GOD, BEARER OF OUR BURDENS God, allowed His people to go into Babylonian captivity He Himself set them free by Cyrus, proclaiming His care for His children, carrying their burdens and troubles. There is nothing heavier than our life with our sins, yet He carries it for us through His redemptive work on the cross. In a magnificent analogy, the prophet reveals the difference between life in Christ and outside Him. In Him, Christ carries us as if by wings of the Spirit, but outside Him, we become like pagans whose gods need to be carried and for someone to stand watch over them. 1. God, bearer of our burdens 1-7. 2. Calling Cyrus from the East 8-13. 1. GOD, BEARER OF OUR BURDENS God compares Himself with the gods of Babylon, who need someone to carry them, while He carries our life with all its burdens, saying, “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. They stoop; they bow down together. They could not deliver the burden, but have themselves gone into captivity.” (Is. 46: 1) The two principal gods of Babylon stooped low before Cyrus, bowed down to him. The worshipped turned into slaves, to be helplessly carried, with all their idols over beasts, all are incapable of walking, even of moving. The men of Cyrus robbed all jewelries adorning them. All were taken into captivity. Are these gods, which are incapable of rescuing themselves, able to help anyone else? Bel: an Acadian name, like Baal in Hebrew, meaning ‘master,’ was probably the god Merdoch, god of the sun and spring, mentioned in Jeremiah 50 and 51; used to have the image of a great man, with a crown on its head and had seven horns of a bull. It was the tradition to present him every evening, with great quantities of food and drinks, assumed to be consumed by him, until the prophet Daniel revealed to the king that it was actually consumed by the priests and their families who entered into the temple at night through a secret door. This was mentioned in the story of “Bel” at the end of Book of Daniel (The second canonical Books). Nebo, a Babylonian name, meaning ‘announcer,’ the god of knowledge, had the center of its worship in Borseba, not far from Babylon. The kings of Babylon used to carry its name preceding their names, like Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuzaradan etc. These two gods were disgraced and exposed for their inability to protect their jewelries from Cyrus; while the Living God, the true Savior of His people, carries our burdens and upholds us since the moment we were conceived, even to our old age and gray hair, confirming “I am He... I will carry you.” (Is. 46: 4) As if He is saying, ‘Although I have hosts of angels, beside several prophets, priests, and ministers, yet I put Myself down to carry the burdens of My people, to lift up their transgressions, and support them in all respects; I carry them on My shoulders.’ This is what God confirmed all along the ages, saying, “I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out... I will feed My flock and make them lie down... I will seek 7 what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick, but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment... I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey. I will judge between sheep and sheep” (Ezekiel 34: 11 - 22) He also confirms: “I am He... I carry…” God, our Savior persists on calling us to Him to carry our burdens, saying, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11: 28) “He has borne our grieves and carried our sorrows.” (Is. 53: 4) “He bore the sin of many.” (Is. 53: 12) “Who daily loads us with benefits.” (Psalm 68: 19) Our Lord Jesus came, not only to carry our burdens, and to atone our sins, but also to bear us in Him, to captivate us by His love, to lift us up to His glory. He descended to carry us in Him, to ascend in and by Him to His kingdom. Going back to His talk in the book of Isaiah: “I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.” (Is. 46: 4) “I have made,” that is I allowed for the Babylonian captivity, to expose your infirmities. “I will bear,” that is I will wipe away this disgrace, and will liberate you from captivity. “I will carry,” that is I will carry your burdens, Myself... I, the hidden God. “I will deliver,” that is I will enter with you to freedom, and bring you back to the Promised Land, and save you. That is the work of God, the Savior: to make, to bear, to carry, and to deliver. He allows for the exposure of our sins, in order to realize that we are, not in captivity of Babylon, but in that of the devil and his evil works. He will bear, as He wiped away this disgrace, through His divine ordinance for our salvation. He will carry, as He took upon Himself our debt, and did not assign our salvation to an angel, an archangel, or a prophet; and finally He will deliver, as He will lift us up to His heavens, and grant us the fellowship of His divine glories. The apostle Paul says, “Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.” (Hebrew 9: 28) He bowed His back to carry the sins of the whole world. He died for all, yet He is counted as a Savior, only for believers, those who accepted to let Him carry their burdens for them, to be carried righteous in Him, and to enter with them to the bosom of His Father. He died for the sake of all. His death was an alternative to the perdition of all humanity. Yet He did not carry the sins of those who do not want Him to1. Moses carried the Passover, but did not carry the sins of anyone; but this Lamb is carrying the sins of the whole world, that, having been in danger of perdition, He hastened to save it from the wrath of God2. When they heard that He is to carry the sins of the world, they ran to Him, saying, ‘If it is possible for Him to take away the accusations against us, why should we hesitate when there is somebody to deliver with no labor on our part?3’ St. John Chrysostom 1 In Hebr. Hom 17:4. 2 In John hom 17:1. 3 Ibid 18:1. 8 He granted the world salvation by the Cross. No man in history has reached such greatness, to be qualified to carry the sins of the whole world, not Enoch, nor Abraham, not even Isaac, who although, he gave himself up to death, yet was incapable of taking away the dirt of sin. So, who is that great man by whose death the sin dies? He could not be a human being... God chose the Son, the Son of God who is above all, who could be offered for the sins of all. It was necessary for Him to die, as through His conquest over death, He can deliver the others, who were like corpses lying in graves. He broke down the servitude of lusts, and the shackles of death could not bind Him1. St. Ambrose By Your passion loosen up my sufferings; by Your wounds heal my wounds; by Your blood purify my blood; In my flesh, mix the fragrance of life that is in Your holy body2. St. John Saba God carried our heavy sins in His Holy body, to grant us His righteousness in Him. We thus became, ourselves, carried in Him by His Holy Spirit, to be lifted up to His heavens. He had previously carried His ancient people from the land of servitude, with all their bitter burdens, to enter with them into the Promised Land, and to let them enter into Him: “You have seen how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.” (Exodus 19: 4) “You saw how the Lord, your God, carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place.” (Deuteronomy 1: 31) God confirmed His exalted love for us, upholding us since we were conceived, and have carried us since our birth, even to our old age and gray hairs (Is. 46: 3, 4). His love exceeds that of a mother who carries her baby inside her, and after his birth, during the first few years of his life. She carries him physically, and bears some of his troubles, yet unable to realize all of his hidden mysteries to share his burdens. God, on the other hand carries us even to our old age with all our apparent and hidden burdens. And as the Psalmist says, “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me.” (Psalm 27: 10) There is no one who equals God in His love, not the parents, nor the other gods, who need somebody to make them, to carry them on the shoulder, to set them in place, and to protect them against burglars. Their worshippers cry out to them, yet, they do not answer, or save them from their troubles (Is. 46: 5 - 7). 2. CALLING CYRUS FROM THE EAST This is the pleasure of God (Is. 46: 10) that He did in the past, is still doing, and shall always do, for the salvation of His people. He carried their burdens in the days of Moses, as they came out of the land of Egypt, carried them as they come out of the Babylonian captivity, and is still carrying them through the continuous sacrifice of the cross. الحب الإلهي، ص 1 .421 الحب الإلهي، ص 2 .429 9 Cyrus - the symbol of the Lord Christ - was called “a bird of prey” (Is. 46: 11), because he was quick in descending on Babylon to seize it as a prey, with all its gods and treasures. He was a symbol of the Lord Christ, who attacks and destroys the kingdom of the devil, to restore to man his dignity, his freedom, and his spiritual richness. “A man who executes My counsel, from a far country” (Is. 46: 11) is a symbol of the Lord Christ, coming from heaven to become “the Son of Man,” a Man to fulfill the purpose and pleasure of the Father. Isaiah saw the Savior coming from afar, calling the far nations to approach Him and to enjoy His righteousness and salvation: “Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted, you who are far from righteousness, I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off. My salvation shall not linger.” (Is. 46: 12, 13) He is probably addressing the stubborn-hearted Babylonians, proclaiming that their resistance to the righteousness and the salvation of God will not last longer; the time of salvation drew near. Or, He is addressing the stubborn-hearted nations to persuade them to receive the righteousness and salvation of God with no resistance.
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