God’s purposes for His servants 42:10-44:22The section of Isaiah that I have titled "God’s promises to His servants" (Isaiah 41:1 to Isaiah 42:9) sets the stage and introduces themes that Isaiah proceeded to develop in this section. Those themes are the certainty of redemption (Isaiah 42:10 to Isaiah 43:7), the witness to redemption (Isaiah 43:8 to Isaiah 44:20), and the memory of redemption (Isaiah 44:21-22). read more
All the companions of the craftsman who makes an idol, other idolaters, will be put to shame, namely, idol worshippers as well as idol makers. The reason is that the makers of these gods are mere men. Rather than God creating man, man creates gods (cf. Romans 1:23). This makes man superior to his gods. The fact that there are many people in this group of idol makers and worshippers does not change the fact that all of them will be ashamed by the impotence of their gods.Isaiah 44:12-17 describe... read more
The man who would make a god has to expend a great deal of effort on it. Some English translations give the impression that in this verse the blacksmith is fashioning a tool with which to make an idol, but the idol itself is really in view. Making an idol is a laborious and exhausting process. God, of course, did not grow weary making man; He made him with a word. Furthermore, because God made the Israelites, they did not need to grow weary (Isaiah 40:28-31). Because He carried them (Isaiah... read more
Idol-making is a complex process involving many steps and requiring much activity and some human skill. The whole idea is to create a god in the closest possible likeness to man, supposedly the highest form of life, complete with man’s needs. Here a carpenter rather than a blacksmith is the craftsman. The type of craftsman really does not matter since any human will do. One idol may be in view in Isaiah 44:12-13, first carved out of wood and then adorned with metal, or Isaiah may have had in... read more
As shepherds raised some sheep for sacrifice, so the idol craftsman, here a forester, planted a tree with a view to making a god out of it one day "for himself." He wanted wood that would not rot, but the type of wood itself really does not matter. The god is perfectly passive and dependent on its human creator throughout the whole process. How can such a creation possibly help people? read more
The craftsman uses one piece of wood to make an idol, and another piece out of the same tree-as fuel-to warm and feed himself. Actually, the piece he burns does him more good than the piece he worships. The piece burned serves man and delivers him from the cold and hunger, but the piece not burned demands human service and only promises deliverance (cf. Acts 17:29; 1 Corinthians 8:4-8). Instead of thanking the Creator for the wood, the idolater uses what the Creator has made to make a god in... read more
The leftover piece becomes the idol. How can what is the result of human effort and care, an idol, put forth any effort and care for its builder? Worshipping and praying to a graven image is absurd (cf. Matthew 6:7-8)."Diagoras of Melos, a pupil of Democritus, once threw a wooden standing figure of Hercules into the fire, and said jocularly, ’Come now, Hercules, perform thy thirteenth labor, and help me to cook the turnips.’" [Note: Delitzsch, 2:211.] "John Knox, in decrying the idolatry of the... read more
Pagans do not see the folly of idol-worship because God has blinded their minds (cf. Isaiah 6:9-10; Isaiah 29:14). Having chosen to refuse the revelation of God that He has given them in nature, He makes it impossible for them to see the truth (cf. Romans 1:18-24; 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11). If this were not the case, they would understand and abandon their practices, since it is so clear that man-made gods are not deity.Modern man is in the same position as his ancient counterpart. Westerners do... read more
Pursuing idols is like feeding on ashes. No satisfaction, but instead eventual disgust and death, follow. The idol is good for nothing but burning (Isaiah 44:15), and the person who worships an idol will finally find himself with nothing but ashes instead of an idol. The person who pursues this path to satisfaction has been deceived by his own heart. He cannot deliver himself out of such a trap. He has become addicted. He must cry out for deliverance to Another-who has the power to enlighten... read more
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Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 44:10
This rhetorical question means, who would be so foolish as to fashion an idol when it does not profit anyone? The whole idea of making idols seemed ridiculous to Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 40:18; Isaiah 43:7; Isaiah 43:10)."Isaiah points to the mere humanity of the craftsmen (10-11), their frailty (12) and the man-dominated conceptions governing their theology (13)." [Note: Motyer, p. 347.] read more