In the first eight verses of Isaiah 41, the nations confronted by the coming of King Cyrus got together to encourage each other. Their craftsmen also got together to make idols hoping that their handmade gods could help them deal with him. The craftsmen even flattered each other’s work in the process of making those idols. God of course knew that these dumb idols had no power. So in these remaining verses of Isaiah 49 these dumb idols were being confronted by God, who called Himself the King of Jacob.
God challenged those man-made idols to do three things, as proofs that they had power like Him. Firstly, if they were like God and had the power, they should be able to reveal what happened in the past. So He challenged them to make known the former things, meaning events of the past. Secondly, if they have power like God, they should be able to foretell the future. But they could not. Thirdly, if they were like God, they should have the power to make things happen. The call for them to do “good or evil” should not be mistaken as God is capable of doing evil. God was merely calling for them to do something that would authenticate their claims as a deity. In all three issues, they were not able to meet the challenge. It proved conclusively that they were merely dumb powerless idols and had no inherent power like God. They were pathetically “less than nothing.” In other words, they were unreal and only a figment of man’s imagination. To God, those who worshipped them were as dumb and despicable as those idols themselves.
In contrast, Israel’s covenant God has all the power to make things happen to vindicate His own power and divinity. He said He would raise someone who would call on His name. Cyrus, in Ezra 1:2-3 indeed called on the name of God and acknowledged Him, as he decreed the release of the people of God from Babylonian captivity. Being the king of Persia, Cyrus hailed from the East. But verse 25 said that God would put one “…from the north into motion.” It simply meant that when Cyrus invaded Babylon, he came down from the north. He came powerfully and trampled down all who opposed him. Apart from God, there was none, neither the man-made idols nor any man would have known about the coming of Cyrus. But God did. He had already made the announcement of the good news of all that would happen in Zion. The silence of the idols proved conclusively that they were not deities but only vain idols.
In this
passage we see the powerlessness and futility of man-made idols as they stand
alongside the wonders of the Powerful God. We are certain that no true believer
of God would worship or trust any physical man-made idol. Nonetheless, each of
us may have “idols” of some sort which we may unconsciously venerate. They can come
in the form of ourselves, our spouse, our children, our boyfriend or girlfriend,
our fiancé or fiancée, our family, our career, our car, our hobbies, and
yes even our ministry. The list can go on endlessly. Take time to review your life
to make sure that none of these is an “idol” you venerate. While we enjoy them
as blessings that God has added to make our lives more colorful, they must never
take the place of God. Be sure to worship the Lord only, and Him only shall we
serve!
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