Translation and Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 02 Sept. 2007
6. Thus says Jehovah, King of Israel and its Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts,
“I am first and I am after; besides me there are no gods.
7. Who will call like me,
and tell it and organize it for me, from my setting up of a people forever?
Tell what will happen and what will come to it!
8. Don’t tremble and don’t fear.
Have I not caused you to hear from of old and told? And y’all are my witnesses.
Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock either – definitely not; I know.
9. Idol-shapers – all of them – are empty,
and their delights never profit,
and they are their own witnesses; they never saw and never knew,
to the end that they will be shamed.
10. Who has formed a god or cast an idol?
It profits nothing.
11. Look, all its followers shall be shamed,
and as for craftsmen, they are from man.
Let them all assemble; let them stand;
let them tremble; let them be shamed together.
12. One crafts iron with the chisel and works with the coals.
Then he forms it with the hammers and works it with his strong arm.
He also becomes hungry and has no strength.
If he doesn’t drink water, he will faint.
13. One crafts wood: He stretched a chalk-line;
he marks it with the stylus; he makes it with the planes and outlines it with the compass.
Then he makes it like a man’s figure - like human beauty - to sit in a house.
14. To cut for himself cedars then
he took a cypress or an oak and chose for himself among the trees of the forest.
He planted an Oren-tree and rain will grow it.
15. Then it will become for a fire for mankind;
then he will take from them and he will warm himself.
He will even heat and bake bread.
Additionally, he will work up a god and bow down to it. –
He made it an idol and worshipped towards it!
16. Half of it he burned in the fire, eating meat upon half of it.
He roasts a roast and gets full,
and even warming himself he says, “Ahh, I am warm, I have seen the heat.”
17. Then the remainder of it he made into a god - into his idol.
He will worship toward it and bow down to it. –
He prayed to it and said, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”
18. They do not know, and they do not understand,
for He has covered their eyes from seeing, their hearts from considering.
19. He does not turn unto his heart,
and there is no knowledge and no understanding to say,
“Half of it I burned in the fire, and I even baked bread over its coals; I will roast meat and eat.
And I shall make its remainder into an abomination; I will worship toward a wooden product!”
20. Feeding on ashes his heart is deceived, it strings him out,
and he will not deliver his soul or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
A stranger was once walking along the streets of Sidney, Australia. He wandered into an alley and was accosted by a gang of thugs. The gang members switched their switchblades out and stepped toward him menacingly demanding that the stranger give them everything he had.
The stranger, however, did not respond like you might expect. Instead of panicking in fear, a wide grin broke across his face. He motioned toward the gang leader’s switchblade. “That’s not a knife;” he said, “THIS is a knife!” and from an enormous holster on his belt the stranger drew out a mean-looking blade almost as long as a sword. One look at this and the gang members panicked and fled!
If you’ve got a machete, your enemy can’t frighten you with a pocket-knife!
Likewise, if you have a big god, no idol will impress you. If you know the one true God, you can scoff at idols with Isaiah, and say, “That’s not a God! THIS, this is a God!”
A) The Value of the One True God (v.6-8)
v.6 starts with several titles for God
1. Jehovah – Living and personal
2. King of Israel – Authoritative and Proprietary
3. it’s [Israel’s] Redeemer – Saves and Sanctifies
4. the Lord of Hosts – The power to save and to control history
5. First and Last - Eternality and Independence
a.
Chronologically first & last - He created the world
Found 4x in the book of Revelation (1:17; 2:8; 21:6; 22:13) – He will
have the last word in history and control the final outcome.
b.
Also Hierarchically
first – At the head of all things
Colossians 1:16 …by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or
authorities--all things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before
all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head
of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the
dead, that in everything He might be preeminent.
6. “Besides me there is no God” – end of v.6
a.
There are other gods, but none
can compare
1 Corinthians 8:5-6 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or
on earth--as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"
6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all
things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through
whom are all things and through whom we exist.
b. Modern translations carry this idea into the beginning of v.7 with “Who is like me?”
7. He is also the controller of the future
a. I prefer the way the KJV translates the beginning of v.7, “And who, as I, can call?”
b. God’s ability to prophetically tell the future and control the outcome of history so that the prophecy comes true, is the main point of v.7-8
c. We’ll look at this more in depth next week, Lord willing.
8. Rock
a. LXX & KJV change the word “rock” to “God”
b. Isaiah 17:10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge…
c. Isaiah 26:4 Trust in the lord forever, for the Lord GOD is an everlasting Rock…
d. 1 Samuel 2:2 There is none holy like the Lord; there is none besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
9. With a God like this, who is Living and Personal, Authoritative and Proprietary, Redemptive and Sanctifying, Powerful and Safe, Eternal and Independent, Inimitable and Incomparable, Clear and Communicative, we have no reason to be afraid!
B)The Worthlessness of Idols (v.9-20)
1.
They are a product of humans
v.9 All who form idols are nothing
v.10 Who forms a god or casts an idol?
v.11 They are from man
a. Therefore cannot be greater than humans and should not be worshipped
b. God “formed” Man (Gen. 2:7), not the other way around!
2. They are nothing (v.9 & 10)
a. Same word used in Gen 1:2 of the raw materials of earth God created in their formless state before God brought them into order
b. Man-made things cannot exist without us – unlike the true God!
3. They do not profit (v.9 & 10)
a. Idols are not capable of actually doing anything for you.
b. Delights/Enjoyments/Pleasant things (v.9) can be unprofitable:
i. Exodus 20:17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
ii. Deuteronomy 7:25 The graven images of their gods you are to burn with fire; you shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, or you will be snared by it, for it is an abomination to the LORD your God.
c. Delights/Enjoyments/Pleasant things (v.9) can be profitable
i. Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.
ii. Psalm 119:16 I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word. Also v. 24, 35, 47, 70, 77, 92, 143, 174 and Psalm 19:10
iii. Isaiah 58:2 Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God.
d. Which do you take delight in? Choose to delight in what is substantial and profitable!
4.
Idols lead to shame
v.9 they neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame
v.11 all its followers shall be put to shame… Let them assemble, let
them stand, let them tremble, let them be put to shame
a. Shame – turning red from embarrassment, feeling hot and uncomfortable – comes when we realize that others know we have been taken in by an idol that could not deliver.
b. Maybe it was stealing a piece of candy that you thought would make you happy with its sweetness and instead you got caught and spanked for it.
c. Maybe it was playing a game to have fun during work time and everyone got angry with you because they had to do the work.
d. Maybe it was a wrong relationship that you pursued because you wanted the love and attention, but the fleeting pleasure is gone and all you have left is a broken heart.
e. That’s what idols are and that’s what idols do to you – they put you to shame.
5. v.12-14 describe the processes of making idols, not necessarily in chronological order, but showing that the idols are man-made, the product of human work:
a. v.12 describes how an idol is made from iron
i. The ore is chiseled out of the earth and smelted with fire and then formed with hammer and tongs over the anvil into whatever shape the blacksmith wants.
ii. But the blacksmith is just a man, he has to eat and drink like the rest of us in order to have the strength to do his work.
b. v. 13-14 Describes how an idol is made from wood
i. The forester takes care of trees and chooses which ones will be useful and cuts them down.
ii. The carpenter uses all his carpentry tools to carve the wood into the shape of a person and sits the idol in its spot.
iii. In his book of Satires, the ancient Greek poet Horace wrote of these idols, “Once I was a useless piece of wood, but a carpenter, uncertain whether to make a bench or a Priapus, preferred that I should be a god, and so I became a god!”
iv. But can wood truly become God? No!
There are many other ways we make gods:
C) Herbert Schlossberg’s book, Idols for Destruction
· John Frame summarized Schlossberg’s book by saying, “The chief errors of our time stem from attempts to deify various aspects of the creation: history, nature, humanity, economics, and political power. Only affirmation and application of the creator-creature distinction can point the way out. The issues, then, are essentially religious and moral: we will not escape our dilemmas by some new form of political organization or a new economic system, even a more ‘conservative’ one.” He goes on to list six forms of idolatry in modern-day America and some of the ways they play out: Source: http://www.frame-poythress.org/frame_articles/1984Schlossberg.htm
1. Historicism, the view that history is all there is:
a. Progress becomes all-consuming.
b. The outcome is determinism, a sense of helplessness in the face of historical trends.
c. It is often said, we "cannot turn back the clock," meaning that we cannot mount any challenge against any fashionable trend.
d. Hinduism, in addition to its overt idolatry also shares this flaw in the doctrine of Karma.
e. Schlossberg’s more recent work on the social transformation of Victorian England by the Gospel shows evidence that History is not ultimate; God controls history!
2. Humanism, the deification of humanity:
a. If human beings are ultimate, we have the freedom to make up our own moral standards, create our own laws, and decide for ourselves what is true and false.
b. This is why we have legalized the murder of the pre-born and the aged.
c. Modern humanism demands a leveling of distinctions, equalization of wealth, and restrictions on economic freedom, not out of concern for the poor, but out of envy of the rich.
3. Mammon, making wealth the ultimate value:
a. After many years of closely studying the Soviet Russian system as a CIA agent, Schlossberg notes that materialistic societies tend to use redistribution to increase state power to benefit the rich and powerful.
b. One of the ways our government does this is through intentional inflation and the encouragement of debt.
4. Naturalism - dogmatic faith in science:
a. The belief that the only things of substance in life are the things you can see, feel, taste, hear, and smell and therefore rules out anything spiritual as irrelevant, is falsely called science. This is actually a religious form of humanism.
b. Many scientists refuse to even consider the Bible’s explanation for the origin of our universe because they assume that since it is a spiritual explanation it must therefore be false, so they cling to defective theories to explain our origins in purely naturalistic terms.
c. The only solution is to trust God’s word as the source of truth and recognize God as the creator who divinely implanted unity in creation between fact and meaning
5. Statism - the deification of the state, "Idols of Power."
a. The modern state claims ownership of all things (through property taxes).
b. It also seeks to reduce local government and family government to subservience.
c. Our only recourse is a renewed faith in the sovereignty of God, which alone justifies resistance to totalitarianism
6. Syncretism - the attempt to blend true faith together with some form of idolatry:
a. Around the world, Roman Catholic missionaries accepted local forms of idolatry and witchcraft right into the worship of the church.
b. Many Protestants also have become impotent because they have accepted a little bit of power, naturalism, wealth, and humanism into their thinking.
c. God hates competition – I will not share my glory with another (Isa 42:8)
D) The need for Spiritual Discernment to say, “That’s no God; THIS is a God!”
1. The absurdity of worshipping something you also use to cook with is brought out in vs.15-17
a. Half of the log is chopped up and used to cook your meat and the other half of the log is carved into an idol and you bow down to it!
b. How silly! We would never do that in our modern age, would we?
c. The same electricity that runs your stove also runs your video screen, and I know far too many people today for whom that screen is an idol. I used to be one of them myself.
d. We need a Biblical understanding of how to use God’s creation for the building of His kingdom rather than becoming enslaved to created things to maintain our personal comfort.
2. We humans are so bent in our thinking that we cannot naturally see the value of the true God compared with the worthlessness of idols – we are totally depraved, our heart is deluded.
a. Seven occurrences of “not” in vs.18 - 20 indicate complete inability and delusion: “they do not know, do not understand… he does not turn unto his heart, there is not knowledge, there is not understanding… he can not deliver his soul, and he does not say, ‘Isn’t this pleasure I’m clutching so dearly actually a lie?”
b. In New Testament terms: Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness… 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever…
c. Our twisted hearts naturally gravitate toward “feeding on ashes” – seeking our sustenance from insubstantial, unprofitable, man-made things - rather than delighting in the blessings of God.
3.
Notice in v.18 that these
people are blind to the facts because God has smeared their eyes and hearts
shut so that they can’t see or think.
Isaiah 6:10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and
blind their eyes
So what can we do about it?
E)Application
1. Ask God to give us wisdom and knowledge of the truth:
a. This was Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:16-21 remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might 20 that he worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
b. The Spirit of God can open your eyes, so that you may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that you may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus. (Acts 26:18)
2. Recognize and overturn idols in your life
a. We need to be like Diagoras, who threw his wooden idol of Hercules into the fire and said, “Come now, Hercules, perform your 13th labor and help me cook the turnips!”
b. Instead of being enslaved by our possessions, invest those possessions in the spread of the Gospel – that was the heart of God’s command to the rich young ruler when he said, “Sell all you own and give it to the poor… and come follow me.” (Matt. 19:21)
c. Instead of giving in to lust when you see another person’s body, turn the selfishness on its head and pray for that person to be saved by God’s grace!
d. Do you worship people? Do you like to follow confident people? Are you afraid of being found unacceptable by other people? Turn this idolatry on its head by committing the ultimate faux pas and sharing the Gospel; this will instantly gain the respect of those you really want to be your friends!
e. Is comfort and pleasure an idol? Do you do things just because you like to do them? Seek God and delight in His word and obeying and praising Him, then you will find more pleasure and satisfaction than you ever would if you tried to get all the candy and toys in the world for yourself!
f. Is human reason your idol? Do you struggle to accept the Bible as true? Do you have a hard time accepting God’s gracious forgiveness? Do you get upset when things don’t turn out the way you wanted them to? Surrender to your Lord and master and teach the truth of the Bible to others.
Nate Wilson’s website – Isaiah Sermon Expositions
Christ the Redeemer Church website - Sermons