In step

[RiverOL]

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 40:18; Psalm 115:1-8

With whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him?
— Isaiah 40:18

Here again Isaiah uses a rhetorical question to highlight the greatness and uniqueness of God. The Lord is incomparable in his greatness. He rules over all creation without needing anyone to guide him. In comparison to the Lord, all nations are insignificant. Our trust, therefore, must be not in human power or governments but in the one who rules from the eternal throne in heaven.

Isaiah points out that God is not like any image or idol either. Since ancient times, people have carved or cast images to represent their ideas of gods that they believe have power over them. But the only true God is the Lord, who made heaven and earth. All other gods are false. They know nothing and can do nothing. People’s idols are powerless, but God is all-powerful.

God is also incomparable in his care for us. He is the one who provides for us and renews our strength when we are weary.

Nothing and no one compares with the Lord. He is the source of life, so his life is not derived from anyone or anything. He does not depend on anyone to rule or to protect himself.

God is unique, singular, incomparable. Put your trust in him!

Incomparable Lord, unequaled in power and wisdom, turn our trust from human notions of strength and power to recognize you alone. By your grace and through your Spirit, anchor our hearts in your sovereign care. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 40:19; Romans 1:20-26

As for an idol, a metalworker casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it.
— Isaiah 40:19

God's people have always been surrounded by worshipers of idols that represent other gods—and all other gods besides the Lord are false.

Sadly, we have always been drawn to worship things other than the one true God. In the past, most idols were made of wood, stone, or precious metals such as silver and gold. But an idol can be anything to which we bow down. An idol can be a material thing, a person, a relationship, an ideal, a philosophy, a status or accomplishment, and more. Idols are a grotesque substitute for God and a crude representation of him. They are human works, not divine works. They are works or ideas forged by human imagination, not by divine guidance.

Idols are powerless. An image may have a mouth, but it cannot speak. It cannot see or hear or walk. It cannot feel. Idols are inert and powerless. They can fall and break. To worship an idol is to become like it, without any understanding.

Idolatry is a distortion of the worship we are called to offer the Lord in spirit and in truth. Idolatry is an abomination to the Lord. The idea of worshiping something other than God is an offense—a great insult—to the Lord. God cannot be represented by any figure or thing or idea. Let’s be aware of the deception of idolatry. Let’s serve the Lord alone.

Lord, free our hearts from every kind of idol or false god. Teach us to worship you alone—in spirit and in truth, with undivided love and loyalty. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 40:20; 44:9-20

A person too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot; they look for a skilled worker to set up an idol that will not topple.
— Isaiah 40:20

As we noted yesterday, idolatry is an offense to God. Today’s text describes how a person who cannot afford to use gold or silver might choose a special kind of wood and then hire a craftsman to carve it into an idol that they can worship.

An idol cannot do anything or even support itself, so how can a person trust it? Idols are fragile and lifeless in contrast to the all-powerful, living God. Idols are handmade from some kind of found material in contrast to the Creator God, who is spirit. If a person makes an idol and worships it, that would be like the creator worshiping the creature, revealing the foolishness of idolatry. Why would a person want to worship something that is lesser than they are?

The psalmist, after speaking of the uselessness of idols, says, “Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them” (Psalm 115:8).

The French reformer and theologian John Calvin said that the human heart is like a factory of idols. We think of our favorite idols, and we bow down before them: money, sex, power, status, leisure, ideals, and more.

Let’s be aware of the idols that we can too easily manufacture in our deceitful human hearts. Instead of being foolish, let’s live by the wisdom of God.

Living God, free us from the idols that our hearts can create. Expose every false trust and tear down every lifeless substitute. Guide us to worship you alone and to devote our lives wholly to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.