Not like an Idol – Psalm 115:4-8

Today, I just wanted to share some quick things that I was thinking about when I was reading my daily Bible reading today.  During this time, when everyone is hunkered down in their homes and the virus continues to spread, many people are wondering where God is.  It doesn’t seem like He is listening.  It doesn’t seem like He is working.  It doesn’t even seem like He is around.  But our God is not a graven image (an idol) that cannot respond, He is a great God whose ways we may not understand but can trust.  These verses in Psalm 115:4-8 talk about idols and the various body parts that are engraved upon them.  Although they have these parts, like a mouth and ears and hands, they cannot use them, for they are nothing but pieces of stone, wood, or even gold.  Our God is not like that, for He has used every part of Himself to show His love for us.  I just wanted to give you some verses that will help remind you of that.

• Psalm 115:5a – “They have mouths, but do not speak…”

Unlike an idol, our God speaks to His children each and every day through a number of ways.  He uses His Creation to speak of His power.  He used dreams to speak to the prophets.  And nowadays, He speaks to His children through His Word.  As in a relationship with a loved one, God wants to have intimate conversations with you.  Are you ready and willing to listen?

Hebrews 1:1-2 – “Long ago, at many ties and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the their of all things, through whom also He created the world.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 – “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

• Psalm 115:5b – “…Eyes, but do not see.”

Unlike an idol, our God sees everything that is going on around us.  He can see everything from the galaxies which we have never pictured by satellite to the thoughts and intents of our heart.  He sees us when we sin, but He also looks at us with love and desire to restore us to Him.

Proverbs 15:3 – “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”

Psalm 33:18-19 – “Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His steadfast love, that He may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.”

• Psalm 115:6a – “They have ears, but do not hear…”

Unlike an idol, our God is hearing every prayer we cry out to Him.  In this time, when it seems like He isn’t answering, do not worry, for He hears.  He knows our concerns, our difficulties, and our desires.  His ears are always open to the prayers of His children.  Like a loving Father, He is always listening to us as we speak to Him.  Bring your petitions, your troubles, and especially your praises to Him today.

1 John 5:14-15 – “And this is the confidence that we have toward Hi, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.”

1 Peter 3:12 – “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayer.  But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

• Psalm 115:6b – “…Noses, but do not smell.”

Although smell is not usually associated with our God (usually we talk about His ears and listening and His eyes and seeing), the Bible does also talk about God smelling the sweet aroma of a life lived for Him.  Whether it was a sacrifice in the Old Testament done exactly according to the law or the sacrifice of His Son or a Christian life given in full-service to Him, God smelled those sweet aromas offered to Him.

2 Corinthians 2:15-16 – “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.  Who is sufficient for these things?”

Ephesians 5:2 – “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

• Psalm 115:7a – “They have hands, but do not feel…”

Unlike an idol who can have many hands and do nothing with them, our God’s hands are always at work.  These are the hands that formed man in Creation from the dust of this earth but also forms the baby in the womb.  These are the hands that brought the plagues upon Egypt but also were nailed on the cross for us.  These powerful hands are the same hands that gently hold us and shelter us.

Isaiah 41:10 – “…Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

John 10:27-30 – “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.”

• Psalm 115:7b – “…Feet but do not walk…”

An idol is stationary; it cannot move; it cannot go anywhere.  It is left, where it is placed by the user.  But our God is all about; He is always present and will always watch over His children.  I know His omnipresence makes Him feel less personal, so it is good to remind ourselves that His feet are also the ones of a Shepherd, who goes out of His way to look for His lost sheep as well as the feet of One who walked in the garden of Eden with Adam.

Psalm 139:7-10 – “Where shall I go from your Spirit?  Or where shall I fell from Your presence?  If I ascent to heaven, you are there!  If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”

Luke 15:3 – “So he told them this parable: ‘What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.”  Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.’”

Our God isn’t an idol that cannot respond to our cries and pleas for help.  He is not some inanimate object that can do nothing but take up room in our house.  Our God is a great and loving Father, who is always there looking out for His children.  He uses His mouth to speak to us, His eyes to see us, His ears to hear us, His nose to smell the sweet aroma of us, His hands to care for us, and His feet to chase after us.  Our God loved us so much, He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins and restore our relationship with Him.  He is not dead, He is surely alive and working today.