Isaiah 46:1

Bell bows down, Nebo stoops; their idols were upon the beasts and upon the cattle. Your carriages were heavy laden, and they were a burden to the weary beast. They stoop, they bow down together. They could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.

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. Even to your gray hairs, I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear. Even I will carry and will deliver you.

Father, we ask that as we look into your word tonight, you would remind us of the truth of your character, of who you are. Lord, you are awesome in grace, mercy, and power. Yet, although you are full of compassion and mercy, and although you are able to forgive iniquity, transgression, and sin, you will by no means clear the guilty.

As we see judgment and punishment spoken to the guilty here in these passages before us tonight, we ask, Lord, that it would be a sobering reminder that you are a just and holy God. May it stir us to be those who not only run to you for your grace but also proclaim your grace to those who continue to run in rebellion against you.

So God, speak to us tonight, we pray, as we look into your word, for we ask this in Jesus' name. And all God's people agreed, saying, Amen.

As God, through Isaiah, continues his charge against idolatry—the idolatry of his own people—he now pictures their foolish idols being carried upon carriages, being carried by cattle into captivity. Not only is Judah taken captive to Babylon, but their dumb idols are taken captive to Babylon as well. While the captives themselves would likely have had to walk in that journey from Judah to Babylon, their rich golden and silver idols, which were nothing, would be carried in carriages as a burden.

To the weary animals, He says here in Isaiah chapter 46. Imagine the load of silver and gold that Nebuchadnezzar took in the form of the false gods that he found in Judah when he destroyed it in 586 B.C. When he began to lay siege against Judah in 605 B.C., the city of Jerusalem was finally completely destroyed in 586. As Nebuchadnezzar and the armies of Babylon went through all the different cities and regions of Judah, they took captive the people and began to bring them back to Babylon. They found in their homes multitudes of golden and silver idols, all these images. Many of those images were actually representations of Babylonian gods.

We read of Bel and Nebo, which are mentioned in Isaiah chapter 46, verse 1. These were two gods that the Israelites worshipped prior to their captivity and descent into Babylon. Bel signifies Lord or Master and is synonymous with Baal, the god that we see throughout the Old Testament. This is the god that the children of Israel were worshipping and serving at the time of Elijah when he battled with the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings chapter 18. This was more than 100 years after that point in time when they were worshipping Baal, yet they continued to bow down to these idols: Bel and Nebo.

Nebo was considered to be the son of Bel and was the god of wisdom and writing. Both of these were Babylonian deities, gods that the Babylonians developed or created and bowed down to. Yet the children of Israel were also bowing down to them and worshipping them. Their captors, those who took them into exile in Babylon, were probably surprised to see a whole bunch of their own gods in the homes of the children of Israel. These people, who were supposed to be worshipping the one true God, were instead bowing down to Babylonian gods.

The names Bel and Nebo might stand out to you as somewhat familiar because they are the root of the names Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. Remember in Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar was the king who brought the children of Israel from Judah into Babylon. His name means "May Nebo protect the crown," honoring this god Nebo. Belshazzar, on the other hand, means "Bel protect the king." We were also introduced to Merodach Baladon back in Isaiah chapter 39.

Remember when the Babylonian emissaries came to the city of Jerusalem and met with King Hezekiah? Hezekiah showed them everything that was in his household. At that point in time, Merodach Baladon was the king of Babylon. His name means "Marduk has given a son," and Marduk's son was Nebo. Marduk is also known as Bel. All these Babylonian kings were named after the gods of Babylon.

Additionally, when Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were taken captive and brought into Jerusalem, their names were changed to Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. All those names were associated with Babylonian gods. The Babylonians were really into incorporating their deities into their names.

I find it interesting that we have a tendency to do the same thing in our own nation. People often name their children after their heroes or idols, whether those idols are on TV or athletes. They might say, "I really idolized this person, so I'm going to incorporate that name into my child's name." It's an interesting concept. I don't know; maybe you'll be bothered by that.

However, these Babylonian gods were being worshipped by the children of Israel when they ought to have been worshipping the one true God. Instead, they were bowing down to the deities of the nations around them, which was the very thing that God warned them about when they entered the Promised Land. He instructed them not to intermix with the people around them, as they would lead them astray to follow after their gods. Oftentimes, we see that to be the case.

In Isaiah chapter 45, verse 23, we saw last week that God said every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that God is Lord. In Isaiah chapter 46, verse 1, we see these two false gods, Bel and Nebo, bowing down and stooping before the one true God. Even these false gods of the world are shown to be nothing in comparison to the one true God, nor could they deliver the people.

In verse 2, we see that they stoop and bow down together. They could not deliver the burden; instead, they themselves went into captivity. Even the false gods of the children of Israel ended up going into captivity with them when the Babylonians came and led them away in 586 B.C. They could not deliver them. The very things they were bowing down to and worshipping were unable to save them.

Now, turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 2. Jeremiah was a prophet at the very time that the Babylonians were coming against Jerusalem and Judah.

Remember Isaiah; he wrote his prophecies about 150 years before the Babylonians came. But Jeremiah was there to witness it. He was there to see it all. Notice what God says through Jeremiah in Jeremiah chapter 2, verse 26. He says, "As a thief is ashamed when he is found out, so is the house of Israel ashamed. They and their kings and their princes and their priests and their prophets, saying to a stalk or saying to a tree, 'You are my father,' and to a stone, 'You have brought me forth.' For they have turned their back unto me and not their face. But in the time of their trouble, they say, 'Arise and save us.' But where are your gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise if they can save you in the time of your trouble. For according to the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah."

God speaks to the people of Jerusalem as they watch the Babylonians run through the land of Judah. He says, "Listen, you worship so many different deities. Every single city has a different god that you bow down to." In another passage in Jeremiah, he says, "For the number of your corners are your gods." It was as if every corner you went to in Jerusalem had another deity that they were bowing down to. Yet, when trouble came to them, that was when they turned to God and cried out to Him. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God says, "Listen, why don't you turn to your false gods and see if they can deliver you?"

In Isaiah chapter 46, verses 1 and 2, we see that those false gods could not deliver the children of Israel. The false things that people bow down to and devote themselves to in this world will not save them on the day of Christ Jesus. Their intellect, their money, their privileged position, their power—whatever they have, whoever they are—will not stand before the Lord on that day because no flesh shall be justified in His sight.

We see this in the judgments of God in the Old Testament. It is clearly pictured that the false gods and the things they put their confidence in, the things they trusted in, were insufficient to deliver them. The things that man trusts in today are still insufficient.

In light of that, notice what God says to His people in verse 3: "Hearken unto me. Listen up," He says. "O house of Jacob and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are born by me from the belly and which are carried from the womb. And even to your old age, I am He. And even to your gray hairs, will I carry you? I have made and I will bear. Even I will carry and deliver you."

Here, we see an awesome contrast. The children of Israel made idols that they themselves had to carry.

They were the designers and craftsmen of those things. They had to carry them and ensure that they didn't totter over and fall in their houses. When they went into captivity, they actually carried those things with them as well. Yet, God the Lord is the one who formed them. He is the one who made them and brought them forth. He says, "I'm the one who carried you from the womb. I'm the one who sustained you until old age. I'm the one that will bear you and carry you, and I will deliver you."

This presents an awesome contrast. Their false gods could not deliver them; their false gods could do nothing. They had to carry those things around, while God says, "I've carried you, and I'll deliver you," desiring that they would turn to Him. They are reminded of His grace and how powerful He is.

Anyone who charges the God of the Old Testament with lacking grace and mercy has not read passages like this. Here, the people were deserving of judgment and God's wrath. Yet, He calls out to them and says, "I promise I'll deliver you if you'll turn to me." Ultimately, the children of Israel in Judah and Jerusalem would turn to God, but it wouldn't be until they were in Babylon, in the midst of captivity.

So often, that is the case with us. We refuse to turn to God when things are going well. It's only when we find ourselves in severe trouble, like the children of Israel, that we seek Him. Oh, that we would learn the lesson to turn to Him sooner rather than later. We see the gracious God, full of mercy, here saying, "Turn to me."

In verse 5, He says, "To whom will you liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?" They lavish gold out of the bag, weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith who makes it into a god. They fall down and worship. They bear him upon the shoulder, carry him, and set him in his place. There he stands; from his place, he shall not move. One shall cry unto him, yet he cannot answer nor save him out of his trouble.

God asks, "Who are you going to liken me to? What sort of image will you make that is similar to me? I'm the one that made you. I'm the one who created you and carried you from the womb. I sustain you throughout all your life to the point that you are old. I've made you. I will bear you. I will carry you. I will deliver you." Yet, you try to make a false god that stands up to my character, that has the same ability that I do, even though you lavish gold out of the bag and silver, weighing it in the balance.

If you go to a very skilled goldsmith to make you a god, it is still insufficient. It may be valuable in the eyes of man, but it has no power. Yet, you fall down before it and worship it. You have to carry it around on your own shoulder because it is really nothing. Then you set it in its place, and there it will stand. It will not move; it will remain in the place that you set it in until someone else comes along and carries it. Although I am the one that carries you, you have to carry your gods. Then you cry out to it, but it cannot answer you.

As we have seen in the Psalms, in Psalm 115, "Eyes they have, but they do not see. Ears they have, but they do not hear. Throats they have, but they do not speak." It cannot answer you. It cannot speak. It cannot hear. It cannot save you out of your trouble. Who will you liken me to? God is incomparable. His power, His grace, His mercy, His love, His patience, His forgiveness, His redemption—who is like our God? There is none like our God.

In Exodus chapter 15, after the children of Israel had crossed over on dry ground through the midst of the Red Sea and had seen the Egyptian army destroyed before their very eyes, they sang this great song of worship. Almost the entire chapter of Exodus 15 is given to this song of praise. There in verse 11, we read, "Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" Who is like the Lord?

Did you know that when Moses went to Egypt and was given by God ten plagues to bring upon Egypt, every single one of those ten plagues dealt with a different deity, a different god that the people of Egypt bowed down to and worshipped? When He brought plagues of frogs, did you know they worshipped frogs? When He brought the plague of blood in the Nile, did you know that they worshipped the Nile? All these different things that God brought as plagues upon Egypt were to show that the gods they bowed down to were nothing, but the one true God had power over all of them.

Then the children of Israel saw His power beautifully displayed before their eyes as He redeemed them out of Egypt. They said, "Who is like unto thee, Lord? No one does wonders like you." Just before the children of Israel entered the promised land, after they had wandered for forty years in the wilderness and seen God do many miraculous wonders in providing for them, in Deuteronomy chapter 32, verse 4, we read, "He is the rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are judgment, a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He."

In 1 Samuel chapter 2, we read in verse 2, "There is none holy as the Lord, for there is none beside thee; neither is there any rock like our God." In 2 Samuel chapter 7, verse 22, we read, "Wherefore, thou art great, O Lord God, for there is none like thee; neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears." Again, in 2 Samuel chapter 22, we read, "For who is God save the Lord, and who is a rock save our God?"

In 1 Kings chapter 8, verse 32, we find, "And He said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above or on earth beneath, who keeps covenant and mercy with His servants that walk before thee with all their heart." Our God is an awesome God, a powerful God. There is none that compares to Him. Yet, we try so hard to fashion images comparable to Him.

You may say, "Well, I don't fashion an image comparable to Him." However, in our mind's eye, we have imagined what God is like. You'll hear people say sometimes, "Well, my God would never do..." and then they fill in the blank. That is not the God of the Bible; that is a God you've fashioned in your own mind, a graven image, so to speak. Perhaps you've not made it into a golden or silver image that you bow down and worship, but you've devoted yourself to a God who is false, who is not real. He is not the God that is revealed in the Scriptures. He is not the God of all power and all glory, and He is not worthy of your worship.

The reality is, if you have to carry your God around, He is not worth worshiping. Yet, people bow down to things that are meager, feeble, and nothing. In verse 8, Isaiah says, "Remember this, and show yourselves men. Bring it again to mind, O you 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 executes my counsel from a far country. Yea, I have spoken it; I also will bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it."

Isaiah urges his people to remember these things. Remember God speaking through Isaiah. Remember what? Well, he says, "Remember and show yourselves men."

Now, it's kind of interesting, this phrase "show yourselves men" in this passage. There's a lot of debate among Bible teachers and commentators about what this actually means. The Hebrew word that's translated as "show yourselves men" here is used only once in the entire Old Testament. This makes it what's called a hapax legomenon, which means that since it's only used once, it's very hard to define. A lot of times, we define words based on the context of other words around them. When we have multiple uses of a word, we can tend to figure out what it means. However, this is a word that is not very common; it's kind of an abnormal Hebrew word that is only used this once. Therefore, scholars wonder, what exactly does it mean?

In some translations, like the Vulgate, it reads, "take shame to yourselves." The Syriac version says, "consider within yourselves." The Septuagint says, "groan or mourn within yourselves." It’s as if God speaks to His idol-worshiping people and says, "Remember and mourn. Remember your sinfulness. Remember the things that you have done as you've turned away from Me, and mourn over those things." He urges them to bring it again to their minds, O you transgressors.

Here were a people that were worshiping false gods, bowing down to all these idols, yet they thought that they were perfectly fine with God because they had the temple, sacrifices, and the priesthood. We've been seeing that through the entire book of Isaiah over the last 46 chapters. All the way back in Isaiah chapter 1, God said to His people, "When you come to appear before Me, who has required this of you? Your incense is an abomination to Me. Your new moons and your feasts, I don't want any more of it. It's putrid to Me." They were still worshiping God, thinking that everything was just fine, while they were worshiping Bel and Nebo throughout the week. God says, "This is wickedness. Come, let us reason together. Your sins are as scarlet. I'm the only one that can make them as white as snow. If you are willing and obedient," He says there in Isaiah chapter 1, "do away with all this stuff." Yet, they continued in their wickedness.

So, He says, "Remember this. Call it to mind. Groan over your sinfulness. Remember the former things of old," He says there in verse 9. "For I am God, and there is none else. I am God, and there is none like Me. I want you to remember the former things that I have done for you, Israel."

Now, it's interesting that back in Isaiah chapter 43, verse 18, God said, "Do not remember the former things." Yet, here in chapter 46, verse 9, He says, "Remember the former things."

And if it weren't for the context of the passage, you might think it odd that, in one passage, God says, "Don't remember the former things," and now he says, "Remember the former things." In the passage in Isaiah 43, God is explaining that he is going to do a new work of redemption among his people. He says, "I don't want you to remember the former things that I've done in redeeming you. I'm going to do something new."

However, in this passage, he says, "I want you to recall and remember where you've fallen from. Remember that at one point in time, you walked with me. Remember who I am and what I've done for you. I declare the former things before they come to pass. I declare the ancient things. Those things that are not yet done, I call them forth. My counsel, my purposes, they will stand."

He wants us to remember who he is and where we've fallen. We are worshiping these false gods that can do nothing for us, and we've forgotten who he is and what he has done for us, as well as what he has purposed to do in us. He says, "I declare 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 my pleasure.'"

In my opinion, this is one of the greatest evidences or proofs of God's divine power: his prophetic revelation. The prophetic revelation that God gives in his word is like a divine fingerprint on the Bible, revealing that he is who he says he is and that he truly is outside of time. God declares, "I'm God. There's nobody else like me." He proves it by saying, "I've shown you what's going to happen before it comes to pass," and it happens. Not only that, he has told us what happened in the past, that which no one else can tell us.

What does that mean? Well, God reveals to us creation. Who else could declare to us what happened the moment before God said, "Let there be light"? The only one who could is the one who was there, and he has. He has spoken to us about those things. There was no earthly witness to see it, but God has revealed to us things ancient and things to come. It’s like his thumbprint right on the Bible, saying, "Hey, I am who I said that I am."

He declares the end from the beginning and says, "My purpose and my word, it will stand and be fulfilled." Then he gives an example of it in verse 11: "Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executes my counsel from a far country." What purposeful word does God call to mind among his people to prove that he is who he says he is?

Well, once again, he directs them to the promise that we considered last week in chapter 45, when he spoke about Cyrus, king of Persia, who would deliver them from Babylon. More than 150 years before that deliverance would come to pass, God tells them by name who their deliverer would be. Now, once again, he calls that to mind. He says, "I'm the one who called this ravenous bird from the east, this man who will execute my counsel from a far country."

Doubtless, Cyrus would not have sensed the Lord's calling. He would not have known that he was called by God when he set out to conquer Babylon. He didn't have a clue that it was God who was directing all these events. Nevertheless, it was the Lord who was behind the scenes. How awesome it must have been when Cyrus entered that palace in Babylon. He was very likely met by Daniel the prophet, who was able to show him what was written about him 150 years before he ever came to power. Daniel showed him what Isaiah had to say and what Jeremiah had to say. I imagine that Cyrus' mind was blown.

You mean to tell me that your God, the God that you serve, spoke about me before I was ever even born? Yes, he knew who you were, and he created you in your mother's womb for this very purpose: to accomplish his work. How awesome that must have been! God was sovereignly behind the scenes, working in this man's life and orchestrating events so that he would be the one to bring about God's will.

It is equally awesome that God works sovereignly in our lives today. When we realize that he is actually working in and through us, and that, like Paul said in Ephesians chapter 2, God has prepared beforehand good works that we would walk in them, it transforms the way we live. We live every day with great expectancy to see what God is going to do. What will God do today? I think God desires for us to live that way.

We should wake up in the morning and ask, "Lord, what do you want me to do today? Who do you want me to talk to today? Where do you want me to go today?" Sure, you have me going to work today, but what meetings have you orchestrated before the foundation of the world that I would come in contact with today? Do we live like that? I wonder how many times God desires to sovereignly work in our lives and to direct us, but we turn away from him. How many times does he stir our hearts to speak with someone we've come in contact with, but we press it down and say, "Oh, no, no, no, they'll think I'm crazy."

I'll confess that there have been times when even I, as your pastor, have done that. I remember a time very vividly when I was in a restaurant locally, having a meeting with someone about things related to the church. A lady and her husband came in, and you could clearly see that she was undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. Her hair was all gone, and you could just tell from the way she was carrying herself that she was going through a difficult time. I was stirred by the Lord to go and pray for her. I wish I could tell you tonight that I did, but I kept thinking, "No, she's going to think I'm crazy. She's going to think I'm nuts."

Now, I'm absolutely certain that God accomplishes His work. He is able to fulfill His work in spite of our failures. However, the fact is that we fail to reap the rewards of joy now and the blessings later when we obey Him and do what He has called us to do. What a joy it must have been for Cyrus to realize that the God of all things, who created all things, ordained before the foundation of the world that he would do this work. How cool it is when we get that sense after we have fulfilled His will, when He has set an opportunity before us.

Oh, that we would live with that expectancy that God is going to work in and through our lives right now, today, tomorrow, and the next day. We should walk with our eyes open, as Paul says, walking circumspectly, looking for those opportunities. I do think that many opportunities pass us by because we are oblivious to them. We are oblivious because we are focused on our own schedules, our own needs, or our own desires.

Have you ever read C.S. Lewis' book, The Screwtape Letters? In one of the letters, which is a fictional book and an allegory of a senior demon writing to his nephew about how to tempt his client, an earthly human, Wormwood, the uncle, advises his nephew that as soon as the client begins to think about spiritual things, he should remind him of earthly things. Remind him that he is hungry. Remind him that he is tired. How many times have we experienced that? As soon as our mind goes towards prayer for somebody else, or anything spiritual—reading God's Word, spending time in worship—it’s almost immediate: "Gosh, I'm so hungry." It happens so quickly, and we are diverted from the very thing that God set before us. We need to be conscious of this.

We need to recognize that there is an enemy, our adversary, the devil, who is seeking to destroy the work of God. He seeks to hinder us, God's workers, from that work by reminding us of earthly things, right when that spiritual revelation comes into our minds that we need to do something.

I heard a story recently about a gentleman who came to know the Lord. He was so excited about his new walk and his newfound faith. He lived in the Santa Ana area and was driving through a very wealthy community there in Santa Ana and Newport. As he was driving, he felt stirred by the Lord to get out of his car and yell, "Jesus loves you!" into one of the mailboxes on that street. He thought, "That can't be of the Lord. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Yet, he obeyed, despite that internal thought that this was dumb.

He got out, looked around, and saw no one was there. He opened the mailbox and yelled, "Jesus loves you!" After closing it, he got back in his car, started it up, and began to drive away. Suddenly, a man came running out of a driveway and stopped him, asking, "What did you say?" The gentleman felt caught. As he began to explain that he felt stirred to yell, "Jesus loves you, because God loves you," the man began to cry. He broke down and said, "I was going to take my life, and I heard you yell, 'Jesus loves you.'"

How many times do we dismiss such promptings, thinking, "No, that can't be the Lord. That's foolish. That's stupid"? Yet, God is sovereignly working, having a plan in place before the foundation of the world, and we are called to be a part of that work.

God says, "The man that executes my counsel from a far country, I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it." In His divine power, God has determined plans and purposes for this world and its inhabitants. He will bring such plans and purposes to pass. He has spoken His word, and not one jot or tittle will pass until all is fulfilled, as Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, verse 18.

He has purposed, and such purposes will not fail. But He has purposed to use us. And so we've got to ask Him to make us sensitive to the moving of His Holy Spirit. Sometimes He moves in spite of our understanding, as He did in the case of Cyrus. Sometimes He just places us at the right place at the right time. Unexpectedly, we find ourselves divinely placed by God to answer a person's question, to be right there to be a shoulder to cry on, or to minister grace to someone who is hurting.

However, there are many times when we overlook His call or the road signs He places in front of us. So what would God's counsel be to us? I think those three words at the beginning of chapter 12 are important: "Hearken unto me." Listen to me. Listen to what I am speaking to you. I do think that sometimes we need to take time to deny ourselves so that we can hear His still small voice.

We've already seen in Isaiah that God says, "You will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way. Walk ye in it.'" Sometimes there is just that very still small voice, but there are so many other voices in this world that drown it out. We need to set our minds on things above.

"Hearken unto me, you stout-hearted, that are far from righteousness. I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off. My salvation shall not tarry, and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel, my glory."

Listen to me. It is sad when you realize that such calls from the Lord to His people, the children of Israel, went unheeded. They did not listen to this call where He says, "Listen to me, and I am going to bring righteousness near to you, and salvation will not tarry." They didn't listen; they rebelled. They stiffened their necks, hardened their hearts, and continued in their sin. They were far from righteousness.

God graciously calls out to them, "Listen to me, listen to me," but they did not respond with repentance. Instead, they rebelled. We know that because they would ultimately go into captivity in Babylon. God is calling them to turn to Him, but they refused. As Zechariah the prophet says in Zechariah 7:11, "But they refused to hearken and pulled away the shoulder and stopped their ears that they should not hear."

Yes, they made their hearts as adamant as stone, lest they should hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts has sent by a spirit through the prophets. Therefore, great wrath came from the Lord of hosts. God's wrath came because they refused to hear and heed His word. If they had heard and heeded, they would have found His grace and mercy. But because they didn't, they found His wrath.

Even to this day, you and I are given a prophetic revelation to this world: the revelation of God's good news, His gospel. There are many in this world who rebel, stiffen their necks, and harden their hearts. A day of wrath is coming, and they will be prepared for that wrath because they refuse to hear God's word and heed what He has to say.

At the time of the early church, many in Israel continued to harden their hearts and stiffen their necks. In Acts chapter 7, you remember as Stephen was speaking to a multitude of Jews in Jerusalem. In verse 51, he says, "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you." That was just before they rose up and killed the messenger.

So what would God's word be to you and me? Well, it is the same as we find in Hebrews chapter 3, verse 15: "Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts as in the day of provocation." Do not harden your hearts. Why? Because Solomon, one of the wisest men who ever lived, said in Proverbs chapter 29, "He that is often reproved and hardens his neck shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." He that is often reproved—God comes and gives a rebuke—but that person does not listen to the rebuke. They stiffen their neck, they harden their heart, and God says destruction will come quickly, and there will be no remedy for it.

In Isaiah chapter 48, which we will cover next week, verse 3 reads, "I have declared the former things from the beginning, and they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them. I did them suddenly, and they came to pass." God says, "Because I knew that you are an obstinate people, and that your neck is an iron sinew, and that your brow is brass. I have even from the beginning declared it to you. Before it came to pass, I showed it to you, lest you should say, 'My idol has done this,' and 'My graven image and my molten image have commanded them.'"

Thou hast heard all this, and will you not declare it? I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things that thou did not know. They are created now and not from the beginning. Even before the day when thou heardest them not, lest thou should say, "Behold, I knew them." Yea, thou heardest not. Yea, thou knewest not. You knew not. Yea, from that time your ear was not opened, for I knew that you would deal very treacherously.

God says to His people, "Listen, I've spoken to you, and I've brought My word to pass. I've done it quickly so that you wouldn't attribute it to your idols, and yet you still won't listen to Me. You still harden your heart and stiffen your neck. You deal treacherously. You're called a transgressor from the womb." But God, for My name's sake, says, "I will defer My anger, and for My praise I will refrain to cut thee not off." God is so gracious. He's such a good God. His people continuously rebelled and turned against Him, and yet He pours out His grace, constantly calling out to them that they would turn to Him and repent.

Isaiah chapter 47, verse 1, his attention now turns to Babylon. As he has been speaking in chapter 46 to his own people, the children of Israel there in Judah and Jerusalem, now he says to Babylon, "Come down and sit thee in dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground. There is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. Take the millstones and grind meal. Uncover thy locks. Make bare thy leg. Uncover thy thigh. Pass over the rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered. Yea, thy shame shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man."

In spite of Israel's treachery and their rebellion against the Lord, He now graciously predicts Babylon's destruction, which would result in Israel's redemption. Even though Israel was guilty and worthy of punishment, and they were going to be punished by the instrument that God had chosen, the Babylonians, yet in their guilt, He would still be gracious to them. He would come and He would judge the Babylonians, and He would redeem His wicked people. He says, "Come down and sit in the dust" to the Babylonians. Babylon would be dethroned. God would remove them from their position. Their lovely daughters would no more be seen as tender and delicate. Instead, in verse 2, we see them as grinding meal at the mill.

Their heads are uncovered, and their hair is fallen. These are all signs of shame. The work of grinding at the mill was the work given to slaves or those taken as captives in war. It was not only the work of slaves; it was the hardest work assigned to someone, essentially given as a punishment.

We see the Babylonians pictured as those being punished, taken away as captives. The passage describes their bare legs, their thighs being exposed, and their nakedness. Again, all these are images of shame. As they are being carried away, they are exposed in their nakedness. While crossing rivers on their way into captivity in Persia, in the Medo-Persian Empire, they hike up their clothes to cross over, revealing their bare legs. God says, "I will take vengeance." He is going to destroy the Babylonians for their wickedness.

The destruction foreseen is the judgment and vengeance of God. Even though God would use the instrument of the Medo-Persian armies, it was still God who was imposing this destruction upon them. This is similar to what we saw with the Assyrians and the children of Israel. Remember back when we were in Isaiah chapter 10? God said, "I’m going to use the Assyrians as the rod in my hand for the destruction of my people, the northern tribes of Israel." God used these earthly armies to enact His judgment and punishment because they were a sinful people.

Why was such vengeance brought upon them? We will see part of the reason again when we get down to verse 6. One reason is that they showed no mercy to the people they took as captives, as noted at the end of verse 6 of chapter 47. In verse 4, we read that one is receiving judgment and punishment, while the other is receiving blessing. One receives chastisement from the Lord, and the other receives the reward of redemption.

Why is that? Many times, we struggle with this concept. We see the Babylonians destroyed and the children of Israel saved, and we wonder how God can bruise one and bless the other through the same act. We touched on this a little bit last week in chapter 45, verse 4.

Actually, Isaiah 45, verse 7 states, "I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things." What exactly does this mean? Well, God would bring light to His people, the children of Israel, and He would bring darkness to the people of Babylon. He would bring peace for His people, the children of Israel, even though they were not deserving of such peace. Conversely, He would bring calamity or evil upon the people of Babylon.

We look at this and wonder, how can this be? We have a hard time reconciling this. Yet, we see it in our own redemption as well. If we turn just a few chapters to the right, we find Isaiah chapter 53, verse 4. It reads, "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

Now, although Jesus in that picture was completely undeserving of judgment and punishment, God took my sin and your sin and placed it upon Jesus. Because our sin was upon Him, He poured out His wrath, His punishment, and His judgment upon Jesus there on the cross so that we would be saved. Completely unworthy, we are without any ability in and of ourselves to save ourselves. Yet, God redeems us.

One receives calamity, one receives darkness, while the other receives blessing as God gives us grace in Christ Jesus. God also gave the children of Israel grace as He judged the Babylonians. Both were guilty and both were worthy of punishment, but God, in His grace, extended grace to His children, the people of Israel.

In verse 5, He continues to speak to the Babylonians: "Sit thou silent and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for thou shalt no more be called the lady of the kingdoms. I was wroth with My people; I was angry with My people. I have polluted My inheritance," God says, "and given them into your hand. You did show them no mercy. Upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke." And Babylon said, "I shall be a lady forever."

So that thou didst not lay these things to your heart, neither did you remember the latter end of it. Therefore, hear now this: thou that art given pleasure and dwell carelessly. You say in your heart, "I am, and none else beside me. I shall not sit as a widow; neither shall I know the loss of children." But these two things shall come to you in a moment, and one day, the loss of children and widowhood shall come upon you in their perfection for the multitude of your sorceries and for the great abundance of your enchantments.

God says to the Babylonians, "I was angry with my people, and so I sent you to be a punishment to them. But your punishment was undue. The way that you punished them was severe. Yes, I called you to take them away as captives from the land, but I didn't call you to be taskmasters over them in the way that you were. I didn't call you to be unmerciful towards them. I didn't call you to lay heavy tasks and heavy burdens upon the ancient." You laid a heavy yoke upon them and said, "We're going to sit in this privileged position, this supreme position forever. We're going to be a lady forever."

You did not lay to heart what comes as a result of your pride. You were filled with arrogance, but you did not remember the latter end of pride. Therefore, he says, "Listen to this: you who dwell in pleasure and you that dwell carelessly. You say in your heart, 'We are supreme. There's no one like us, and we're never going to experience widowhood or our children being taken from us.'"

God says, "In one day, you'll experience both." Why will you experience both? You're going to experience judgment to its perfection, the fullness of judgment, as he says in verse 9, because of the multitude of your sorceries and for the great abundance of your enchantments.

The prophet Habakkuk lived at the same time that the prophet Jeremiah did, just before the children of Jerusalem and Judah were taken away captive. It's very likely that Habakkuk spoke or wrote his prophecies about 609 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar and the armies of Babylon would come against Jerusalem in 605 B.C. and ultimately overtake the city completely in 586 B.C. So, just before this destruction by the Babylonians, Habakkuk was praying and seeking God on behalf of his people. He looked at his nation, the nation of Judah, and said, "My people are wicked."

They've turned away from God. He cries out to God and says, "God, you've got to do something." In Habakkuk chapter 1, verse 5, God responds, "I'm going to do something, but it's going to blow your mind, and you're not going to like it. If I told you, you wouldn't believe it." He tells Habakkuk, "I'm going to raise up the Babylonians. They are going to come with swift destruction, and they are going to destroy this place."

What does Habakkuk do? Remember, Habakkuk was crying out to God, saying, "You've got to intervene. You've got to do something. The people are evil." Then God says, "I'm going to destroy this place with the Babylonians." Habakkuk responds, "Whoa, back the judgment truck up! What do you mean you're going to use the Babylonians to destroy us? They're more wicked than us!" Just twenty seconds before that, he was saying, "We're wicked, God. Deal with us." Now he says, "Well, we're not that wicked."

Imagine the picture. It would be as if you were praying, and perhaps you've actually prayed this prayer: "God, you need to intervene. You need to do something on behalf of our nation, on behalf of our state. You need to intervene." Then God speaks to you in the quietness of your prayer closet, saying, "I'm planning something that you wouldn't believe. It would blow your minds. I am going to raise up Iran to destroy America." Whoa, wait a minute. That's the seriousness of it. Habakkuk says, "Lord, I don't know that I like this." He becomes angry with God.

In Habakkuk chapter 2, verse 1, he says, "I'm going to set myself on the rampart, and I'm going to hear what He says. I'm going to wait until He speaks up. I want to hear what He has to say for this. God, you can't do this." And God does speak up. He shares with Habakkuk His plan: "I am going to judge this people by the Babylonians, but I will judge the Babylonians as well, and I will be merciful to My people."

God's ways are totally different from our ways. Habakkuk was disturbed by God's plan and what God was going to do. I think that's part of the reason why God doesn't show us everything He is going to do in our lives. When we come to Him, He doesn't give us the roadmap and say, "This is My plan for you." I guarantee that 100% of us would respond, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, time out! Here on line 32 of page 7, I don't know that I like this. We need to change this." But we don't realize what God brings through line 32 of page 7. The next lines wouldn't come if it hadn't been for that line. Though you said, "I am a lady forever, Babylon," God is going to remove them from that position.

For you have trusted in thy wickedness, and you have said, "None sees me." Your wisdom and your knowledge have perverted you. You have said in your heart, "I am, and none else beside me." Therefore, evil shall come upon you, and you shall not know from whence it rises. Mischief shall fall upon you, and you shall not be able to put it off. Desolation shall be upon you suddenly, which you shall not know.

Why would God judge the Babylonians? Why would He judge them in this way? In verse 6, we see that it is because they showed no mercy and laid heavy burdens upon their captives. In verse 7, it is because they displayed pride and disregarded God's word. In verse 8, they were given to pleasures and pleasure-seeking. They lived carelessly with a false sense of security out of their own pride. In verse 9, they were filled with sorcery and enchantments. In verse 10, they trusted in wicked things. Because of these things, they would be judged.

Now, I want you to consider all those reasons for judgment that we see in those five verses where He speaks of why He is going to judge them. Do we not see similarities to our own nation? They showed no mercy, displayed pride, disregarded God's word, were given to pleasure and pleasure-seeking, and were filled with a false sense of security. They lived carelessly, filled with sorcery and enchantments, trusting in wicked things. Do we see any of that in our own nation?

This is why Billy Graham and many before him, as well as many since, have said, "If the United States does not experience the judgment of God, God will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah." I believe that we have already begun to see, for many years in our nation, the beginnings of God's punishment in the form of Him removing His hand of blessing and protection. When God removes His hand of blessing and protection, the enemy is able to come in.

Read the book of Job; you see a perfect picture of it. God removes His hedge of protection from Job, and the enemy is able to come. Now, God only allows him to go so far, but He still removes His hand of protection and blessing. God did that to prove a point in Job's life: to prove that Job was not a mercenary, that he did not serve God because of what God gave him. As we see throughout many other places in the Old Testament, God removes His hand of blessing and protection from people because they rebel and turn away from Him.

He cannot bless sin. The same way that He dealt with the children of Judah and Jerusalem because of their sin, He would deal with Babylon because of their sin. Similarly, the way He dealt with Israel and the northern ten tribes because of their sin, He dealt with the Assyrians who invaded them.

Notice that judgment always starts with the people of God first, as we see in 1 Peter. Judgment begins at the house of the Lord. The judgment that came upon the Babylonians, as we see in verses 10 and 11, was sudden and took them unaware, much like 9/11 did nine years ago. It struck us suddenly and without warning. Even though it was Islamic jihadist terrorists who flew those planes into those buildings, I believe, and I know people get upset about this, that it was because God had removed His hand of protection. It was, in some way, a result of judgment upon sin—not the sin specifically of those people in those towers or in the Pentagon.

Just like Jesus said in Luke chapter 13, a group of people came to Him and shared about a tower that had fallen over, killing a group of people. Jesus asked, "Do you suppose that those people who were killed by that tower falling over were more wicked than the rest of Israel?" He replied, "I tell you no. But unless you repent, you will also likewise perish." It wasn't because the people in the towers, on the ground, or in the Pentagon were more wicked than we are. No. Unless we realize what it is that God says to His people, we also will likewise perish. We need to repent.

In verse 12, He says to the Babylonians, "Stand now with thine enchantments and with the multitude of your sorceries, wherein you have labored from your youth. If so be, you shall be able to profit. If so be, you may prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of your counselors. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, and the monthly prognosticators stand up and save you from these things that shall come upon you."

God says to the Babylonians, as He prophesies this judgment that is going to come upon them because of their lack of mercy, pride, arrogance, and departure from the standards of God.

He says to them, "Okay, from your youth, you've been well trained in all your enchantments and all your sorceries. You're filled, a city filled with star gazers, monthly prognosticators, and astrologers. Turn to them and see if they can help you." He says, "I tell you, they're not going to be able to profit you. They're not going to be able to prevail. They'll weary you with all their counsel, but you will not be able to prevail. Behold, they shall be as stubble. The fire shall burn them. They shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame. There shall not be a coal to warm at, nor a fire to sit by. Thus shall they be unto thee, with whom thou hast labored, even thy merchants from thy youth. They shall wander everyone to his quarter. None shall save thee."

He says, "All of your enchantments, all your prognosticators and their prognostications, they will be but mere fuel for the fires of judgment. The wood, the hay, the stubble of their works would be consumed, and there would be no deliverance. This fire of God's judgment that would come through, he says, this is no coal to warm by. The fire of God's judgment is not something that feels nice. False religions may seem to offer warmth and helpfulness, but it's not a fire to sit by. Rather, it's a fire that will consume, an all-consuming, unquenchable fire."

How many greatly underestimate the blazing strength of God's judgment? People say in their ignorance, "I won't mind going to hell; all my friends will be there. We'll have a good party there." This is ignorance and foolishness. Some have even said, "Oh, we'll ski on the lake of burning fire." But the fires of God's judgment are not a comforting fire at all. It's not a fire to sit by, to be warmed by.

Don't be the one who makes that deadly mistake. That's what God says to Babylon here. Listen, you need to wake up; judgment will come. All of those things that you've labored at, all those things that you've worked so hard for, or those things that you've trusted in, if they are apart from God, the last four words of verse 15 stand as a sobering challenge to that mindset.

None shall save thee. I don't think it gets any clearer than that. The things of this world will not save us from the coming wrath of God. There is refuge found in no other than Jesus Christ. We have been given the awesome opportunity, the awesome privilege, but also the awesome responsibility to share that reality with those who don't know it. We are, as it were, in our day, prophets to our generation.

Now, we prophetically speak forth God's revealed word as we have it already. Isaiah received, in a still small voice or in a vision, God's word spoken to him. He penned these things to his own people and to other nations around him, seeking to turn them to the Lord so that they would not be consumed by His all-consuming fire. We, in our day, have the revelation of God given to us in His word, provided to a world that is in darkness and desperately needs to turn to Christ before the wrath of God comes. And it will come. All those things that man trusts in will not be able to save him. As we see in that last verse, none shall save thee. There is salvation in no other name than Jesus Christ.

Isaiah knew and understood that, even though he lived 700 years before Jesus was born. His name, Isaiah, means "Jehovah has saved." He recognized the reality that salvation is found only in the Lord. That is a message that you and I have to bring to this world. One day, judgment will come to this world as a whole. There may one day be more judgment that comes to our nation specifically. May we be those who stand and proclaim that there is salvation in the Lord.

Let's stand now and pray. Father, we do ask that You would help us to keep in memory the sober words that we have here in Isaiah. We ask that You would give us boldness by Your Spirit to share these truths.

With those that come in contact with us or that we come in contact with daily, God, I pray that you'd quicken our hearts so that we do not overlook the things that you've sovereignly set in our path—the people that you've brought to us day in and day out.

Lord, help us to see as you see, to be willing to step away from our schedule, our calendar, and our plans when you set before us an opportunity to share the truth of who you are with those who so desperately need it. You are not willing that any should perish. You take no joy in the death of the wicked. When Babylon was destroyed and when Sodom and Gomorrah were consumed, you were not in heaven with a grin upon your face. Your heart was heavy, no doubt filled with grief.

Lord, we thank you that you've been gracious to us. God, I pray that you'd enable us to be gracious to those that we come in contact with, perhaps even those that we consider to be our enemies. As we meet them with your grace, Lord, would you give us your word to share with them, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.