Who is worthy of your worship?

There is none like the God of Jacob, who bears his people till the very end. 

Reflecting on Isaiah 46, I am struck by the senselessness of idolatry and the beauty of God’s character. We would be confused if someone who has been without water and food for days would turn down a warm, hearty meal and a glass of fresh water to instead eat from the trash and drink muddy water. It would not make sense! Naturally we might wonder, “Is there something wrong with this human?” This is the tone of Isaiah’s passage, which was written at a time when God’s people in the Old Testament (the Israelites) were taken into captivity by an enemy nation (the Babylonians). It is written to the remnant (the few who survived the exile). We are meant to read it and find it incomprehensible that idols made by human hands would take the place of the God who made those hands. 

Yahweh contrasts himself against these “gods” of Babylon; they are man-made, they have to be carried about and are "a burden for the weary", they cannot speak or move, they cannot rescue, "they themselves go off into captivity". The irony is painful - exchanging the God who is the source of life with lifeless statues that need to be carried around. It uncovers a deep tragedy; that the human heart is so dark and hardened that we would choose to worship anything over God. Idols are burdensome and cannot do anything, but God who made us is able to take care of us and sustain us. 

The reality is, idols are not only the man-made statues of Isaiah’s time. Anything we look to and depend on for life, sustenance and salvation is an idol. It could be a relationship with a friend or a parent; where we depend on that individual’s love to give us security and identity. It could be money and status, where we believe in the false sense of security that money tends to give; we can look to it as a kind of savior or the source of life. An idol is anything we place our hope in above the God who sustains, rescues and gives life. 

What shines most beautifully in the passage, however, is the faithfulness of God to his unfaithful people. 

"Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." (verse 3-4)

At the heart of this passage is the beauty of a covenant-keeping God who is committed to saving his people because he has made them his own and is faithful to keep them despite themselves. We see that:

God is committed to his people 

"From their birth to old age and gray hairs". They will grow old and age, but he does not; he is eternal and has the power to carry and sustain them throughout their lives.

He promises to rescue

Further down the chapter, God speaks about the certainty of his purpose and plan, which is to bring salvation and his righteousness near - fulfilled in the gospel of Jesus. 

We see the greatness of God and his enduring faithfulness on display. He is everlasting and holds the lives of his people from beginning to end, throughout all the different seasons. It is a comfort to see that amidst the awful and baffling sin of idolatry, there is an invitation to turn to the God who lives and can be trusted. And it is by beholding this God through Jesus Christ that we can be saved from worshipping lifeless gods. God himself rescues us and is committed to keeping those who belong to him until they draw their last breath. 

He alone is indeed worthy of worship and trust.