Trinketry

07.13.14

Isaiah 17.7-8

7 In that day people will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.

8 They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands, and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles and the incense altars their fingers have made.

In 2 Kings 16 is the account of Ahaz, king of Judah (the southern kingdom). Ahaz went to Assyria one day and saw an altar whose design and pattern were very cool – to him. Ahaz pulled out his smart phone, snapped a photo and emailed it to Uriah the priest and said, “We gotta have one of these!” And Uriah built the altar and when the king came home, there was a brand new Assyrian model in the courtyard and, well, you get the rest. Happy, happy; joy, joy!!

It seems the people around Isaiah’s time took great care in building religious images, symbols, and tools (if you will) to please God and themselves. People were in serious trouble morally and mentally with respect to the rule of God, but man o man, they had some stuff to look at and feel good about: it was stuff they had made to show God how committed they were.

Isaiah said, “Guys, there’ll come a day when all this religious trinketry won’t mean much to you. All the things you’ve made will be just stuff ready for the garage sale. You’ll seek God and you’ll leave the things of your hands, the thing of which you were so proud, behind. They won’t fill the void in your life for God and you’ll know it. Then things will change. But for now, they’re just so much wasted energy and time.”

Other than our elaborate church buildings, our earth-toned paint and the Jesus pictures on the walls, we’re not that much different. We think our lives are somehow closer to God when our surroundings are neat, clean, and well appointed. The sconce lighting, the nice carpet, the lettering on the signs, the well-watered and mowed lawns, the nicely paved parking lots all promise us a rich and better experience Christian experience.

We fill our Christianity with mission statements, web sites, purpose statements and pod-casts. The tablets of stone have been replaced with Venues, Ipads; the Galaxies, and the applications. It’s all the work of our fingers. And to us, it says, “Look God, see how committed we are!” There’ll come a day when most all of that will mean nothing and the only thing that will satisfy our fickle and frail little hearts will be Him. Maranatha!

Lord, today I am guilty of loving my religious trinketry, the work of my hands. I am guilty of checking out Facebook while I’m supposed to be listening to the pastor. I am guilty of being proud of this blog and my insistence that others be proud of it too. What I hope for is the wasted days of worshiping the works of my fingers and hands will come to an end, and the only thing of value I can offer is bowing at Your feet in humility, and need, and worship. Help me God! Ahaz kept up with the Jonses. I’m trying to do the same thing. Forgive me. May my heart be Yours and Yours alone.