Isaiah 44:6-20
"This is what the LORD
says--
Israel's King and
Redeemer, the LORD
Almighty;
I am the first and I am the
last;
apart from me there is no
God.
Who then is like me? Let
him proclaim it.
Let him declare and lay
out before me
What has happened since I
established my ancient
people,
and what is yet to come--
yes, let him foretell what
will come.
Do not tremble, do not be
afraid.
Did I not proclaim this
and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is
there any God besides
me?
No, there is no other
Rock; I know not one."
All who make idols are
nothing,
and the things they
treasure are worthless.
Those who would speak up
for them are blind;
they are ignorant, to their
own shame.
Who shapes a god and casts
an idol,
which can profit him
nothing?
He and his kind will be put
to shame;
craftsmen are nothing but
men.
Let them all come together
and take their stand;
they will be brought down
to terror and infamy.
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."
They know nothing, they
understand nothing;
their eyes are plastered
over so they cannot see,
and their minds closed so
they cannot understand.
No one stops to think,
no one has the knowledge
or understanding to say,
"Half of it I used for fuel;
I even baked bread over
its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable
thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a
block of wood?"
He feeds on ashes, a
deluded heart misleads
him;
he cannot save himself, or
say,
"Is not this thing in my
right hand a lie?"
This passage of scripture has been continually on my mind since visiting the temple. It seems almost every time I open my Bible, God puts it in front of me again. When we were told about the Hindus swishing the water of the ash-and-sewage-filled river in their mouths because they believe it to be holy, the verse "He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him," came to mind.
What a sad, hopeless religion. From personally witnessing these things, I can honestly say that worship of false gods--i.e. Satan--is disgusting and nauseating. I have never "felt" darkness the way I did at the temple in Kathmandu. I have no desire to feel it again, either. Praise God for His light that dispels the darkness! "The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." (John 1:5) O how the new believers in Christ that were once living in that darkness must sing with all their hearts their own version of "Into marvelous light I'm running, out of darkness, out of shame. By the cross You are the Truth, You are the Life, You are the Way!" (Marvelous Light by Charlie Hall)
To clarify exactly what these Hindus are worshipping, we asked questions of the people that took us to these temples (we also visited a temple in Pokhara). We learned that when they worship these idols, they are literally worshipping the physical idol in front of them--not just a god that it represents. In our preparation for this trip, Abraham Tamang explained to us that in Hinduism religion and morality are totally separate. For example, all Hindu women worship the god Shiva because he is the god of fertility (who looks like a blue hippie with a snake around his neck and leopard skin pants, but anyhow...), but they would never ever want their children to grow up and be like this god they worship. They would think you were crazy if you suggested that idea! So their religion has absolutely nothing to do with their morality.
Another sad fact we learned is that Hindus bring people who are near death to these "houses" at the temple in Kathmandu so that they can have the privilege of dying on-site and being burned right away. This is supposed to assure them of a better life when reincarnated or to finally be freed from the cycle and enter heaven, or "Nirvana". Family and friends bring them down to the area near the burning piles, say their good-byes, and place them in these rooms to die. Nothing else is done to them or for them until they are dead or close enough to be tossed on the fire.
We actually got to witness a woman being brought in on a stretcher for this very purpose. Lazarus pointed out the bandage on her arm, which meant that she had been brought from the hospital to die here. Not exactly the hospice care we are familiar with in America. We also watched as a family prepared their loved one to be burned on the fire. A Hindu priest was performing some rituals, and the family did their part in the ceremony. We left before they actually placed the body on the fire, but it was haunting all the same.
I cannot even begin to describe to you the smell of burning flesh and soot in that place. Our noses were full of soot each day, and our lungs burned with it. My heart broke for those precious children playing in the disgusting river near it! They have no idea the darkness they are being raised within. Precious children, created by God, and they don't even know Him.
Unless someone tells them of the One true God and His Son Jesus sent to redeem them, they will spend eternity separated from Him in a fire that can never be quenched. Is there anything more sad than that? What are we all doing that is so important we don't have time to share Jesus with these children He created for His glory, not destruction?
How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans 10:14-15)
In my next blog, I can hardly wait to share with you our encounters with some of the church-planters we met in Nepal who have the most beautiful feet I have ever seen. God has raised up for Himself men who are taking the Gospel to these very people living in darkness. Their stories and their sacrifices overwhelmed and humbled us. It was our privilege to be with them for just a short time and bring a word of encouragement from their brothers and sisters in America.
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