What is the meaning of Isaah 46:4? I have made you and I will carry you.

[Lou Newton]

What is the meaning of Isaah 46:4? I have made you and I will carry you.


Lou Newton, former Steel Mill Crane Designer and Physics Teacher

Isaiah 46 NIV

3 “Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob,
all the remnant of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,
and have carried since you were born.
4 Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

The Lord promised Abraham that He would make Abraham’s descendants like the sand on the sea shore. That sand is never gone no matter how much men take away.

The people of Israel rejected the very God they claimed to worship when Jesus came to them as promised. In fact their leaders vowed they had no King except Caesar.

Well their King Caesars have not been kind to them. Caesars like Hitler were cruel beyond belief. Stalin was not much better to them. In fact almost every Caesar has been a very poor King to them. But very few of them have repented of that vow.

They have been murdered and prosecuted by some than even claim they are doing God a favor by doing so. Those that have treated the Jews this way will be judged for what they have done.

But despite all of the ill treatment the Jews still number in the millions. Even more amazing, there is that little nation of Israel surrounded by those that hate them and it still survives year after year. God has truly sustained them and carried them right up to this day.

3 “Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob,
all the remnant of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,
and have carried since you were born.
4 Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

[Lou Newton]

I received this reply from Glen:

Glen B Smith <[email protected]>
To:Lou Newton

Jan 22 at 2:05 AM
Should you distinguish between "the people of Israel" and "the remnant of the people of Israel" as recorded?
The truth and application of Isaiah 46:3-4 is in the identity of the remnant.

Including all the blood descendants of Jacob is the normal presupposition of many evangelical Christians, but an unbiblical position.

I am not sure of what Glen is asking here,but I will address this issue:

God made a promise to Abraham about his descendants:

Genesis 22 NIV

¹⁵ The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time ¹⁶ and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸ and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

Hebrews 11

⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. ⁹ By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ¹¹ And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. ¹² And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

God promised Abraham two groups of descendants: 1- descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky AND 2 -countless as the sand on the seashore.

Lets look at the descendants as countless as the sand on the seashore first. I did not understand this promise from God until I wrote this article. I was thinking that the descendants of Abraham would number as the number of grains of sand on the sea shore. We look at the surface, but God looks far deeper.

God is saying no matter what you do to the descendants of Abraham they will always be in the earth. Like the sand of the sea shore, no matter how much sand man removes and destroys; the sand of the sea shore will always be there. God will make more than we can destroy.

Evil men like Hitler and Stalin tried to rid the earth of the Jews. But no matter how terrible their actions were, there are still millions of Jews on the earth today. In fact Hitler had Jewish blood himself. When he committed suicide he killed one more Jew in his final act.

DNA scientists have discovered that most people on the earth today have DNA from a descendant of Abraham. After all, that would include not only those from Israel, but from Ishmael and Abraham's other children too. But the people of Israel have been scattered over the earth and they have mixed with the people of many many nations. The leaders of Iran hate Israel and make vows to kill them all. But they would have to commit suicide to do so, because most have DNA from the people of Israel.

The King of Babylon took many Jews to Babylon and when Persia defeated Babylon they took many Jews to Persia. The Jews were persecuted at one time, but after the King's edict that the Jews were favored by him, and his queen was a Jew, the people of Persia sought out the Jews to marry with them. So after many generations most people of Persia ( Iran ) have Jewish blood. So for the leaders of Iran, to do as they have vowed, and wipe Israel off of the map, they would have to destroy their own nation too.

The descendants of Abraham are like the sand on the sea shore and they are on every shore and are very very numerous. No matter how many evil acts men do, they will remain. They are a witness to the world that God is real and He keeps His promises. No man, or nation, can thwart the promises of God. Heaven and earth will pass away, but God and His every promise will remain.

In fact, God also made this promise:

Genesis 12
12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

² “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
³I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”

And again in Numbers 24

“How beautiful are your tents, Jacob,
your dwelling places, Israel !
........................

“May those who bless you be blessed
and those who curse you be cursed !

Germany tried to destroy Israel and there was not a city left in that nation that hardly had a building left standing after WW 2 was over. Stalin tried to destroy the Jews and the USSR no longer exists.

We had a POTUS of the US that worked against Israel and we have a political party today that is working against Israel and they will bring a curse upon themselves and those who support them. Our current POTUS has blessed Israel many times, and he and those who support him, will be blessed.

So who are these descendants of Abraham that are as numerous as the sands of the sea shore. The sands of the sea shore are a part the earth, or the world. These descendants are also his descendants that are his natural descendants or his natural children. After all are we not told to do unto others as we would have others do to us. So would not anyone be cursed for cursing anyone. We are to bless others, and we will be blessed for blessing them.

Who would be so foolish to claim that the natural children of Israel do not exist yet today. Are they blessed ? Look at how many nations have tried to destroy them. Yet there stands Israel yet today.

But remember this: the promise is to Abraham's natural children and so the promise is a blessing of this natural world, NOT a spiritual blessing.

God promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky. - see next post