Isaiah 46:4 Meaning - Even to Your Old Age

by Mr. Whitney V. Myers

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Even to your old age and gray hairs - Isaiah 46:4 - 123RF photo - Used under license

"And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you."  (Isaiah 46:4 KJV)

God promises to sustain us through all the years of our lives - even through the years of our old age and "gray hairs" or "hoar hairs" (Isaiah 46:4).

     Consider.   If you already are in your "graying years," how have you experienced God’s grace and care for you as you have aged?  If you are young, how does God's promise to carry you to "hoar hairs" (gray hairs) give you hope for the future?

The scriptures quoted in this article below are taken from the King James Version (KJV) on the BibleGateway site unless noted otherwise (Ref. 1).

1. "Even to your old age I am he"

      God encouraged the remnant of Israelites held in captivity in Babylon.  God said, "Even to your old age I am he" (Isaiah 46:4).  By the words, "I am he," God explained that he is the same God who had carried them from their birth, and that he had not abandoned them.  The scripture had a meaning for the Israelites both in the national sense and in the personal sense. 

a.  In the national sense, God had carried the Israelites since their birth as a nation, when God delivered them from Egypt.  For example, in Deuteronomy 1:31, God told the Israelites that in the wilderness he had "carried them, as a man carries his son" (Deuteronomy 1:31 NKJV). 

b.  In the personal sense, God was with them all the time from their own birth, and was carrying them throughout their lives into old age, and would never forsake them.  This same principle applies to us today who believe in God and trust him.  God takes care of us throughout our lives as children and adults, and we continue to experience God's grace and care in our years of old age and gray hair.

Notice in Isaiah 46:5, that God invited the remnant of Israel to compare himself to the idols of Babylon.  God has carried (and still carries) his people.  Idols need to be carried by the people who worship them (Isaiah 46:7).  Idols cannot deliver their worshipers from trouble (Isaiah 46:7).  God delivers his worshipers out of all their troubles (Psalm 34:17).

2. "Even to hoar hairs I will carry you"

Hoarfrost at Hohenzollern Castle, Germany - Image by Ingo Jakubke from Pixabay

     The King James Version uses an interesting word to describe God's care for us through all of our life to advanced age -- "even to hoar hairs will I carry you" (Isaiah 46:4).  The old English word, "hoar" (spelled "h-o-a-r") dates to before the 12th century (Ref. 2) and refers to the grayish white color of hoarfrost (see picture).

In the Bible, God promises to carry us even to the time of our literal "hoary head" [gray hair, old age] (Ref. 3, Isaiah 46:4).  God's tender care for us lasts from our infancy, through our childhood and adulthood, to our old age and gray hairs.  God's care for us exceeds that even of our earthly parents.  Even when our earthly parents have passed away and we ourselves are reaching "old age," "the everlasting arms" of God "never weary" (Ref. 4).  "God's watchfulness, his providence, his protection, never fail" (Ref. 4).
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3. "I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you"

     The same God who has made us also walks with us as children and as adults.  God does not cast us off in the time of old age or when infirmities come.  God does not forsake us when our strength fails (Psalm 71:9 NIV, Ref. 5). 

As we age, we who believe and trust in God continue to learn more each day about God's grace (2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV).  God continually "bears us" [lifts us up] (Ref. 6).  God delivers us through all of our trials (Psalm 34:17, 19).  And, when our physical life is completed, God will carry us to our heavenly home (Luke 16:22, Luke 23:43, John 14:2-3).

     Apply.  Give thanks to God for his care for you, and for how he has carried you through your life, especially through trials.  Be assured and know that God will be with you into your old age and gray hairs.

Related Resource
"Bible Verses About Old Age and Gray Hair" (Ref. 5)

References
1.  https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/King-James-Version-KJV-Bible/
2.  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoar
3.  https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7872.htm
4.  https://biblehub.com/commentaries/pulpit/isaiah/46.htm
Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:4
5.  https://www.scriptureway.com/bible-verses-about-old-age-and-gray-hair
6.  https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5375.htm