THE WAY

KEY VERSE: Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me. (Isa 47:10b)

  Neo-Babylon had become extremely prosperous and advanced. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon was one of the seven greatest wonders of the world. It surely compared favorably to the Garden of Eden itself, which it was not. Babylon’s claim to fame was that their land was where the Garden once was, at least they thought so, and still do! They were a proud people, and what does God do with prideful people? He reduces them. God revealed Babylon’s nakedness and shame, “Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen” (Isa 47:3). Babylon’s sin was the same as Adam’s and Eve’s. However, because of their pride, God would not cover their sins.
  The Babylonians had idols of wood which they had carved with their own hands and carried on their own shoulders (Isa 46:7). They thought the work of their own hands could save them! Compare them to Yahweh; the Lord God of Israel who “cut from wood” at the Creation, and afterwards carried mankind on His shoulders!
  I have written about it before, but the Hebrew word bara’ in Genesis 1:1 means “cut down” or “carved,” and implies from wood (physical things). Bara’ has been translated “created” but “carved” and “formed” are just as applicable (Blue Letter Bible). Thus, the Babylonians carved idols, but God carved people. Scripture also uses verbs such as “formed” and “molded,” as well as carved, for the Creation of mankind.
  The people of Babylonia believed that their wooden idols which they had carved were gods. On the other hand, faithful Jews believed that God had formed them, and carried them in life! That’s quite a contrast. Ironically, Jesus was a tradesman, perhaps a carpenter. By God’s Hand, mankind was formed. His “Hand” was Jesus (John 1). Babylonians believed that the things that they created made them the Creator. In the modern era people still fashion gods. Their “materials” have changed from wood to invention. Modern-day people create gods fashioned with wisdom and knowledge just as the key verse states!
  Try carving an idol or even whittling and image for fun. It takes skill! The person must select the proper wood for ease in carving, with the perfect grain for aesthetics, and then have a plan to make a mere stick into a beautiful image. One mistake would be tragedy. People have discovered that by experience. What I am getting at? Not just anyone can sculpt a great figure from scratch. It requires wisdom and knowledge.
  As always, the subject of wisdom and knowledge leads to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil – the tree Jews refer to as the “Wisdom Tree” because Adam and Eve would be “as God” (Gen 3:5). With their greater body of knowledge with the addition of the knowledge of evil, mankind could use the knowledge unwisely as well; and that would be for evil. The Babylonians, as other Gentile nations, did use knowledge and wisdom for evil.
  We have been taught that “Gentile” means “people of nations,” specifically non-Jews. Previous to that “Gentile” people were all non-Christians, namely pagans. In the Greek, “Gentile” is Hellen, and referred to the non-Christian Greek, or Hellenized society at the time of Christ.
  In ancient times, pagans were of the lines of Japheth and Ham since Seth’s line were the progenitors of the Jews. By the time of Christ, most of Seth’s line had intermarried with the Gentiles and were lost to civilization. Only the remnant of Judah was considered “Jews” from the line of Seth. Hellenized Israel was the same way. Paul wrote, “The Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom” (1 Cor 1:22).
  Wisdom is philosophy. There are two types: (1) The Doctrine of God, and (2) philosophy of men. In the former, people rely on God, and in the latter, they rely on the wisdom of men.
  Babylonian Gentiles made for themselves gods. Nebuchadnezzar made an image in the likeness of himself, and called it a god. Philosophers create gods, but God creates philosophers. According to the key verse, the Babylonian wisdom and knowledge, “it hath perverted thee.” To this day, there exists much wisdom and knowledge which, in contrast to truth,  has perverted the world.
  The Enlightenment occurred in the period from 1685-1815, and was called, “The Age of Reason.” An invisible God is indeed unreasonable. Therefore, the outcome of the Enlightenment was that God was minimized, criticized, ostracized, demoralized, and awfulized! True “enlightenment” is understanding that God created; we did not, and He can save, but we cannot (John 3). In the Age of Reason mankind carved-up God and made new gods of themselves. To this day, reason always takes precedence over faith.
  Is it not reasonable that men did not make the physical world? Is it not reasonable that the universe did not create itself? Wise people understand that faith in God as Creator is the most reasonable of all the evidence at hand. Any reasonable person should look at the terrestrial sphere and the landscape and conclude that there must be a god, and if He is truly God, then only one is required!'
 Wisdom and knowledge are the causes, and the effect/affect is, “Thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me” (key verse). The Hebrew word translated “I AM” means “the end.” In the New Testament Greek, “I AM” is “Ego Eimi” which means “I EXIST.” Gentiles and philosophers use the description that God used for Himself as their self-imposed identity. The Babylonians did not really have gods, they had themselves because they carved and carried the images.
  They claimed godhood for themselves, then even denied that the real God even Exists: there is “none else beside me.” The Babylonians used the same Words that Jesus wrote on stone: “Thou shalt have no other gods before (besides) Me” (Exod 20:3). The sin of the Babylonians was having other gods besides God or literally, “in God’s Face.” The Face of God is Jesus! The Babylonians preferred images carved by their own hands to the Image of God!
  Carved images were by the hands of Babylonian craftsmen. The Image of God (Jesus) was the work of God’s Power. As such, God despises those who work for their own salvation. Faithful Jews, such as Isaiah, understood that! He knew quite well that pagans cannot save themselves, but Jesus can remold pagans into Godly people. Babylonians carved full images whereas God carves on the hearts of natural men. Natural men are those before God cuts the iniquity from their hearts by carefully and precisely circumcising it! Just as Jesus “cut the matter” for the Creation, and can cut the spiritual (anti-matter) from wooden hearts!
  God taught the pagans a lesson. Babylon was destroyed and his anointed king replaced Evil-Merodach, their last legitimate king. Cyrus was God’s useful tool to destroy evil in the pagan world. With the exception of Egypt, the Persian Empire saved the remnant of the Jews and was God’s Way of preparing the world for the Messiah.
  It is reasonable to assume that God works the same way today as he did in years past. For instance, evil Hitler prepared the way for Israel to become a nation in 1948. Just as prophesied millennia before, the remnant of the Jews came from all over the world to Israel. Why did God use Roosevelt and Churchill? To prepare the way for Jesus to return!

Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Public Domain)