The God who Carries Us — Isaiah 46
— (Part 49 of Seeing Jesus in the O.T.) — Andrew Fountain: Mar 27, 2022
The God who Carries us
Image source: Andrew
- Are you carrying burdens right now
- Story of the projector remote
- God’s answer is sometimes immediately, sometimes a delay
- You all know what is meant by a “shock headline”. Its a newspaper headline designed to grab your attention
- It’s written in a way that
- I once saw a headline that said something like:
Brazil destroys Chile
- Brazil defeated Chile 3–0 at the Maracana, leaving La Roja without the chance to play in the next World Cup. Here, check out the highlights and goals from this match.
- I didn’t they we were at war! I’d better go and see what this is about.
Mayers’ arm destroys England to leave West Indies on verge of victory
- Kyle Mayers was the destroyer of England’s second innings with a five-wicket haul to put the West Indies on the verge victory in the cricket final on Saturday.
- Here is a shock headline from the prophet Isaiah
Isaiah
BEL BOWS DOWN!
NEBO STOOPS!
Outline
- Understand the shock headline in Isaiah 46
- Go through Isaiah 46
- Take in what it means for us
Goal: That each of us would truly take in the deep encouragement in this chapter
1. Understand the shock headline in Isaiah 46
Isaiah
BEL BOWS DOWN!
NEBO STOOPS!
- is this a shock to you?
- To appreciate why the people that heard Isaiah say these words would be shocked, we need to know who Bel and Nebo were.
- They were the chief gods of the great Babylonian Empire.
- 6 kings named after Nebo ? Nebuchadnezzar (Nebo, protect my frontier)
- Bel any names? Belshazzar “May Bel protect the king”
- They trusted these gods to help them at war, and because they always won, they gave Bel and Nebo all the credit
- Imagine what this must have sounded like to the Israelites
- Who is the most powerful country today—the USA
- American army surrenders. President Biden begs for mercy.
- That is how shocking it must have sounded.
- So how does this worship of Bel and Nebo work?
- We don’t see a lot of explicit idol-worship here in the west, so we can be unaware of what’s happening.
- It is all about trying to get power by manipulating spiritual forces
- Sometimes a person would be possessed
- but very often they would carve some representation, and do things to invite the evil force to associate itself with the object
- e.g. sacrificing to it & worshipping it
- they knew the object was not the god, but they also knew by experience that you could encourage a demon to associate itself with it.
- you can think of it as an attempt to control the god
- God was so concerned that they should not try to do that to him
- He was totally different to these evil spirits
- He refused attempts to manipulate him in this way
- So beware of objects, like wooden carvings, that come from a culture where there is active demon worship
- The object might just be a piece of wood, but if it has actually been used for worship, then a spiritual force might have become comfortable associating with it.
- It might look to you like a cute art object, but be careful
- We don’t know a lot about how the spirit world is organized, but probably there was a powerful spirit who took the place of Bel
The God
who Carries Us
- Understand the shock headline in Isaiah 46
- Go through Isaiah 46
- Take in what it means for us
2. Go through Isaiah 46
- Let’s turn to our passage in Is 46:
Isaiah 46
- Bel kneels down,
Nebo bends low.
Their images weigh down animals and beasts.
Your heavy images are burdensome to tired animals.
- Together they bend low and kneel down;
they are unable to rescue the images;
they themselves head off into captivity.
- This is a prophetic prediction of what was to happen
- Impregnable city of Babylon (2½ thousand years ago)
- 10km of walls around the city, 8m/25 feet thick
- Towering up to 100m/320 feet above the city
- Fields within city for growing food
- could not run out of water because the river Euphrates ran through the city
- Captives are led out of the city
- The treasures of the city are loaded onto donkeys
- Here is the poor donkey that would be weighed down by the weight of the idols
- Stumbles and bends under the weight
- The idols look like they are bowing up and down!
- And here is the single message for today:
- These idols have to be carried,
- But God says: “I will carry you, from the cradle to the grave”
- Let’s look at the whole passage: (read 1–4)
Isaiah 46
- Bel kneels down,
Nebo bends low.
Their images weigh down animals and beasts.
Your heavy images are burdensome to tired animals.
- Together they bend low and kneel down;
they are unable to rescue the images;
they themselves head off into captivity.
Isaiah 46 cont’d
- “Listen to me, O family of Jacob,
all you who are left from the family of Israel,
you who have been carried from birth,
you who have been supported from the time you left the womb.
- Even when you are old, I will take care of you,
even when you have gray hair, I will carry you.
I made you and I will support you;
I will carry you and rescue you.
- Are you carrying burdens right now
Isaiah 46 cont’d
- To whom can you compare and liken me?
Tell me whom you think I resemble, so we can be compared!
- Those who empty out gold from a purse
and weigh out silver on the scale
hire a metalsmith, who makes it into a god.
They then bow down and worship it.
- They put it on their shoulder and carry it;
they put it in its place and it just stands there;
it does not move from its place.
Even when someone cries out to it, it does not reply;
it does not deliver him from his distress.
Isaiah 46 cont’d
- Remember this, so you can be brave!
Think about it, you rebels!
- Remember what I accomplished in antiquity!
Truly I am God, I have no peer;
I am God, and there is none like me,
Isaiah 46 cont’d
- who announces the end from the beginning
and reveals beforehand what has not yet occurred,
who says, ‘My plan will be realized,
I will accomplish what I desire,’
- who summons an eagle from the east,
from a distant land, one who carries out my plan.
Yes, I have decreed,
yes, I will bring it to pass;
I have formulated a plan,
yes, I will carry it out.
Isaiah 46 cont’d
- Listen to me, you stubborn people,
you who distance yourself from doing what is right.
- I am bringing my deliverance near, it is not far away;
I am bringing my salvation near, it does not wait.
I will save Zion;
I will adorn Israel with my splendor.”
The God
who Carries Us
- Understand the shock headline in Isaiah 46
- Go through Isaiah 46
- Take in what it means for us
3. Take in what it means for us
Message
- These gods had to be carried
- But God will carry his people
- We have burdens that we carry
- But God says he will carry us
The God who Carries us
Image source: Andrew
- Why is this a difficult message?
- Because we like to be in control
- What God is really asking us to do is to surrender control
- v.3b-4 cradle to the grave
- Go back three chapters (very similar message to Is.46)
Isaiah 3:1–5
- Now, this is what the LORD says,
the one who created you, O Jacob,
and formed you, O Israel:
Isaiah 3 cont’d
- “Don’t be afraid, for I will protect you.
I call you by name, you are mine.
- When you pass through the waters, I am with you;
when you pass through the streams, they will not overwhelm you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not harm you.
- For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your deliverer…
- Since you are precious and special in my sight,
and I love you…
- Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
- Do you believe that?
- What burdens are you carrying right now
- Can you give them to God right now?
- This is what becoming a Christian is all about
- No longer trusting in the things around you to carry you
- But trusting God to carry you
- Take the step of renouncing the things that can’t carry you and trusting God.
- Once again:
Message
- These gods had to be carried
- But God will carry his people
- We have burdens that we carry
- But God says he will carry us
Goal: That each of us would truly take in the deep encouragement in this chapter
- End by standing and reading together:
- Feel them as God speaking to you.
Isaiah 46
- “Listen to me…
you who have been carried from birth,
you who have been supported from the time you left the womb.
- Even when you are old, I will take care of you,
even when you have grey hair, I will carry you.
I made you and I will support you;
I will carry you and rescue you.
Updated on 2022-03-27 by Andrew Fountain
