Proper 12 (OTA)

Isaiah 44:8-20

⁸ Fear not, nor be afraid;

have I not told you from of old and declared it?

And you are my witnesses!

Is there a God besides me?

There is no Rock; I know not any.”

⁹ All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. ¹⁰ Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? ¹¹ Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.

¹² The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. ¹³ The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. ¹⁴ He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. ¹⁵ Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. ¹⁶ Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” ¹⁷ And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

¹⁸ They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. ¹⁹ No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” ²⁰ He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

I don't know about you , but I look around my house and find all kinds of little figure cast out of molds or carved out of wood. There are even a couple of images made from glass or metal. The art of our culture can be found even in video images, still photos, and other manufactured forms. People place these little knick-knacks around their house. Have you ever thought of these things as idols?

Isaiah does a great job of explaining how much care people took in developing their idols. People took time place a slight dent or indentation here and form these objects into forms which may even look like a human. Most of these knick-knacks around our house had someone who took that same amount of care in designing or making these objects.

But these objects do not do anything for us. This objects may have some kind of memory connected to them. Some of them may be something you picked up on vacation, others may be handed down from generation to generation. But these are just a few more elemental spirits to ensnare us.

God is not found in these objects. Though a cross on our wall, a painting of the last supper, or even a book may help us to remember what God has done for us. God is not any of these objects. God is not contained in any of these objects. God is God and there is non-like him. He is the one created all things. He is the one who gave his only-begotten Son to die so that you may have new life in his name.