Blockheaded Idolators

Isaiah 44:12-20 shows the foolishness of making and worshiping idols - really worshiping any created thing besides God. A man takes half of some wood and burns it for warmth and cooking; with the other half he shapes an idol and worships it. His first action shows his own power over the material, while his second action shows he thinks the material now has power over him.  Beyond this humorous and pointed picture, I have a few observations related to technology.

Source of Stability and Salvation

Isaiah 33:5-6 stood out to me recently when I read it. These verses point out some things we pursue nearly universally as humans: stability, salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. Certainly a great many Americans value our relative stability. 9/11 was a blow to that, but we've gone back to our lives quickly. I wonder how often we think of the wars going on overseas that now work to maintain that stability. Whether we call it salvation or something else, we value being rescued from trouble and freedom from guilt. Our God-given curiosity has pushed us to pursue wisdom and knowledge.

Turning to Technology Rather Than God

Welcome back to me!

Isaiah 22:8-11 is a prophecy about Jerusalem. The people are facing a siege and so work to repair the city wall and make sure they have a good water supply. All this will take a great deal of planning, coordination, and effort to shore up the technology that keeps the city in existence.

God Designed the Problem and the Solution

I must give credit to Dr. Andrew Peterson from one of his lectures in his RTS Virtual course Disabilities and the Church for pointing out this passage and its teaching on technology.

Take a look at Isaiah 28:23-29. The prophet describes certain agricultural tasks, noting that there are different ways to process different crops. In verse 29 we find that the matching of crop to technology (particularly seen in verses 27-28) is from God. How is this so? After all, people invented the tools and techniques.