#1044 Isaiah 66 He Who Is Humble And Contrite

 

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?

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.

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;

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.”

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.

6 “The sound of an uproar from the city!

A sound from the temple!

The sound of the Lord,

rendering recompense to his enemies!

Rejoice with Jerusalem

7 “Before she was in labor

she gave birth;

before her pain came upon her

she delivered a son.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

Final Judgment and Glory of the Lord

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.

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.

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. 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.

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.” Isaiah 66 ESV

Isaiah 66 The Humble and Contrite

1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: 2“Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge? 3Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me.… Job 38: 1-3

1-2. Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool - Let this be branded on my heart, tattooed upon the forefront of my memory, every day I wake up in a body and place He created. Who is it that forgets that He is sovereign over what He has made? 

…12“Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” 14Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates.… Revelation 22: 12-14

He who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word - It is not wrong to want to do great things for God, but nothing we do replaces humble obedience. You may never headline a large auditorium, never be at the helm of a great ship or enterprise, but God doesn't need men to build altars or places for Him, He doesn't need men at all, but rewards those that humbly acknowledge such, and desire to walk according to His word. He gives to each man talents, no one creates themselves, no one should ever think so highly of themselves as to look down upon his fellow creature, God made them as well. 

…16For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings. 17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. 18In Your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.… Psalm 51: 16-18

…21The troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of the things devoted to destruction, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.” 22But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams. 23For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”… 1 Samuel 15: 21-23

Contrite is literally “‘lamed’ or disabled, here used with spiritual significance: one who is aware of the damage wrought by sin, of personal inability to stand upright before God.” (Motyer)

ii. Are you one of those who trembles at God’s word? “They tremble at the searching power of God’s Word. Do you never come into this place and sit down in the pew, and say, ‘Lord, grant that thy Word may search me and try me, that I may not be deceived’? Certain people must always have sweets and comforts; but God’s wise children do not wish for these in undue measure. Daily bread we ask for, not daily sugar.” (Spurgeon)

3-4. He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man - Obedience is better than sacrifice. It is an empty ritual, and he charges the motive as that of a murderer. You came with no sincere intent to repent, but rather to bribe, as if God could be bought by gestures and token acknowledgments. You don't intend to obey what He said, but think that such religious acts will keep you well in the thing that He hates. 

…32“Right, Teacher,” the scribe replied. “You have stated correctly that God is One and there is no other but Him, 33and to love Him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, which is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34When Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely, He said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any further.… Mark 12: 32-34

No one answered, they did not listen - These are the things they should have done. He didn't give His word as a vanity project, just to hear Himself speak, no, it is a mirror to hold oneself up to and when we see what manner of person we are, then to repent, to ask for mercy. 

…10With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments. 11I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You. 12Blessed are You, O LORD; teach me Your statutes.… Psalm 119: 10-12

1Of David. I give You thanks with all my heart; before the gods I sing Your praises. 2I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness; You have exalted Your name and Your word above all else. 3On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.… Psalm 138: 1-3

5-6. Who cast you out for my name's sake - They cast out the righteous in the name of God. They were religious, used God's name, but all in vain, for they did not fear the Lord nor honor His word, but persecuted those who did. The same would kill the prophets and call Jesus a blasphemer. 

…10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.… Matthew 5: 10-12

7-14. Before her pain came upon her - Not of might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord. Before she would experience the normal travail of birth, it is over, her child is delivered to her. 

Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her - We are told to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, we read in scripture that God has made a covenant with this people, a unilateral covenant with their patriarch Abraham, with David, and the gospel of the new covenant was sent to the Jew first and then to the Greek. These are His people, and we should be glad for them, knowing that He has kept a remnant of Israel always for Himself. The initiation and fulfillment of these covenants are with Him, and the returning of Israel is to His glory, so let us rejoice.

This intense, great, rejoicing may sometimes make the world uncomfortable and make us the target of mocking. “Very seldom are believers nowadays charged with being fanatical, nor even with being too enthusiastic; and this is a sign that we are below the right heat. When the world calls us fanatics we are nearing that point of ardor which is our Lord’s due.” (Spurgeon)

15-24. For by fire will the Lord enter into judgment, and by His sword - Christ's return will mark a time of great relief for those who believe, the humble and contrite, but for the proud it will consume them.

…28Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. 29“ For our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12: 28-29

…14The armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, white and pure, follow Him on white horses. 15And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.… Revelation 19: 14-16

Those who sanctify themselves - Those vain practitioners of empty religion, ascetics and dieters, will not be able to make themselves clean and will be no better off than those who did the things they abstained from. It is by grace and not of works, so why do you go on boasting?

…2influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. 3They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected,… 1 Timothy 4: 2-4

And I will set a sign among them - The glory of the Lord will be revealed and men will go out into the world proclaiming it. They will gather and bring back Christ's elect to Jerusalem.

…29Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’ 30 At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.… Matthew 24: 29-31

“They are sent to Tarshish (Spain, France and Italy) to Pul (a region in Africa) and to Lud, which according to some is the same as Lydia, though it seems preferable to take Pul and Lud together for all of Africa. Tubal was a son of Japheth, whose descendants settled in north-eastern Europe or Russia and Javan is the biblical name for Greece.” (Bultema)

…9And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign upon the earth.” 11Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels and living creatures and elders encircling the throne, and their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands.… Revelation 5: 9-11

For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched - Universalism is a popular notion but manmade, completely unbiblical. Here, in this 66 chapter, of a book that is 1 of 66 books in the Bible, Isaiah ends much in the way of Revelations. Their is here the contrast between those who are of the Lord, contrite and humble, and those who are not, hypocrites and worldlings, and vastly different ends. Choose thee this day whom you will serve.

“After this life, and at the day of judgment, they shall go into eternal torments; where they will feel a work of conscience that shall never die, and a fiery wrath of God upon their souls and bodies that shall never go out.” (Poole)

6But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast. 7Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice, 8do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness,…

…9where your fathers tested and tried Me, and for forty years saw My works. 10Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known My ways.’ 11So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’ ”…

12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God. 13But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

…14We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first. 15As it has been said: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion.” 16For who were the ones who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?… Hebrews 3: 6-16