the sovereignty of our God.

Isaiah 46:3-4 3 "Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, You who have been borne by Me from birth And have been carried from the womb; 4 Even to your old age I will be the same, And even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you and I will deliver you.

God is speaking to Israel (=the House of Jacob, v.3 and the house of Israel, v.4) and declares to them that God will guide them. Note all the "I" determinative indicatives from God in v.4—I will be the same, I will bear you, I have done it, I will carry you, I will bear you, and I will deliver you. To me this seems that God is unequivocally telling His covenant people that He Himself is the One who will take care of them, watch them, guard them, bear them up, and deliver them. None other can deliver them (as clearly seen in the immediate context of Isa 46). It is God and God alone.

Isaiah 46:9-10 9 "Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure';

For those who are tempted to make idols (46:6-7), God squashes every possible reason in a sarcastic manner by telling His people to recall the past—God has been God, none other. He is God and there is no one like Him. He asks (in context) for Israel to consider their idolatrous past and contemplate which of their gods could declare the END from the BEGINNING? Could any of their 'carved images' do this? Could any of their tree stumps that they hoisted upon their syncretistic holy places cause his pleasure to be established? Indeed, no! Only God—Yahweh, the covenant keeping and sovereign God of Israel can do this!

May we, this day, be reminded of these words and heed the call to shun all forms of idolatry (and think—subtle forms of idolatry creep in to all of our lives!) and fall and worship God, the true God who will accomplish all of His soveriegn purpose.