Good morning, church. Would you turn with me to Isaiah chapter 46?
Isaiah 46, if you're feeling burdened and weary this morning, then I hope this passage is going
to be a comfort for you. That's page 568 in the Pew Bible. I believe we'll have it on the screens
as I read it in just a minute, but let me encourage you to have it open before you as we look at this
text together. Let me pray as you turn there, and then I'll read for us. There are gods before you,
no other loves. Lord, what freedom it would be for us and what joy it would be for us to
have an undivided heart that loves and fears you alone. So help us now through your word
to be sanctified in that way. Purify our hearts, God, we pray as we come to your word. Teach us,
instruct us, change us. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, Isaiah 46. I'm going to read the
whole chapter for us, starting in verse 1. Bell bows down, Nebo stoops. Their idols are on beasts and
livestock. These things you carry are born as burdens on weary beasts. They stoop. They bow down
together. They cannot save the burden, but themselves go into captivity. Listen to me,
O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel who have been born by me from before your
birth, carried from the womb. Even to your old age, I am he, and to gray hairs, I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear, I will carry, and will save.
To whom will you liken me and make me equal and compare me that we may be alike?
Those who lavish gold from the purse and weigh out silver in the scales hire a goldsmith,
and he makes it into a god. Then they fall down in worship. They lift it to their shoulders. They
carry it. They set it in its place, and it stands there. It cannot move from its place. If one cries
to it, it does not answer or save him from his trouble. Remember this and stand firm. Recall it
to mind, you transgressors. Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other.
I am God, and there's none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times,
things not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,
calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass. I have purposed, and I will do it. Listen to me,
you stubborn of heart, you who are far from righteousness. I bring near my righteousness.
It is not far off, and my salvation will not delay. I will put salvation in Zion for Israel, my glory.
Well, sometimes in order to really see something, it helps to see it by way of contrast.
Mount Everest is apparently over 29,000 feet high. Of course, that's incredibly high. It's hard to even
wrap our minds around how high that is, but contrast that with the tallest skyscraper in the world,
the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which is like 2,700 feet tall. Has anyone here been to Dubai and seen
this thing? Oh, yes, the Daniels have. That's almost twice as high as the Empire State Building,
okay? That's how big that building is. Can you imagine a skyscraper nearly twice as tall as the
Empire State Building? That's really tall, but that tallest skyscraper in the world in Dubai,
that highest building that human ingenuity and skill can muster, it's not even one-tenth the height
of Mount Everest. Sometimes in order to really see something, it helps to see it by way of contrast,
contrast. And that's what Isaiah 46 is doing. Isaiah 46 is trying to help us see something
by way of contrast. Now, this whole section of Isaiah, chapters 40 through 55, God has been trying
to speak a word of comfort to His people, comfort to them in their trials, comfort to them in their
failings. But to really see and receive this comfort, here the Lord's going to help them see it by way of
contrast. Contrast, that is, with the idols, with the other so-called gods prevalent in their day.
Here is a God who can do what no idol can do. The Empire State Building, the Burj Khalifa, yes,
they might look tall, impressive even, but they're no Mount Everest. Now, what is it that the Lord wants
us to see? What comfort is He trying to help us understand? Well, the key word here is burden.
Burden. The word comes up again and again in chapter 46. You see it right off the bat in the first two
verses. Burden, the idea of a heavy weight, a load to bear. The audience of Isaiah 40 through 55,
we're dealing with the exile as a burden, this burden of exile. Perhaps the darkest moment in
the history and the experience of Old Testament Israel. And the burden they were bearing, of course,
wasn't just the kind of material or financial or social turmoil of being cast out of their homes,
but it was the spiritual crisis, the spiritual burden of the exile. The people of Israel had plenty
of reason to question. Had we put ourselves beyond the realm of saving? Given how we've failed, are we now
too far gone? I wonder what burdens you this morning. What heavy weight are you bringing with you?
Perhaps the burden of some trial you're facing at home or at work. You're feeling stretched to your limit,
not sure if you'll hold up much longer. Or perhaps you carry with you the burden of some failure you've
experienced. You've not just let down a friend or a family member, but you know you've sinned against
God. You've not kept His law, His good law. You've not responded to His kindness and His glory with the love
and obedience He deserves. So you carry the burden of guilt and shame.
But to those of us with heavy burdens, God here speaks a word of comfort. Twice in this passage,
He says, listen. In verse 3 and in verse 12, listen. Listen to what God has to say to your burdened heart.
And in the first four verses, God says to our burdened hearts, our hearts burdened with trials,
He says, I will carry you. And then in the rest of the chapter, verses 5 through 13, God says to our
burdened hearts, burdened with sin and with failure, He says, I will save you.
Here is the God who carries the burdened. Here is the God who saves the burdened.
And as we said, God helps us to see this by way of contrast. So let's take a look at that first.
Let's look at verses 1 through 4 where God says, I will carry you. Now the passage opens with two
Babylonian gods, Bel and Nebo. Bel was the chief god of Babylon and Nebo was the Babylonian god of
wisdom. And remember, the Babylonians were the ones who conquered Judah in the sixth century
and sent them into exile. But here, in Isaiah's sort of vision, these supposedly conquering gods are
pictured as collapsing and crumbling. Bel bows down, Nebo stoops. And the graven images of these gods
that were once so terrifying and so awe-inspiring are now being carried by beasts of burden, sort of
trudged along, themselves being taken off into exile. The idols that once promised so much, the idols
that carried such weight and importance are now just themselves a burdensome weight. Even the pack
animals are buckling under their heavy load. Idolatry is always like that, you know.
In the beginning, we turn to a substitute god for relief or for freedom. We invest our significance
in some created thing. We place our identity or our hope in some created thing because we desire
some kind of relief, some kind of freedom from our burdens. Now I hope you realize that idolatry
wasn't just a problem in the ancient world. It's a problem in every world. The human heart's always
taking good things and turning them into ultimate things. We take something like family or work or
community and we build our whole identity and significance and happiness around it. And we
say, this is my thing. This is my identity. And what we're really saying is, this is my God.
And we do that oftentimes because we're looking for relief. We're looking for freedom.
Instead of centering our lives around God, we center it around work or relationship or our self-image.
And for a little while, it seems to work, right? The work pays off and we feel some relief. We feel
some freedom, etc., etc. But here's the problem. The more we give, the more it asks.
We wanted that thing to hold us up, but in the end, we have to hold it up. And it becomes a burden we
cannot bear. A lot of addiction works this way, you know. In response to hurt or pain or disappointment,
we turn to something for relief. And at first, maybe that thing seems relieving,
but then it grows. And suddenly, we find we can't stop doing that thing. We're trapped. We're burdened.
We want to stop drinking, but we drink nonetheless. We want to stop using, but we use nonetheless.
We want to take a break from working, but we keep working nonetheless. And suddenly,
the thing we thought would carry us and give us some relief is now a burden that crushes us.
By way of contrast, though, listen to what the Lord says.
Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been born by me from before your birth, carried from the womb. Even to your old age,
I am he, and to gray hairs, I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear. I will carry and will save.
In contrast to the idols who need to be carried, God says, you don't have to carry me. I carry you.
After all, God made you. Before you could think or speak, God was bearing you up, putting breath in
your lungs, sustaining you minute by minute, hour by hour. And God promises to keep doing so,
even to your old age, he says. He will carry you.
What good news this is for the weary and for the burdened, the promise of the almighty creator of
heaven and earth that he sees his people and he will carry them. No matter how dark the skies,
no matter how deep the storm, the Lord will carry you. Now, sometimes in the Christian life,
you can really get a sense of this. I remember a number of years ago, this was quite a while ago,
a friend asked me to do the funeral for her husband who had died after a long battle with
cancer. And I knew that nearly everyone there at the funeral was going to be an unbeliever.
And quite honestly, I was really nervous. I wasn't quite sure how I would approach it,
what I would say, what I would do. But in those stressful weeks leading up to that memorial service,
it was one of those times in my life when I could really feel the Lord's presence sustaining me.
God felt very near, very present. It was still a very challenging and stressful experience, no doubt.
But I could sense very evidently what Isaiah 46 was saying here, the Lord will carry you.
Sometimes we can really feel the truth of that promise.
But that's not always the case. Sometimes we go through trials, sometimes we bear burdens,
and we can't feel the Lord's presence. Sometimes it feels like we're on our own.
But you know, that doesn't make God's promise any less true.
It may not feel like the Lord is carrying us, but He is nonetheless.
You know the old poem that goes something like this? At the end of his life, a man looks back and
sees how all along the Lord had walked beside him in his life, and look, there's proof.
Two footprints side by side. But then the man gets upset because at some of the most challenging
moments in his life, there aren't two sets of footprints walking side by side. There's only one.
And he says, Lord, where were you in the dark times? When I lost everything. When I went through the
valley of shadow. When I couldn't go on. Where were you then? And the Lord says to him, you only see
one set of prints because those were the times when I carried you. So when you and I are feeling
burdened, feeling weary, you know, the temptation will be for us to turn, to turn to some idol for
comfort or for relief. But Isaiah is showing us here that substitute gods will only end up making
the burden worse. The Lord promises something totally different. The idols will burden you,
but the Lord will carry you. So trust Him. Walk with Him. He will carry you.
But there's more. Not only does the Lord promise to carry us, He promises to save us.
To save us. And in verses 5 through 13, the second part of our passage, God strikes up another contrast
with the idols. And notice in verses 5 through 7 how devout and how faithful these worshipers of
idols are. They lavish gold from the purse. They weigh out silver in the scales. They're sacrificial in
their giving. And notice how hard they work for their false gods. In verse 7, they lift it and they
carry it and they set it in place, performing all the duties and all the rights that they should.
And what is the result? If we give all of our money and resources, all our energy and gifts to the
idols of our choosing, what comes of it? Look at the end of verse 7. The idols do not answer when we cry
out and they cannot save. Have you wondered why so many people who seemingly have everything
are so riddled still with insecurity and guilt and shame, just like everybody else?
Because the gods that we serve, money, success, power, fame,
they can't really save us from what's really wrong. We need to be rescued, reconciled, forgiven by the
God who made us. The world needs to be put right. Imagine I had a bicycle and everything on the bicycle
was pristine. The chain, the seat, the frame, the handlebars, the brakes. Some of you here I know are
cyclists. I am not, so you'll probably correct me after the service about how I'm getting all this
mechanics wrong. But imagine you had this beautiful bicycle and it was all just perfect and well
sort of designed and well engineered and well kept, except for one thing.
The tires were kind of bent, a little twisted.
And every time you tried to get on this bike to ride, it just wobbled and shook until eventually
you'd fall off. Well, imagine you took that bike with the bent tires and you oiled the chain and you
checked the brakes and you polished the frame and you tightened the seat and then jumped back on and went for a ride.
What would happen?
The same exact thing. The bent tires would still send you spinning and falling and flailing.
The only way the bike is going to ride, the way it's meant to ride,
is if the wheels are put right.
Our lives are just like that. You know, we spend so much time polishing the frame and tightening the seat.
But all we need are our wheels. We need our hearts to be put right.
But the idols that we worship,
they can't do it.
They can't save us.
Verses 5-7 show us that
idols will take your best
and give you nothing in return.
But verses 9-13
show us how the Lord is
completely different.
Idols take your best and give you
nothing in return, but look at the contrast.
The Lord will take
your worst and give
you heaven in return.
Do you see in verse 8 and verse 12
how He calls us
transgressors?
Stubborn of heart.
Far from righteousness.
That's a big difference from verses
5-7, right?
There the worshipers were generous
and devout, sacrificial.
But in verses 8-12
were fallen
and flawed
and bent.
And yet
that's the point.
the Lord
takes us
not at our best
but at our worst.
He receives us
at our worst
and what does He give?
He gives us everything.
Unlike the idols
who cannot save
in verses 8-11
God says
I'll accomplish
all my purpose.
Verse 11
speaks of Cyrus
this Persian general
this bird of prey
from the east
who will come
and through the Lord's
sovereign hand
will defeat Babylon
and send the Jews home
ending their exile.
Unlike all those
false gods
this God
can save
but you know
it's not just about
a change in geography.
It's not just about
rearranging their
political situation
or location.
Verse 12
drives even deeper
because remember
we need more than
a new set of brakes
and a polished frame.
We need to be put right
with God.
We need our hearts
to be put right.
So the Lord says
you who are far
from righteousness
from being right
listen
I'll bring near
my righteousness
what you lack
I will provide.
You are far
from righteousness
far from what's right
but that won't stop God.
He'll bring near
His righteousness
righteousness
and He will put you right.
Why?
Because of our devotion
or generosity
or hard work?
No.
Because of His grace.
Because He loves us.
And because He wants us
to share His glory.
Idols take your best
and give you nothing
in return
but the Lord
will take your worst
and give you heaven
in earth.
And is not this
the very heart
of the gospel friends?
That the Lord Jesus Christ
came to earth
and we literally
gave Him our worst
and we hung Him
on a cross
and we called Him
a fraud
and what did He give us
in return?
Judgment?
Condemnation?
No.
He gave us
His righteousness
in return.
He took our curse
and gave us
His blessing.
And for all
who put their trust
in Christ
who turned
from these idols
that cannot save
and trust in the Lord Jesus
who is eager to save
for all who do that
we're put right,
we're justified
not by our righteousness
but by His.
So this is the great contrast.
These puny skyscrapers
that we build
they're nothing
to the Mount Everest
of the living God.
Here is a God
who needs
nothing from us.
He needs
nothing from us
because He's
the Creator.
Everything comes
from Him
but this God
who needs
nothing
gives
everything
and He promises
to carry
and to save.
Now in closing
what does it mean
to live then
in light of this
great contrast
between God
and the idols
this God
who carries
and saves?
Well first
we should give God
the glory
that He deserves.
Verse 5 says
who can you possibly
compare me to?
And that's right
we should be more
in the practice
of giving God
the credit
and praise
and worship
that are due Him.
You know sometimes
we can give God
the glory He deserves
by way of comparison
right?
If the sunset
is beautiful
how much more beautiful
must be the God
who created sunsets
in the first place
right?
But sometimes
we give God
the glory He deserves
by way of contrast.
we see sometimes
how short-sighted
and foolish
we humans can be
and we think
how much more
we can revel
in how much more
wise and good
our God is.
So we should get
in the practice
of giving God
the glory He deserves.
And second
we should live lives
that mirror
His glory.
Notice how the passage ends
I will put salvation
in Zion
that was sort of
the city of the people
right?
I'm going to put salvation
right in the midst
of my people
for Israel
for my people
who are what?
They're my glory.
God made us
to reflect His glory
to make His glory
visible through lives
of love
and holiness
and compassion
and mercy.
God carries us
so that we in turn
might help
carry others.
Paul says in Galatians
chapter 6
bear one another's burdens
and so fulfill
the law of Christ.
Has not Christ
borne our greatest
burden of all?
The burden of our sin
our guilt
our shame
and He's borne
our burden so well
that He's utterly
borne it away.
There's no condemnation
for those who are
in Christ Jesus.
So what do we do now
with this newfound freedom
this newfound lightness
of being
that we've been put right
with our Creator
and have nothing
to fear?
Well, we look at our
brothers and sisters
in need,
we look at our
neighbors in need,
and we say,
just as my burden
has been born,
bared,
what's the right tense
of that?
I should know, right?
Just as the Lord
has borne my burden,
I'm going to turn
and bear the burdens
of others.
Only Christ can bear
the burden of our sin,
but can we not come
alongside one another
to bear financial,
emotional,
relational burdens?
And in so doing,
we bear forth the image,
the glory of our Lord Jesus,
the great burden bearer.
Last, how do we live
in light of this contrast
in Isaiah 46?
Well, we live
with the encouragement.
We live with hope
that God will carry
and God will save.
Friend, if you've been
pulling hard
at the oars of your life,
if you feel like you've
been rowing against the tides,
let this promise
fill your sails
with fresh wind.
You're not alone
on the seas of your life.
The Creator of heaven
and earth will carry you.
He'll steer your ship
on the safest course,
and when He's carried you
through even to old age,
Isaiah says,
He'll carry you
and He'll bring you
safely home to harbor.
He will save.
And as we see
at the end of this chapter,
it's not far off,
brothers and sisters.
The Lord's salvation
will not delay.
So let's lift
our drooping hands
and strengthen
our weak knees
and make straight paths
for our feet,
as Hebrews says.
for our Lord
stands ready to save.
It's not far off.
It will not delay.
Amen.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus,
we praise You
that You are not
like the false gods
we so readily worship.
They burden us,
but You carry us.
They exact
a grueling price,
but You give Your salvation
without cost
and without price.
increase our faith,
increase our trust in You,
great carrier of our souls.
For those who are weary,
remind them
that Your mighty arms
uphold them.
For those who are
under conviction of sin,
draw them near to You
to receive Your forgiving grace.
Lord, this week
when we're tempted
to forget
Your carrying
and rescuing grace,
remind us,
and keep us, Lord,
we pray.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.