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IS A IA H 4 4
page 642
The Foolishness of Idols
6 This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and
Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies:
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“I am the First and the Last;
there is no other God.
Who is like me?
Let him step forward and prove to you
his power.
Let him do as I have done since ancient
times
when I established a people and
explained its future.
Do not tremble; do not be afraid.
Did I not proclaim my purposes for
you long ago?
You are my witnesses—is there any
other God?
No! There is no other Rock—not one!”
How foolish are those who manufacture
idols.
These prized objects are really worthless.
The people who worship idols don’t know
this,
so they are all put to shame.
Who but a fool would make his own god—
an idol that cannot help him one bit?
All who worship idols will be disgraced
along with all these craftsmen—mere
humans—
who claim they can make a god.
They may all stand together,
but they will stand in terror and shame.
The blacksmith stands at his forge to make
a sharp tool,
pounding and shaping it with all his
might.
His work makes him hungry and weak.
It makes him thirsty and faint.
Then the wood-carver measures a block
of wood
and draws a pattern on it.
• Creativity
ISAIA H 4 4 :1 6 -1 7
The idol maker carved an idol from a
block of wood. With wood from the same
tree, he started a fire to cook his meals
and keep himself warm. We ridicule
this idol maker, but we, too, create little
gods out of the things we make or do for
ourselves—our jobs, our possessions,
even our creative projects. It is shortsighted to forget that the ultimate source
of all things is our wise and loving
Creator.
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He works with chisel and plane
and carves it into a human figure.
He gives it human beauty
and puts it in a little shrine.
He cuts down cedars;
he selects the cypress and the oak;
he plants the pine in the forest
to be nourished by the rain.
Then he uses part of the wood to make
a fire.
With it he warms himself and bakes
his bread.
Then—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it
and makes himself a god to worship!
He makes an idol
and bows down in front of it!
He burns part of the tree to roast his meat
and to keep himself warm.
He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.”
Then he takes what’s left
and makes his god: a carved idol!
He falls down in front of it,
worshiping and praying to it.
“Rescue me!” he says.
“You are my god!”
Such stupidity and ignorance!
Their eyes are closed, and they cannot
see.
Their minds are shut, and they cannot
think.
The person who made the idol never stops
to reflect,
“Why, it’s just a block of wood!
I burned half of it for heat
and used it to bake my bread and roast
my meat.
How can the rest of it be a god?
Should I bow down to worship a piece
of wood?”
The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes.
He trusts something that can’t help him
at all.
Yet he cannot bring himself to ask,
“Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand
a lie?”
Restoration for Jerusalem
21 “Pay attention, O Jacob,
for you are my servant, O Israel.
I, the Lord, made you,
and I will not forget you.
22 I have swept away your sins like a cloud.
I have scattered your offenses like the
morning mist.
Oh, return to me,
for I have paid the price to set you free.”
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Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done
this wondrous thing.
Shout for joy, O depths of the earth!
Break into song,