Isaiah 46

Isaiah sets two kinds of gods side by side. Babylon’s idols must be hauled off on weary animals as the city falls, while the LORD carries His people from birth to gray hair. The chapter ends with God’s sure plan, using a conqueror from the east, and His promise of salvation to Zion.

Isaiah 46:1

Bel and Nebo were great gods of Babylon. Here they are loaded onto animals like baggage as the city falls. The gods people trusted to carry them must themselves be carried, and they only tire the beasts that bear them.

BSA: crouches (“stoops, bows down”): The proud gods are pictured bowed low in defeat, not standing in power. burdensome (“a weight”): An idol is a dead weight, not a helper.

See also: Jeremiah 50:2; Isaiah 45:20.

Isaiah 46:2

The gods cannot lift the load from the animals, and they cannot rescue themselves. They go into captivity along with the city. A god who cannot save itself cannot save anyone else.

BSA: captivity (“exile, bondage”): The idols share the fate of their worshipers, taken away as plunder.

Isaiah 46:3

In sharp contrast, the LORD calls His people to listen. Idols are carried by people, but Israel has been carried by God, from before birth. The picture is of a parent holding a child, and it reaches back to the nation’s earliest days.

BSA: sustained (“borne, carried, supported”): God’s care is pictured as lifting and carrying, not merely watching from a distance. remnant (“what is left, surviving ones”): Even a shrunken, scattered people remain precious to Him.

See also: Deuteronomy 1:31.

Isaiah 46:4

God promises the same faithful care through every season of life, even old age and gray hair, when people grow weak. He made them, so He will carry them. Four promises are bound together here: carry, bear up, sustain, deliver.

BSA: the same (“unchanging, eternal”): His care does not wear out as years pass; He remains who He is.

Hebrew: אֲנִי הוּא (ʾănî hûʾ, H589) — “I am He.” The Hebrew simply says ‘I am He.’ It is a way God declares that He is the one unchanging God, the same from first to last.

See also: Psalm 71:18; Hebrews 13:8.

Isaiah 46:5

God asks who could possibly be compared to Him. Nothing made or imagined can stand beside the Creator. The question exposes how foolish it is to treat any created thing as His equal.

BSA: compare (“make Me like, consider Me equal”): Any comparison fails because no other being shares His nature.

See also: Isaiah 40:18; Isaiah 40:25.

Isaiah 46:6

Isaiah describes the idol-maker at work. People spend lavishly on gold and silver, weigh it out, and hire a craftsman. Then they bow before what their own money and hands have made. The worshiper has created the god he worships.

BSA: goldsmith (“a skilled craftsman”): The god’s maker is a hired worker, so the god depends on a human being for its existence.

See also: Psalm 115:4-8.

Isaiah 46:7

The idol is lifted onto a shoulder, carried, and set down. There it stays, because it cannot move. People cry to it, but it gives no answer and no rescue. The picture is almost comic, yet it is also sad.

BSA: answer (“respond, reply”): Prayer to an idol meets only silence. saves (“rescues, delivers”): The test of a god is whether it can deliver in real trouble, and the idol cannot.

See also: 1 Kings 18:26; Jeremiah 10:5.

Isaiah 46:8

God calls rebellious people to stop and think. They are to remember what He has said and done, and to take it to heart. The call is to be steady and sensible instead of drifting after empty things.

BSA: be brave (“show yourselves men, act with courage”): Facing the truth about idols and about oneself takes firmness of mind. transgressors (“rebels, those who break away from authority”): Their sin is pictured as breaking away from rightful rule.

Isaiah 46:9

They are to remember God’s record in history. He alone is God, with no rival and no equal. Looking back at what He has already done is a strong ground for trusting Him now.

BSA: no other (“none else, nothing comparable”): He is not just the best god; there is no second.

See also: Isaiah 45:5; Deuteronomy 4:35.

Isaiah 46:10

Only God knows the end before the beginning and announces it ahead of time. Idols cannot do this. What He plans does not fail, because His power matches His will. History is not drifting but held in His hands.

BSA: purpose (“counsel, plan”): This is a deliberate, wise plan, not a passing impulse. accomplish (“do, bring to pass”): What He delights to do, He actually does.

See also: Isaiah 14:27; Ephesians 1:11.

Isaiah 46:11

God will call a swift conqueror from the east to carry out His plan. In context this points to Cyrus of Persia, who overthrew Babylon. Like a hunting bird he swoops down, yet he serves the will of God. God has spoken, planned, and will do it.

BSA: bird of prey (“ravenous bird, swift and powerful eagle”): It pictures speed and force as the conqueror strikes. planned (“formed, purposed”): The word suggests a potter shaping a design before carrying it out.

Hebrew: עַיִט (ʿayiṭ, H5861) — “bird of prey.” This is a word for a swooping raptor. It paints the coming king as a hunter diving on his target, though under God’s command.

See also: Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 45:1.

Isaiah 46:12

God now speaks to those who resist Him. They are hard of heart and far from doing right. Yet He still says ‘Listen.’ He speaks to the stubborn so that even they may hear.

BSA: stubborn (“stout-hearted”): Their hearts are strong and unbending, but in the wrong direction. righteousness (“justice, virtue, morality”): They lack the right standing and right living that God desires.

Isaiah 46:13

Although the people are far from righteousness, God brings His righteousness near. Salvation comes on His schedule and without delay. The deliverance is a gift from Him, and He will give Zion rescue and clothe Israel with His glory. The chapter ends in grace.

BSA: splendor (“beauty, glory”): His people will be made beautiful by His own glory, not their own.

See also: Romans 3:21-22; Isaiah 51:5.