Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

46:1-7 The gods of Babylon fail their devotees, but the God of Israel saves his people.

46:1-2 Bel . . . Nebo. Isaiah aims his polemic at two of Babylon's chief gods. these things you carry. Images of these gods were carried in procession at the annual New Year's festival in Babylon. But rather than lead the way into the future, they go into captivity under historical forces beyond their control.

46:3-4 borne by me. While the idols must be carried, the God of Israel carries his people. the remnant. Those who survived the Babylonian captivity. from before your birth . . . even to your old age. There is never one moment when God fails his people. I am he . . . I will carry and will save. God emphasizes his personal commitments to his people.

46:5 To whom will you liken me? Biblical faith refuses to limit God to analogies within the creation. Though God teaches about himself with many analogies throughout the Bible, in the end no analogy, and no combination of analogies, can adequately describe his greatness.

46:6-7 Created gods are dependent on their creators. they carry it. If a god has to be carried, how can it unburden its worshipers? it cannot move. If a god cannot move, how can it intervene? it does not answer or save. Gold and silver are lavished on the god, to no benefit. Isaiah's contempt is obvious.

46:8-13 The only true God will succeed in his glorious purpose for his stubborn people.

46:8-11 stand firm. God calls his people to a bold trust in his sole deity and sovereign ways. recall it to mind. Mental focus on who God is must be renewed, for the idolatrous culture of the world erodes clarity. transgressors. The natural thoughts of the human mind resist the truth about God. the former things of old. The record of God's faithfulness in the past. declaring . . . saying . . . calling. God calls for a wholehearted trust in his unfailing word. a bird of prey from the east. Cyrus.

46:12-13 Even as the idols of the world are failing in their claims and God is succeeding in his promises, his people are still stubborn of heart to believe his word and accept his ways. my righteousness . . . my salvation . . . my glory. God does not need his people's faith to carry him forward. He will keep his promises to them for reasons springing from his own nature and purpose.

47:1-7 In contrast with Zion's salvation (46:13), Babylon is doomed to national disgrace.

47:1 The virgin daughter of Babylon . . . tender and delicate is Babylon itself, portrayed as a self-indulgent girl now subjected to the harsh realities of judgment. Babylon came to symbolize world culture in contempt of God (cf. Revelation 18).

47:2 God warns Babylon of the end of its luxurious selfishness and the beginning of slavery and exile.

47:4 The only safety in a world under judgment is the Lord himself, who acts for the sake of his people.

47:5-7 Sit in silence. Babylon is left with nothing to say. God used the Babylonians to discipline his own people, as he said he would (cf. Deut. 28:49-50), but God still held Babylon accountable for their cruel abuses and unthinking arrogance (cf. Isa. 10:5-19).

47:8-11 Babylon's proud religion is exposed.

47:8 I am, and there is no one besides me. The self-deifying autonomy at the heart of Babylon blasphemes God (cf. 41:4; 44:6; 45:5-6, 18, 21-22; 46:9; Rev. 18:7). All nations, without exception, are accountable to God.

47:9 loss of children and widowhood. No future for Babylonian civilization. your many sorceries . . . your enchantments. See Ezek. 21:21; Babylon's religion claimed to guarantee favorable outcomes, but it proved powerless to avert the overwhelming disaster decreed by the God of Israel.

47:10 No one sees me. Defiant silencing of conscience. your wisdom and your knowledge. Intellectual pride distorts judgment. I am. See v. 8.

47:11 "You felt secure in your wickedness [Hb. ra‘ah]" (v. 10) is answered by but evil (Hb. ra‘ah) shall come upon you. This is the measure-for-measure "vengeance" of v. 3.

47:12-15 Babylon is left alone and helpless.

47:12 Stand fast . . . perhaps . . . perhaps. Isaiah mocks Babylon.

47:13 You are wearied. See 46:1. The idolatries of Babylon worked through the many counsels that their leaders turned to in national emergency. They leaned hard on their remedies, but nothing helped. those who divide the heavens. Astrology, a kind of false prophecy, was highly developed in Babylon (cf. Dan. 2:1-2).

47:14 Babylonian counselors burn like stubble, but the fire offers no benefit.

47:15 they wander about. When Babylon's partners in trade are most needed, they busy themselves elsewhere.