Isaiah 66
Notes
Transcript
The Humble and Contrite in Spirit
The Humble and Contrite in Spirit
This brings us to the end of our study in the book of Isaiah tonight, it has been a long time coming and it has been a really good story seeing what God said to the nation and the world through His prophet and people.
Make no mistake, sin doesn’t get a pass in God’s eyes, but the same God will restore when people turn back to him in true repentance.
So let’s look at this chapter and see what the Lord would tell us...
Verse 1
1 Thus says the Lord:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool;
what is the house that you would build for me,
and what is the place of my rest?
The people in the past thought God was not near to them, they called out but they said he did not answer, but in their sinful natures, offering pagan sacrifices, God would not answer their prayers, but he was still close by..
He is present, and He reigns over the heavens and the earth. He is not limited to a Temple made by some king, as he rules over the nations.
And God is not opposed to a temple for them to worship at, but he is not limited to that temple because He reigns over the whole universe. And understand, God cares for the whole world, including Israel. They if you remember were to be a light to the nations so that they might believe as well.
Throughout the book of Isaiah, God reveals his plans for the destruction of all nations of the earth (chaps. 13–23) as well as the salvation of people from all nations.
God is perfectly at rest when the peoples hearts are not set against Him.
The new heavens and new earth will be the place where God will rest; this will be the New Jerusalem where God dwells among his holy people from all nations (60:1–11).
Verse 2 Isa 66:2
2 All these things my hand has made,
and so all these things came to be,
declares the Lord.
But this is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word.
So here God explains why the temple is not the main things he considers when evaluating his relationship with this people.
Since He is the creator of all things, we know itis the work of His hands, He owns all things, but He calls for His people to freely, in a covenant relationship to come and worship Him.
The last part of the verse, what does God esteem? What does he look for, or consider? 3terms God says here… One who is humble, contrite and trembles at the word of God...
In each of these, there are people who dependent on God…one who is lowly and in need of divine help and finally, they stand in awe of God.
Isaiah 40–66 God Honors the Humble Who Tremble (66:1–4)
They deeply respect what God has said, take it very seriously, internalize it and make it part of their worldview, and then they implement it in their daily walk and thinking
Verse 3 Isa 66:3
3 “He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man;
he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig’s blood;
he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol.
These have chosen their own ways,
and their soul delights in their abominations;
Here is what God doesn’t want to find in people. He doesn’t like people who offer both legitimate and illegitimate sacrifices.
These people try to live two lives, they offer sacrifices according to God’s plan but they turn around and offer sacrifices in pagan ceremonies and practices. The people cannot recognize what is good or evil…
Their sacrifice of an ox, lamb, grain or memorial offerings are fully acceptable to offer to God by a repentant sinner, but these other sacrifices are terrible,
We know from history that Baal worship included sacrificing dogs, and even Hivitite practices did similar things, and they are ones who bless wickedness.
These people delighted in pagan practices and God will punish, never accept these abominations.
Verse 4 Isa 66:4
4 I also will choose harsh treatment for them
and bring their fears upon them,
because when I called, no one answered,
when I spoke, they did not listen;
but they did what was evil in my eyes
and chose that in which I did not delight.”
God the father clearly states the punishment coming to them for their wicked actions. It is a just punishment.
God has been patient with these, he has been long suffering but now He chooses to act against them.
Why… He warned them.. He called but no one answered them, literally no one returned to him in repentance.
They did willingly what was evil in the sight of the Lord. Thus God responds appropriately.
What they dreaded was coming against them..
Think of it like this… Someone acts in an evil way toward another and thinking they would not get caught.. but in the back of their mind they knew they would… thus they hate to see punishment coming..
Verse 5 New section begins Isa 66:5
5 Hear the word of the Lord,
you who tremble at his word:
“Your brothers who hate you
and cast you out for my name’s sake
have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified,
that we may see your joy’;
but it is they who shall be put to shame.
So hear comes the word of the Lord in response to their actions...
The call.. Hear what I am about to say you....
These are not humble or contrite people mentioned in verse 2. They did not offer good and pure sacrifices, instead offered to pagan gods sinfully acting against God and their brothers and sisters… Remember sin always effects more than you....
Those who walk humbly in front of God will see the day when God will shame those who worship in a unholy way.
Those who walk humbly with God will one day enjoy a future with God, others will suffer under their own shame.
Verse 6 Isa 66:6
6 “The sound of an uproar from the city!
A sound from the temple!
The sound of the Lord,
rendering recompense to his enemies!
The future judgment is pictured in these verses as a time characterized by 3 great voices, sounds and thundering noises....
These noises are coming from the Temple area of the city, and here God is coming to judge the earth, he will establish justice and will repay those who enemies with their just reward.
Verse 7 Isa 66:7
7 “Before she was in labor
she gave birth;
before her pain came upon her
she delivered a son.
The accounts of this verse is a bit odd, The Lord tells us a woman gives birth before she entered labor, and she had a son before the pain set in on her.
It makes you think this must be a miraculous act… no one has every heard of such a thing..
Now lets look at verse 8 for more information
Verse 8 Isa 66:8
8 Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall a land be born in one day?
Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?
For as soon as Zion was in labor
she brought forth her children.
The call is for people to answer, has anyone see such a thing… well the answer is no…and the last two lines provide a little more answers..
Can a nation be birthed in a day, can a nation of people come forth and live in a day’s time…population usually grows over the years… ut here the mother which is referred to as Zion, brought forth her people.
It is a picture of the future growth of the city, a few would be many, the Lord has foretold it. Now look at verse 9....
Verse 9 Isa 66:9
9 Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?”
says the Lord;
“shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?”
says your God.
The question we could ask here is a simple one… can God do the impossible? Well, yes without a doubt he can..
Essentially, God would not bring all this to the point of completion and then stop it… God does not begin to fulfil his promises and then stops it. No… what God has promised (covenant) He will do..
God will bring about a rebirth of people… He will also save a remnant on the last day.
Verses 10-11 Isa 66:10-11
10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
all you who mourn over her;
11 that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her consoling breast;
that you may drink deeply with delight
from her glorious abundance.”
Since all these things are going to happen, God encourages his people to rejoice and be glad. He will increase his people, they will have life.
There is joy and gladness with the fulfillment of God’s promises..
Those who should rejoice are those who love Zion and all who previously mourned for her.
And with verse 11, people should rejoice and be satisfied and comforted with all that Zion will provide...
What God does is satisfying my friends, they will have a joy and blessing in knowing and experienceing all that God will do...
When you think of a mother providing milk to her child and thus it being satisfied, what would that mean for us today?
It is a picture of God’s salvation, in this way he provides for the needs of his people. He offers them life, satisfaction, health, hope… for the Jews and the Gentile alike...
God always blesses and provides for his people...
Verses 12-14 Isa 66:12-14
12 For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,
and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip,
and bounced upon her knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforts,
so I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
14 You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
your bones shall flourish like the grass;
and the hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants,
and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.
Wow, God says that he will extend peace that the people in Zion will enjoy. In fact the abundance of God’s peace is compared to the enormous amount of water in a river and the abundance of wealth, glory to the nations.
God will be a parent that cares for his child providing for all that they need while extending them joy.
And with verse 13, God compares himself to the other with her child, in this God isn’t nursing the child, but he comforts them with his love and cares for them like a mother cares for her child.
He says I myself will comfort you....
And look at what God says in verse 14....
God will bless his people but show wrath to His enemies…
I love those positive words.... You shall see, Your heart shall rejoice and your bones will flourish...
All of this is positive...
Now the last section of this chapter verses 15-24
Verses 15-16 Isa 66:15-16
15 “For behold, the Lord will come in fire,
and his chariots like the whirlwind,
to render his anger in fury,
and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire will the Lord enter into judgment,
and by his sword, with all flesh;
and those slain by the Lord shall be many.
The passage begins with a call, a challenge to see… God uses the term Behold…surely behold.
This tells us that we should pay attention to what is being said..
first the Lord says he will come in fire…Fire is the theophany that is commonly seen when God allows His people to see a form of his presence.
2nd His chariots like a whirlwind… a storm like wind with a chariot… the storm depicts the dark swirling clouds of God’s visible presence and finally 3rd,The chariot is likened to a vehicle that carries God from place to place...
Why is He appearing?
Isa says for him to render his anger, and rebuke with fire.... He willl repay those who are sinful, He will rebuke them,
For by fire the Lord will enter into judgment vere 16…Makes he think of hell…doesnt it you.
When you think of fire, you think of God’s fire as a purifying judgment, for He is holy.
Earlier in Isa 5, Isaiah predicted that fire would destroy all who reject the law of God, it doesn’t matter if they are Assyrian, Babylonian or his own people. He will judge and punish all...
This could be referring to the day of Judgment when the last day comes...
Verse 17 Isa 66:17
17 “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig’s flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the Lord.
Judgment will not fall on those of distant pagan nations, but on all who chased after and worshipped those pagan altars.
God’s evaluation of these pagan practices makes it very clear that these Hebrew people will be among the “all flesh” that God’s sword and fire will annihilate.
Verses 18-19 Isa 66:18-19
18 “For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, 19 and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations.
The goal of God’s revelation will be to bring the nations to Him in Zion and they will see his glory.
This is not a new idea, Gen 12:3 the goal of blessing Abraham was that all the nations of the earth might be blessed through him. .
People from the ends of the earth will turn to God and be saved.
They will also bring your gifts to God and glorify Him in Zion...
God will then send some of the survivors within the nations on the earth as witness to what has happened. They will declare my glroy among the nations that have not heard about God.
You could call this the last widespread missionary movement....
Verses 20-21 Isa 66:20-21
20 And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21 And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the Lord.
And they will bring people to God, the nations will come to him and be saved.
These foreigners will become fellow brothers in the faith..
Salvation in the last days my friends, God works faithfully to bring the good news to all...
The last passage verses 22-24
22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth
that I make
shall remain before me, says the Lord,
so shall your offspring and your name remain.
23 From new moon to new moon,
and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me,
declares the Lord.
24 “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
The new heavens and the new earth speak to the blessing of God’s future kingdom, whereby just as the heavens and earth continue so we will be with him all the days there after.
This new people of God, they will join with all those in the Lord and they will be boldly displayed in their worship, for at this time the wicked will already be judged
. The people who will come to worship and bow down before God will include millions upon millions absolutely everyone (“all flesh”) that is alive on the earth at that time.
Their worship will continue from New Moon to New Moon, from Sabbath to Sabbath, from feast to feast.
The point is that these people will continually and repeatedly come before God to worship him with joy.
This is why we are in God’s kingdom, they will not forget to honor and glorify God like their forefathers did...
Verse 24 sets the difference between God’s servant and those who chose to stay in their rebellion/
Sadly not all will enter into the kingdom of God
Those who rebelled against God, those who did terrible things, will face the sword and the fire of God’s judgment.
There is an etneral destiny , one of promise for the redeemed and one of torement for the rebellious.
Each receive the reward of their choices, one to life and the other to death.
Verse 24 tells us of a terrible sight, of those who rebelled, decaying bodies represent the death that will take them away
The servants of God will know what has happened to the wicked.... just as we do this day.
Isaiah 40–66 (3) Gathering of All People to Worship God (66:15–24)
The first choice comes with life-changing challenges and requires a complete commitment to trust God. Only those who love and serve God are able to enter his kingdom.
