CNN calls a derivative of graphite a “miracle material” that could revolutionize our future. Only one atom thick, graphene is being hailed as a truly two-dimensional material in a 3-D world. One hundred times stronger than steel, it is harder than diamond, conducts electricity 1,000 times better than copper, and is more flexible than rubber.
In and of themselves, such technological advances are neither moral nor evil. But we are wise to remember the limitations of anything we make for ourselves.
Isaiah spoke to a generation who found themselves carrying into captivity gods they had made with their own hands. The prophet wanted the Israelites to see the irony of needing to care for the silver and gold idols they had crafted to inspire, help, comfort, and protect them.
What was true of Israel holds true for us as well. Nothing we have made or bought for ourselves can meet the needs of our heart. Only God, who has been carrying us “from the womb” (Isa. 46:3-4), can carry us into the future.
Insight:
Isaiah assured the discouraged Jewish nation in exile in Babylon that God would come to their rescue and punish their enemies (Isa. 40–55). The Babylonian conquerors and their gods (represented by their chief deity, Bel, and his son Nebo) would be defeated and destroyed (46:1-2). Unlike these false gods, who were crafted by human hands and were incapable of protecting or saving anyone (vv. 6-7), God asserted that He alone was God and there was none like Him (v. 9). He reminded His people that He had faithfully cared for them since birth (vv. 3-4) and He alone had the power to save them (v. 10).
