Isaiah lays out the distinction between being the true God and being an idol. In short, God says, “Do you want to worship a God that you make, or one that made you?” He then draws the distinction of the choice. The God’s that men make become a burden to their worshippers. There is the cost of casting the idol. That is not cheap. Then there is the cost of moving and replacing the worn-out idols. Then there is the space they take up…AND FOR WHAT??? They cannot hear you; they cannot answer you; they certainly cannot protect or restore you.
Conversely, God tells His people, “I have made you; I have carried you; I will sustain you from youth until you reach old age. But you cannot place me on a shelf, nor can you control me.” An old axiom is that God created man in his own image, and men have been trying to return the favor ever since. It is not our job to create, to control or even to figure out God. He is the Creator, the Lord. We are simply called to trust Him and follow Him. If we will, He will carry us all the days of our lives. It is however a choice we must make, both personally and daily.
From God’s perspective, men can choose to follow the God’s that they have created, or they can follow THE God that created them. Either choice has a trajectory and a cost. I am going to do as Joshua said in Joshua 24:15, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!!!”
God Bless You
Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low;
their idols are borne by beasts of burden.[a]
The images that are carried about are burdensome,
a burden for the weary.
2 They stoop and bow down together;
unable to rescue the burden,
they themselves go off into captivity.
3 “Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob,
all the remnant of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,
and have carried since you were born.
4 Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
5 “With whom will you compare me or count me equal?
To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?
6 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.
7 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.
8 “Remember this, keep it in mind,
take it to heart, you rebels.
9 Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
10 I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summon a bird of prey;
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
what I have planned, that I will do.
12 Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted,
you who are now far from my righteousness.
13 I am bringing my righteousness near,
it is not far away;
and my salvation will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,
my splendor to Israel.
Walking With God 