15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All nations before Him are as anothing, And bthey are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.
18 To whom then will you aliken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19aThe workman molds an image, The goldsmith overspreads it with gold, And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished for such1 a contribution Chooses a tree that will not rot; He seeks for himself a skillful workman aTo prepare a carved image that will not totter.
21aHave you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22Itis He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who astretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a btent to dwell in.
23 He1 brings the aprinces to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless.
24 Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.
25 “Toa whom then will you liken Me, Or towhom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; aHe calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.
27aWhy do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
Making and worshipping an idol is foolishness and a lie, because a manmade image can never truthfully represent the Eternal God. For a son of God, worshipping idols is irrational (Acts 17:29); to look to something physical as important or more important than God defies all wisdom. The way the world looks to physical objects is superstition (e.g., good luck charms, religious crosses, shrines).
God commands Zion (a type of the church) to lift up its voice to reveal Him to the people. In His ensuing description of Himself, God proclaims Himself as the almighty, all-wise Creator. He has such incomparable power and wisdom that the combined might and intelligence of all nations are as nothing before Him. In our childish vanity, we think of ourselves as being of some account, but we are so insignificant that, compared to Him, all humanity combined is less than nothing and worthless! Considering this testimony, whose law should take precedence—God's or man's?
