Isaiah 66:1-2
Isaiah saw the throne room of God in his vision (ch. 6). The earthly temple, in all its glory, was nothing compared to the actual throne room. God is so big; the earth is portrayed as a mere footstool. The earth is His and all that is in it. He reigns sovereign over the earth, where He rests his feet. No house or anything we might build could contain the Lord. Nothing we make could be sufficient in design or function; how could flawed man create something so sacred and holy?
The one dwelling place we can prepare that gets the Lord's attention is that of our heart. We prepare a place for His Spirit within us when we have a poor and contrite heart. This is a believer who is humbled and meek with no pride or arrogance. To be contrite is to express pain or sorrow over our sins. These things come from understanding our sin and what we deserve in contrast to His love and the grace we've received. Then when the Lord speaks, we tremble in fear, respect and awe. Our desire is to receive it correctly, act on it in thankfulness and praise.
Isaiah 66:3-4
They were going about their ritual worship, going through the motions. These were the right rituals but offered with the wrong attitude. It was the meaning behind each of these that made the offering valuable. If they comprehended the meaning, the offering would come from the heart.
- 'As if he slays a man' is killing the bull with wickedness, hatefulness or evil intent.
- 'As if he breaks a dog's neck' is sacrificing the lamb as if it had no value or meaning.
- 'As if he offers swine's blood' is bring sacrilege to the temple. It's making a profane offering by bringing the grain offering with a poor attitude.
- 'As if he blesses an idol' is offering incense as if it had no meaning at all.
'Just as' they chose to worship their way and find delight in their religious ways, the Lord will choose their delusions and bring fear on them. The Lord called and their answer was to ignore Him, do evil before Him and make poor choices.
Isaiah 66:5-6
Those who feared the Lord were persecuted and despised because they were different and had set them selves apart. Those who saw themselves as the religious elite looked down on them. These who spout the words 'Let the Lord be glorified' as a religious phrase with no meaning would be brought to shame.
Isaiah 66:7-11
The curse of sin was painful childbirth; this shows a kind of reversal. In the end, a time would come when Zion is restored and her children brought home. It would sudden, unexpected, it would happy quickly with no pain or effort. The Lord had done a great work over the ages and He would see it through to the end. The rejoicing is the completion of the promise and faithfulness of God's covenant relationship with Israel.
Isaiah 66:12-13
The Lord will extend to them peace; shalom, contentment, joy and serenity. This comes like a gently flowing river; it flows endlessly, refreshing, cleansing, healing, this water of life flows. The glory of the gentiles will flow to them also. This will be an endless flow of the wealth of nations coming to them. Then they would feed. This is seen as a child feeding on the breast of its mother, being carried on her hip, comforted, cared for and dandled. This is how the Lord would care for His people.
Isaiah 66:14-17
Imagine that generation of Israelites who had been through some strange times finally arriving at the time when their relationship and standing with God was restored. The Lord's care will be evident to His people and His indignation evident to His enemies. These things aren't always evident to us today. The lines are blurred. We see His enemies doing fine while faithful folks suffer. When things go well and blessings flow, we often forget to credit and thank God.
A time is coming when it will be evident. Isaiah portrays the Lord coming with fire, with His chariots like a whirlwind. This is a common idea seen in God's presence, arrival or departure. He will come to judge and poor out His wrath on those who have established themselves as His enemy. Imagine the shock and dismay when the Lord decimates the nations that trusted in wealth, army's and armament.
These enemies are portrayed as idolaters offering their idolatrous sacrifices when they go to this garden built with their idol at the center. Their feasts consist of pork, rats and other detestable things. The people, the idol and all their profane feast will all be burned up in the fire.
Isaiah 66:18-21
The Lord knows the works and thoughts of the idolatrous and rebellious. He knows their heart is prideful and arrogant. He plans a great gathering of what remains of the nations. They will come to see His glory from the far reaches of the earth. The Glory of the Lord will be declared among the gentiles. The nations will bring home the Israelite; this will be like an offering brought to the Lord.
Isaiah 66:22-24
This is the culmination of all things as it is the culmination of Isaiah's ministry. The Lord will create a new heaven and earth. The old would pass away, destroyed by sin and the consequence of judging sin. It will be a time of continual worship as the nations come to see the glory of the Lord. As they come, they will see the bodies of those who thought they could war against God, rebel and reject Him. They become the picture of unending torment and judgment used in Jewish literature; the fires never stop burning and the worm never ties. For eternity they will a contrast to the eternal glory and everlasting peace and relationship the Lord has with His people.
©2018 Doug Ford
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