They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him
That is, the idol; men carry him upon their shoulders in
procession, and expose him to the view and veneration of the
people, just as the host is carried in procession by the Papists;
or the idol being made, the workman or his men lift it up, for it
cannot lift up itself, and take it upon their shoulders, and
carry it home to the proprietor: and set him in his
place;
in his house, if an household god: or in the temple, church, or
place of public worship, if designed for that: or cause him
to rest under him
F16, or "in his place"; under the roof
of his house or temple; a jeer upon him, as if he was weary of
his long journey, though carried. Here again the idols are
distinguished from the true God, and he from them; they are on
men's shoulders, and set in a certain place, but he carries all
his people, and is not limited to, or included in any place:
and he standeth, and from his place he shall not
remove;
the idol being set in his place stands fast, being nailed; he
stands upright as a palm tree, and can never stir from the place
where he is, to help any of his worshippers, in whatsoever
distress they may be; nor can he get out of the way of any danger
to which he may be exposed; if the temple or house, in which he
is, is on fire, or overflowed with water, or broke into by
thieves, he cannot move out of his place, and escape the danger;
a fine deity to be worshipped indeed! see ( Isaiah 44:13
) ( Jeremiah
10:4 Jeremiah
10:5 ) . Yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not
answer;
as Baal's priests and worshippers cried to him, but no voice was
heard, nor answer returned, ( 1 Kings
18:26 1 Kings
18:29 ) for though they have ears, they hear not, and mouths,
yet they speak not, ( Psalms 115:5
Psalms
115:6 ) nor save him out of his trouble;
that is, the idol cannot save the idolatrous worshipper out of
his distress, which has caused him to cry unto him; see (
Isaiah
45:20 ) .