18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
Anatomically the back half of your eye is part of your brain, connected by what is called the optic nerve to the posterior portion of your brain, the optic cortex! This short passage introduces the concept that having seen something, and it being in the brain the reality of what is seen needs to get to the heart before it goes back to the brain for understanding! The carpenters described yesterday, fine craftsmen, are mocked here. The facts were that they had used wood to cook a satisfying meal; they had made from what they had chosen a beautiful article to earn some money.They had made something to be sold. But they needed a God to serve and answer their prayers! From the left over portion, not just a scrap but from the same chosen material, the scraps of which warmed the home and cooked the meal, they shaped a god! And the author (God) quotes enough of the funeral service to let us know what He thinks of that! ‘He feeds on ashes;‘ – ‘Dust to dust, ashes to ashes!’
21 Remember these things, O Jacob,
and Israel, for you are my servant;
I formed you; you are my servant;
O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
22 I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud
and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you. – ‘Remember’ is a richer word than ‘Hear’ or even an encouragement to pay attention! It involves the past, and many facts to ponder! God not only is Creator of everything, but the Creator of the nation of Israel, the forgiver of their many sins, their Redeemer from slavery in Egypt and many other situations!
Exodus 20: 1-5 – And God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God. –Remember?
Prayer: Please may we from childhood to antiquity never forget Who You are!