Last Sunday, I mentioned Solomon as an example of a life of faith that began so wonderfully but ended very tragically. Solomon knew the scriptures well, we know this because of what he wrote in the book of Proverbs, and one such verse that he wrote was Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.” In fact, according to Proverbs, real wisdom is the Old Testament Law applied to all of life. Yet, at some point, Solomon’s heart was turned away from God and foolishly pursued what God warned would lead to heartbreak, shame, and disaster.
The thing that Solomon’s father, David, was known for was that he was a man of war (1 Chron. 28:3), which Solomon was not. Solomon was known as a man of peace. The problem was that he pursued peace even if it meant that he ignored the very Law of God that influenced his writing of Proverbs. One of the ways the kings of other nations would enter into a peace agreement or an alliance (i.e. covenant) was by marrying the daughter(s) of the king of that nation. We are told that Solomon, “loved many foreign women” (1 Ki. 1-2). The problem with this is multifaceted, but here is what God commanded in His word that Solomon ignored:
Be careful that you do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst. But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their memorial stones, and cut down their Asherim —for you shall not worship any other god, because the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they would prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice, and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might prostitute themselves with their gods and cause your sons also to prostitute themselves with their gods. You shall not make for yourself any gods cast in metal.” (Exod. 34:12–17)
Solomon, who had been known for his godly wisdom and the building of the Temple, “loved many foreign women” (1 Ki. 11:1-2). So what happened? Listen to what the Bible says about Solomon’s ending legacy:
So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as his father David had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abhorrent idol of Moab, on the mountain that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abhorrent idol of the sons of Ammon. He also did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.” (1 Ki. 11:6–8)
What Solomon thought would bring peace, contentment, and success... created a crushing burden the wrecked his life and led to the dividing of the nation of Israel into the North and the South.
After the death of Solomon, the divisive spirit Solomon was responsible for creating through his many compromises led to the splitting of the nation he loved. The king of the northern kingdom (Jeroboam) established two alternative places to worship to keep those in the North from traveling to the Southern kingdom to worship Yahweh in the Temple that Solomon built. King Jeroboam set up golden calves not unlike the one made by the Hebrews after Moses was up on the mountain receiving the commandments of God; Jeroboam then said to the people: “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt” (1 Ki. 12:28). The Northen Kingdom in Israel was known for its rampant and evil idolatry that included child sacrifice and gross perversions of marriage and sex, all while promoting a worldview contrary to the one of their forefathers. After many years of God warning the Northern Kingdom through His Word and His prophets to repent from their sins, and after many years of ignoring those warnings, God used the Asyrian Kingdom to judge, destroy, and exile many of the people.
The Southern Kingdom was initially led by Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. In many respects, the Sothern Kingdom remained somewhat loyal to the faith and vision of their forefathers such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David. There were no doubt periods of idolatry, but there were also seasons of religious reform with an emphasis to return and maintain the worship of Yahweh at the Temple in Jerusalem. Many in the Southern Kingdom believed that because they had Solomon’s Temple, that they had the presence of God. Eventually the Southern Kingdom grew increasingly nominal in their faith to the point that God also sent them prophets to warn them of a similar fate that the Northern Kingdom suffered if they did not repent. Because they had Solomon’s Temple, were more conservative, and were ‘not as bad’ as those in the Northern Kingdom, that they were safe. Eventually the Southern Kingdom became known for their worship of the idols of the nation’s, instead of their worship of the God of Abraham, Moses, and David.
Both the Southern and Northern Kingdoms eventually experienced the crushing burden that their idols created. But it was after the Northen Kingdom’s demise and God’s repeated warnings to the Sothern Kingdom to turn from their sins that Isaiah wrote what we read in 46:1-13.
Creaturely Idols Create Crushing Burdens for those who Bow Before Them
Idols come in all shapes and sizes; they are not only physical creations made with human hands. Idols include established gods worshiped by people groups and cultures, but they also come in the form of ideologies, things, or people that are made ultimate in the heart of their devotees. Some of the ancient idols of long ago have taken different shapes or even cloaked in a different dress... but they are not new.
In Isaiah 46, the prophet calls out the worship of the Babylonian gods known as Bel and Nebo about a century before we are introduced to Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel. Bel was the chief god worshiped by the Babylonians who was also known as Marduk and believed to be responsible for creation and worshiped as the supreme god. Nebo, the son of Bel (Marduk), was worshiped as the the Babylonian god of wisdom, writing, and scribes.
In Isaiah 46, Bel and Nebo are depicted as burdens pulled by cattle; the irony of the way they are depicted is that in the days of Isaiah, when a nation was conquered, because it was believed that their gods were unable to save, the victorious army would put on display in a parade the idols of the defeated people. At least the defeated worshipers of Bel and Nebo can move, but the gods the Babylonians attribute power and knowledge to are stooped over because they are powerless, motionless, and without life. Like every other idol in the world, Bel and Nebo have no power to save or produce what they promise.
The weight of Bel and Nebo is crushing even to the cattle forced to transport them. Why? Because according to verses 6-7, “Those who lavish gold from the bag and weigh silver on the scale, hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; they bow down, indeed they worship it. They lift it on the shoulder, carry it, and set it in its place, and it stands there. It does not move from its place. Though one may shout to it, it cannot answer; it cannot save him from his distress” (Isa 46:6–7).
Those who worshiped Bel and Nebo, essentially worship a god of their own creation. All that the gods add to the lives of those who worship them is a “burden.” The word for burden that is used (mǎś-śā) can be translated “weight.” There is a universal fact about what people chose to worship: Anything we create to worship... will require its creator to carry it. Idols always promise what they cannot give, and rob those who worship them the life, joy, and salvation that those idols offer. The only thing that created idols offer is the crushing weight of their burden.
Unlike the idols of the world, there is only one God who created all things! Because He is the Creator, all of His creation is dependent upon Him. Because He is the Creator, He is the One who carries those who worship Him: “Even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will carry you! I have done it, and I will bear you; and I will carry you and I will save you. ‘To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal, and compare Me, that we would be alike?’” (vv. 4–5).
The Uncreated God Powerfully and Purposefully Saves (vv. 8-13)
Just as He did with the gods of Egypt, the God of Abraham, Moses, and David promised to do the same with the gods of Babylon. The reality and existence of Yahweh puts everything and anyone who would set themselves up to be more than what they are... to shame. Lucifer attempted to usurp the God who made him, God cast Him out and Jesus said of that day: “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning” (Luke 10:18). In Isaiah 14, we are given a glimpse into the heart and motives of Lucifer:
How you have fallen from heaven, you star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who defeated the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’” (Isa. 14:12–14)
Because God is God, He declares the end from the beginning. What does that mean? It means what He wills, He not only does but accomplishes! What else could verse 10 mean? It is God who is responsible for, “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My plan will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.’” There is no room for luck, chance, or karma in a universe with a God who “declares the end from the beginning.”
Because Yahweh is God, he does not need anything from us. There is no deficiency in Him because He is complete; but not complete in the way we think of completion... no, He is infinitely and eternally complete. Only six chapters earlier, we are reminded of how big and great our God really is:
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.... To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him? As for the idol, a craftsman casts it, A goldsmith plates it with gold, and a silversmith fashions chains of silver. He who is too impoverished for such an offering selects a tree that does not rot; he seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman to prepare an idol that will not totter. (Isa. 40:15, 18-20)
Think about the foolishness of worshiping something you create with your own hands. Is it not just as foolish to bow down to idols of other shapes and sizes? As great as Solomon’s Temple was, it ultimately became an idol to the people in that they became more concerned about the performance of worship than who they were worshiping. In Isaiah 66, God reminded Judah why it was that He did not need anything they created: “This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is My throne and the earth is the footstool for My feet. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? ‘For My hand made all these things, So all these things came into being,” declares the Lord. But I will look to this one, at one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at My word’” (Isa. 66:1–2).
God does not dwell in temples, and He does not need anything from us. Because there is not a God like Him, He does not need us to carry Him and His promises are not dependent upon our strength. However, what He desires from us is our hearts and our devotion.
Now here is the crazy thing about what we learn of God in Isaiah 46, and we see it in verses 12-13, “Listen to Me, you stubborn-minded, who are far from righteousness. ‘I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off; and My salvation will not delay. And I will grant salvation in Zion, And My glory for Israel’” (Isa. 46:12–13). The God who has no equal and cannot be added to, is He who brings His righteousness to those who are far off! If you are a Christian, you were once far off, but now you have brought near! If you are not a Christian, you are still far off, but it doesn’t have stay that way! Oh dear Christian, this is great news for you! We have seen Isaiah 46:12-13 in another passage in the New Testament, and that place is in Ephesians: “But now in Christ Jesus you who previously were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13).
Listen, there is only One who spoke all that exists by the word of His mouth in six days and rested on the seventh day (Exod. 20:11). There is only One who reduced Pharoah and his gods to nothing with the Ten Plagues (Exod. 7:14-11:10). There is only One who was able to part the Red Sea (Exod. 14). There is only One who is able to make time stand still (Josh 10:13). There is only One who is able to move kingdoms and empires to bring about the birth of His promised Son! There is only One God and there is no other, and it is He who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – He is Yahweh! Christian, it is He who brought you near through the blood of His Son! It is He who made you “His Priesthood,” “His People,” and “His Treasured Possession.” You who were once far off, have become the objects of His love, His mercy, His grace, and are now the apple of His eye!
You who ran from Him, have been found by the One who said: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light” (Matt. 11:28–30). You who were weary and burdened, have found rest in Jesus.
Conclusion
So here is the rub regarding what we read in Isaiah 46: If it is true that the God of the Bible is God and there is no other; if it is true that the God of Isaiah 46 is God and there is no one like Him, and because of God, that which He wills will come to pass, then don’t you think that it is foolish to make or treat anything in your life as equal or greater than He?
Yet, there are all kinds of things, dreams, and people in your life competing for the greatest and most valuable place in your life. This is nothing new, for it has always been the tension since the garden of Eden. Just because God found you, does not mean that you will not struggle with and fight against the pull and temptation to substitute God with something else. Adam and Eve faced this struggle in the Garden, and they lost. Abraham wrestled throughout his life with this same struggle. King David struggled and lost on several occasions, the most notable was his desire for Bathsheba. Judas struggled and lost, Ananias and Saphira struggled and lost, and you may be struggling and now you find yourself losing. Anytime we place a thing, person, dream, or ideology above the God whose rightful place in your life in preeminence... you will find the burden to be crushing.
We will look at Isaiah 45:22-24, but for now, I want you to consider what it is saying:
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. “I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. “They will say of Me, ‘Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength.’ People will come to Him, and all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.”
There is only one to whom all will bow, and there is no God like Him... and His name is Jesus:
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:8–11)
What you need and what this country needs most is not for anything other than Jesus Christ to be great in your life. He is the hope of the nations.
