Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low; their idols are borne by beasts of burden. The images that are carried about are burdensome, a burden for the weary. They stoop and bow down together; unable to rescue the burden, they themselves go off into captivity.
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 grey 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. Isaiah 46:1-4
Jesus said, My
yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:30
Some years ago I witnessed
a noisy religious celebration in the centre of Kathmandu in Nepal. A pillar a
bit like a smaller Nelson’s Column was being carried through the centre of the
city amid great excitement. It looked rather wobbly, and I feared that it might
topple over and fall on the worshippers below. But that didn’t happen, and everybody
seemed very excited. I didn’t find out for sure, but I think the pillar
represented one of the Hindu gods.
Ecclesiastes 1:9 tells
us that “there is nothing new under the sun”. And that is certainly borne out
when we read these graphic words from Isaiah 46.
The prophet is
foretelling a day when the powerful Babylonians will be brought to nothing by
God. He pictures their gods Bel and Nebo (their names are reflected in kings
such as Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar) being carried off on pack
animals, presumably strapped on their sides. They are burdens that have to be
carried, though not now to a place of worship, as would usually be the case,
but into captivity.
Isaiah then goes on to
compare the one true God with Bel and Nebo. They are gods that have to be carted
around like so much luggage, he says, but Jehovah God is a God who carries
you. “I have carried you since you were born… I have made you and I will
carry you…”
God here is addressing
the nation of Judah as a whole, but he puts it in personal, even tender, terms,
for what is true of the nation is true also of individuals: God watches over
his people “since your birth”, into adulthood, and then “even to your old age and
grey hairs I am he… who will sustain you”.
(Let that, by the way,
be a comfort and a blessing to those of us who are feeling the weight of the
years! You’re never too old to be loved by God – or to be used by him, come to
that. God is as tender as the most perfect mother or father.)
Isaiah’s picture raises
a challenging question: Is my religion a burden to me rather than a blessing?
(Notice that that word “burden” crops up four times in the first two
verses.)
We may be inclined to
look down on the worshippers of Babylon as their gods go bumping up and down on
the backs of asses or donkeys. We may be inclined (I admit I was) to look down
on those Hindus in Nepal as that pillar was hauled through their streets.
But wait a minute –
let’s be very careful. We may pay lip service to the belief that our God
tenderly cares for us; but is that something that we know and feel in everyday
experience? Do we really have that kind of relationship with him?
Earlier I referred to
our religion, a word I dislike and do my best to avoid. But there are
times when there is no alternative. And there are times when “practicing our
religion” (another expression that makes me squirm) can seem terribly
burdensome, a weight that we are carrying rather than an inner energy that
makes us soar.
The devil whispers in
our ear… Have you prayed enough? - as if prayer is nothing but a duty. Do you
really have to go to that church meeting later this week? Must you agree to
serve on that boring rota? Do you really have to go on being patient with that
tiresome person? Can you afford to maintain your financial support for the
church or that missionary organization? Isn’t being a Christian really an awful
lot of hard work?
Of dear – it all seems
so… well, burdensome. We might very well borrow the words of the great
hymn-writer William Cowper: Where is the blessedness I knew/ When first I
saw the Lord? / Where is the soul-refreshing view/ Of Jesus and his word?
Where, indeed!
Let’s have no
pretending that this is easy! Following Jesus does involve various duties and
responsibilities. And the flame of our faith can burn low and God can sometimes
seem far off.
The key is to keep
firmly in our minds that precious word relationship. We are children of
God, tenderly loved by him. We are followers of Jesus his Son who “walks with
us and talks with us along life’s narrow way”.
There may be times to
give ourselves a rest from responsibilities which are grinding us down – and
that may even include a rest from our normal discipline of prayer or service.
God loves to be surrounded by happy children, not miserable, clapped-out
servants.
Yes, following Jesus
does entail burdens we must carry – that much is clear from Matthew 11:30. But let’s
never forget his promise in that verse: his yoke is easy and his burden
is light.
Is it time you prayed,
very simply…?
Lord God, I’m
thankful that you’re not a God who needs to be carried. Please help me to rest
now and let myself be carried by you. Amen.
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