In what do you place your hope and trust? Your choice is God, or an idol.
Verses 9-20 of Isaiah 44 focus on the futility of idol worship. "Who would fashion a god or cast an image that can do no good?" (vs. 10). Apparently, many people! Isaiah goes on to mention those involved in the trade of idol-making. There are ironsmiths and carpenters who go to great lengths to fashion objects of worship. And yet, that is all they are. Objects. Lifeless and powerless. Isaiah's conclusion on this empty pursuit is, "All who make idols are nothing, and the thing they delight in do not profit; their witnesses neither see nor know. And so they will be put to shame" (vs. 9). We may scoff along with Isaiah at those who made primitive gods of metal or wood.
But are we any better today? If we invest our trust in such modern gods as health, or wealth, or self, only the medium of idolatry has changed. Instead of iron or oak, our gods are green paper or flesh-and-blood. They will still disappoint. They are still just as futile.
Only God is able to be God. Attempting to put anything else on the throne alongside Him is an endeavor doomed to failure. Some may chafe against the exclusivity that comes with God's claim on Creation, but the Lord doesn't back down. "Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one" (vs. 8). The sooner we learn this lesson and realize that our only hope is in the Lord, the better off we will be!
Make sure you are not unwittingly bending the knee to any weak idol when what you should be worshiping is the God of the Universe!
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