July 16 - Isaiah 46:1-13

July 16 – Isaiah 46:1-13

Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low; their idols are borne by beasts of burden. The images that are carried about are burdensome, a burden for the weary. They stoop and bow down together; unable to rescue the burden, they themselves go off into captivity.

“Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. 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.

“To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared? 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. 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. Though one cries out to it, it does not answer; it cannot save him from his troubles.

“Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels. 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. 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. 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 will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do. Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted, you who are far 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, my splendor to Israel.

Oh, the difference between the gods of our making and the Lord God!

When I consider the pressure that comes from me bearing the idols I have created, I can become overwhelmed.  The things I love and adore (I’m not talking about friends and family here, though those can be a problem as well).  The stuff that I have to make room for in my home, the time that I invest in those things.  All of this pressure is of my own making.

Then, compare this to God.  Rather than me being forced to carry Him around, He reminds us that He has held us up since before we were born and has carried us since that day.  He will sustain us even to old age when we get grey hairs (I’m not going to have any of those – just so you know).

He has made us … He will carry us … He will sustain us … He will rescue us.

That’s quite a different way to look at the things that we obsess and worry over.  We worry about money.  God sustains us.  We obsess over our yards, our homes, our cars, our things.  God has made us.  We get in over our heads with our mouths and our craziness.  God rescues us.  We become exhausted because we spend every day trying to fill it with meaningful things.  God will carry us.

There is no one that compares with God, though we try to be more like Him every moment.  We can’t buy what He can give us, We can’t carry what He can carry for us.  When everything falls apart around us, we can’t fix.  God can.

God’s grace.  God’s redemption.  God’s righteousness.  He is bringing it.  We don’t have to go get it.  He will bring salvation.  We simply have to accept it.