I Will Carry You — TDW Kids

Even to Gray Hairs

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Paul told the people of Athens that God “gives to all life, breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). Isaiah 46 shows how God cares for the people He gives life to.

Idols on animals. “Bel bows down, Nebo stoops; Their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle” (Isaiah 46:1). Bel and Nebo were idols worshiped in Babylon. Their statues were loaded onto animals like heavy baggage.

A heavy load. “Your carriages were heavily loaded, A burden to the weary beast” (46:1). The idols did not help anyone. They only made the animals tired.

No help. “They could not deliver the burden, But have themselves gone into captivity” (46:2). The idols could not even save themselves.

Listen to Me. Then God speaks to His people: “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob.” They are the ones “Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb” (46:3).

All your life. “Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you” (46:4).

The difference. People carry their idols. God carries His people. An idol is a load to carry, but God is the One who carries the load.

A god that cannot answer. People “hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god” (46:6). But “Though one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer Nor save him out of his trouble” (46:7).

God answers. The true God hears when you cry out to Him. He made you, and He can save you.

He carried our sins. We have all sinned, and that is a load we could never carry away. Jesus carried our sins to the cross. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Then He rose again.

What to do. When you feel tired or worried, remember that God carries you. Trust Jesus, and tell Him what is heavy on your heart today.

In Athens Paul said that God “gives to all life, breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). Isaiah 46 shows the God who not only gives life but carries the people He made.

Gods on carts (46:1). “Bel bows down, Nebo stoops; Their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle. Your carriages were heavily loaded, A burden to the weary beast.” Bel and Nebo were idols worshiped in Babylon. Here they are baggage on tired animals.

Gone into captivity (46:2). “They stoop, they bow down together; They could not deliver the burden, But have themselves gone into captivity.” The gods could not rescue their own statues.

Carried from the womb (46:3). “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb.”

Sabal (46:4). “Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.” Carry is sabal (say: sah-VAHL), to carry a heavy load. God promises to carry His people from the first day of life to the last.

The same word (46:7). Of the goldsmith’s god Isaiah says, “They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it And set it in its place, and it stands; From its place it shall not move.” The same verb sabal is used. People carry their gods; the Lord carries His people.

No answer (46:7). “Though one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer Nor save him out of his trouble.” A god that must be carried cannot carry anyone.

The Servant who carried. Isaiah later uses sabal of the Servant: “Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4). Christ carried our sin to the cross. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Then He rose from the dead.

Application. Some people treat faith as one more burden to carry. The gospel is the reverse: trust the risen Christ, who carried your sin, and let Him carry you.

The High and Holy One

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Paul told the people of Athens that God is “Lord of heaven and earth” (Acts 17:24). Isaiah 57 shows how great God is, and how near He comes.

High and lofty. “For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy” (Isaiah 57:15). Lofty means very high. Eternity means forever.

Holy. God’s name is Holy. He is perfectly pure and good, and there is no one like Him.

Forever. God “inhabits eternity.” He was there before the world began, and He will always be there. Yet He comes close to one humble person.

His home. God says, “I dwell in the high and holy place” (57:15). He is above everything He has made.

With the humble. But that is not all. He also dwells “With him who has a contrite and humble spirit” (57:15). Contrite means sorry for sin. Humble means not proud.

New life. He comes “To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones” (57:15). To revive means to bring back to life.

Both at once. The God who lives in the highest place chooses to be close to people who come to Him humbly and are sorry for their sin.

He heals. “I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will also lead him, And restore comforts to him” (57:18). God sees our wrong ways, and He still offers to heal us and lead us.

Far and near. “Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,” Says the Lord, “And I will heal him” (57:19). God offers peace to everyone.

In Athens. The people of Athens were far from God, but Paul told them God was not far from any of them (Acts 17:27).

Peace through Jesus. Our sin keeps us far from God. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again. “The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

What to do. Come to God humbly. Tell Him you are sorry for your sin, trust Jesus, and thank God that He is near.

Paul preached the God who is “Lord of heaven and earth” and yet “not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:24, 27). Isaiah 57:15 holds both truths in one verse.

The High and Lofty One (57:15). “For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy.” God is above time, above the world and above every created thing.

Two dwellings. “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit.” The same God lives in the highest heaven and with the lowest heart.

Contrite. Contrite means crushed or broken in pieces. A contrite person is not crushed by God’s anger but broken over his own sin, and God comes close to that person.

Revived (57:15). He dwells there “To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” God does not leave the broken in pieces. He gives them new life.

Seen and healed (57:18). “I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will also lead him, And restore comforts to him And to his mourners.” God sees the wrong ways clearly, and still He promises healing.

Far off and near (57:19). “Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,” Says the Lord, “And I will heal him.” The offer reaches those far from God as well as those near.

Athens. The Athenians lived inside God’s world and knew Him only as an unknown god. Paul brought them the news that the High and Holy One was not far from them.

The way near. Sin puts distance between us and the holy God. Christ closed it at the cross. “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). He rose again, and peace with God is offered to all who trust Him.

Application. Pride says it does not need God. A contrite heart says it needs Him completely. Come to the risen Christ humbly, and you will find the High and Holy One near.

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