Isaiah 44 - The Redemption of God's People & the Folly of Idolatry

Here Isaiah again identifies Israel as God's "chosen" (v.1). The Lord has created not only the world in general but has specifically created Israel within it as His people (v.2). This belies the deist belief that God has not been involved with His creation in an active way since it's inception.

Not only has God chosen the people to whom Isaiah writes but He has chosen a people in the future as well, a people who will identify themselves as belonging to the Lord just as Israel does in Isaiah's day (Vv. 4-5). This is one of many Old Testament references to the conversion of the Gentiles which was part of God's plan all along. The Church is not a "parenthesis" or a "plan B" as some theologians teach today.

Verses 6-20 of this chapter are an extended discussion of the folly of idolatry. The Lord reiterates that no God exists but Him (Vv. 6, 8) and because of this all who make other gods are "nothing" (v.9) and will be put to shame.

The foolishness of idolatry is emphasized by pointing out that the one who fashions an idol is himself weak, subject to hunger and fatigue. How could such a being create a god?! (v.12)

In addition, the one who makes an idol from wood uses part of the tree for fuel to cook with and to warm himself and the other part to fashion a "god", essentially worshipping fuel! (Vv. 14-17). He is expecting mere ashes to deliver him! Why do people do such foolish things? Because their eyes are blinded to the truth (v.18), their hearts are deceived (v.20)

Still today we often take the things God has provided for our use and turn them into idols. Money, like wood, has a legitimate and God ordained use but when we look to money or anything else to do for us what only God can do, we are no different from the example given here of the man who carves an idol from a tree.