I WILL CARRY YOU

Isaiah 46:1-13 / Keywords 46:4

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.

 

46:1 Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low;

    their idols are borne by beasts of burden.[a]

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.

Footnotes

a. Isaiah 46:1 Or are but beasts and cattle

 

1. With whom will you compare God? (1-7). Bel and Nebo were Babylonian idols. They were lifeless and carried around by animals. At a time of crisis, these idols could not rescue. They would be a burden to those who trusted in them. In fact, God would send these idols and their worshipers into captivity. Anything, like money, our abilities or even other people, that we trust more than God become an idol and can become a burden. These things cannot save us from our troubles even if we cry out to them. Only God is able to carry us and sustain us even to our old age – and beyond. There is no one like our God.

 

2. Remember this (8-13). The Israelites forgot God and became rebels. They were tempted by idols. They were stubbornly unbelieving and far from God's righteousness. God knows the beginning and the end. God's purposes always stand. He controls history. He would summon a bird of prey (Cyrus) who would fulfill his purpose of restoring Israel. God's righteousness was near. It was time for Israel to repent their unbelief and idolatry and receive God's salvation.

 

Prayer Lord, cleanse me of all idolatry. I believe you alone can carry me and save me.

One Word God alone sustains and carries us

GOD RULES HISTORY AND HE SAVES

Isaiah 45:1-25 / Keywords 45:22

Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.

45:1 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,

    to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of

to subdue nations before him

    and to strip kings of their armor,

to open doors before him

    so that gates will not be shut:

2 I will go before you

    and will level the mountains[a];

I will break down gates of bronze

    and cut through bars of iron.

3 I will give you hidden treasures,

    riches stored in secret places,

so that you may know that I am the Lord,

    the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,

    of Israel my chosen,

I summon you by name

    and bestow on you a title of honor,

    though you do not acknowledge me.

5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;

    apart from me there is no God.

I will strengthen you,

    though you have not acknowledged me,

6 so that from the rising of the sun

    to the place of its setting

people may know there is none besides me.

    I am the Lord, and there is no other.

7 I form the light and create darkness,

    I bring prosperity and create disaster;

    I, the Lord, do all these things.

8 “You heavens above, rain down my righteousness;

    let the clouds shower it down.

Let the earth open wide,

    let salvation spring up,

let righteousness flourish with it;

    I, the Lord, have created it.

9 “Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker,

    those who are nothing but potsherds

    among the potsherds on the ground.

Does the clay say to the potter,

    ‘What are you making?’

Does your work say,

    ‘The potter has no hands’?

10 Woe to the one who says to a father,

    ‘What have you begotten?’

or to a mother,

    ‘What have you brought to birth?’

11 “This is what the Lord says—

    the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:

Concerning things to come,

    do you question me about my children,

    or give me orders about the work of my hands?

12 It is I who made the earth

    and created mankind on it.

My own hands stretched out the heavens;

    I marshaled their starry hosts.

13 I will raise up Cyrus[b] in my righteousness:

    I will make all his ways straight.

He will rebuild my city

    and set my exiles free,

but not for a price or reward,

    says the Lord Almighty.”

14 This is what the Lord says:

“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,[c]

    and those tall Sabeans—

they will come over to you

    and will be yours;

they will trudge behind you,

    coming over to you in chains.

They will bow down before you

    and plead with you, saying,

‘Surely God is with you, and there is no other;

    there is no other god.’”

15 Truly you are a God who has been hiding himself,

    the God and Savior of Israel.

16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;

    they will go off into disgrace together.

17 But Israel will be saved by the Lord

    with an everlasting salvation;

you will never be put to shame or disgraced,

    to ages everlasting.

18 For this is what the Lord says—

he who created the heavens,

    he is God;

he who fashioned and made the earth,

    he founded it;

he did not create it to be empty,

    but formed it to be inhabited—

he says:

“I am the Lord,

    and there is no other.

19 I have not spoken in secret,

    from somewhere in a land of darkness;

I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,

    ‘Seek me in vain.’

I, the Lord, speak the truth;

    I declare what is right.

20 “Gather together and come;

    assemble, you fugitives from the nations.

Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood,

    who pray to gods that cannot save.

21 Declare what is to be, present it—

    let them take counsel together.

Who foretold this long ago,

    who declared it from the distant past?

Was it not I, the Lord?

    And there is no God apart from me,

a righteous God and a Savior;

    there is none but me.

22 “Turn to me and be saved,

    all you ends of the earth;

    for I am God, and there is no other.

23 By myself I have sworn,

    my mouth has uttered in all integrity

    a word that will not be revoked:

Before me every knee will bow;

    by me every tongue will swear.

24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone

    are deliverance and strength.’”

All who have raged against him

    will come to him and be put to shame.

25 But all the descendants of Israel

    will find deliverance in the Lord

    and will make their boast in him.

Footnotes

a. Isaiah 45:2 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.

b. Isaiah 45:13 Hebrew him

c. Isaiah 45:14 That is, the upper Nile region

 

1. “I am the LORD and there is no other” (1-17). King Cyrus of Persia did not know God. But God summoned Cyrus and used him to subdue nations. This was for Israel's sake. Cyrus was God's instrument to bring down Babylon, send the Israelites home and rebuild the temple (Ezra 1:1). God rules over all creation and world events. The rising and setting of the sun, all the starry hosts, prosperity and disaster, are all the works of God. He is the potter; we are the clay. God reveals himself so that all peoples may confess that there is no god but the God of Israel, the God of the Bible.

 

2. “Turn to me and be saved” (18-25). God created the world to be inhabited. He desires people everywhere to know him. Idols of wood cannot save. Idols have no power over history – only God does. Our God is a righteous God. He offers salvation to anyone who would turn to him in repentance. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will swear that the LORD alone delivers and strengthens. Those who have raged against him will be put to shame.

 

Prayer Lord, thank you for ruling over all creation and the events in the world. Please draw all peoples to yourself for salvation. Help me to also participate in your world mission purpose.

One Word God rules and saves

THE LORD ALONE IS GOD

Isaiah 44:1-28 / Keywords 44:6

"This is what the LORD says-- Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.

 

44:1 “But now listen, Jacob, my servant,

    Israel, whom I have chosen.

2 This is what the Lord says—

    he who made you, who formed you in the womb,

    and who will help you:

Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant,

    Jeshurun,[a] whom I have chosen.

3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land,

    and streams on the dry ground;

I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,

    and my blessing on your descendants.

4 They will spring up like grass in a meadow,

    like poplar trees by flowing streams.

5 Some will say, ‘I belong to the Lord’;

    others will call themselves by the name of Jacob;

still others will write on their hand, ‘The Lord’s,’

    and will take the name Israel.

6 “This is what the Lord says—

    Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:

I am the first and I am the last;

    apart from me there is no God.

7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.

    Let him declare and lay out before me

what has happened since I established my ancient people,

    and what is yet to come—

    yes, let them foretell what will come.

8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid.

    Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?

You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?

    No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

9 All who make idols are nothing,

    and the things they treasure are worthless.

Those who would speak up for them are blind;

    they are ignorant, to their own shame.

10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol,

    which can profit nothing?

11 People who do that will be put to shame;

    such craftsmen are only human beings.

Let them all come together and take their stand;

    they will be brought down to terror and shame.

12 The blacksmith takes a tool

    and works with it in the coals;

he shapes an idol with hammers,

    he forges it with the might of his arm.

He gets hungry and loses his strength;

    he drinks no water and grows faint.

13 The carpenter measures with a line

    and makes an outline with a marker;

he roughs it out with chisels

    and marks it with compasses.

He shapes it in human form,

    human form in all its glory,

    that it may dwell in a shrine.

14 He cut down cedars,

    or perhaps took a cypress or oak.

He let it grow among the trees of the forest,

    or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.

15 It is used as fuel for burning;

    some of it he takes and warms himself,

    he kindles a fire and bakes bread.

But he also fashions a god and worships it;

    he makes an idol and bows down to it.

16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire;

    over it he prepares his meal,

    he roasts his meat and eats his fill.

He also warms himself and says,

    “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”

17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol;

    he bows down to it and worships.

He prays to it and says,

    “Save me! You are my god!”

18 They know nothing, they understand nothing;

    their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see,

    and their minds closed so they cannot understand.

19 No one stops to think,

    no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,

“Half of it I used for fuel;

    I even baked bread over its coals,

    I roasted meat and I ate.

Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left?

    Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”

20 Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him;

    he cannot save himself, or say,

    “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”

21 “Remember these things, Jacob,

    for you, Israel, are my servant.

I have made you, you are my servant;

    Israel, I will not forget you.

22 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,

    your sins like the morning mist.

Return to me,

    for I have redeemed you.”

23 Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this;

    shout aloud, you earth beneath.

Burst into song, you mountains,

    you forests and all your trees,

for the Lord has redeemed Jacob,

    he displays his glory in Israel.

24 “This is what the Lord says—

    your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:

I am the Lord,

    the Maker of all things,

    who stretches out the heavens,

    who spreads out the earth by myself,

25 who foils the signs of false prophets

    and makes fools of diviners,

who overthrows the learning of the wise

    and turns it into nonsense,

26 who carries out the words of his servants

    and fulfills the predictions of his messengers,

who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’

    of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’

    and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’

27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,

    and I will dry up your streams,’

28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd

    and will accomplish all that I please;

he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,”

    and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’

Footnotes

a. Isaiah 44:2 Jeshurun means the upright one, that is, Israel.

 

1. Do not be afraid my servant (1-5). Israel's past unfaithfulness (43:24) was contrasted with God promise of a bright future for his people. God's election remained. He would help them. In exile, God's people felt hopeless and afraid. But God promised to pour out his Spirit on their offspring. God would make their descendants numerous and fruitful. Even those not called “Israel” (Gentiles) would belong to the Lord. These prophecies look forward to Jesus. Those who have turned to Jesus are also “The Lord's”.

 

2. There is no other Rock (6-23). There is no Rock but God. God humorously contrasts himself with idols and those who make them. The blacksmith works hard to make an idol which cannot even help when he is hungry. The carpenter cuts down a tree he planted and uses half the wood to cook. The other half he uses to make an idol and prays to it. God is the maker of all things and the ruler over all creation. One day he would command Cyrus to rebuild Jerusalem which was unimaginable to the Jews in exile. He sweeps away our sins like the morning mist through Jesus. God's people must remember these things.

 

Prayer Lord, you alone are God over all creation. Remove all idols from my heart.

One Word Apart from the Lord there is no God