I love everything about forests and trees. I was reading Isaiah the other morning, and a passage in chapter 44 conked me on the head like an apple falling from its branch.
In what seems to be a slightly sarcastic comment, God lays out a scenario and asks us to consider what might be misguided. If you allow me, I will paraphrase it for you. God asks us to imagine this picture: A man goes out in the woods, cuts down a tree, and brings it home. He cuts it in half and roasts his dinner over one half of it. He carves the other half into an idol, bows down to it, and says, “Save me.”
Then, in verse 18, God says, “They know not, nor do they discern, for He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
Did you catch what God did right there? He basically equated an idol with a lie. When I saw that connection, I thought first of our culture and how many lies we are pushing on each other and ourselves. My mind then went to my own life … what are the idols and lies I believe every day without realizing it? What about you? Are there blocks of wood in any area of your life?
As always, may you find joy in the simple things. This is Marlin with Plain Values magazine. Learn more about our work, and subscribe, at plainvalues.com.
Idols