I’ve been reading through Isaiah lately. I’m going slowly through the Prophet’s writing, pausing and rereading sections, searching for key themes. Through chapters 42 to 46 I noticed a statement that kept coming up. “I am God, and there is no other”. This statement, phrased a few different ways, comes up 12 times within these chapters. Isaiah is definitively communicating that there is only one God. There are no other gods besides the Lord. He alone saves Israel. He alone is creator. His purposes won’t be thwarted. He alone holds the future. He alone is to be trusted and worshipped. Isaiah speaks for God saying, “To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?”
I know that there is only one God, and that all other gods are created and are not truly gods. When I read in Isaiah that people carved and forged images and proclaimed them to be their gods and to be their saviors, I think, “Wow, how stupid is it that people create something and then worship it?!” It would be like me carving a piece of wood into something (mind you, I’m terrible at this kind of art) and then declaring it to be god, and then singing to it, adoring it, and crying out to it to save me when I’m threatened by an enemy. This just seems ridiculous. Surely none of us do anything like this.
We know Satan is crafty (Genesis 3:1, 2 Corinthians 2:11, 2 Corinthians 11:14), and I believe Satan wants us to read these verses and think, “Thank God I’m not like the people in the Bible that created an idol and worshipped it, and cried it to it for salvation, because I know that the Lord alone is God.” That’s my first inclination, to laugh at the fools who create something and then trust it, proclaiming it to be their God. I see myself as above their foolish idolatry, but when I stop and pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show me how this applies to our lives today, I’m reminded that we still create gods that we adore, that we run to, and that we trust to save us from loneliness or depression or fear. I believe that we are prone to run to entertainment, to alcohol, to pornography, or to food to save us from our fears, insecurities, and loneliness. I believe that we are prone to trust in our bank accounts, or our accomplishments, or our popularity, or our guns, or our own strength to secure our future, to bring about our own plans, and to provide us joy and security.
While I might laugh at people in the Bible who create idols out of wood, gold, or other precious metals and put their trust in them, I’m sure there are others that could look at me and laugh at the way I trust in my job security, my retirement plan (okay maybe not this one), my accomplishments, my possessions, or even my family to provide me security, peace, purpose, joy, or self-worth.
John Calvin said, “The human heart is an idol factory”. What are we unintentionally creating idols out of? What are we trusting in? Are we living like God is God alone and there is no other god? What do we adore more than we adore God? What do we need to repent of?
Holy Spirit, don’t let us be fooled by the devil’s schemes. Don’t let us think we are beyond idol worship. Show us the idols in our lives and bring us to repentance. Forgive us for worshipping the created rather than the creator. Help us to trust in You alone! In Jesus’ name, Amen. See you Sunday!
- Pastor Kyle