Isaiah 44:9-20 - Homiletics

The utter folly of all kinds of idolatry.

Idolatry proper—the actual worship of images—is felt by modern Englishmen to be so extreme a folly that they have a difficulty in believing it to have at any time been, or still anywhere to be, the actual religion of a people. Their inclination is to regard it as a symbolism—coarse and ill-judged, perhaps—but yet a well-meaning symbolism, expressive of the truths of natural religion. But research into the past history of mankind, and investigation of the present condition of the nations by whom idolatry is practised, alike show a real belief in the supernatural power of the images, and a real trust in them for help and protection. Thus the idolatry directly denounced by Isaiah, extraordinary as it seems, is in fact a real form of human folly—one of the many strange aberrations of the human intellect that have an actual existence; and not only so, but one that is widely prevalent. Its "utter folly" is sufficiently exposed by the prophet, and, as being generally allowed among ourselves, need not be dwelt upon. The folly of other forms of idolatry, though not much less, is not so commonly admitted, and may with advantage be pointed out in connection with portions of Scripture like the present. We may instance—

I. THE IDOLATRY OF PERSONS . Human beings are allowed to stand between us and God—to absorb the thought, the attention, the affections, that ought to have God for their Object. Most often, perhaps, it is a child; but sometimes it is a husband, or a wife, or a lover, that holds the position, occupying the first place in our heart, and filling it to the entire exclusion of that Being who has the principal claim on us. Now, what exceeding folly is this! Is it much short of the folly of the old idolaters? To put in the place of God a mere human being, a form of flesh that may quit us at any time, that may change towards us, that has no power to help or save us,—that is not much superior to the idolater's "graven image." How often does our idol shatter itself, disappoint our hopes, disregard our wishes, become estranged from us, tear our heartstrings, trample upon our best feelings! How often is it suddenly snatched from us! God is very jealous of rivals near his throne, and very frequently takes from us, by a premature death, the idol that is imperilling our souls. Even in the best case—which is alas! the worst—if our idol stay with us, and do not change, what madness to be wholly wrapt up in the love of the finite, and to let go from us for its sake the love of the Infinite Being!

II. THE IDOLATRY OF WEALTH . "Covetousness," St. Paul tells us ( Colossians 3:5 ), "is idolatry." There are those who make riches the object of their worship—who allow the idol of gold to come between their souls and God, having more regard for the possession of wealth than for God's approval, and a greater desire to be rich on earth than to be saints in heaven. What abject and grovelling folly is this! Wealth! So many pieces of yellow metal to be our object in life, the end-all and be-all of our existence—pieces of metal that we cannot take away with us when we die ( Psalms 49:17 ) or even make sure of keeping with us during our lifetime; pieces of metal that do not save us one twinge of pain in sickness, or one pang of remorse at death! The idolatry of wealth is even greater folly than the idolatry of persons, and even more degrading to a rational being.

III. THE IDOLATRY OF RANK AND STATION . Some, who despise wealth, and have no strong affection for any individuals, have an inordinate regard, a profound veneration, for the possessors of high worldly station. To number princes and nobles among their friends and acquaintances is the highest pleasure of which they are susceptible. They idolize rank, consider it a sufficient set-off against all demerits, and will stoop to anything in order to bring themselves into contact with it. Here, again, one can only exclaim—What folly! Rank and station, like wealth, belong to this world only. They have to be left behind, with our everyday clothes, when we step into the grave. They are accidents which no way affect a man's true worth, or the estimation in which he is held by those whose esteem is of the slightest account. The prince of to-day is the exile of to-morrow; the noble may become bankrupt in purse, and too often is bankrupt in reputation. Such as idolize rank and court the favour of nobles are despised by men of sense, disliked for the most part and ridiculed by those to whom they labour to make themselves acceptable.