Music Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Isaiah chapter 46 contrasts the gods of the day with Jehovah God, bringing out a clear picture of the sovereignty and power of our God. He's the one we can confidently and safely commit ourselves to. His character evokes awe and worship. Let's listen in to this message from Isaiah 46. And once again, if you would have your copy of the scriptures open to Isaiah chapter 46 for today's exposition, it is time now for us to engage the Word of God.
We're continuing in the series, Behold Your God. Today we're in Isaiah chapter 46. And to begin with, before we pray, would you please stand with me and let's read two verses of scripture together, verses 9 and 10. Isaiah 46, 9 and 10.
Let's read these together. Remember the former things of old, for I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning.
And from ancient times, things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. Father God, we acknowledge You this morning as our Creator. Meaning You are the one who defines the purpose of our existence. Not only are You our Creator, but You are our benevolent sovereign. You are good, You are gracious, You are kind.
You are forbearing and loving. And we thank You, Father, that You have made Yourself known to us in this way that we can know You and walk with You and serve You with delight. And so, Father, as we come to the time now where we open Your Word to engage it, I pray, Father, that You would open our hearts and our minds and that You would find us coming with expectancy and humility because Your Word is given to us not just for our information but for our transformation. And so, Father, do this work in our hearts. Manifest Yourself to us that we may indeed know You and remember You as You really are. We pray these things in Jesus' name.
Amen. Please be seated. Remember the context of this portion of Scripture is that the prophet Isaiah prophesying somewhere around 700 B.C., he is speaking to Judah. And he is letting them know that one day they're going to be taken captive. This pagan nation is going to come and is going to cart them away.
The ten northern tribes of Israel have already been scattered by the Assyrian Empire. And one day Judah will be taken captive. They will be in captivity for about 70 years and then God is going to overthrow the Babylonian Empire by the Medo-Persian Empire by one king named Cyrus. And that king is going to issue the command for Judah to go back to their land and to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. And God is foretelling all of this well over a century before it happens. It is in this context that we understand these verses in front of us. And the way he begins in the first two verses is after Babylon has been now overthrown by the Medo-Persian Empire and they are traveling and some of them are having to be on the move and they're going away and they're being spread out that the Babylonians and the pagan peoples will pick up their gods and will strap them to a beast of burden and their gods will be carried along by this beast of burden. And some of them are very heavy because they're made out of gold.
And we know that gold is weighty. But these gods that were crafted by man, they are gods that cannot rescue. They are gods that cannot hear. And we learn from this that a false god becomes a burden to the weary. A burden to the weary. And he mentions two gods that are being carried along.
You can just imagine this particular, probably very nicely fashioned idol, but an idol nonetheless, is being carried along strapped to the side of a beast of burden. And the two gods that he mentions, one is Bel and you see these as reflected in the names of the monarchs of the Babylonian Empire. Bel, as in Belshazzar. Bel was the chief Babylonian god and these religious systems were heavy in astrology and they equated this chief Babylonian god, Bel, with the planet Jupiter. And Nebo is mentioned also.
He was considered the scribe of heaven and he was equated with Mercury. But these are but personifications of a system that has been created. John Oswald in his commentary on Isaiah says this, Isaiah's point as relevant today as 2700 years ago that once the deity is in any way made part of the creation, once the all important distinction between creator and creation is blurred, the end is entirely predictable. Creation becomes deified.
Purpose cannot be defined. Existence is meaningless and transformation is impossible. Make god human and human god and all is lost.
Doesn't that sound like today? We have before us the revelation of an infinite god who is timeless and his revelation given 2700 years ago is so relevant and timely for us even today because this is the very same thing we see going on. The creation is being deified. Meaning is being lost and many people think transformation is impossible. What do we learn as we have gathered here today as God's people?
What do we learn from this? Here's a very important point. If God is a burden to you, then you've made him in your image. If God is a burden to you, then you've made him in your image. Loved ones I present to you this morning, God is not a burden. He is a delight. He is a loving God. He is a good God. The God of history says, I will carry you.
Why? Because it's his story. We haven't fashioned a God that we have to carry. No one should because a created thing can't be a God. The God of history is the one who carries us because he is the one who is carrying history and we are a part of that.
It is his plan. It is his purpose and we have the privilege of being in it, not vice versa. Because of that, in contrast to that, God through the prophet Isaiah says, to whom will you liken me? It's a good question. We see here as we see throughout the prophecy of Isaiah the uniqueness of God.
To whom will you liken me? And there's one particular point that stands out from today's text in terms of the uniqueness of God and that is the omniscience of God. The omniscience of God.
The word comes from two, omni, all or everything and science, knowledge, omniscience. He says that he is the one that is declaring the end from the beginning. Another translation says he declares the outcome at the start. In the early church, there was a council at Jerusalem and this is recorded in the book of Acts. And at this council in Jerusalem, all the apostles and the elders of the church came together and Paul was there and James was the pastor. And in this council, they were having to tackle a particular issue and they were saying, you know, the church was predominantly Jews at the time because it was still made up of the apostles and the Jews that they had led to Christ, that had come to Christ. But they were also recognizing that it seemed that through the ministry of the apostle Paul, the Gentiles were coming to Christ in droves. And there was a question that arose, do these Gentiles need to become Jewish before we can truly call them Christian, before we understand them to be a part of the church? And they got together at the council of Jerusalem and they said and they established that that was not the case.
The Gentiles don't need to become Jews to be a part of the church, to be considered in Christ. And James then quotes Amos chapter 9. And Amos chapter 9 foretells about God in his purpose and his plan, including the Gentiles into his purpose and bringing them to salvation. And then at the end of that statement in quoting Amos chapter 9, he says this, and it's quoted in Acts chapter 15 verse 18, known to God from eternity are all his works. Now you'll see that in your text if you have a King James or a new King James. If you have another translation, unfortunately it's not in there. And quite frankly, I think it ought to be, right? Because James is making a powerful statement here.
By the way, the textual evidence for this to be in there is pretty strong. Thanks for joining us here at Delight in Grace. You've been listening to Rich Powell, the lead pastor at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Delight in Grace mission is to help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good and your deepest satisfaction in him, the one who is infinitely good. We hope you'll join us again on weekdays at 10 AM.
