Gods Made With Hands
Gods Made With Hands
Tuesday
"About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, 'Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.'"
— Acts 19:23-27 (ESV)
"Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them."
— Psalm 115:4-8 (ESV)
— Acts 19:23-27 (ESV)
"Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them."
— Psalm 115:4-8 (ESV)
Reflect:
Demetrius accidentally summarized the gospel's effect perfectly: people were being taught "that gods made with hands are not gods." Centuries earlier, the psalmist mocked idols of silver and gold that have mouths but cannot speak and feet but cannot walk. The temple of Artemis was one of the wonders of the world, yet the goddess inside it could do nothing for anyone.
Psalm 115 ends with a sobering warning: "Those who make them become like them." We become like what we worship. If we worship what is lifeless, we grow spiritually deaf, blind, and numb. If we worship the living God, He makes us alive.
Most of us do not have silver shrines on a shelf, but we can still craft gods with our hands, such as the career we built, the savings we accumulated, or the image we carefully manage. These are not evil in themselves, but they make terrible gods. They cannot hear our prayers, carry our burdens, or raise us from the dead.
Demetrius accidentally summarized the gospel's effect perfectly: people were being taught "that gods made with hands are not gods." Centuries earlier, the psalmist mocked idols of silver and gold that have mouths but cannot speak and feet but cannot walk. The temple of Artemis was one of the wonders of the world, yet the goddess inside it could do nothing for anyone.
Psalm 115 ends with a sobering warning: "Those who make them become like them." We become like what we worship. If we worship what is lifeless, we grow spiritually deaf, blind, and numb. If we worship the living God, He makes us alive.
Most of us do not have silver shrines on a shelf, but we can still craft gods with our hands, such as the career we built, the savings we accumulated, or the image we carefully manage. These are not evil in themselves, but they make terrible gods. They cannot hear our prayers, carry our burdens, or raise us from the dead.
Respond:
What have your own hands built that you are tempted to trust more than God? How is it shaping who you are becoming?
What have your own hands built that you are tempted to trust more than God? How is it shaping who you are becoming?
Pray:
Living God, forgive me for trusting in things that cannot see, hear, or save. Make me more like Jesus as I worship You alone. Amen.
Living God, forgive me for trusting in things that cannot see, hear, or save. Make me more like Jesus as I worship You alone. Amen.
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