1 Bel bows down; Nebo stoops;
their idols are on beasts and livestock;
these things you carry are borne
as burdens on weary beasts. 2 They stoop; they bow down together;
they cannot save the burden,
but themselves go into captivity.
3 “Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb; 4 even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.
5 “To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
and compare me, that we may be alike? 6 Those who lavish gold from the purse,
and weigh out silver in the scales,
hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
then they fall down and worship! 7 They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,
they set it in its place, and it stands there;
it cannot move from its place.
If one cries to it, it does not answer
or save him from his trouble.
8 “Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, 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,
What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage?
Bel & Nebo were the names of two principal gods in Babylon. Do you notice the contrast between the idol’s burdens (verses 1-2) and the Lord (verses 3-4)?
What is your emotion as you read this passage, comparing the burdens of the idols and God as your father carrying you when you were weak? Or as a strong man sustaining you when you were tired? Or as a warrior rescuing you when you were trapped?
How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me, 6 that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other. 7 I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8 “Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the Lord have created it.
9 “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
a pot among earthen pots!
Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
or ‘Your work has no handles’? 10 Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”
11 Thus says the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
“Ask me of things to come;
will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands? 12 I made the earth
and created man on it;
it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their host. 13 I have stirred him up in righteousness,
and I will make all his ways level;
he shall build my city
and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
says the Lord of hosts.
What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage?
How do you feel as you read Israel’s complaint, and then God’s reply? Do you feel free to complain to God or do you feel like it isn’t something you should or are allowed to do?
When have you complained to God? How did God reply? What are you complaining to God at present? What does God tell you to do?
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
14 He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”
18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase?
What is an idol? “An idol is anything less than God that you expect to save you.” It is anything that takes the place of God on the throne of your life. If you have anything in your life that you say “if only this could happen…then everything would be perfect.” That thing, person, event, ideal, is your idol. With which idols are you struggling? How have you experienced that following these idols is nothing but “feeding on ashes” (v20)?
What does God tell you to do?
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
