LIVING HOPE - Reading With the People of God: Part 18Sample

Who or What is Your God?

Bel is Baal in the Canaanite language and simply means lord or god, it is found in the name Belteshazzar, the Babylonian name ascribed to Daniel (Daniel 1:7). Nebo is the Hebrew form of Nabu, the Babylonian god associated with wisdom. It can be found in the name, Nebuchadnezzar, introduced in Daniel 2. Bel and Nebo were pagan gods adopted by the people of Judah, a major reason for their upcoming captivity. Idols made, representing these gods, would be carried around by the people of Judah, even as they were exiled to the Babylonian Empire.

In the early verses of Isaiah 46, we see God saying these idols would become burdens, having to be carried into captivity along with their worshipers, unable to rescue even themselves. The futility of idolatry is emphasized again. Judah is called a remnant, the two tribes just a portion of what was once the powerful monarchy of Israel, ten tribes now forever scattered under Assyrian captivity. About 150 years after the first captivity, idolatry would bring down the last remnant of the once God centered nation, this time to Babylonian captivity.

Jehovah reminds His people that it is He who has carried them from womb to tomb. Even from creation, He has had a plan that included Israel, the nation He watched over and exalted. He is calling them to remember, to respond to the only true and living God, to return to Him. God has shown Himself to Israel as the God of prophecy, purpose, and power. In the final verses, we see God promising His righteousness will bring salvation. Beyond Cyrus, who would deliver God’s people from captivity, we see the promise of the Messiah, not only the hope of Israel but the world.

Are there idols today? Fast forward to the New Testament when the Messiah was approached by a wealthy young man who asked about the requirements for eternal life. There was a discussion about the keeping of the law, which the young man assured Jesus he was faithful in doing. Jesus suggested he sell all his possessions and follow Him. The sad young man turned away, for he was very wealthy. (Matthew 19:16-29) The moral of the story is that whatever you can’t let go of owns you, you don’t own it, and that includes you and all you are. To enter into eternal life, we must be carried in by Jesus, plus nothing. God wants us to yield all to Him, our hearts, our homes, and what is held tightly in our hands.

The House that God Built

In Long Beach, California, there is a house in a nice neighborhood that is easy to drive by without noticing, except for one thing: the knowledge that the architect was Frank Lloyd Wright. It is Wright’s fame that makes the home more than it appears to be.

The Hebrew people might have been easily discounted, except for one thing: God. Moses became the head of God’s house, working as a servant for the owner, as he led the Hebrew people out of Egypt by miracles, courage and wisdom. Now, the Hebrew writer says, one greater than Moses, the Son of the actual architect and builder of the house of Israel, has come to take over the house designed and built especially for Him.

The writer is first inclusive, then exclusive; the house is not just for the Hebrew people but for those who share in the heavenly calling, those who confess the Son, Jesus, as the Lord of the house. The implication is that, to be a part of the Architect’s home and family, one must be in an enduring relationship with Christ, whether Jew or Gentile.

Those who move into the House of the Lord must never move out. There may be some evil doers who war against the house, but to be truly safe, one must hold firm, stay in the home, whatever the cost. The writer uses Psalm 95:7-11 as a warning to the occupants of the home, a warning to remain true to the Architect’s Son, to persevere to the very end.

Those who are in the House of the Lord are encouraged to uphold their weaker family members in the home, those who feel threatened or called by the outside world. Those at home with the Lord are admonished, while it’s still today, while the opportunity is still there, to hold tightly to their brothers and sisters, lest they lose their confidence and leave the home, never having been counted as having been a true occupant.

Primer contributed by Jinet Troost.