Contemplative Bible Reading

Isaiah 44:16-17 (New Living Translation)

16 He burns part of the tree to roast his meat
and to keep himself warm.
He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.”
17 Then he takes what’s left
and makes his god: a carved idol!
He falls down in front of it,
worshiping and praying to it.
“Rescue me!” he says.
“You are my god!”

God is talking to the people through the prophet Isaiah. Many of the surrounding peoples worshiped idols. God is explaining the foolishness of such.

In the above verses, consider the man who makes an idol from the wood of a tree. After felling the tree, the person burns part of it to roast his meat. The fire is useful, and the warmth feels good and comforting.

The rest of the wood is used to make something to worship. The man bows in front of the wood, prays to it, and asks it to rescue him. From what the man needs rescuing is unknown, but the man seems to understand he needs help.

Let’s go buy a bag of charcoal briquettes. Let’s cook some steaks on the grill. We will arrange the briquettes left in the bag into a nice pile. Then we will kneel in front of the pile and pray to each briquette asking for protection and blessing. What do you think? Good idea?

Uh, well, er, looks sort of, well, the Bible uses the word “foolish” to describe this. I guess that word is still allowed in our world of foolishness.

The man who made the idol from what was left of the tree was seeking protection. That man feared something and knew he couldn’t defend himself from that something. That man realized his weakness. That man sought help from the wrong source. The right source of help was right in front of that man. The right source of help is right in front of me right now as I sit in a coffee shop typing these words on a computer some three thousand years after the man and the idol from the tree.

Nothing has changed. Mankind needs protection. God provides. Sticks and briquettes don’t.