Devotional Commentary on Isaiah 46

Isaiah presents God interacting with His remnant in this chapter.

The remnant is weak and transgressed (v. 8b) and is stubborn (v. 12). But around this analysis of the weeds condition in the remnant [made up of wheat and weeds], the salvation engine of God is constantly appealing and leaving a door of escaping open.

History happens according to Isaiah because of His remnant. That is why God asks spiritual Israel, the remnant to listen to take note of His uniqueness (v. 3a-b).

The chapter starts out with the satire or mockery of idols (vv. 1-2 and vv. 5-7). The weeds in the remnant cannot stop cherishing idols in their lives.

God points to a time 132 years later, when Nabonidus will neglect the religion of Bel and Nebo, as we learn happened according to the cuneiform tablet BM 38299 or the Nabonidus Chronicle. The Chronicle says that “an evil spirit altered him” (Nabonidus). When a demon religion says among demons that a person has an evil spirit then is it mathematical to think that it is a biblical good spirit and that it is God? In the list of problems the god Bel is mentioned by the scribe from the time of Cyrus who composed this overview of Nabonidus biography 142 years later than Isaiah. And God revealed it to Isaiah about Bel and Nebo (v. 1a). Bel-Merodach was the chief-god of Babylon and Nebo was the god of Borsippa (Delitzsch in Vol. II 1890, page 214).

They used cattle and beasts to represent their gods but they would fall and their worshippers together (v. 1b-d and 2a-c).

In Babylon the gods Bel and Merodach were carried on New Years’ day in procession through the streets with the help of animals (Delitzsch Vol. II 1890 page 214).

The veracity of future prediction is to ring a sound of confidence in their God who cares for the remnant and is committed to do so until their old age (vv. 3-4) “even to your old age, I shall be the same”.

The Lord shall carry them and bear them and deliver them (v. 4c-d). This verse 4 is very special since the Lord is using a personal pronoun in the front of each action that He will do for the remnant as an emphasis: “I, I shall be the same”; “I, I shall make”; “I, I shall carry”; “I, I shall bear and deliver”. Normally in cuneiform texts or inscriptions of the ANE these pronoun additions were used by rulers to uplift their own ego’s by saying “It was I, I killed the enemy. Wow”.

The Lord mocks the idols which are useless (vv. 5-7) which instead of carrying the worshipper, is been carried (v. 7a) and instead of delivering (v. 4d) as God will do with the remnant, “cannot deliver him [idol worshipper] from his distress” (v. 7e). M. L. Andreasen mentioned the same in his 1928 Sabbath School Quarterly page 19.

Therefore God wants the transgressing remnant or weeds in the remnant to take note of the usefulness of God as opposed to the uselessness of the idol described before (vv. 8-9).

M. L. Andreasen cited the famous passage from Education by Ellen White here on this verse in 1928 page 19: “The greatest want of the world is the want of men,—men who will not be bought or sold; men who in their inmost souls are true and honest; men who do not fear to call sin by its right name; men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole; men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.”— Ellen White, Education, p. 57.

The reason God is different is because He predicts future things “the end from the beginning” (v. 10a); promising that “My purpose will be established” (v. 10c).

The purpose of God is “good pleasure” (v. 10d). God’s plan is to call Cyrus in the future after the fall of Nabonidus, both in which God worked, the one to nullify and the other to peacefully take over. God will “calling a bird of prey from the east” [east is Iran area here] (v. 11a). Cyrus would be 142 years later than Isaiah the “man of My purpose from a far country” (v. 11b). The salespoint of God’s message about Himself to the remnant is that He has spoken and will bring it to pass and He has planned and will do it (v. 11c-d).

Isaiah used a special Hebrew particle to highlight the salespoint here. It is used three times at the end of verse 11. “Surely, I have spoken” and repeated Surely, I will bring to pass” and “Surely, I will do”. The certainty of the event to happen is underlined here for the reader not to miss. Earlier God had another salespoint regarding the remnant worshipper’s attitude to the idols “Surely, they worship it” and then the salespoint follows on the quality of idols as gods: “Surely, crying to it, also it cannot answer”.

The remnant is constantly in mind by God in his rehearsal of history or events in future. A part of the remnant of God is analyzed by God as “stubborn-minded” (v. 12a) and secondly, “far from righteousness” (v. 12b).

There are many wayward sons and daughters in the remnant that are prodigal sons and daughters, far from righteousness and right doing but God does not give up. He promises in verse 13 to the returnee “I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off”.

Christ was promised in the First Coming to come near as Christ our Righteousness and in the Heavenly Sanctuary as our Advocate He still is “not far off” and to the church of Laodicea He promised that the Second Coming will not be “far off” and “My salvation will not delay” meaning that God has a date to come on His charts and will not delay that date (v. 13b).

At the Second Coming He will grant the faithful remnant “salvation in Zion” (v. 13c) and “My glory to [spiritual] Israel” (v. 13d).

Dear God

Grant that we will recognize Your desire for us to keep faithful as Your remnant. That we will keep pleading with our loved ones to approach God while there is time and to have the conviction that our God does not delay His coming but wishes all to come to an understanding of Christ our Righteousness. Amen.