Isaiah says "a deceived heart" is behind the desire to carve wood into a god.
Do I rejoice in the fact that the God of Jacob, the Holy One of Israel, is MY God? He is not a block of wood (Isaiah 44:19), or an image I have made for myself, or something I hang in my car or set on the mantel. "Before (Him) there was no God formed, nor shall there be after (Him) . . . besides (Him) there is no savior" (Isaiah 43:10-11). Isaiah 43 & 44, are filled with truth about the only real God and His relationship with us! He formed us, He redeemed us, He knows our names, and He takes care of us because He is the Lord our God. We are precious in His sight (v. 4), He loves us and calls us His sons and daughters. "Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him" (v.7).
God desires that we understand who He is, what He has done for us, as well as how He loves and cares for us. "I am the Lord your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King" (v.15). God has formed a people for Himself, a chosen people that shall declare His praise (v.20-21). However, even with this status God says we have not called upon Him and have become weary of Him. Rather than honoring and worshiping our great God He says we have burdened Him with our sins and wearied Him with our iniquities (v. 22-24). "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins. Put Me in remembrance" (v. 25-26). "Return to Me, for I have redeemed you" (Isa. 44:22).
In Galatians, God also reminds us of our status as sons (and daughters), and that God saw fit to "adopt" us and elevate us to the status of sons and heirs of God through Christ (4:5-7). "And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, 'Abba, Father!" (v.6). "Abba" is a term depicting the relationship with a warm, loving Daddy, not a stern, distant father figure. The Galatians were evidently wanting to return to being under the law (v. 21). Paul uses the analogy of Abraham's two wives to explain our freedom in Christ. Hagar's son was born according to the flesh and represents "bondage" to sin. While Sara, a freewoman, gave birth to the son of promise. "For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar--for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children---but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all" (v. 24-26).
Some of the questions I am left with after reading these passages:
Who or what is MY God? Do I rejoice in the fact that I know the one true God and that He is MY God?
To what extent do I set limits on God? Am I glorifying God in my body, with my life and my words? Do I recognize what God does for me and do I praise Him for it?
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