Idolatry

. 14He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.

15Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto.

16He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire:”

17And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith,” Deliver me; for thou art my god.”

18They have not known nor understood: for He hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.

19And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, “I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?”

20He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

The utter stupidity of idolatry and pagan religion is exposed here to be the most scathing attack in the entire Bible.

What is worse is not only that the pagan would worship this so-called god, but also that he prayed unto it and expects it to deliver him,

Isaiah condemns the idol worshipers for shutting their eyes and their hearts.

Thus it is that they cannot see and cannot understand truth in the spiritual realm.

To the mind of God, such idolatry is an abomination (thoµ>ebah, abhorrence).

The prophet Isaiah’s criticism of one who would worship an idol carved from the same tree that he would use for firewood is that He is feeding on ashes.

The ultimate problem of the unbeliever, whether he is an idolater or a modern agnostic, is that he has a deceived (huµthal, cheated) heart.

His ultimate condemnation shall be that he cannot deliver his soul from judgment because what he holds in his right hand (i.e., an idol) is really a lie.

Idolatry:

Portrayed. ,here is a good picture of what worshipping idols will lead a person to do. 2 K 16:3. 2Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God, like David his father. 3But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel. 4And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.

An idol cheats man as it can do nothing, only stand on its man made edge.

When man could and should be serving and worshipping the True and Living God.