By Eugene Garner

ISAIAH - CHAPTER 46

DIVINE JUDGMENT ON THE IDOLS OF BABYLON

Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast. They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.

    1. This chapter of Cyrus is shown to be the instrument of divine judgment upon the gods of Babylon.
    2. Bel and Nebo were the chief deities of the Babylonian Empire - Bel corresponding to Jupiter, and Nebo to the Roman Mercury.
      a. Bel is pictured as falling headlong, (Jer. 50:2-3; 51:44).
      b. And Nebo would bow down until he would also fall on his face.
      c. The Babylonians often incorporated the names of their gods in the names of their children - BELshazzar, NEBuchadnezzar, etc. v.1.
    3. An attempt was made to save the deities of Babylon from Cyrus by carrying them away on camels, drumedaries, elephants and other beasts.
      a. But this scheme failed; they were captured; and taken into captivity, (comp. II Sam. 5:21; Jer. 43:12-13; 48:7; Hos. 10:5).
      b. Not only were they unable to help Belshazzar and the Babylonians; they could not even help themselves! (21:9).

   Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb: And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.

    1. The house of Jacob, and remnant of Israel, are called to bear what God has done for them, (vs. 3; 12; 45:19; 10:21-22).
    2. In contrast to the impotence of idols; their God has carried them - even from the womb, (49:1; Deut. 1:30-33; 32:11; Psa. 76:5-6).
    3. He has ever cared for them - hearing their burdens, (63:9); their sufficiency has ever been in Jehovah, the great "I AM", (41:4; 43:13; 48:12; comp. John 4:26; 6:35; 8:23; 9:5; 10:7, 36; 11:25; 13:13; 14:6; 15:1; Rev. 1:8, 17).
    4. And He will continue to care for them - even to their old age, (Psalm 71:17-18).
    5. Furthermore, He will deliver them - restoring them to that from whence they have fallen.

   To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like? They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship. They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.

    1. The Lord returns to this theme and again - obviously because His people are so slow to comprehend.
      a. They do not like to be different (except to lay exclusive claim to divine blessings); the taunts of their heathen neighbors (who constantly inquire: "Where is your God?") greatly impel them toward the making of visible objects of veneration.
      b. This, of course, is a cowardly cop-out! They should declare the excellencies of the God of Jacob - thus bearing honorable witness of His goodness.
      c. Much better had they responded with the Psalmist: "Our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased!" (Psa. 115:3).
    2. It is impossible to properly equate or liken anything to Jehovah; He is the eternally incomparable One! (40:18, 25).
    3. To pour gold (or silver) from a bag, and then to hire a craftsman to fashion it into a "god"- before which one bows in adoration, and to which he cries for help in time of trouble - is not only stupid; it is nothing short of spiritual insanity! (vs. 6-7; 40:19; 41:7; 44:12-1 7; Jer. 10:4).
      a. A god that has to be carried on the shoulders of its devotees is certainly not worthy of comparison with Jehovah - who, from ages past, has carried His people and borne their burdens! (45:20; Jer. 10:5).
      b. The investment of one's assets, or trust, in an immobile, portable god - who cannot see, hear, speak, feel, or help - involves such waste as leaves one totally bankrupt in the hour of greatest need, (41:29).

   Remember this, and show yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.

    1. This passage is apparently addressed to the transgressors of Judah, who have forsaken their God and are called upon to admit their transgression, (vs. 8; 50:1; 57:3-6).
    2. Remembrance of His faithfulness, in times past, should awaken their confidence in His supreme ability to bring them safely through the impending crises - the Babylonian Captivity, (vs. 9).
    3. From ancient times He has worked all things according to the counsel of His own perfect will - even foretelling precisely what He would do, (vs. 10; Deut. 32:7-12).
      a. What He purposes, He always performs, (14:24; 25:1; 40:8; Psa. 33:11; Prov. 19:21; Acts 4:27-28).
      b. He is able to fulfill all His good pleasure, (Eph. 1:11-12; 3:20-21; Rom. 9:11; Heb. 6:17-20).
      c. So certain is God to carry out His plan that He "calleth those things that be not as though they were" - though the actual fulfillment may await the passing of centuries! (Rom. 4:17).
    4. He has purposed to bring Judah back to Himself through the use of human instrumentality, (vs. 11).
      a. Some consider "the ravenous bird from the east" to be Nebuchadnezzar - who led Judah captive into Babylon, to accomplish the divine discipline purposed upon her transgression, (Jer. 49:22; Ezekiel 17).
      b. It seems more likely, however, that "the ravenous bird" and "the man that executeth my counsel" are both used of Cyrus.
        1) The bird-figure is suggestive of the swiftness, power and destructiveness of his military strategy.
        2) According to Xenophon, the standard of Cyrus was an eagle.
      c. In His providential rule over the affairs of men, God summons heathen kings (unknown to themselves) to serve His high and holy purpose; by His over-ruling providence, He sends them forth victoriously, but in such a way that their careers redound to His own glory and praise - and to the ultimate benefit of His erring people.

   Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness: I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.

    1. Once again God summons men to "hearken" - to hear and obey, (vs. 12); He specifically addresses:
      a. The "stouthearted" - those who stubbornly resist His will and refuse to acknowledge His supreme and sole deity, (48:4; Zech. 7:11-12; Mal. 3:13; comp. Isa. 10:12).
      b. Those who are "far from righteousness", (48:1; Jer. 2:5; Psa. 119:150).
        1) Despairing, because they cannot understand how God's word can possibly be fulfilled, they no longer want to hear it.
        2) Consequently, they are without the experience and joy of that salvation which He grants, to the believing, on the basis of His own righteousness, (Rom. 3:21-26).
    2. To such as will acknowledge His lordship, and believe His word, He gives assurance of the nearness of His saving strength, (vs. 13; comp. 51:5; 61:22).
      a. He is not a far-off God, but One whose righteousness (and sufficiency) is as near as one's need, (Deut. 30:13; Rom. 10:6-10).
      b. His salvation (deliverance) will not tarry once the nation has heeded His call to repentance, (Isa. 59:20; Rom. 11:26-27).
      c. For Israel, His glory, He will bring deliverance to Zion so that His divine splendor will once again be reflected through His restored people, (comp. Ezek. 9:3; 11:23).