Just put yourself in the shoes of a Hebrew who has just seen his nation conquered by Babylon and has seen the Jerusalem Temple destroyed by this invading army. Now he is being carted off to Babylon where he will spend the rest of his life in exile. What conclusions would he be tempted to make in light of these circumstances? Well, maybe the gods of the Babylonians are stronger than Yahweh God of Israel. Convictions regarding Yahweh as the Creator of the whole world might start to weaken. The Prophet Isaiah, who has prophesied this judgment of exile many years before it happened, starts to go to work in Isaiah 40-55 to teach the Israelites that their God is still sovereign.
Idols Do Not Carry, But Are Carried
In Isaiah 46, it is the powerlessness of the Babylon gods Bel and Nebo that is on full display. They are idols that are unable to carry the burdens of anyone. Instead, they need to be carried by their worshipers. They add to people’s burdens, not ease people’s burdens (Isaiah 46:1-2, 6-7). Yahweh God is not like that at all. He is the One who has carried and sustained His people from the beginning, and He can be counted on to deliver His people at the end (Isaiah 46:3-5, 8-13).
The exile into Babylon did not take God by surprise. In fact, He let Isaiah know many years in advance what was going to happen. This proves God is much more powerful than the idols who can prophesy nothing (Is. 48:1-5). The truth that Yahweh God knows the future before it happens is one of Isaiah’s main arguments that He is the true and living Creator God in Isaiah 40-45. The idols of the Gentile nations are utterly unable to know the beginning from the end. They are powerless and Isaiah exhorts the Israelites to not worship them.
After presenting the case for the impotence of Babylon’s chief idols (Is. 46), Isaiah goes on to reveal the eventual fall of the kingdom of Babylon in Isaiah 47. Despite lounging in their self-made and false security, they will be eventually judged by Yahweh God, who alone is eternal and self sufficient. This powerful kingdom’s end is in sight. Whatever the Hebrew exile might be tempted to conclude by merely looking at external events is addressed by Isaiah in chapters 46 & 47.
The Real Reason For The Exile
In Isaiah 48, we read the real reason for the Israelites’ exile into Babylon. It’s not because the Babylonian gods are stronger than Yahweh God. It’s because the Israelites would not listen to Yahweh God. They were unfaithful to their covenant LORD, who alone is God (Is. 48:12-19). If only they had listened and walked faithfully with Him: “Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like the numberless grains; their name would never be cut off nor destroyed from before me” (Is. 48:19). Its because of the covenantal curses, that we read about in Deuteronomy 28-30, which explain why God’s people are in exile.
When we only look at the surface of things and fail to look with eyes of faith, we may miss God’s presence and working in our midst. May the LORD grant us a perceiving mind and heart and may we join in His kingdom work all around us. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen!
QOTD: Are you continually asking the LORD to give you His perspective of what is going on around you?