ISAIAH 45
Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides him.
15 Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 All of them are put to shame and confounded;
the makers of idols go in confusion together.
17 But Israel is saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation;
you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity.
18 For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty,
he formed it to be inhabited!): “I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,‘ Seek me in vain.’
I the Lord speak the truth; I declare what is right.
20 “Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together,
you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge
who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.
– Isaiah 45:14-20
ISAIAH 45 IDOL MAKING LEADS TO CONFUSION & CHAOS
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
God made humans for him through him and in him
Human beings changed that purpose when they sinned
That sin’s consequence became a constant love for the self
Man’s loyalty altered from loving God towards idolatry
Because idols are man-made, they belong to the world
God Almighty on the other hand, wasn’t made and has no end
Idols are physical and made by man and they are limited
When man generates idols to replace God’s place
It will generate double-minds, confusion and chaos.
In this account, the prophet Isaiah becomes God’s voice and points out to the Israelites their difference from the pagan nations around them. In other words, God wants to let his people know that they must be separate from them and not look like them in any form, tradition or practices that they engage in. In verse 18, God asserts his kingship over his people. They need not pledge loyalty to any other king but himself alone.
The Lord warns his people of the consequence of making idols and bowing down to them. They are empty and foolish. They do not have knowledge because they have turned their backs to the only source of wisdom. They become double-minded and confused and live in darkness.
REFLECTION
- Cite an example of an idolater exhibiting a double-mind or confused and chaotic mind.
