I have made you and I will carry you. Isaiah 46:4
My four-year-old grandson sat on my lap and patted my bald head, studying it intently. “Papa,” he asked, “What happened to your hair?” “Oh,” I laughed, “I lost it over the years.” His face turned thoughtful: “That’s too bad,” he responded. “I’ll have to give you some of mine.”
I smiled at his compassion and pulled him close for a hug. Reflecting later on his love for me in that cherished moment also caused me to ponder God’s selfless, generous love.
G. K. Chesterton wrote: “We have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.” By this he meant that the “Ancient of Days” (Daniel 7:9) is untainted by sin’s decay—God is ageless and loves us exuberantly with a love that never falters or fades. He’s fully willing and able to fulfill the promise He made to His people in Isaiah 46: “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” (v. 4).
Five verses later He explains, “I am God, and there is none like me” (v. 9). The great “I am” (Exodus 3:14) loves us so deeply that He went to the extreme of dying on the cross to bear the full weight of our sin, so that we might turn to Him and be free of our burden and gratefully worship Him forever!
Gods of Babylon
46 1 Belh bows down, Nebo stoops low;
their idolsi are borne by beasts of burden.a
The images that are carriedj about are burdensome,
a burden for the weary.
2 They stoop and bow down together;
unable to rescue the burden,
they themselves go off into captivity.k
3 “Listenl to me, you descendants of Jacob,
all the remnantm of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,n
and have carriedo since you were born.p
4 Even to your old age and gray hairsq
I am he,r I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustains you and I will rescue you.
5 “With whom will you compare me or count me equal?
To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?t
6 Some pour out gold from their bags
and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmithu to make it into a god,
and they bow down and worship it.v
7 They lift it to their shoulders and carryw it;
they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
From that spot it cannot move.x
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;y
it cannot savez them from their troubles.
8 “Remembera this, keep it in mind,
take it to heart, you rebels.b
9 Remember the former things,c those of long ago;d
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.e
10 I make known the end from the beginning,f
from ancient times,g what is still to come.h
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,i
and I will do all that I please.’
INSIGHT
- In what ways does God carry you through each day?
- How can you draw new strength from Him in this moment?
Through the words of Isaiah, God compares the strength of Babylonian gods to Himself. The specific gods mentioned are Bel and Nebo (Isaiah 46:1–2). Bel, also known as Marduk (Jeremiah 50:2), was the chief god of the city of Babylon and the national god of Babylonia. He was considered to be the god of order and destiny. Nabu was believed to be the son of Marduk and the one who knows all and sees all. With a twist of irony, God says that He does what these two gods can’t do—rescue His people (Isaiah 46:3–7).
PRAYER
Beautiful Savior, I’m so thankful Your love for me never grows old! Help my love for You to grow ever deeper. In Your Holy and precious name, I pray. Amen!!
Read: Isaiah 46:1–10 (NIV) | Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 22-24; Luke 12:1-31
