The Foolishness of Nature Worship and Idolatry

In debates about the existence of God, one of the Christian arguments is to look at the beauty of nature on earth and in space. The beauty of creation surely points to the existence of a Creator. This reasoning is also taught to many Christians. It is in this chapter that we also find this argument so plainly stated. In addition it also points to the foolishness of those who worship these objects of creatioin rather than the Creator. A sound mind is given to humans and there is no reason for failing to deduce the existence of the Lord the Creator from the evidence of found in nature. Furthermore, humans started crafted idols with images of man or beast to represent their gods. They pray to these idols in all matters of their life including their work, their family, their fortune, their health and so on. In fact these idols have no life, no experience, no strength.





Wisdom 13 (RSVCE)
The Foolishness of Nature Worship
13 For all men who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature;
and they were unable from the good things that are seen to know him who exists,
nor did they recognize the craftsman while paying heed to his works;
2 but they supposed that either fire or wind or swift air,
or the circle of the stars, or turbulent water,
or the luminaries of heaven were the gods that rule the world.
3 If through delight in the beauty of these things men[a] assumed them to be gods,
let them know how much better than these is their Lord,
for the author of beauty created them.
4 And if men[b] were amazed at their power and working,
let them perceive from them
how much more powerful is he who formed them.
5 For from the greatness and beauty of created things
comes a corresponding perception of their Creator.
6 Yet these men are little to be blamed,
for perhaps they go astray
while seeking God and desiring to find him.
7 For as they live among his works they keep searching,
and they trust in what they see, because the things that are seen are beautiful.
8 Yet again, not even they are to be excused;
9 for if they had the power to know so much
that they could investigate the world,
how did they fail to find sooner the Lord of these things?

The Foolishness of Idolatry
10 But miserable, with their hopes set on dead things, are the men
who give the name “gods” to the works of men’s hands,
gold and silver fashioned with skill,
and likenesses of animals,
or a useless stone, the work of an ancient hand.
11 A skilled woodcutter may saw down a tree easy to handle
and skilfully strip off all its bark,
and then with pleasing workmanship
make a useful vessel that serves life’s needs,
12 and burn the castoff pieces of his work
to prepare his food, and eat his fill.
13 But a castoff piece from among them, useful for nothing,
a stick crooked and full of knots,
he takes and carves with care in his leisure,
and shapes it with skill gained in idleness;[c]
he forms it like the image of a man,
14 or makes it like some worthless animal,
giving it a coat of red paint and coloring its surface red
and covering every blemish in it with paint;
15 then he makes for it a niche that befits it,
and sets it in the wall, and fastens it there with iron.
16 So he takes thought for it, that it may not fall,
because he knows that it cannot help itself,
for it is only an image and has need of help.
17 When he prays about possessions and his marriage and children,
he is not ashamed to address a lifeless thing.
18 For health he appeals to a thing that is weak;
for life he prays to a thing that is dead;
for aid he entreats a thing that is utterly inexperienced;
for a prosperous journey, a thing that cannot take a step;
19 for money-making and work and success with his hands
he asks strength of a thing whose hands have no strength.

Those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good

1 Peter 4:19
So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Our Lord Yshua warns us of suffering in the Christian life. Miracles do happen and some of the saints do get saved miraculously while others go through the complete suffering sometime with their lives. No one in their right mind asks for suffering. However, Yshua told us that suffering would come so that we can be prepared and thus accept it as part of being His followers. However to accept suffering is only the first part and it is not so that we can boast of the suffering that we withstand. Instead, as this Scripture shows, the reason to prepare for it is so that we will not be overcome by it, and even more, we can continue to do good, that is God's works.

How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him

Matthew 7:11
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 

God reminds us of who He is, our real Father and the Creator who is still in control. Anyone who truly understand this would not be succumb to the cares of this world. They would have perfect trust in the Lord. In times of hardships and troubles, it is easy to forget who God is and that He is in control. This is the reason that we have to keep practising to acknowledge these facts when we are not in trouble. He knows about everything, in control of everything and He knows our individual cases. We need to actively practise trusting Him.

The everlasting God Neither faints nor is weary.

Isaiah 40:28
The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary.

The context of this quote is in the chapter of Isaiah which is delivered to comfort the children Israel and God's people throughout the generations. Have we ever thought that God did not hear us when are petitions and prayers are not answered? This may lead to the reasoning that God is too busy with too many other people (wrongly thinking God is limited) or that our matters are not important enough (wrongly putting down our own worth with respect to God).

The Scripture assures us God does not get tired. He has the infinite power to sustain us, gives strength and power to the weak. Our part is that we must wait on God and believing on God's promises is faith, rather than just believing on His existence like heathens do. To those who believe and wait, He promises:
"They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint."

Look to Me, and be saved

Isaiah 45:22
“Look to Me, and be saved,
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.

God desires very simple from us - our attention, devotion, loyalty and so on. All these will be there if we simply love God with all our hearts, mind, soul and body.

We only need to look to God and be save. How consistent is this requirement from God throughout both Old and New Testaments. There is no difference in doctrine, no complexity. There is nothing we can do to achieve salvation, neither in the pre and post first Coming our Yshua Ha Masiach.

As the rest of this verse reminds us, He is the Creator and He chooses how we can be together with Him. All His Righteous requirements are satisfied in His perfect and only plan for salvation through Yshua our Lord. There can be no other for us to look upon that will be able to save us.

To whom then will you liken Me

This chapter marks a turning point in the message of the Book of Isaiah. Up until now, there was much proclamation about judgment and disasters both to Israel and her neighbours. Then there was a brief description of the contemporary events with Hezekiah, Isaiah and Assyria. Starting from this chapter, God's positive promises are revealed. This chapter starts with the declaration that God has thoroughly forgiven Israel and Israel is to be comforted. Furthermore, God revealed His plan of salvation through the coming of Messiah.

The description of the saviour here is that He is clearly the Lord God. His majesty is described in context of His creation and nature. He measures the heavens with His hand. He was not taught knowledge, He has always been all-knowing. "All nations before Him are as nothing". He cannot be compared to anyone. No idol or image can be made that can represent him. He is all powerful, no power or authority on Earth can match Him.



Isaiah 40
God’s People Are Comforted

1 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”
Says your God.
2 “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;
For she has received from the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert[a]
A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 The voice said, “Cry out!”
And he[b] said, “What shall I cry?”
“All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”
9 O Zion,
You who bring good tidings,
Get up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem,
You who bring good tidings,
Lift up your voice with strength,
Lift it up, be not afraid;
Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand,
And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.
11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.
12 Who has measured the waters[c] in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,
And are counted as the small dust on the scales;
Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,
Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All nations before Him are as nothing,
And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.
18 To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19 The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
To prepare a carved image that will not totter.
21 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23 He brings the princes to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.
24 Scarcely shall they be planted,
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.
25 “To whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

For God Will Bring Every Work Into Judgment

Typically, times are good when we were young, so the author reminds us to remember God in our youth, for more difficult time will soon follow. But more than just difficult times, the author who calls himself the Preacher, is actually talking about the end of life which we all face. He asks us to remember God, our Creator, since we will return to Him, and life here is just vanity.

The underlying claim about life being vanity is not a pessimistic view, but rather compares our fleeting time in the physical world. The Preacher ends this with a call to "Fear God and keep His commandments", which is what the Word has been calling for throughout. The Preacher recognizes God as the final judge when all our actions will be revealed to God.




Ecclesiastes 12

1 Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,
Before the difficult days come,
And the years draw near when you say,
“I have no pleasure in them”:
2 While the sun and the light,
The moon and the stars,
Are not darkened,
And the clouds do not return after the rain;
3 In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,
And the strong men bow down;
When the grinders cease because they are few,
And those that look through the windows grow dim;
4 When the doors are shut in the streets,
And the sound of grinding is low;
When one rises up at the sound of a bird,
And all the daughters of music are brought low.
5 Also they are afraid of height,
And of terrors in the way;
When the almond tree blossoms,
The grasshopper is a burden,
And desire fails.
For man goes to his eternal home,
And the mourners go about the streets.
6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed,[a]
Or the golden bowl is broken,
Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,
Or the wheel broken at the well.
7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,
And the spirit will return to God who gave it.
8 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,
“All is vanity.”


The Whole Duty of Man

9 And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs. 10 The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars[b] are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd. 12 And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh.

13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
14 For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.

God - creator of all animals

The Almighty God speaks to Job, this time about the animals in his earthly kingdom. He describes the natural characteristic of some of the common animals; they are all different in their unique way, yet have the necessary characteristics to survive. God made them in their unique ways as only God the All-Knowing and All-Wise knows how to do this. The majesty of God is not only shown through the natural beauty of heavenly objects (stars, galaxies) nor terrestrial objects (mountains, rivers, oceans) but also through his Creative work as creator of all living creatures. All this to show Job the true character of God - perfect, planned, caring, wise, etc....

Job 39

 1 “Do you know the time when the wild mountain goats bear young?      Or can you mark when the deer gives birth?
 2 Can you number the months that they fulfill?      Or do you know the time when they bear young?
 3 They bow down,      They bring forth their young,       They deliver their offspring.[a]
 4 Their young ones are healthy,      They grow strong with grain;       They depart and do not return to them.
 5 “Who set the wild donkey free?      Who loosed the bonds of the onager,
 6 Whose home I have made the wilderness,      And the barren land his dwelling?
 7 He scorns the tumult of the city;      He does not heed the shouts of the driver.
 8 The range of the mountains is his pasture,      And he searches after every green thing.
 9 “Will the wild ox be willing to serve you?      Will he bed by your manger?
 10 Can you bind the wild ox in the furrow with ropes?      Or will he plow the valleys behind you?
 11 Will you trust him because his strength is great?      Or will you leave your labor to him?
 12 Will you trust him to bring home your grain,      And gather it to your threshing floor?
 13 “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,      But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork’s?
 14 For she leaves her eggs on the ground,     And warms them in the dust;
 15 She forgets that a foot may crush them,      Or that a wild beast may break them.
 16 She treats her young harshly, as though they were not hers;      Her labor is in vain, without concern,
 17 Because God deprived her of wisdom,      And did not endow her with understanding.
 18 When she lifts herself on high,      She scorns the horse and its rider.
 19 “Have you given the horse strength?      Have you clothed his neck with thunder?[b]
 20 Can you frighten him like a locust?      His majestic snorting strikes terror.
 21 He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;      He gallops into the clash of arms.
 22 He mocks at fear, and is not frightened;     Nor does he turn back from the sword.
 23 The quiver rattles against him,      The glittering spear and javelin.
 24 He devours the distance with fierceness and rage;      Nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded.
 25 At the blast of the trumpet he says, ‘Aha!’      He smells the battle from afar,       The thunder of captains and shouting.
 26 “Does the hawk fly by your wisdom,      And spread its wings toward the south?
 27 Does the eagle mount up at your command,      And make its nest on high?
 28 On the rock it dwells and resides,      On the crag of the rock and the stronghold.
 29 From there it spies out the prey;      Its eyes observe from afar.
 30 Its young ones suck up blood;      And where the slain are, there it is.”