Today’s Thought “To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like? ” (June 22)

We continue our thought about man making himself a god or worshipping more than one god.

In today’s reading of Isaiah 46 and 47 Jehovah God asks the house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by Him from the belly, which are carried from the womb:

“3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, that have been borne by me from their birth, that have been carried from the womb; 4 and even to old age I am he, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you; I have made, and I will bear; yea, I will carry, and will deliver.

5  To whom will ye like me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?” (Isa 46:3-5 ASV)

“ To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?” (Isa 40:18 ASV)

“ To whom then will ye liken me, that I should be equal to him? saith the Holy One.” (Isa 40:25 ASV)

When looking around us we can find many religions, people worshipping elements of nature, trees, animals, all sorts of human beings and or ghosts.

Real Christians do know there should not be anyone to be compared to the Elohim Hashem Jehovah to become worshipped. For real Christians it is clear that the day before yesterday, yesterday as well as tomorrow everybody has to realize that there is no God like our GOD. Nothing and no one is holy like the El-Elyon Hashem Jehovah our God. We have Him as our rock, our mountain where we can climb to finding the Most Trustable Being. We know that the God we like has nobody to compare with in power, in holy majesty, in awesome praises, as our wonder-working God.

“ Who is like unto thee, O Jehovah, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Ex 15:11 ASV)

“ And he said, Against to-morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word; that thou mayest know that there is none like unto Jehovah our God.” (Ex 8:10 ASV)

“ There is none holy as Jehovah; For there is none besides thee, Neither is there any rock like our God.” (1Sa 2:2 ASV)

“ Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in lovingkindness.” (Mic 7:18 ASV)

We do know that also in Christendom there are lots of churches where they have crosses hanging in their church, have statues standing around the aisles, have painted windows or lead glass picturing different primal gods and secondary gods or saints. Though when we are the God-created, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?

“ Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man.” (Ac 17:29 ASV)

More than once in the history of God’s people it was inexcusable that some of the people of God turned to the worship of speechless, lifeless, and helpless statues! You would think when they were led out of Egypt and received daily manna from God they would not come to build a golden calf. For a nation that knows Jehovah, relying on lifeless, defenceless images made by human hands is foolish indeed, but it happened also in Isaiah’s time.

Consider the empty-headed reasoning of idol worshippers. The prophecy in Isaiah continues:

“ Such as lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, they hire a goldsmith, and he maketh it a god; they fall down, yea, they worship.” (Isa 46:6 ASV)

Some might think after such warnings from God it stopped. No, also today we still find people, even by Christians who worship a three-headed god, like in ancient times (2 and 3 millennia before Christ) and can we find those who are lavishing out the gold from the purse, asking people around them, even in their prayer house or church, to give money to construct new palaces with gold decorated statues. Their institutions hire sculptors and metalworkers who construct buildings for the worship of those statues and crosses, which they have made them into their gods. They prostrate themselves, yes, they bow down. Some of them claim it is not worshipping them, but only using them as a symbol for their god. But why do they need such figures or statues? And why do they bow down and use incense for them? Often it looks also like an expensive idol having greater saving power than one made of wood, and therefore worshippers spare no expense in building their deity. They and we should know: still, no matter how much effort is expended or how costly the materials, a lifeless idol remains a lifeless idol, nothing more.

In many countries, we also see how they use those statues to parade through the streets. In several countries, they carry those statues upon the shoulder, walk around for kilometres whilst people alongside the road go on their knees. All the time they keep repeating the same prayers to those “saints” and “gods“. Often well hundreds of “Hail Mary‘s” are said along the procession. Many people also expect miracles to be done by those Maries and saints they pray to. Some people want to see the statue shedding tears or moving. Having high expectations they should know that from its standing place it does not move away. One even cries out to it, but it does not answer; out of one’s distress it does not save one.

“ They bear it upon the shoulder, they carry it, and set it in its place, and it standeth, from its place shall it not remove: yea, one may cry unto it, yet can it not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.” (Isa 46:7 ASV)

You could think

How ridiculous to pray to an image that lacks the ability either to hear or to act!

But millions of people do. And many burn candles for or in front of them.

The psalmist well describes the uselessness of such objects of worship:

“4 Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands. 5 They have mouths, but they speak not; Eyes have they, but they see not; 6 They have ears, but they hear not; Noses have they, but they smell not; 7 They have hands, but they handle not; Feet have they, but they walk not; Neither speak they through their throat. 8 They that make them shall be like unto them; Yea, every one that trusteth in them.” (Ps 115:4-8 ASV)

We also should be aware there are lots of false preachers, who say those statues or those gods or saints spoke to them. People should wonder if that could be possible and ask why it spoke only to them when nobody else could witness it. All those statues are just the work of the hands of earthling man. A mouth they have, but they cannot speak; eyes they have, but they cannot see; ears they have, but they cannot hear. All those who are trusting in them shall come to see in the end that everything was in vain and shall not be liked by the Only One True God. In the end their gods, their statues shall end up in the fire, being destroyed, to become dust, like the mortal people also shall become dust. Like God shall remember those from the ancient times, who did so, He also shall remember those who do it in modern times.

“ Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.” (Isa 44:21 ASV)

“ Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me;” (Isa 46:9 ASV)

For real Christians, there is the hope that even when we have done faults, but asked forgiveness and became newborn, God shall know our transgressions but also know how we regret them. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we shall be under the protecting hands of the redeemer Christ, to come in front of God’s seat by the Grace of God, Him having accepted the ransom price for our many mistakes in our old life.

“ For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” (Isa 65:17 ASV)

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Preceding

False opposite true worship which exalts the God of Israel

To make God a man

Living stones 4 Idols of wood and stone

Icons and crucifixes

Worship and worshipping

How should we worship God? #14 True worship

Today’s thought “Covetousness, which is idolatry” (May 16)

Today’s Thought “The One Who brought it about” (June 17)

Today’s Thought “The servant, His chosen one, whom God supports and in whom God takes pleasure.” (June 18)

Today’s Thought “Witnessing servants of God” (June 19)

Today’s thought June 20: The hand of the LORD has gone out against me

Today’s Thought “Idols are nothing against the first and the last God” (June 20)

Today’s Thought “That they may know that there is none besides Jehovah ” (June 21)

Today’s thought “nonsense surrounding the many gods” (July 28)

the Bible – God’s guide for life #6 Case example – King Josiah #1

Is there a place for God when there is love for money

Who has the power of prophecy?

The Wrath of God

God as Father

Memorizing wonderfully 61 – 1 Corinthians 6:9 Unrighteous shall not inherit

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3. What Are Your Idols?
4. Natural Idolatry
5. May 20, 2020 God Has Done It, Boasting Is Excluded, Isaiah 48:1-11, Romans 3:21-28
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11. Get your priorities right in order to ascend the mountain of the LORD
12. Counterfeit Religion
13. Idolatry
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17. Have You Been Praying to Dead Wood and Figurines?
18. One person’s god is another’s idol
19. Becoming Like the One You Worship (June 19)
20. monotheon
21. Achan’s Sin
22. Oh The Sin Of It All!
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24. Dark Days Ahead
25. The God Who Answers (June 17)
26. Digging in Deeper: Zechariah 10:1-2
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