Powerless and Senseless is the Gods They Worship
Verse 7:
...they have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
Here in verse 7 we continue with our outline. There were 4 things that were said about idols in verses 5 and 6: (1) "They have mouths but cannot speak"; (2) "eyes but they cannot see"; (3) "they have ears, but cannot hear"; (4) "noses, but they cannot smell."
Now here in verse 7 we have: (5) "hands, but cannot feel"; (6) "feet, but they cannot walk"; and (7) "nor can they utter a sound with their throats."
William Plumer said "Verses 5 - 7 contain a very remarkable instance of ridicule without unfairness. Every sentence is just and candid. There is no exaggeration, no coloring."
Verse 8:
Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
Whether you are actually the one who makes them or the one who trusts in them, everyone will be like them.
Warren Wiersbe says: "We become like the god we worship. Those who worship silver and gold become like that - dear, lifeless and hard. Many people are making a god of their own image. But god made us in His image, and He wants us to have an active faith in Him."
Isaiah 44:9: "All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame" (NIV).
James Boice said: "Idols not only mislead their worshipers, but they also debase them, which is why this section closes by saying, 'Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them' (v.8). It means that human beings are drawn downward, not upward, by false gods."
To the Lord, idolatry is spiritual adultery. Idolatry is anything that cools your desire for Christ.
Idols can be anything that steals the love that rightly belongs to the Lord. Hunting, fishing, cars, computers, homes, hundred dollar bills, anything that would take that special place that belongs to the Lord and to the Lord alone is an idol.
The Psalmist says here in verse 8: "those who make them will be like them." The same thing is true of those who walk intimately with the Lord. We are progressively becoming more like Him.
My prayer this morning is: "Spirit of the Living God, make me more like my precious Savior! Do in me that good work that makes me more Christlike!"
William Cowper said: "The dearest idol I have known, Whate'er that idol be, Help me to tear it from thy throne, And worship only Thee."
Jonah 2:8: "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs" (NIV).
Jesus is all I'll ever want. Jesus is all I'll ever need. Jesus is all I'll ever have. He is more than enough!
|