Charles Spurgeon Commentary Isaiah 44:12

"The smith [maketh] an axe, and worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with his strong arm: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth; he drinketh no water, and is faint." — Isaiah 44:12 (ASV)

Yea, he is hungry,

This god-maker is hungry!

And his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint.

The god-maker is getting faint. There is a sarcasm about this description which ought to convince the most blind devotees of an idol.

The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms:

What irony! God-making, with hammers and bellows!

With the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint.

That is one of these god-makers, you see; a man who makes an idol god, yet who himself gets thirsty by reason of the heat of the coals in his forge. A fine god it must be that he makes! Next comes the carpenter.