{"id":67720,"date":"2019-12-25T15:43:04","date_gmt":"2019-12-25T13:43:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=67720"},"modified":"2023-07-20T13:39:49","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T10:39:49","slug":"god-carries-the-day-and-the-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/god-carries-the-day-and-the-people\/","title":{"rendered":"God Carries The Day, And The People"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Who is in charge? Who has the power?<\/span><\/p>\n

On the face of it, Isaiah 46 looks like a showdown of sorts between God and gods; it\u2019s not dramatic like Elijah\u2019s showdown at Mount Carmel, but seems to convey similar ideas: <\/span>Hey, gods, look who\u2019s bowing now! You have no power like God does; He carries others, while you must yourselves be carried!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The word \u201ccarried\u201d is one of several words repeated noticeably in the thirteen verses of this chapter, and calls upon the reader to note who carries and who is carried; who is strong and who is weak; who directs their own fortunes and who is subject to the whims and directions that others choose to take.<\/span><\/p>\n

And of course, it is God who carries (verse 4) and the gods who are carried, most explicitly and pejoratively in verse 7, which describes their manufacture as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

People are also carried, as in verse 3: <\/span><\/p>\n

Listen to Me, O House of Jacob, all that are left of the House of Israel, who have been carried since birth, supported since leaving the womb.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the face of it, this is another expression of God as Carrier \u2013 in contrast to other gods, who are carried.<\/span><\/p>\n

Or, maybe this time a distinction is being drawn not between God and gods, but between those who serve the One and those who serve the others.<\/span><\/p>\n

The JPS translation of verse 1 reads: <\/span><\/p>\n

Bel is bowed, Nebo is cowering, their images are a burden for beasts and cattle; the things you would carry [in procession] are now piled as a burden on tired [beasts]<\/span><\/p>\n

describing the gods themselves and how they have been brought low. In Malbim\u2019s reading, however, the verse is about people who have lowered themselves to worship those gods. In typical Malbim fashion, he gleans nuances from apparent synonyms: Two Hebrew roots are used in relation to carrying, and Malbim argues that <\/span>
\n<\/span>one (\u05e0.\u05e9.\u05d0.) suggests willing acceptance of a burden while the other (\u05e2.\u05de.\u05e1.) describes a load imposed upon another \u2013 the way animals typically have loads assigned to them against their will.<\/span><\/p>\n

By choosing to carry their inanimate gods, Malbim explains, idolaters find they have become like \u201cbeasts and cattle\u201d: they\u2019ve surrendered their humanity to cower under the burden of their idols, a burden which involves extra weight they didn\u2019t intend to choose.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, God calls His people to \u201clisten\u201d and realize they have been \u201ccarried since birth, supported since leaving the womb.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His people do not carry, but are carried.<\/span><\/p>\n

And while a baby has no power to choose, perhaps the point in this prophecy is to remind the people that they are no longer babes in arms but are mature enough to make their own choices. Will they choose to surrender themselves beneath those who are powerless? Or will they recognize a higher Power and allow themselves to be carried?<\/span><\/p>\n

Which path represents true self-determination?<\/span><\/p>\n","image":false,"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"God Carries The Day, And The People","main_caption":"Will the people choose to surrender themselves beneath those who are powerless? Or will they recognize a higher Power and allow themselves to be carried?","main_caption_size":"2","sub_caption":"","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":false,"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":false},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":""},"links":false,"send_noty":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67720"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67720"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116755,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67720\/revisions\/116755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}