March 27, 2024: Isaiah 46:3-4 - God Made Us, and He Carries Us

“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; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.” (Isaiah 46:3-4)

After having prophesied to Israel what will happen to the Babylonians and their false gods, Babylonian false gods, that they will be cast down and carted off, unable to deliver the Babylonians who worshipped them who themselves are now taken into captivity, the same Babylonians who had taken God’s people captive from the land of Judah when the nation of Israel was divided into the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel, Isaiah the prophet now reminds Israel that God is THE God who has born them, has carried them, and will carry them all the days of their lives, even until their hair turns grey. It is God alone who will deliver them.

Isaiah begins this verse with the words “Hearken unto me” or “Listen to me.” How many times do we hear something but not listen to what is being said? God wants their full attention, and He is addressing not only the Jews from Judah but all of His people, the “house of Jacob” and “the remnant of the house of Israel.” But who is this “house of Jacob” and “the remnant of the house of Israel”? Let’s read about it in the Bible before we continue with the rest of today’s Scripture verses.

Long before the nation of Israel was born, God called a man named Abram, whom God would later rename to Abraham, who was married to Sarai, whom God would later rename to Sarah, to leave the place where he was living with his father and family and go to a land that God would show him. God then told him:

“And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:2-3)

Abram, who was 75-years old, did as God told him to do, and he took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot, and all that Abram and Lot owned, their herds and flocks, and their servants. Abram and Sarai had no children. When they entered the land that God told them to go to, they realized that the land would not be sufficient in size to support both of Abram and Lot’s herds and flocks. Abram told Lot to choose where he wanted to go and that he would then go in the opposite direction. Lot chose to go to the plain of Jordan because it was “well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.” Lot “pitched his tent toward [as far as] Sodom.” Abram then went to the land of Canaan. (Genesis 13:1-12)

When God made the promise to Abram that is written about in Genesis 12:2-3 that He would make Abram into a great nation, God meant that He would give Abram descendants, i.e., a child, who would then multiply and become a great nation. However, when God gave Abram this promise, Abram was already 75-years old and his wife Sarai was 65 and they had no children, but Abram had obeyed God and went where God had told him to go. As time went on, Abram said to God that time had passed and yet he and Sarai still had no children and Abram wanted to know if a servant of his should be made his heir. God said no, that Abram’s heir would come from his bowels, meaning it would be his own child from his blood and not someone else’s. To confirm this, God renewed His unconditional covenant with Abram with a blood sacrifice of animals. However, unlike the covenants that were done in those days where both participants of the covenant were awake, God caused Abram to fall into a deep sleep and made the covenant with Abram unilaterally; God made the covenant by Himself alone. During this time when Abram was sleeping, God had shown Abram that his future descendants would be in a land that was not theirs, which we know now would be Egypt. They would serve the Egyptians for 400 years, and after that, God would judge their captors and would bring Abram’s descendants out of Egypt with many possessions. However, the Bible tells us that God would not bring them out of the land of Egypt until after 400 years had passed because the sins of the Amorites, who were in the land that God would bring Abram’s descendants into, were not yet full. God would give the Amorites over 400 years to change their ways and turn from their sins before He would bring judgment upon them. God then renewed His covenant with Abram:

“In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed [descendants] have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” (Genesis 15:18-21)

After having grown restless because ten years later, Sarai still had not borne a child with Abram, she proposed that he have a child with her handmaiden named Hagar. Abram did have sexual intercourse with Hagar, and Hagar bore a child named Ishmael. Abram was 86-years old when Ishmael was born. Thirteen years later when Abram was 99, God appeared to him again and confirmed to Abram that His covenant would be between Him and the child that would be born between Abram and Sarai and that His covenant would not be between Him and Ishmael. He also told Abram that He was changing his name to “Abraham” and Sarai’s name to “Sarah”:

“I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect [blameless]. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.” (Genesis 17:1-2)

“Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed [descendants] after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.” (Genesis 17:17-21)

And that is exactly what happened:

“And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.” (Genesis 21:1-5)

Abraham’s son Isaac would grow up and have two sons of his own with his wife Rebekah. The two sons were twins, and were named Esau and Jacob. While Rebekah was still pregnant with them:

“The LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.” (Genesis 25:23)

Because God knows the end from the beginning, God knew that the eldest child would serve the younger and had declared such to Rebekah. The firstborn son was Esau, and the younger son was Jacob. As was custom, Esau had the birthright as the eldest son. Esau had red hair and was a skillful hunter. The Bible tells us that Isaac loved Esau and his mother loved Jacob. Years later, one day after Esau went hunting and came in hungry, he smelled a delicious stew that his brother Jacob was making:

“And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage [a cooked stew]; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom [red]. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he swore unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.” (Genesis 25:30-34)

Esau clearly did not value his birthright and put his fleshly desire, his hunger, above it. He exaggerated his condition of hunger, saying he was at the point of death, in order to justify selling his birthright. He later would regret that decision and hold it against Jacob. However, Esau did not have to accept Jacob’s offer, but he chose to accept it, and he would have to deal with the consequences of the poor choice he had made, just as we do in our own lives.

Years later, when Isaac was very old and could not see, he told Esau to go get some venison and make him some food with it and bring it to him so that he could bless Esau before he died. Rebekah found out about it, and she had Jacob pretend that he was Esau in order for Jacob to receive Isaac’s blessing instead of Esau. Jacob did receive his father’s blessing. Later, when Esau came in to receive his father’s blessing, Isaac trembled exceedingly when he realized that he had blessed Jacob instead of Esau. Esau then “cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry.” (Genesis 27:34). Esau then asked his father if he had reserved a blessing for him:

“And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord [master], and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness [of the fertility] of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; and by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion [become restless], that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.” (Genesis 27:37-41)

Their mother heard what Esau planned to do. She told Jacob to go and stay with her brother until Esau calmed down. Rebekah then told Isaac she was worried for her life if Jacob were to marry a Canaanite woman. Isaac then told Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman but to go to his mother’s brother, Laban’s house in Padan-aram and to take a wife from Laban’s daughters. Esau overheard this and did the opposite of what his father had told his brother, and Esau took Canaanites wives for himself. Notice in the Scripture verses above from Genesis 25:30-34 that it says of Esau, “therefore was his name called Edom,” which means “red.” Esau’s descendants would be called the Edomites, and they would never get along with Israel, Jacob’s descendants, and would fight against them. Esau purposely married Canaanite women who worshipped false gods, and the Edomites would be pagans and would worship false gods instead of the one true God. Jacob’s descendants, the Israelites, though they often strayed, would follow the one true God. The prophets Jeremiah and Obadiah prophesied of what would happen to Esau’s descendants, the Edomites:

“But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled [descendants are plundered], and his brethren, and his neighbors, and he is not [no more].” (Jeremiah 49:10)

“And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining [survivor] of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.” (Obadiah 19)

Much later, the writer in the New Testament book of Hebrews would caution us that our actions do have consequences, just as they did for Esau. It reminds us that we must not let our fleshly desires rule us. We must not let bitterness fester in our hearts, as it did with Esau when he sought to kill his brother and when he purposely married women who did not follow the God of his father:

“Follow [pursue] peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: looking diligently lest any man fail [fall short] of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; lest there be any fornicator, or profane [godless] person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat [food] sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited [wanted to inherit] the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.” (Hebrews 12:14-17)

Isaac then sent Jacob away to his uncle’s house in Padan-arm. While on his way there, Jacob had a dream in which he saw a ladder that reached to heaven, with angels of God going up and down the ladder. In the dream, Jacob was told by God:

And, behold, the LORD stood above it [the ladder], and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed [descendants]; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.” (Genesis 28:13-15)

Jacob arrived in Padan-aram and served his uncle Laban and married two of his daughters, Rachel and Leah. Laban had dealt deceptively with Jacob during that time, but Jacob had remained in the land. Jacob had lived in the land of his father-in-law for twenty years when God told Jacob to return to the land of his family:

“And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.” (Genesis 31:3)

Jacob left with his two wives, eleven sons, servants, and property without telling Laban, and Laban was upset and pursued them and overtook Jacob. Laban and Jacob finally ended up reaching an agreement and made a covenant between them. Laban gave Jacob his blessing for them to leave and to return to Jacob’s homeland.

Jacob and all who were with them continued on their journey to Jacob’s homeland. However, Jacob was deeply concerned about what his brother Esau’s reaction would be when Jacob returned home. Thus, Jacob sent messengers to Esau to tell Esau that Jacob wanted to return home. The messengers returned and said they were met by Esau and four hundred men with him. Jacob became even more afraid and kept coming up with plan after plan on how to meet with Esau. In his despair, he cried out to God:

“And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands [companies]. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite [attack] me, and the mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.” (Genesis 32:9-12)

Jacob was still in fear and continued to try and figure out a way to meet with Esau that would not end up with him and all his family being hurt or murdered. Jacob sent presents of livestock to Esau in multiple waves of his servants. One night after Jacob sent all of his family over a brook:

“And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched [struck] the hollow of his thigh [hip]; and the hollow [socket] of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel [Prince with God]: for as a prince hast thou power with God [for you have struggled with God] and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.” (Genesis 32:24-29)

Did you notice in the Scripture above that Jacob asked the man for his name but was not told it? Did you notice that after Jacob asked for the man’s blessing, he was given the blessing? In the next passage of Scripture, we are told that Jacob realized it was God with whom he had wrestled:

“And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [Face of God]: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. And as he passed over Penuel [Face of God] the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh [limped on his hip]. Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew [muscle] which shrank, which is upon the hollow [socket] of the thigh [hip] unto this day: because he touched [struck] the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.” (Genesis 32:30-32)

How many times in our own lives have we struggled with God, as Jacob did? How many times have we been all alone, with no one and nothing else left to provide comfort to us but Almighty God? Jacob was far from perfect, and yet God would use him in a mighty way, and even changed his name to Israel. Whether or not we want to admit it, we all struggle with God in our lives, and God’s blessing upon us will only come when we have fully submitted to Him. For Jacob, that meant even being struck in the hip and being affected by it for the rest of his life, but God saved him and his family. We are told next in Genesis 33 that Jacob did finally meet with his brother Esau and all was well between them. Esau had forgiven Jacob and let him and his family pass through to where they would build their home, and Esau returned to his home in Seir. God had given Jacob His blessing and Esau’s attitude toward seeing Jacob return home reflected that blessing.

Later, God told Jacob to go to a place called Beth-el in the land of Canaan to live there and to make an altar to Him. God appeared to him again, reconfirming that Jacob’s name would be changed to “Israel”:

“And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty, be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; and the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed [descendants] after thee will I give the land.” (Genesis 35:10-12)

Jacob would go on to become the father of twelve sons, who would become the twelve tribes of Israel:

“Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun: The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin: and the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali: and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padan-aram. And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.” (Genesis 35:22-27)

Thus, this is why God had Isaiah address today’s passage of Scripture to the “house of Jacob” and to “all the remnant of the house of Israel.”

Many years later, Israel would be divided into the northern kingdom of Israel, comprised of ten of the twelve tribes and the southern kingdom of Judah, comprised of two of the tribes, which were Judah and Benjamin. Because of Israel’s sins against Him, particularly because of their worship of false gods and idols, God would allow the northern kingdom of Israel to be conquered by Assyria. Many people in Israel would be taken captive by the Assyrians and kicked out of the land of Israel. Only a small remnant of the ten tribes of Israel would remain in Israel.

The Assyrians would also threaten Judah and Jerusalem until God would intervene (2 Chronicles 32:22). Later, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, would overtake Judah and Jerusalem and would take most of its people captive to Babylon. There they would serve their captors for a period of seventy years. God allowed this seventy-year period of suffering and anguish to happen for a purpose: for Israel to see that He alone is God and that there is no other. He did this to show them that He would not pollute or profane His name and He would not forget His promises to them. He did this to show them that they need Him, and that it is in Him alone where salvation is found.

God, through the prophet Isaiah, prophesied about a man whom God identified by name 150 years before he was even born, the man Cyrus. Cyrus would become the great king from the Persian empire that would ally itself with the Medes. God would raise up this king to let the people of Judah return to their land after their seventy years in captivity in Babylon (Isaiah 44:28, 45:1, 45:13). It would be King Cyrus who would assist the Jews in rebuilding Jerusalem and the Jewish temple:

“That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid. Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden [held], to subdue the nations before him; and I will loose the loins [armour] of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates [double doors]; and the gates shall not be shut…” (Isaiah 44:28, 45:1)

God told His people this in advance, long before it happened, so that they would know it was Him that caused it to happen and not any of their idols. God told them it would happen long before it happened so that they knew God was testing them but He would not allow all of them die. He would save a remnant of them and bring them back into their land of Israel:

“Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass [bronze]; I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed [proclaimed] it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thous didst not know them.” (Isaiah 48:4-6)

“For my name’s sake will I defer [delay] mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain [restrain] for thee, that I cut thee not off [destroy thee not]. Behold, I have refined [tested] thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted [profaned]? and I will not give my glory unto another. Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. Mine hands hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned [stretched out] the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up all together. All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The LORD hath loved him: he will do all his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.” (Isaiah 48:9-15)

As written about in 2 Chronicles 36, the prophecy previously made by Jeremiah that said Judah would be set free from Babylon after 70 years of captivity there (Jeremiah 25:9-12, 27:6-8, 29:10), would be fulfilled:

“To fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten [seventy] years. Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus the king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house [Temple] in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.” (2 Chronicles 36:21-23)

In today’s Scripture verses from Isaiah 46:3-4, God was reminding His people that it was He who had created them and had carried them to that point from birth. He was reminding them that it is He alone who will carry them to their old age. God was reminding them to listen to Him. He was showing them what happens when people put their trust in false gods and idols: they cannot save anyone; it is only Him who could save them.

In all of Israel’s struggles against God, God remained faithful to them at that time, as He remains faithful to them today. He will not cast them away. He will not break His everlasting covenant that He made with them. He reassures them of this in Isaiah 41:

“But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded [disgraced]: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought [as nothing]. For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 41:8-14)

Notice in that last sentence of the Scripture above, God refers to Jacob as a “worm.” Worms are small and insignificant. They are likely to be plucked up and eaten by birds. They can be walked on and crushed by the feet of people. They are completely helpless. That is a perfect analogy for the people of Israel, for without God, they are completely helpless, and it is why God has carried them from the beginning and will carry them through to the end.

Gotquestions.org has a good article about why God referred to Jacob as a “worm,” and it notes that the word “worm” in Hebrew is “tola” and it can mean either “worm” or “scarlet material.” The article goes on to describe a specific type of worm that leaves a red or scarlet color when it dies: (See: https://www.gotquestions.org/worm-Jacob.html)

“The “worm” in question is usually identified as the Coccus ilicis, an insect that was used in ancient times to make scarlet dye. When a female “scarlet worm” is ready to have young, it permanently attaches itself to the trunk of a tree and lays its eggs. The insect then dies and in death turns crimson, staining the surrounding wood scarlet as well. The dead bodies of these insects were then collected and the scarlet fluid extracted; the resulting brilliant dye was prized for coloring fabric and thread.”

The article discusses how Jesus called Himself a “worm” in a Messianic Psalm, Psalm 22:6:

Significantly, the word tola is also found Psalm 22:6, a messianic psalm. Here, the Messiah says, “But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people,” and goes on to describe His pierced hands and feet (verse 16), the mockery of the onlookers (verse 7), and the gambling over His clothing (verse 18). Like the little “crimson worm,” the Messiah was deemed frail, lowly, and insignificant. “He made himself nothing” (Philippians 2:7). Like the “crimson worm,” Jesus hung from a tree, stained the wood crimson, and died giving life to others.

I do not think it is any coincidence that God referred to Jacob as a worm, for it is from the descendants of Jacob that the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, would come:

“I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.” (Isaiah 46:13)

When God decided to create Israel from the man he chose named Abraham and his wife named Sarah, God knew that Israel would struggle against Him, that they would sin and put their faith and trust in men, in false gods, and in idols instead of in Him, and yet, He still chose them to carry out His purposes. God allowed them to make their own choices and to receive the consequences of those poor choices. Similarly, before God created each and every one of us, He knew all our sins that we would commit, and yet, He still created us. God allows us to make poor choices and to receive the consequences of those poor choices.

Let us read some more of the words of God that He spoke to His people Israel through Isaiah, and let us take particular notice to the love of God that is expressed to them. To recap, God would use the king of Persia to set the captives of Judah free from Babylon and allow them to return to their land Israel, where they would rebuild Jerusalem and build a new Temple. Before that would happen, God wanted His people to hear Him, to hear His words of love to them. He wanted to remind them of the futility that happens when they themselves had worshipped false gods and idols, just as the Babylonians had done. He wanted to tell them that He had not forgotten them and that He had forgiven them of their sins:

“Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen: Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. One shall say, I am the LORD’s; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel, Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them. Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have I not told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? yea, there is no God; I know not any. They that make a graven image are all of them vanity [useless]; and their delectable [precious] things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his fellows [companions] shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together.” (Isaiah 44:1-11)

“Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of [by] me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.” (Isaiah 44:21-23)

The same is true for us today, whether we are Jew or Gentile (non-Jew); God has not forgotten us. Over five hundred years after king Cyrus set the captives free and allowed them to return to their land in Israel, God would send His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, whose coming was also prophesied in the book of Isaiah, so that all who believe in Him would also be set free, freed from all our sins, and would not perish but have eternal life. Let us read the prophecies of the coming Messiah as written by the prophet Isaiah, all those years ago, and the proclamations of John the Baptist when he saw Jesus with his own eyes:

“Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath 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 of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:1-7)

“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:10-12)

“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

“And John bare record [witness], saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:32-34)

Are we listening to what God, the One who created each and every one of us, is saying to us? We all have a choice to make: will we trust in our false gods and idols to save us, or will we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ to save us and redeem us of all our sins? Will we carry our own gods and idols, or will we let God Himself carry us? ✝️