Isaiah 46:1-4 – The Gods of the World
We see here particularly exhortation to the people of the nations to forsake their idols, to forsake the things that they have made with their hands or with their imaginations, and turn to the living and true God. We see the contrast of the gods of the world with the living and true God. In the first two verses, we see the vanity, the uselessness of the gods of the world. These Babylonian gods Bel and Nebo can’t even keep themselves in the same place. Left to themselves, they fall over. If they need to be taken somewhere for a celebration, they’re put on a cart, pulled along by some oxen or carried by some beast. If the idol be heavy, it is a burden to the poor beast. All this work, all this effort, all this labour is for something that can’t even take care of itself, let alone its worshippers. Instead of being a great help and blessing, it’s an exhausting burden. And all idols are this way; they always bring disappointment and death. In the gods of the world, there is no mercy. There is no grace. It’s really a tyranny. Why do the people of this world seek for idols? Why do they go to all this great effort for nothing? Because scarier to them and heavier to them is their weight of guilt before the living and true God, before Jehovah, whom they hate. The Lord Jesus Christ offers Himself as the relief and rest to burdened sinners and idolaters.
These rich looking gods, heavy and burdensome and useless, must be carried about by their worshippers and can do no good. But in contrast to this, Jehovah God, in grace, carries us. We can say through old age, He bears us up. Bel and Nebo can’t bear themselves up. We who are in Christ Jesus, we who have God for our Father, must listen to no other. Though many try to entice us, God alone speaks and God alone carries us, sustains us, and carries us through. No false god can do this. We may have problems in this life, things that make us hurt, things that make us sad, things that make us scared sometimes. God will never abandon us, even to our old age. Let us look to Him and to Him alone, for there is no other.
Questions
- Why are idols so foolish?
- What does God promise in these verses?
Prayer Points
- Give thanks that God never abandons His people.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.