Picking up where I am now in my personal study, in vs. 1-2 the Babylonian idols to Bel and Nebo are mocked as the lifeless chunks they are, in need of animals to carry their forms from place to place. This is contrasted with the Israelites (house of Jacob) in vs 3-4 where it is God who has both given them life (i.e. from birth) and carries them. They do not carry God (7), they do not provide for God (6), but God provides for and carries them--He is without equal (5). He will also deliver them. This language supposes there is something from which the Israelites need to be delivered.
In vs. 8-13, Isaiah records God covering a lot of ground, which might be better as bullet points:
The beginning of Ch. 47 seems to indicate that God is still talking about Babylon, having moved on from King Cyrus for the time being. Vs. 1-7 speak of Babylon's coming humiliation also being purposed by God not just because God is Israel's redeemer but because the Babylonians were unmerciful to God's people. But in vs. 8-11 God proclaims that their wickedness will be their downfall, even though they claim to be without rival and no one will hold them accountable for what they've done. Interestingly, amongst talk of sorcery and spells, God says, "Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you" (10), which implies that their sorceries were not really wisdom or knowledge, but delusions. In fact, their predictions cannot save the Babylonian people from what will befall them (12-15) because astrology has no substantive value.
- Israelites are stubborn and "far from righteousness" (13), transgressors of God's law and ways (8) and are called to remember His uniqueness (9).
- God knows the end from the beginning and will accomplish what He's set out to do (10). In this case it's using the Babylonian's (and/or Persian King Cyrus [Ch 45:1]), to accomplish His purposes, what He has planned. This is huge, because we see that God is using someone who is not of His people to accomplish what He wants, so that others will see the greatness of God (45:5-6, 14). Whether it's Israel or not, God's purpose is for people to come to know His greatness and follow Him (45:20-23)! But back to Ch. 46...
- God reminds the Israelites of the availability of His righteousness, and HE is the one who imparts both salvation and the presence of His glory to Israel (13).
The beginning of Ch. 47 seems to indicate that God is still talking about Babylon, having moved on from King Cyrus for the time being. Vs. 1-7 speak of Babylon's coming humiliation also being purposed by God not just because God is Israel's redeemer but because the Babylonians were unmerciful to God's people. But in vs. 8-11 God proclaims that their wickedness will be their downfall, even though they claim to be without rival and no one will hold them accountable for what they've done. Interestingly, amongst talk of sorcery and spells, God says, "Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you" (10), which implies that their sorceries were not really wisdom or knowledge, but delusions. In fact, their predictions cannot save the Babylonian people from what will befall them (12-15) because astrology has no substantive value.
Dropping into full commentary mode, I think we see here in this passage an example of how there is really nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10). God intones throughout His word that He is the One true God, not in the sense that there are others as well, but that He alone is God and there is no other--and yet the difficulty of humanity is that we will continue to run after what we please and ignore the advances of the only God that can save us from the unavoidable consequences of our actions, redeem what we've turned to ashes, and provide what we most desperately need. We will turn to anything else, even horoscopes, before finally turning over control in acknowledgement that maybe we don't have all the answers in life. The depths of our depravity are that we would rather 1) profess the alignment of sun, moon, and stars has something to do with the outcome of our behavior (or life's trajectory) and 2) aliens seeded life on this planet in the first place than admit to the greater sense behind an intelligent and loving Creator-God and release control to that loving God who has proven Himself faithful time and time again.
How many times will God have to make Himself known to us, confirming His lovingkindness toward us, before we concede our wills and follow Him into the now-available abundant life that precedes eternal life? Let our answer not be the enigmatic, and never satisfied, response, "One more."
How many times will God have to make Himself known to us, confirming His lovingkindness toward us, before we concede our wills and follow Him into the now-available abundant life that precedes eternal life? Let our answer not be the enigmatic, and never satisfied, response, "One more."