The Futility of Idol Worship

Isaiah 46:5-7 - With whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared? Some pour out gold from their bags and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god, and they bow down and worship it. They lift it to their shoulders and carry it; they set it up in its place, and there it stands. From that spot it cannot move. Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer; it cannot save them from their troubles.

Does it make sense to make something and then worship it? Why would the creator worship the created? In this Isaiah passage, the prophet tells us of the Lord’s word. To whom would we compare Him? Does the Lord have a peer? And does it make sense to take our gold and silver (given to us by God, by the way), give them to a craftsman, ask him to make a statue, and then to bow down and worship that statue? This statue that we have to move and place wherever it is to reside – it doesn’t even have the ability to move itself! And it certainly does not have the power to save the worshipper from any peril.

This is the picture that the Lord gives to us of the useless worship of things that He has created or we have crafted. Money, fame, family, knowledge, power, possessions….anything we elevate above the Lord and ascribe greater value to than Him is an idol. The worship of these things is pointless and can lead to our destruction.

In Matthew 4 we see Jesus quoting Deuteronomy 6:13, which reads “Honor the Lord your God, worship only him, and make your promises in his name alone.”

We are to worship God alone. We read in Titus 2:11-13 “For the free gift of eternal salvation is now being offered to everyone; and along with this gift comes the realization that God wants us to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures and to live good, God-fearing lives day after day, looking forward to that wonderful time we’ve been expecting, when his glory shall be seen—the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Faith in God allows us to realize the free gift of eternal salvation. It also helps us to live good, God-fearing lives in which we are not given to sinful pleasures. We can worship Him here on earth and we will worship Him eternally in heaven.

Let us not spend our energy, time, and resources on worthless worship. May we only worship the Creator, the Redeemer, the Lover of our souls – the only wise God.