Isaiah 40:19-20

Isaiah 40:19-20

[19] The workman  melteth  a graven image,  and the goldsmith  spreadeth  it over with gold,  and casteth  silver  chains.  [20] He that is so impoverished  that he hath no oblation  chooseth  a tree  that will not rot;  he seeketh  unto him a cunning  workman  to prepare  a graven image,  that shall not be moved. 

What does Isaiah 40:19-20 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

How ridiculous, then, it is to practice idolatry (cf. Isaiah 41:6-7; Isaiah 44:9-20; Isaiah 46:5-7). Idols were likenesses of gods, but Yahweh is beyond compare. The value of an idol depended on the financial condition of the devotee. Idols are less impressive than the metals that people use to make them and less strong than the trees from which they fashion them. The best idols are immobile; they will not topple over (cf. 1 Samuel 5:2-5). But the living God is active in life, not just a product of the earth. Isaiah poured on the irony in these verses.
"Right now two idols dominate our world. One idol is enormous. The other is smaller but influential. The big idol is secularism. I mean not only naturalism as a technical philosophy but also a general outlook that makes man the measure of all things.... The other rival to God, the smaller idol, is alternative spiritualities.... Secularism and superstition-despite their obvious differences, they"re both allied against the God who loves rationalists and pagans and is inviting them into his glorious kingdom with open arms. The door stands open to both atheists and witches and everyone in between." [1]