Isaiah 46:4: “Till you grow old, I will be the same, when you grow gray, it is I who will carry; I was the maker and I will be the bearer. And I will carry and rescue you.”
When the Babylonians conquered Judah, they took the best and strongest into captivity. Daniel and his friends were among them. Left behind were the elderly, the young children, the weak, diseased and those who were unable to do any valuable work. Do you sometimes feel like you have been abandoned or left to fend for yourself? Do you feel like you are in exile? Well then Isaiah’s message in 46:4 is for you.
The preposition ad which is rendered as till could also be translated as since or while. The translator chose to use the word as or till as this keeps with the flow of the poetic expression: “As you grow old, I will remain the same.” You could also say, “Since or while you grow old, I will be the same. This also carries a duel meaning for both of those who are growing old and for those who are already old.
“I will remain the same” is also tough to translate since it is literally translated as “I am He.” I know what you Hebrew students may be thinking. The I am He is Yehohah, but it is not. It is simply I am He. However, the translators render the word He as same because it makes more sense. The word rendered as same in the Hebrew is the word hu’ which is a simple pronoun and could mean he, she, or it. It could also mean “this “or that. Davidson’s lexicon indicates that the word same is not a definition but a use. No doubt the writer intended for the reader to understand the pronoun to mean same so why does the writer use the word Hu’ rather than sharah which is the proper word for same. The Jewish sages call this a remez or a hint that there is something deeper to be found here.
Jewish literature teaches that the writer used the hu’ because in the Gematria hu has a value of twelve which represents earthly governments. God is saying that you despair because your government has changed, Judah has fallen into control of the Babylonians. But God is saying, “Keep in mind that I have and always will be the ultimate earthly government.” I find so many Christians in despair because they don’t like the person who happens to be the president of the United States. But God is saying: “I don’t care what your earthly government is, who the president is, I am your government. Your president is under my domination.”
God sort of repeats Himself here when He says “When you grow gray, I will carry.” Again we have the word ad which could be rendered in English as when or as like, “As you are gray…” Not too much to say about the word gray (sivah) except that it is in a feminine form. Gray is a symbol of innocence. But if you trace this word to its Semitic roots you find that it is a picture of a home or nation that has been disrupted. When your home is shattered through divorce, separation, financial disaster, or like in the nation of Judah during this time when husbands were separated from their wives and children and taken into slavery; the prophet is saying that the Lord will carry. It is interesting that the word carry or bear is ‘esebol. It is in a simple Qal future form. In other words He does not carry, but He will carry. It is your choice. He will not automatically carry you, you must be willing to let Him carry you. The word for carry comes from a Semitic root word sevol which means to carry a burden or to be a porter. For the woman whose husbands were taken into exile, God promised to be their husbands, to provide for them, protect them, to carry the burden that their husbands would normally carry. As today for women who have been abandoned, divorced, separated or widowed, God promises to take their husband’s place as the protector, the provider. For us men we too need a sevol a protector and provider when our source is gone, like a job or health etc. Indeed the word sevol is spelled Samek which represents a shelter for the Beth which is your home but this shelter for your home is available only with the final letter, the Lamed, which represents prayer and receiving from heaven. God will be the shelter and provider for your home if you just ask and receive.
He goes on to say that he is our maker, the word used in Hebrew for maker is ’asithi. It is odd that He does not use the word bara or creator. The creator creates the clay, the maker forms the vessel from the clay. The maker or ‘asithi fine tunes the clay to His desire and as a result he will not only ‘esbol (carry) you but will emalet you or rescue you. Emalet is a word that is also used for cement or mortar. We find it here in a Piel imperfect form which means he will most surely cement you or secure you. Ah, but note that it is also in the imperfect form so again you must ask Him to secure you. Remember the words of James in 4:2,“You have not because you ask not.”
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