Friday, July 13, 2018

Isaiah on Idolatry

6“This is what the Lord says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;apart from me there is no God.
7Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me
what has happened since I established my ancient people,
and what is yet to come— yes, let them foretell what will come.
8Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”
9All 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.
10Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit nothing?
11People 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.
12The 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.
13The 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. 14He 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. 15It 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.
16Half 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.” 17From 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!” 18They know nothing, they understand nothing;
their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand. 19No 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?” 20Such 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.
22I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist.
Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”

Thoughts: Idolatry was the major reason given for the exile of Judah to Babylon.  Isaiah clarifies the monotheism of Israel.  Idolatry's folly is also clarified here.  On one part of a log an idol/fake God is made.  The other side would be used for fuel for the fire.  Yet it was this false-man-made worship that people stubbornly clung to.  It was this idolatry that caused God to take them into captivity. Idolatry is the worship of created things.  It is valuing things over God.  Things would be cars, houses, clothes, money.  God created everything, but when we worship them they lose their value and our soul gets lost as well.  Calvin said Idolatry is the root of all sin.  

Prayer: Lord, help me to live for you, the living God. Keep me from worshiping stuff.  

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