Season 6, Podcast 105, Isaiah 46:1-13, “To Whom Will Ye Liken Me?”

Season 6, Podcast 105, Isaiah 46:1-13, “To Whom Will Ye Liken Me?”The two primary gods of Babylon were Marduk Bel, King of the gods, storms, and order. Nebo, god of wisdom, writing, and scribes. Isaiah 46:1Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast.The fall of Babylon is symbolized by the fact that the idols are stolen. Isaiah 46:2They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.The idols have no power, not even to save themselves or to save Babylon. They are mere heavy weights hauled away on a cart. The lifelessness of heathen gods is a common theme in the Holy Scriptures. Deuteronomy 4:28And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.It is difficult for the western mind to understand idol worship. Perhaps it is just as difficult for idol worshiping nations to worship an invisible God. Religion was revolutionized when monotheism was introduced, where all power was placed in a single, invisible god. All idol worshiping nations have multiple gods, and each god is blessing specific. For example, Babylon had Marduk or Bel, king of gods and order; Nebo, god of wisdom and writing; Ishtar, god of love, war, and fertility; Shamash, the sun god, god of law and justice; Sin, the moon god; Tiamat, god of chaos, and the salt sea. Marduk is symbolized by the dragon; Nebo by the stylus; Ishtar by the star or lion; Shamash by the sun; Sin by the moon; and Tiamat by the sea serpent. The true God is trying to teach Israel that he alone is God. Isaiah 46:3-4Hearken 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.5 RONGod emphasizes that he watches over his children from birth to death. He alone can deliver them. This, of course, is an image of Christ who saves us from our sins, who delivers us from the cunning of Satan, and who brings us back into his kingdom.  He is nonpareil. He has no equal.Isaiah 46:5To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?He is not like any of the false gods made of wood, stone, or precious metals. God does not even want his children to worship images of his own creations. Exodus 20:3-5Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;For me, one of the greatest images of the futility of idol worship is given in the story of Elijah before the priests of Baal. The God Marduk, also called Bel, is similar to Baal.