What is the meaning of Psalm 135:18? those who make them • Psalm 135:15–17 describes idols with “mouths, but cannot speak,” and “eyes, but cannot see.” By highlighting the craftsmen who fashion these lifeless figures, verse 18 reminds us that idolatry begins long before someone bows down; it starts when a person deliberately shapes something to replace the living God (Exodus 20:3–4; Isaiah 44:9–10). • The warning is personal: makers of idols are not neutral artisans; they are shaping their own spiritual destiny. In Isaiah 2:8, the prophet laments, “Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands.” What we create to adore will, in turn, exert power over us. become like them • Lifeless idols produce lifeless worshipers. As Psalm 115:8 echoes, “Those who make them will be like them.” The lifelessness is moral and spiritual: hearts become unfeeling, eyes blind to truth, ears deaf to God’s voice (Jeremiah 2:5; Ephesians 4:18). • Romans 1:23–25 shows the same pattern—people exchange “the glory of the immortal God for images,” then slide into futility and darkness. Idolatry is not merely wrong belief; it reshapes character until the worshiper mirrors the impotence and emptiness of the idol. as do all • The phrase widens the circle: it is not only the craftsmen but “all” who are caught in the same snare (2 Kings 17:15). Idolatry is contagious; family, culture, and even nations absorb the values embodied in their false gods. • This collective drift explains why societies stagnate morally when they replace God’s glory with substitutes (Psalm 96:5; Habakkuk 2:18–19). The verse underscores a universal principle: whatever occupies the center of our devotion will eventually define us, for good or ill. who trust in them • Trust is the heart’s leaning, the place where hope rests (Psalm 146:3–5). When that hope settles on an idol—whether carved wood, wealth, status, or self—spiritual paralysis follows (Jeremiah 17:5–6). • In contrast, those who trust the LORD “are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved” (Psalm 125:1). The stark difference urges believers to keep themselves “from idols” (1 John 5:21), guarding their allegiance so that their lives reflect the living God rather than lifeless substitutes. summary Psalm 135:18 teaches that idolatry is self-corrupting. The craftsman who makes an idol, the community that normalizes it, and every person who relies on it will all take on its lifeless, powerless qualities. What we worship shapes who we become; therefore, trusting the living God is both our safeguard and our path to vibrant, transformed life. |
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