{Prayer}
In “The Wounded Healer”, Henri Nouwen, a Dutch Catholic priest, retells a tale from ancient India: Four royal brothers decided each to master a special ability. Time went by, and the brothers met to reveal what they had learned.
“I have mastered a science,” said the first, “by which I can take but a bone of some creature and create the flesh that goes with it.”
“I,” said the second, “know how to grow that creature’s skin and hair if there is flesh on its bones.”
The third said, “I am able to create its limbs if I have flesh, the skin, and the hair.”
“And I,” concluded the fourth, “know how to give life to that creature if its form is complete.”
Thereupon the brothers went into the jungle to find a bone so they could demonstrate their specialties. As fate would have it, the bone they found was a lion’s. One added flesh to the bone, the second grew hide and hair, the third completed it with matching limbs, and the fourth gave the lion life. Shaking its mane, the ferocious beast arose and jumped on his creators. He killed them all and vanished contentedly into the jungle.
You and I, we too have the capacity to create what can devour us. Goals and dreams can consume us. Possessions and property can turn and destroy us. So unless we first seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness, we too will be consumed and destroyed by idolatry.
Listen again to what Isaiah says right at the beginning of our Old Testament lesson, “This is what the LORD says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God” (44:6).You see, at this point in Isaiah’s book, at this time in history, the Israelite people have been taken over by the Babylonians. The Israelite people have been forcefully taken away from their homes, had everything they possessed taken away from them, had their temple laid to ruins, and they are now living in exile.
I would like to say that they were taken away into exile because they were a smaller nation compared to that of the Babylonians, because they had a much smaller army than the Babylonians, because they were totally unaware that they were coming and that they were caught off guard, caught by surprise … but that’s just not the case. The Babylonians were able to march right in and take over the Israelites because the Israelites welcomed them in. They welcomed them in as they showed them all the gold and precious items in the temple. They welcomed them in as they turned from the LORD Almighty and began to worship their possessions, themselves, and the false gods they created.
And you would like to think they would have learned their lesson, but in this foreign, Babylonian land, the Israelite people continued to give into idol worship. They continued to create things, items, images, these idols out of wood, gold, silver or anything they can get their hands on and they were bowing down and worshipping them. They were being consumed by them. Thus why this bold statement straight out of the mouth of the LORD. “I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God” (44:6).
It’s interesting when you start digging into the Scriptures to see exactly what an idol is. Isaiah uses a handful of different words which get translated as idol. In Isaiah 46:1, he uses the Hebrew word at-sa-bim. While translated as idol, it also can mean “pain.” A slightly different form of the word is used in Genesis 3 when referring to the pain Eve will experience in childbirth as well as the pain Adam will experience in his working of the ground. A variant of this word in found in Genesis 6:6 when God is looking upon the earth at the time of Noah. Looking at the sinfulness of man, “The LORD was grieved that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was filled with pain.” Idols and the worshipping of them causes us nothing but misery, heartache, and pain.
In Isaiah 41:29, he says that idols are ephes, they are nothing, they are worthless, they have no value in them. When it comes to seeking comfort, idols provide you with nothing. When it comes to asking for wisdom, idols provide you with nothing. When it comes down to it, idols provide you with nothing which is beneficial.
Interestingly, in that same verse, he says they are tohu. Here and in Isaiah 44:9 where he is describing those who make idols, Isaiah uses that word which can translated as empty. However, that word, tohu, is first used in Genesis 1:2. “The earth was without form {tohu} and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.” In the beginning, the earth was a formless, empty, it was a chaotic space. Idols and those who make them bring about chaos. Those who follow idols become lost in the sea of chaos where God is not seen or heard.
So if idols cause pain, heartache and grief, if they are nothing and are absolutely worthless, and they only bring about emptiness and chaos … why on earth do people follow them? Why did the Israelites follow them, why do we follow them? Why do we put our earthly possessions, our social status, our hobbies, our sports, our desire for sex, money and power, amongst a long list of other things ahead of God in our lives?
The easy answer is to say that sin makes me do it. And while that’s true, I think that answer is nothing more than a cop-out, it’s a way to not really answer the question. I think if we really examine ourselves, really look within the darkness of our hearts and souls, we will find that we search for and we want idols because we believe they will provide us with peace, with power, with a way out of a situation, and because we have redefined who God is. Many cultures have taken the God of the Scriptures and have recast Him to comply with their own inclinations and desires. We want a god who is infinitely more tolerant than the One revealed in Scripture. One who is less demanding and less judgmental and who will tolerate many lifestyles without placing guilt on anyone’s shoulders.
Friends, the things of this world will never fully satisfy our hungry hearts. They were never meant to. The sinful things, creating and worship idols, they deceive us and ultimately, as Paul says in Romans 6, lead only to death. The good things of this world are not the things we make, but the good things are the gifts that we receive from God. The gifts of God are meant to be enjoyed with a thankful heart. They are meant to be enjoyed in submission to God and for His glory.
But when the gift replaces the Giver or the created replaces the Creator, then we have fallen into idolatry. And no idol can infuse our lives with meaning or worth or give us eternal hope. Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes says that apart from a right relationship with God, life is futile, it’s empty.
To make life full, Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty, who is the first and the last, placed “eternity in man’s heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) through the precious gift of Jesus Christ. It is only through Him in which we you and I are blessed.
Jesus bled and died in our place. Through His rising up from the grave, Jesus shows us that He is the only One who can heal our pain, forgive our filth and worthlessness, and defeat our death. It’s no wonder that the Bible says that idols are nothing, are empty, are chaotic, and only compound our pain. A lifeless god is not god at all. A god who does not suffer, a god who doesn’t know agony and pain, a god who can’t relate to what you and I go through, a god who doesn’t die … this is a god who is without grace, who cannot deliver his people from their sins, and who does not offer any sort of hope or peace for the future.
Thanks be to God that Jesus is not that kind of God. Yes, He died, but He has risen and lives and reigns to all eternity. It’s time to stop searching for idols, it’s time to focus on the True God who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Psalm 86:15). Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. Amen.
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