My favorite "Tool Verse"
Isaiah 44:9-20
The Folly of Idolatry
9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11 Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.
12 The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14 He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”
18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
This scripture reminds me of the work by famed woodworker Garry Knox Bennett who is most famous for his “Nail Cabinet,” the circa 1979 piece that put him on the map and continues to stir heated debate to this day in both woodworking and artistic circles. Standing 6-ft. tall in solid padauk, this showcase cabinet features curved glass and an intricate system of catches and latches hidden inside. It’s a beautifully crafted cabinet that he spent several months working on. As he was finishing the piece, he decided it was too conventional so he drove a 16 penny nail into the door and bent it over. Later in an interview, Knox Bennett was quoted to say, "from the start I planned to make the precious thing less precious. But when the cabinet was finished, I didn't want to follow through! I liked it too much, but I had to stay with my plan. So I hammered a few practice nails into padauk scrap, took a deep breath, and whacked the nail."
As a craftsman, carpenter, and tool lover I imagine idolatry in many forms. I see homeowners who seem to idolize the home they build (to be fair, I build it for them), I see woodworkers who apotheosize their joinery techniques or the figure of the wood grain, and I see wealthy tool collectors paying thousands and even tens of thousands of dollars for a single hand plane.
But I think the warning in the scripture is quite clear: it is only by the grace of god that we have the ability to make tools, develop steel, grow wood for lumber, and exist in this world. For this grace, we should not idolize our tools, our work, or our skills but rather give thanks for what we have and what we are capable of.
DC
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Hand Tools in the Bible
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