I was always taught not to make fun of other people and to ask “what would Jesus do?” Well, if the question was, what would Isaiah do, the answer is—he would make fun of people!
You probably won’t appreciate this so much if you ‘re in between stops at CNN.com and DailyJokeoftheDay.com, but I’m guessing that Isaiah expected his hearers/readers to laugh and laugh and laugh. At least the ones that were not indicted.
The blacksmith takes a tool
and works with it in the coals;
he shapes an idol with hammers,
he forges it with the might of his arm.
He gets hungry and loses his strength;
he drinks no water and grows faint.
The carpenter measures with a line
and makes an outline with a marker;
he roughs it out with chisels
and marks it with compasses.
He shapes it in the form of man,
of man in all his glory,
that it may dwell in a shrine.
He cut down cedars,
or perhaps took a cypress or oak.
He let it grow among the trees of the forest,
or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.
It is man’s fuel for burning;
some of it he takes and warms himself,
he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it.
Half of the wood he burns in the fire;
over it he prepares his meal,
he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”
From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships.
He prays to it and says,
“Save me; you are my god” (Isa 44:12-17,NIV).
My big question is, how would this satire read if Isaiah was writing it today? What would he mock? Who would be outraged? Would we denounce him as a “crazy fundamentalist” or have some other rationalization? I wonder.
I think that if I was teaching, I’d require my students to write a modern version. If you have the time, you might consider it.