““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; 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.” Isaiah 46:3-4 ESV
Reflection: what do you think of when you meet a gray haired person?
I remember starting to see gray hair in my 40s. Some people fear turning gray as it is generally a sign of aging, a sign of losing the youthfulness. I actually didn’t mind too much, as I thought some gray looked more mature, more sophisticated and wise, perhaps. Of course, at some point, the gray seems to take over, as we move further along in our aging process. What might have been a sign of wisdom and maturity for our 40s, also changes as the hair color continues to change towards gray and even white. And if you think about it, our societies have assigned value and even perceived usefulness to the various age groups; some almost seem to worship youthfulness, while others highly value the mature population.
Regardless of how our societies look at the various age groups, we read today in our focus verses a much more important perspective from the Lord. We read something very comforting of the Lord’s faithfulness throughout all of life. From the womb to the gray hair, He will carry His children, of whom He says that “I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.” Isaiah 46:4b ESV. A faithful God, throughout all of life, from beginning to the end – how amazing, how comforting to know! But, wait a minute, let’s not forget the context here. We see in v3, He is specifically talking to, calling out “the remnant of the house of Israel”. Who are these words, these promises actually intended for?
As we looked at previously, Cyrus, this king of Persia, freed the Israelites from captivity in Babylon and allowed them to return to their land again, to rebuild Jerusalem and reestablish the temple. And, we read from the book of Ezra, that it was only a remnant who returned, who recommitted themselves to following the Lord. And, if we extend that thought, that picture of a “remnant of the house of Israel”, we can easily see that this also applies to the modern day, true followers of Christ. The remnant church of Christ, if you will. It is not necessarily all who calls themselves “Christians”, but those who have truly surrendered their lives to Christ, have faith in Christ and follow Him. The Lords says those are His children.
Those He has made, He will bear, He will carry, He will save.
A last thought here for you to consider today. Why does it say in English that He will bear and carry His people? “Bear” and “carry” are often synonymous, right? If we look at the Hebrew original language here, the first word “bear” really means to carry as a load and a burden, perhaps even drag along. Wow, isn’t that the truth, that the Lord sometimes has to drag us along? I almost envision here like a defiant child, kicking and screaming while the loving parent knows what’s best. And, the second word, “carry”, means to support, to lift up, to exalt, even remove from a situation. Talk about a loving Father, watching over all aspects of our lives, carrying us from the womb to the gray hairs. Let all God’s children respond,
Thank you, Almighty God and Everlasting Father.
