Worshiping the Wood Pile
He cuts down cedars for himself…
Isaiah 44.14-17
He burns half of it in the fire…
And the rest of it he makes into a god,
His carved image.
He falls down before it and worships it,
He prays to it and says,
“Deliver me, for you are my god!”
As modern people we read this passage and agree that it’s foolishness to worship as a transcendent god, a block of wood that you carved with your own hands. We think that’s something that only primitive people did. But this is just modern, chronological snobbery.
We’re guilty of the same foolishness. We develop technology and create wealth, and think these things we’ve made will deliver us. We find our identity in our work. We think technology will rescue us from the brokenness of our world. We believe wealth is the answer to our hopelessness and despair.
But look at the text and see just how foolish this is.
Making a god from the things God made
He cuts down cedars for himself,
And takes the cypress and the oak;
He secures it for himself among the trees of the forest.
He plants a pine, and the rain nourishes it. [Isaiah 44.14]
Cedars, cypress, oak, and pine. These are common woods. Man didn’t create them, God did. The man may have planted it, or simply found it standing in the forest and cultivated it, pruning and caring for it, planning to turn it into something.
But why does the tree grow? Because God nourishes it with rain from heaven. The rain that God causes to fall on the just and the unjust. This is a mercy and common grace from God.
What an offense against the true God to set up a rival god made from that which He created and caused to grow!
Our modern idols are no different. We take natural resources that God created, and make gods of them. Our technology is entirely dependent upon God’s creation. From the materials we use to build machines and technology, to the laws of nature that make electricity and gravity work, nothing we make would work if not for God’s created order.
And notice how persistent we are in our idolatry. The man may find a tree already grown to use for his idol, but he also plants and cultivates trees for this purpose. This take time, years even.
John Calvin called this a “shocking madness“ that men would invest years of patience and work to create for themselves a false god. Yet are we willing to invest years of patient and diligent effort into growing in godliness and grace to worship the true God?
When we make some created thing ultimate in our lives instead of the Creator, we are just as foolish as the primitive man worshipping a carved idol.
Inexcusable Stupidity
Then it shall be for a man to burn,
For he will take some of it and warm himself;
Yes, he kindles it and bakes bread;
Indeed he makes a god and worships it;
He makes it a carved image, and falls down to it. [Isaiah 44.15]
God created trees and they have legitimate uses.
Likewise, wealth, technology, a good job, these things are all gifts from our Creator. We should enjoy them and be thankful. They have legitimate uses.
But just as the primitive man misused the tree to make a god for himself, modern man often misuses the resources God has given us, making them into gods. We cry out to them “Deliver me, for you are my god!”
As we use the resources of the created world for their intended purposes, we should recognize that they were made and given by God for our service, not to be the object of our affection and worship.
When we foolishly make a god of a created thing, Calvin says that “our stupidity is inexcusable.”
God’s good gift
He burns half of it in the fire;
With this half he eats meat;
He roasts a roast, and is satisfied.
He even warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm,
I have seen the fire.” [Isaiah 44.16]
God has graciously put at our disposal, the resources of His good creation. Trees are a blessing. They provide beauty, clean air, building material, and firewood.
We should use God’s resources wisely as good stewards, and with thankfulness for what He has made.
God designed trees to be used by man. The prophet points out one of those uses when he speaks of using wood to warm ourselves and cook food.
But sinful man’s tendency is to take what God has given and misuse it. Which Isaiah points out in the next verse.
Worshipping the Woodpile
And the rest of it he makes into a god,
His carved image.
He falls down before it and worships it,
Prays to it and says,
“Deliver me, for you are my god!”
[Isaiah 44.17]
We may not be carving a block of firewood into an idol, but we make gods for ourselves all the time.
We make idols of our home, our car, our job, our bank account, our spouse, our children, our education, our physical appearance, the physical appearance of others, sports, tv and movies, celebrities, and the list goes on and on.
And we must acknowledge that even the primitive man sometimes knew that the block of wood wasn’t his god. He thought it was merely an image of his god. A totem that allowed him some connection to the spiritual world.
And even today we ought to recognize that when we say that people are worshipping money or their home, they aren’t literally worship that thing, but what it represents to them.
They are worshipping security, success, comfort, recognition from others, or whatever principle is motivating them.
In other words, we’re worshipping ourselves. Ultimately, all false worship and idolatry is the recapitulation of the sin of Adam and Eve. It’s an effort to be like God, independent, and self-sufficient.
But as Calvin said, it’s “shocking madness” to think that we can attain independence from the Creator by means of the things He has made!
We may be 2,700 years removed from Isaiah’s time, but we’re still worshiping the woodpile!
Coffee Talk: Brance and Lauren talk coffee storage.
Defining Theology: Brance and Lauren have a discussion of theological term the Congregational Way.
Resources Mentioned:
2LCF (2nd London Baptist Confession of Faith)
Fellow Atmos Vacuum Coffee Canister
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