Isaiah 46

Isaiah 46:1

7. Comfort from the Fall of Babylon’s Idols (Chap. 46)46:1, 2 The idols of Babylon, Bel and Nebo, are being carted away by the Persians. As the weary beasts plod on, the idols topple. The gods they represent cannot save the load; instead they are carried off into captivity. 46:3, 4 In contrast to the idols which are carried by the people, the true God will carry His people even to their old age. James Stewart summarizes concisely: Ever since Isaiah, men have been aware that one of the vital distinctions between true religion and false is that whereas the latter is a dead burden for the soul to carry, the former is a living power to carry the soul. 46:5-7 What image could ever represent the absolute and exclusive Deity? Yet, deluded people still pay generous amounts to the goldsmith to make a god for them. They prostrate themselves in worship, . . . they carry it, and when they set it down, it stays there, unable to move. It can neither hear prayer nor save. 46:8-11 Any people who are leaning toward idolatry should stop and remember that only the true God has revealed events before they came to pass with the determination to accomplish all His plans. He will call Cyrus (a bird of prey from the east) to deliver His people from the Chaldeans. 46:12, 13 Those who stubbornly refuse to face the evidence now hear God’s established purpose to place salvation in Zion.