The God who Carries

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Isaiah 46 NKJV

1 Bel bows down, Nebo stoops; Their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle. Your carriages were heavily loaded, A burden to the weary beast. 2 They stoop, they bow down together; They could not deliver the burden, But have themselves gone into captivity. 3 “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb: 4 Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you. 5 “To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal And compare Me, that we should be alike? 6 They lavish gold out of the bag, And weigh silver on the scales; They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god; They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship. 7 They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it And set it in its place, and it stands; From its place it shall not move. Though one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer Nor save him out of his trouble. 8 “Remember this, and show yourselves men; Recall to mind, O you transgressors. 9 Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, 10 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,’ 11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it. 12 “Listen to Me, you stubborn-hearted, Who are far from righteousness: 13 I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off; My salvation shall not linger. And I will place salvation in Zion, For Israel My glory.

Lesson

The religion of Babylon, like every religion of the world, had its formal beginning in Genesis 11:1-9

Genesis 11:1–9 NKJV

1 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” 5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

It is the story of a kingdom - the kingdom is everything. It is the hope, safety and salvation of humanity - in the eyes of the people.

We build the kingdom; We gather under strong rulers. We have one voice, one purpose, one destiny - the kingdom that we were made for is ours.

The bigger, more glorious, more impressive the kingdom, the longer it will last. Look on me, you mighty, and despair.

But who makes the bricks? Whenever the kingdom is built and insured by the strength of men, slavery is the result. We were not created to be originals. We were created to reflect the dominion of God.

Outline

This is five poems.

1-2 - Bel and Nebo are carried by their people and their beasts

3-4 - but the true God carries his people

5-7 - The people declare and make their kingdom

8-11 - the True God declares and makes HIS kingdom.

12-13 - The people of God will be saved, and will once again reflect God’s glory, as they were created.

Bel and Nebo

Bel is the chief deity and protector of Babylon. Sometimes known as Bel-Marduk. The name is similar to Baal of Canaan, and the religion is the same. The Baal (lord) of Babylon is Marduk. His destiny is the destiny of Babylon.

Nebo is Bel’s son, and the chief god of a city south of Babylon.

Every year, the idol of Nebo was brought to Babylon and Bel and Nebo went around the city in a procession, and then wrote in the book of destiny the fortunes of Babylon for the next year.

That is the backdrop.

But the idols were made by people, in the image of people. They were carried from place to place by people. The “destiny” that they wrote was the writing of the people.

The kingdom was a kingdom of man reflected through the idols of Bel and Nebo.

Bel and Nebo were the “glory” of Babylon.

But when the true God comes in judgment, what will happen?

Bel and Nebo will be taken away - by tired beasts of burden. They will “stoop and bend over”

Israel, seeking a kingdom of Man and the glories of the earthly kingdoms, have worshiped and sought after the gods of the nations. But those gods are unable to save anyone. They can’t even save themselves. They simply reflect the glory of the nations who build them

And all nations go the way of Babel.

Revelation 18 NIV

1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2 With a mighty voice he shouted: “ ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal. 3 For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.” 4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “ ‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; 5 for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. 6 Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup. 7 Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn.’ 8 Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her. 9 “When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. 10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!’ 11 “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore—12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves. 14 “They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ 15 The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn 16 and cry out: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! 17 In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’ “Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. 18 When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ 19 They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’ 20 “Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.” 21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again. 22 The music of harpists and musicians, pipers and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. No worker of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again. 23 The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world’s important people. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray. 24 In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people, of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”

It is the kingdom that is made by man. It is served every time we seek for our peace, our fulfillment, our livelihood, our safety, our salvation - any time we place our trust in our strength, our wisdom, our collective abilities.

It is seductive - you see the great buildings, the monuments, the lore, the mythology, the processions, the statues, the gold, the silver, the music - cinnamon, spices, wine, oil…and you say, “This is the great city”

And the city says, “I am, and there is no one like me”

But every city of Babylon has someone to make the bricks. The glory of the kingdoms of men is always the enslavement of the vast majority - there is always war, bloodshed, death, oppression, robbery and murder.

And those who serve the kingdom of God will always be treated as traitors to the kingdom of man.

How many churches were split or destroyed over loyalty to an earthly political party in 2020?

This is Babylon.

Bel and Nebo cannot carry, they cannot declare the future, they cannot save.

They cannot quench the thirst, they cannot make straight that which is crooked.

They cannot be an umbrella of protection - for they cannot even protect themselves.

They are loaded onto carts and carried from city to city.

The leaders of our own country have no power unless they win a fickle election. They cannot even save themselves.

I carry YOU

In contrast - it is Jehovah, who carries US. We don’t carry him from place to place, he carries US. We don’t harness his power, for that would simply make him like us only bigger.

He is the only God, and from birth to our old age and beyond, he carries us. He bears us, he carries us - he made us, we didn’t make him

He carries US, we don’t carry him.

He defends US, we don’t defend him.

The gods of the heathen - someone measures gold and silver, weighs it out, and makes a god and says “save me!”

What they are really crying out to is the cult of the kingdom of man - which is really the habitation of demons. They cannot save, because they didn’t even make us. We made them, how can they save?

They have this tremendous glory - huge, impressive, massive,

But who makes the buildings.

(two pyramids in Egypt rising out of the lake.

Rhodes, the lighthouse of Crete, the hanging gardens of Babylon.

The massive statue of Zeus in Olympia, the temple of Artimas.

And how many people were oppressed and crushed to build them?

And how many nations did they save?

The God who creates and saves

From the beginning to the end, God declares and God saves. He does all his good pleasure. He speaks it, and it is done.

Cyrus doesn’t command God, make God, call God or control God.

God decrees, and Cyrus acts. He is simply a bird of prey called to do all of the good pleasure of God.

And God’s purpose is this:

He will save. He created, and he will save.

He will give his righteousness

And unlike the nations of the world, whose glory is their golden images, Israel is the image of God

The people of God are God’s glory - we reflect HIS image - love, beauty, goodness, peace, generosity -

The gods are made in the image of man, protected by man, carried by man

But the people of God are made in the image of GOD, protected by God, carried by God.

There is a huge difference.