Isaiah 44:9-11
"All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together."
The theme of blind eyes and deaf ears (or seeing but never seeing, hearing but never hearing) which Isaiah takes up throughout his prophecy (and Jesus adapts to his own ministry) is directly connected to another theme which runs throughout Isaiah. That of idols. In Isaiah 44, Isaiah takes some shots at idol worship by taking a closer look at how an idol comes to be. At the core, the idolator worships something human hands have made. So that wood from a tree is divided- some goes to cooking fuel, some to warm the house, and some to making a statue that a man will worship. Isaiah finds this not simply atrocious, but stupid... worshipping what our hands have made- rather than the one who has made us. We stand over what we have made with our own strength and imagine that it might save us from whatever calamity may strike: a storm, a disease, a personal tragedy.
Another theme Isaiah (and the rest of the Scriptures) confronts us with is the idea that we become like what we worship. Isaiah compares the worshippers of idols to the dead idols themselves- unable to see, unable to hear, ultimately unable to speak. Here the idol worshipper's eyes are closed and he can't perceive the foolishness of worshipping something as a god which ones' own hands have made.
Where does this temptation come from? And is it possible that as we are foolishly tempted to worship objects our hands have made- seeking salvation, meaning, and hope in something we can construct- we ultimately simply seek to exalt the works of our own hands?
Also- where can we see the truth that we become what we worship? Where do we see blindness and rampant foolishness coming from lives spent worshipping something our own hands have made: a career, a family, financial independence, emotional independence, a political party, etc.?
The human condition is a picture of insanity in the Scriptures. We refuse to worship or acknowledge the God who gives us life. And so, we fashion our own gods- made with our hands. We worship the work of our hands and thus, become like what we worship- blind, deaf, hard hearted, and in the end insane. Calling evil good and good, evil.
So that when we come to v. 21 and 22 our hearts should sing:
"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. I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you."
Even in the midst of our rebellion, our idolatrous works, and our painful blindness- God says: "I have redeemed you." Could there be anything more wonderful? He does not simply pass over our rebellion- but calls us to Himself, "Return to me!" He takes away blind eyes, He repairs deaf ears. He rights all that has gone wrong. He is our Maker, our redeemer, our Lord.