John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 2:8

"Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made." — Isaiah 2:8 (ASV)

Their land is also full of idols. He repeats what he had already noticed about idolatry, but delves into it more fully. Having first mentioned the subject itself, he next speaks of its use, which almost always follows. We almost always abuse idols when they are set up among us, for it is like fire applied to a pile of wood, which must immediately burn; and wood is no more ready to catch fire than we are to follow superstition.

In the Hebrew language, idols are very properly called by the word אלילים, (elilim), which the Prophet uses here, for they are empty things and of no value. And undoubtedly, the Holy Spirit intended by this word to rebuke the madness of people who imagined that by relying on such inventions, they drew nearer to God. This is similar to how the papists of the present day, to argue for the usefulness of their idols, boast that they are the books of the unlearned.

But we should rather believe the testimony of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, the facts themselves plainly show what advantage the unlearned gain from them, for, led astray by gross fantasies, they imagine earthly and carnal gods for themselves. Therefore, Jeremiah justly declares not only that idols are useless but that they are teachers of falsehood and lies (Jeremiah 10:14).

And they have bowed down before the work of their own hands. We must also pay attention to this description, in which the Prophet states that the people bowed down before the works of their own hands. For how foolish it was that people would not only worship wood and stone instead of God, but would also honor their own workmanship with the title of Deity, which they cannot bestow even on themselves! It is truly shocking and monstrous that as soon as a neglected block of wood receives the finishing touch from a mortal, that person then worships it as if it had been made a God. Although the Prophet addresses the ancient people, the same reasoning applies to the papists, who acknowledge no majesty of God except in the works of their own hands.

Before that which their own fingers have made. The repetition is emphatic; to hands he adds fingers to show more strongly the heinousness of the crime. We must also pay attention to the manner of expression, which signifies adoration through outward gestures. It is not that it is unlawful among people to bend the knee or bow the head to pay public respect, but because whoever bows down before an idol professes to offer divine worship. Consequently, the foolish talk of papists about that adoration they call Dulia (δουλεία) is a childish evasion, for when the Prophet speaks of religious worship, he universally condemns every token of homage.