Put Down Your Idols

Isaiah 46

Bel bows down, Nebo stoops;
Their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle.
Your carriages were heavily loaded,
A burden to the weary beast.
² They stoop, they bow down together;
They could not deliver the burden,
But have themselves gone into captivity.
³ “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob,
And all the remnant of the house of Israel,
Who have been upheld by Me from birth,
Who have been carried from the womb:
⁴ Even to your old age, I am He,
And even to gray hairs I will carry you!
I have made, and I will bear;
Even I will carry, and will deliver you.
⁵ “To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal
And compare Me, that we should be alike?
⁶ They lavish gold out of the bag,
And weigh silver on the scales;
They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god;
They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship.
⁷ They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it
And set it in its place, and it stands;
From its place it shall not move.
Though one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer
Nor save him out of his trouble.
⁸ “Remember this, and show yourselves men;
Recall to mind, O you transgressors.
⁹ Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
¹⁰ Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
¹¹ Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man who executes My counsel, from a far country.
Indeed I have spoken it;
I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it;
I will also do it.
¹² “Listen to Me, you stubborn-hearted,
Who are far from righteousness:
¹³ I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off;
My salvation shall not linger.
And I will place salvation in Zion,
For Israel My glory.

 

Our world is out of control.  We have made material gain our god.  We believe the more we have the happier we’ll be.  We shun family, friends and others for the material wealth of the world, and we kill ourselves spiritually inside from the time and effort we put into seeking these treasures.  God asks us to not be worried about what we’re going to wear or eat, but consume His word, and all these things shall be added.  By us not being properly trained in our Bibles in how to love God and each other we have become adults still exercising childlike behaviors.  My house is bigger than your house, my jet is faster than yours, and my company more successful. Then when we have built these empires, our flesh wants more.  So our sins become grander and more deadly in the sight of God.  God says it is despicable some of the things we do behind closed doors.  Whether or not you know it God states all we have belongs to Him.  He says He gives us the power to gain wealth.  If He didn’t open our eyes each day, as we were building our dream, the dream would be over.  He never gets any of the credit as we stand receiving all the accolades and applause. We go gray haired turning in circles and turning others around us in circles reaching for the American dream, which cannot link you to God who is here, or get you into Heaven.  God has a purpose for our lives that includes wealth and riches, but He determines if and when we will receive them.  So let’s pick up our Bibles and put down our idols.

 

Bless all who worship God instead of idols,

Vincent Young, Christian Analyst.