Idle Idols
Opening Prayer
Lord, teach me to guard myself from idols (1 John 5:21).
Read Isaiah 44:9–23
9 All who make idols are nothing,
and the things they treasure are worthless.
Those who would speak up for them are blind;
they are ignorant, to their own shame.
10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol,
which can profit nothing?
11 People who do that will be put to shame;
such craftsmen are only human beings.
Let them all come together and take their stand;
they will be brought down to terror and shame.
12 The blacksmith takes a tool
and works with it in the coals;
he shapes an idol with hammers,
he forges it with the might of his arm.
He gets hungry and loses his strength;
he drinks no water and grows faint.
13 The carpenter measures with a line
and makes an outline with a marker;
he roughs it out with chisels
and marks it with compasses.
He shapes it in human form,
human form in all its glory,
that it may dwell in a shrine.
14 He cut down cedars,
or perhaps took a cypress or oak.
He let it grow among the trees of the forest,
or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.
15 It is used as fuel for burning;
some of it he takes and warms himself,
he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it.
16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire;
over it he prepares his meal,
he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”
17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships.
He prays to it and says,
“Save me! You are my god!”
18 They know nothing, they understand nothing;
their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see,
and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
19 No one stops to think,
no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;
I even baked bread over its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”
20 Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him;
he cannot save himself, or say,
“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”
21 “Remember these things, Jacob,
for you, Israel, are my servant.
I have made you, you are my servant;
Israel, I will not forget you.
22 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,
your sins like the morning mist.
Return to me,
for I have redeemed you.”
23 Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this;
shout aloud, you earth beneath.
Burst into song, you mountains,
you forests and all your trees,
for the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
he displays his glory in Israel.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“Idolatry is everywhere represented in Scripture as the greatest insult the creature can offer the Creator” (Charles Hodge, 1797–1878).
God devoted the first two of his Ten Commandments to the subject of idolatry. The worship of other gods and the use of images to represent the true God are equally serious in his sight. Isaiah has touched on the subject before (e.g., Isa. 40:18–20). But here, dripping with a withering disgust that borders on sarcasm, he gives it both barrels. Idols are worthless, and those who make them amount to nothing. They are spiritually blind and perpetually ignorant (9). The images they produce, however skillfully, purport to make God in their own image (12,13), thus subverting the work of creation (Gen. 1:26). Furthermore, it is folly to use part of a tree to make a god to worship and use the remainder as fuel to cook food and keep warm (14–19). The outcome is detestable (19), as well as an outright lie (20). Such people are deluded (20). If only they would stop and think (19)!
Though believers might question the value of a household shrine in the corner of their living room, we can lose sight of the fact that a celebrity on our television can perform the same function for modern civilizations. Do we really want to criticize those who trust in images of their own making, if, instead of using the image as a symbol, we invest faith in a good luck charm on my rearview mirror, a cross around my neck, or an angel in my pocket?
The last three verses of the section present a wonderful contrast. The true God is the Creator who enters into a personal covenant relationship with his people. He has redeemed and forgiven them. He pleads for them to return to him and join with all creation in singing the praise of the incomparable God. Today he calls on you to do the same.
Apply
James I. Packer once wrote, “You do not have to make a graven image picturing God… a false mental image is all that is needed to break the second commandment.”
Closing prayer
Lord, Your people join the rest of Your creation in unison as we together praise the architect of all creation.
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