What makes idolatry so attractive to its practitioners? Why do they fall for the lure of believing that a hunk of wood or lump of stone is really a god that they should worship? We might think that those who sacrifice to idols are really quite foolish. But what if it isn't really about faith so much as it is about control?
Let's face it: you can't go very far in the Christian life without realizing that there is a God, and you're not Him! As the Lord says in this chapter through the prophet Isaiah, "I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like me" (vs. 9).
And yet people always try to find or manufacture another god. "Those who lavish gold from the purse, and weigh out silver in the scales - they hire a goldsmith, who makes it into a god; they they fall down and worship!" (vs. 6) What's the appeal? A god like that has no power.
Yet that may be precisely its attraction! When it comes to a false idol, humans get to be in charge of it. "They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it, they set it in its place, and it stands there; it cannot move from its place. If one cries to it, it does not answer or save anyone from trouble" (vs. 7). It is powerless, but that is because people have the power over it. Over our idols, we are in control!
How different that is when it comes to the true God! As C.S. Lewis pointed out about the Christ-figure Aslan in his Narnia series, "He is not a tame lion." God does not exist to do our bidding or to serve under our control. Far from it! In fact, the opposite is true. When it comes to the real God, He is the One in charge and we are not.
God asserts that He "[declares] the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying 'My purpose shall stand, and I will fulfill my intention,' calling a bird of prey from the east, the man for my purpose from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have planned, and I will do it" (vs. 10-11). God is independent of human beings; we are dependent upon Him.
According to the Bible, God is firmly in control. God doesn't need our help or our assistance. He is not dependent upon us for sacrifice. He does not follow our plans or our will. That kind of God is scary, because we humans like to be on top and to have things under our control. That is something we will never have with God. He is not a tame lion. That's one of the things that makes idols/lesser gods more attractive.
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