"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)."
An infinite contrast exists between the eternal, sovereign, covenant keeping God of glory and the false gods of the nations. Perhaps nowhere is this contrast shown more clearly than in this 46th chapter of Isaiah. The world is full of religion and religious people. Many denominations and factions of denominations are devoted to their ideas regarding the worship of God. The various denominations are separated to some extent because of differences of opinion regarding the nature of God, the gospel, the proper method of worship, church organization, and so on. However they may disagree over other matters, it seems that the vast majority of the religious world agree to serve a god which falls infinitely short of the God revealed in the Bible. They, like the devotees of Bel and Nebo of old, serve a god which must be borne by them a god which is a burden to them instead of the true God, who bears His people from the womb through old age. The word of the Lord to His chosen remnant i
"Hearken unto me." I am persuaded that Almighty God speaks to the hearts of His children in all nations and through all generations to "hearken unto me." I am further persuaded that He speaks effectually. He captures their attention and draws them to hear Him over the din of religious confusion. The great division among religious people is not man-made. It is the division brought about by the voice of God, separating the true worshippers who hear His voice from the multitudes who follow the voice of strangers. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the great Shepherd of His sheep. He distinguished His sheep as those who know His voice. " when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers (John 10.4-5)." May the God of all grace bless us to consider the contrast between the sad state of the idol worshippers and the blessedness of
those who are borne of God.
Chapter 46 of Isaiah begins with these words: "Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth." These were two highly revered "gods" of the Babylonians. Their names were incorporated into the names of Babylon's kings: Belshazzar from Bel, and Nebuchadnezzar from Nebo. The Babylonians esteemed these gods as superior over all others, including the God of captivated Israel, Jehovah. The Babylonians mocked their captive Jews with these idols, claiming that, since Babylon had captured Jerusalem and carried the Jews off to Babylon, Jehovah God was not able to deliver His people from the mighty Bel and Nebo worshippers. "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion (Psalm 137.1-3)." As far as the Babylonians could see, the course of history was provin
g their gods and their system of worship to be true and superior. Indeed, even God's covenant people were hard pressed to reconcile the events they witnessed and experienced with their faith in the sovereignty of Jehovah. "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land (Psalm 137.4)?" In our day we see that the abominations that caused the Old School Baptist brethren to take their stand in the early 1800's have multiplied, as have the numbers of those who perpetuate them. Modern religion has abandoned all traces of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and has raised up in its place a worldly, idolatrous monument to the gods of pleasure, prosperity, and sensuality. The high priests of this system win the hearts of their devotees with a flesh-exalting mantra of psychological mumbo jumbo. The modern "houses of worship" are packed with gigantic congregations lured in and captivated by the charisma of the "preacher" and the comfortable feeling of the worldly entertainment that sets the mo
od. The degeneration and emptiness of what passes for religion in most circles today would shock even the most innovative of the "means" advocates of the last century. While they scoff and mock the children of Zion as the "chosen frozen," their popularity and prosperity grow by leaps and bounds. This success inflates them to predictions of a grand and glorious future. The new religion calls the various denominations to devalue any distinctive doctrinal positions they may still hold in order to unite in the work of ushering in a new glorious day. While all this is going on "out there," we see the diminishing of the ranks of the Old School Baptists. Our churches are few and far between. Our "old soldier" ministers and "solid citizen" members are passing on with few prospects apparent to take their places in the ranks. History seems to be putting its stamp of approval on the new system while consigning the Old School of Christ to the scrap heap of obsolescence.
Not so fast, my friends. Things are not always as they seem. "Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off (1 Kings 20.11)." The prophet Isaiah was blessed to see the "latter end" of these boastful Babylonians and their so-called gods. There was to come a "ravenous bird from the east", whom Jehovah had already named. Cyrus, king of Persia, would overthrow Babylon and issue the decree to re-establish Jerusalem. And what of the idols, Bel and Nebo? They were to be broken and carted off to the recycling center to be melted down for some more useful service. Thus, "Bel 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. They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity (Isaiah 46.1,2)." Their "latter end" was worse than the beginning. This was not an isolated incident. This is a uni
versal principle. False idols and those who worship them regardless of how they may seem to prosper for a season shall all be ultimately brought down in shame and confusion; while the afflicted, poor, and maligned servants of Almighty God shall be delivered and vindicated. "Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols. But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end (Isaiah 45.15-17)."
"Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself " How unlike the common opinion of the religious world is this. According to them, God is doing everything He can to make Himself known to all of Adam's race. He is standing at the door of the sinner's heart, meekly waiting to be invited in. The purveyors of this notion encompass sea and land to make proselytes. They buy air time on television and radio to talk about a god that loves everybody and wants to save them. They say that he has done all he can do about it and that it is up to us. Only we, with our free will, can make the eternal difference between glorious bliss and everlasting destruction. If there is any obstacle in the way of salvation, say they, it is not on God's part. "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them (Isaiah 8.20)." Our Lord Jesus said it this way: "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things f
rom the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him (Matthew 11.25-27)." Again, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6.44)."
"Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself " Our God often "hides" Himself in His providential dealings with His people and with the nations. This is not so with the modern god. The modern god is transparent and easy to understand. The modern god is completely accessible at all times. One can get as close to this new god as one wishes. Just "name it and claim it." According to his media ambassadors, this modern god is so much at the disposal of his worshippers that he can't exercise parental discretion on their prayers. They say, "You had better be careful what you pray for, because you might pray down something that will be to your harm." According to them, a disciple of this modern god might "demand" something which would not "work together" for his or her good. I suppose it is conceivable that one could so manipulate this god through prayer as to cause one to die "before his time." The modern god is not mysterious or hard to understand. In fact, since he doesn't have anything
to do with any of the "bad" stuff the evil thoughts and deeds of men, catastrophic storms and disturbances in nature, economic setbacks, chronic health problems, etc. this modern god seems to be as perplexed as any by these things. He is not in control of these things with a wise and holy purpose in every detail he just "feels our pain" and expects us to smile and count on him to somehow "get the best" of these bad things eventually. Away with this helpless imposter! If I have to worship one who is at the mercy of outside influences, I might as well worship myself! William Cowper described the works of the REAL God as follows:
Deep in unfathomable mines
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
His purposes will ripen fast,
Blind unbelief is sure to err,
(Cowper, #68 in Beebe Collection)
The children of God are called to walk by faith and not by sight. This is constantly trying to the flesh. When we look at the outward appearance of things in our lives and in the world around us, God seems to be hidden. It is only when we are blessed by grace to see what is real by faith that God's wonderful, unerring hand becomes evident. "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4.17,18)."
"Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob " This is the secret. Others may try to tell us anything. We are not to take the Babylonian's word as to who God is and how He works. We are not to listen to those who cry, "Lo, here," and, "Lo, there." We are not to give "heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils." We are not to get our doctrine from the reverend doctors of the theological seminaries. We are not to trust in the arm of flesh or to lean to our own understanding. We are to hearken unto the Word of God. Almighty God has never lied to us about Himself, His works, or His will concerning His elect. We may rely on His word in all matters at all times and under all circumstances. God's word is sufficient for us. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3.16,17)." Our Lord, whose prayer i
s always heard by the Father, prayed that His people would be set apart from the world by His word of truth. "I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because . They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth . And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth (John 17.14-19)." God's Word is true. It declares the matter as it is not as it appears to be. Almighty God declares "the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure (Isaiah 46.10)." When we believe the word of man and look on the outward appearance of our circumstances, all we can see is, "with man it is impossible." When we are blessed to credit God's testimony, then we can believe "with God all things are possible."
In the midst of her most trying difficulties our God has spoken to the "house of Jacob and all the remnant of the house of Israel." Jacob and Israel are two names for the same person. The name Jacob, which means "supplanter," is the name Isaac's younger son was given at birth. Israel, meaning "prince with God", is the name the Angel of God gave him at Peniel after they wrestled all night. The name Jacob describes the children of God as they are by nature depraved, self-centered, deceiving usurpers. The name Israel describes the blessed position of these people in Jesus Christ "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people (1 Peter 2.9)." When the God who hides Himself speaks, He speaks to this people. He speaks to them in their afflictions, and reminds them of His nature, His promises, His works on their behalf, and His purpose to keep them through all their trials unto the glorious, predestined end of their faith.
"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)." What an incredible blessing to be named among such a nation! "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance (Psalm 33.12)." While the idol worshippers have to bear their gods, and groan under the weight of an impotent idol that can't deliver them from the enemy, the house of Jacob and all the remnant of the house of Israel are borne by their God. God does not begin to bear them when they call on Him, but they are "borne by me from the belly," and "carried from the womb." In fact, this care of God to His people goes way back beyond the womb. "He bare them, and carried them all the days of old (Isaiah 63.9)." The
eternal God never changes, and neither does His tender care and support to His children. He does not bear them until they are able to fend for themselves. He does not get them started "in the Spirit" and let them finish "in the flesh," but He says, "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." What courage, what confidence, what boldness, what humility, what peace do these words inspire in those to whom they are spoken! Take heart, ye fearful and beleaguered saints. Hearken to the One who undertakes for you in all things. Look unto God, your refuge and strength. He who has "begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1.6)." He will "never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Hebrews 13.5)." If we are given such assurance that God is for us, has been for us, and always will be for us, then it matters not how few we seem to be or how despised our p
recious doctrine is by the world. We can go forward in the strength of the Lord and boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me (Hebrews 13.6)."
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
And scan his works in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.
Please direct your comments to
Elder Shannon Vaughn
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