Isaiah 44:17
And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god. And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.
Isaiah 44:17 stands within chapters 41 through 45 which lay open God's purpose for His people. Those chapters call them to seek wisdom from God and not to turn away from Him to finite human wisdom and finite sources. The verse exposes the folly of taking the leftover residue of wood or other created material and fashioning it into a god, even a graven image. Its maker then falls down before it and worships it and prays to it and pleads with it for deliverance as if it were God able to save him.
It sets such lifeless objects fashioned by human hands in direct contrast with the true God who made heaven and earth. It condemns worshiping images made by one's own hands instead of acknowledging and thanking the Creator. It shows how things given for human benefit, including trees and precious materials, were corrupted and turned to idolatrous use. Learning to know God through His works helps people recognize the difference between idols and God and prepares them to receive the spiritual truths of Scripture.
Frantic prayers to images of saints for rescue from cholera illustrate the same idolatrous trust in an image for deliverance described in the verse. Bowing before an image and praying to it for deliverance when disease threatens is the same folly of making an image into a god.