BABYLON’S FALSE GODS
ISAIAH CHAPTER 46
BABYLON’S FALSE GODS
46:1-2: This taut was against the self-contradiction of Babylonian religion.
A taut is a mocking comparison in song form. In this instance, the king of Babylon is compared to a dead man entering the world of the dead.
. insolence: As in the Dead Sea Scrolls; the meaning of the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
Verse 1 – Marduk-bel was the most important god in the Babylonian pantheon (place of idols). Bel (similar to “Baal”) designated lordship.
. Nero (Nabu, Nebu), the patron deity of Babylonian scribes, was thought to be the son of Marduk-bel.
. Instead of being paraded in glory at the Babylonian festival, these gods would be hauled away on ox carts and disposed of, rejected by the Babylonian people.
Isaiah 21:9: Now at last—look! Here comes a man in a chariot with a pair of horses!”
Then the watchman said, “Babylon is fallen, fallen! All the idols of Babylon lie broken on the ground!”
Jeremiah 50:2: This is what the Lord says: “tell the whole world, and keep nothing back. Raise a signal flag to tell everyone that Babylon will fall! Her images and idols will be shattered. Her gods Bel and Marduk will be utterly disgraced.; 51:44: They will fall dead in the land of the Babylonians, slashed to death in her streets.
Verse 2 – Jeremiah 43:12-13: First I predicted your rescue, then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world. No foreign god has ever done this. You are witnesses that I am the only God,” says the Lord. 13 “From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done.”
Verse 3 – Those who remain in Israel refer to the remnant that would be let alive after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC.
. The LORD, the Creator of humanity, cares for and comes to His people (in contrast to the Babylonian idols that must be carried instead).
. since you were born…before you were born: The LORD chose Israel even before they were a nation (Isaiah 49:5: And now the Lord speaks—the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant, who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him.
The Lord has honored me, and my God has given me strength.)
Isaiah 10:21-22: A remnant will return; yes, the remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God. 22 But though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore, only a remnant of them will return. The Lord has rightly decided to destroy his people.
Verse 4 – Psalm 71:18: Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God.
Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me.
Verse 5 – Isaiah 40:18, 25: To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble him?… “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
One may ask, is Allah the same as Yahweh?
In order to answer a Muslim, the question you have to use the Quran, not the Bible. Let us learn a lesson from Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23: Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. 20 When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though; I am, not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. 21 When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.22 When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. 23 I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.
1 Peter 3:13-16: Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. 15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.
Is Allah the same as Yahweh? The answer to this question is NO.
Muslims don’t believe in the Trinity (three persons in one God); for them, Allah is one.
Quran 16:2: He sends down the angels with the Spirit by His command, upon whom He wills of His servants: “Give warning that there is no god but Me, and fear Me.”
Allah is the first and the last.
57:3: He is the First and the Last, and the Outer and the Inner, and He has knowledge of all things.
The Spirit and the angles are distinct.
70:4: Unto Him, the angels and the Spirit ascend on a Day the duration of which is fifty thousand years.
The Spirit and the angles are subject to Allah.
78:38: On the Day when the Spirit and the angels stand in a row. They will not speak unless it is one permitted by the Most Merciful, and he will say what is right.
97:4: In it descend the angels and the Spirit, by the leave of their Lord, with every command.
Muhammad could not differentiate the Spirit from the Angles.
17:85: And they ask you (Muhammad) about the Spirit. Say, “The Spirit belongs to the domain of my Lord, and you were given only a little knowledge.”
The Messiah, Jesus, is the son of Mary.
Quran 4:171: O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion, and do not say about God except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, is the Messenger of God, and His Word that He conveyed to Mary, and a Spirit from Him. So, believe in God and His messengers, and do not say, “Three.” Refrain—it is better for you. God is only one God. Glory be to Him—that He should have a son. To Him belongs everything in the heavens and the earth, and God is a sufficient Protector.
Mary is pure.
3:42: The angels said, “O Mary, God has chosen you, and has purified you. He has chosen you over all the women of the world.
Jesus is pure.
19:19-21: He said, “I am only the messenger of your Lord, to give you the gift of a pure son.”
- She said, “How can I have a son, when no man has touched me, and I was never unchaste?”
- He said, “Thus said your Lord, `It is easy for Me, and We will make him a sign for humanity, and a mercy from Us. It is a matter already decided.’“
Verse 6 – Isaiah 44:12-17; 66:23: “All humanity will come to worship me from week to week and from month to month.
Verse 7 – Isaiah 40:20: Or if people are too poor for that, they might at least choose the wood that won’t decay and a skilled craftsman to carve an image that won’t fall down!
Jeremiah 10:5: Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak and need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good.”
46:8-13: Many of the exiles would be completely discouraged and not believe the prediction of God’s rescue. God challenged this unbelief.
Verse 10 – God knows the future if it even happens, He has control over all events, and all His acts match his words (41:4, 26: Who has done such mighty deeds, summoning each new generation from the beginning of time? It is I, the Lord, the First and the Last. I alone am he.”… “Who told you from the beginning that this would happen? Who predicted this, making you admit that he was right? No one said a word!) He is the First and the Last (44:6: This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord of Host: “I am the First and the Last; there is no other God.; 48:12: “Listen to me, O family of Jacob, Israel my chosen one! I alone am God, the First and the Last.)
Isaiah 41:26-27: “Who told you from the beginning that this would happen? Who predicted this, making you admit that he was right? No one said a word!
27 I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look! Help is on the way!’ I will send Jerusalem a messenger with good news.; 42:9: Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens.”
Acts 5:39: But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!”
Verse 11 – The swift bird of prey from the east refers to Cyrus, the Persian king.
This king of the east was Cyrus, the Persian king who conquered Babylon in 539 BC and permitted the Jews to return to their ancestral land and rebuild Jerusalem in 539 BC. (Ezra 1:1-4: In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom:
2 “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Any of you who are his people may go to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives in Jerusalem. And may your God be with you! 4 Wherever this Jewish remnant is found, let their neighbors contribute toward their expenses by giving them silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock, as well as a voluntary offering for the Temple of God in Jerusalem.”)
Numbers 23:19: “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Verse 12 – Formerly, Israel cared little for (literally righteousness). Isaiah 58:2: They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me.; 59:9: So, there is no justice among us, and we know nothing about right living. We look for light but find only darkness. We look for bright skies but walk in gloom.
Zechariah 7:11-12: “Your ancestors refused to listen to this message. They stubbornly turned away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing. 12 They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the instructions or the messages that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had sent them by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. That is why the Lord of Heaven’s Armies was so angry with them.
Verse 13 – The good news for Israel was that God was coming to set things right (literally, I will bring my righteousness near; (40:9: O Zion, the messenger of good news, shout from the mountaintops! Shout it louder, O Jerusalem. Shout, and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah, “Your God is coming!”; 51:5: My mercy and justice are coming soon. My salvation is on the way. My strong arm will bring justice to the nations.
All distant lands will look to me and wait in hope for my powerful arm.)
. Jerusalem: Hebrew Zion.
. show my glory to Israel: Unlike a craftsman who bestows material splendor on an idol (44:13: Then the wood-carver measures a block of wood and draws a pattern on it.
He works with a chisel and plane and carves it into a human figure. He gives it human beauty and puts it in a little shrine), the LORD bestows true dignity on His people.
Isaiah 51:5: My mercy and justice are coming soon. My salvation is on the way. My strong arm will bring justice to the nations. All distant lands will look to me and wait in hope for my powerful arm.; 61:3: To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.