ways I use to maintain muscle tone. But without God preserving us, no potions, medicines, exercise, or diet will help.
- “I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you.” God is the One who has created us and God will carry us throughout our lives. At the end, if we will allow Him, God will deliver us from death, bringing us into eternal life. But we must believe in God, trust in Him, and accept the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the cross at Calvary for our sins.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, thank You for Your promises to sustain us to the end of our lives. Lord, we admit that we are sinners and that by ourselves we cannot earn our way into heaven. Lord, deliver us from our sins. We do believe in Your Son Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made at Calvary. Please keep us to the end of our lives and take us to be with You in heaven when we die. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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