Reflections on Isaiah 66

Isaiah 66 (Contemporary English Version)
1. The LORD said: Heaven is my throne; the earth is my footstool. What kind of house could you build for me? In what place will I rest?
   
2. I have made everything; that's how it all came to be. I, the LORD, have spoken. The people I treasure most are the humble-- they depend only on me and tremble when I speak.
   
3. You sacrifice oxen to me, and you commit murder; you sacrifice lambs to me and dogs to other gods; you offer grain to me and pigs' blood to idols; you burn incense to me and praise your idols. You have made your own choice to do these disgusting things that you enjoy so much.
   
4. You refused to answer when I called out; you paid no attention to my instructions. Instead, you did what I hated, knowing it was wrong. Now I will punish you in a way you dread the most.
   
5. If you tremble when the LORD speaks, listen to what he says: "Some of your own people hate and reject you because of me. They make fun and say, 'Let the LORD show his power! Let us see him make you truly happy.' But those who say these things will be terribly ashamed."
   
6. Do you hear that noise in the city and those shouts coming from the temple? It is the LORD shouting as he punishes his enemies.
   
7. Have you ever heard of a woman who gave birth to a child before having labor pains?
   
8. Who ever heard of such a thing or imagined it could happen? Can a nation be born in a day or come to life in a second? Jerusalem is like a mother who gave birth to her children as soon as she was in labor.
   
9. The LORD is the one who makes birth possible. And he will see that Zion has many more children. The LORD has spoken.
   
10. If you love Jerusalem, celebrate and shout! If you were in sorrow because of the city, you can now be glad.
    
11. She will nurse and comfort you, just like your own mother, until you are satisfied. You will fully enjoy her wonderful glory.
    
12. The LORD has promised: "I will flood Jerusalem with the wealth of nations and make the city prosper. Zion will nurse you at her breast, carry you in her arms, and hold you in her lap.
    
13. I will comfort you there like a mother comforting her child."
    
14. When you see this happen, you will celebrate; your strength will return faster than grass can sprout. Then everyone will know that the LORD is present with his servants, but he is angry with his enemies.
    
15. The LORD will come down like a whirlwind with his flaming chariots. He will be terribly furious and punish his enemies with fire.
    
16. The LORD's fiery sword will bring justice everywhere on this earth and execute many people.
    
17. Some of you get yourselves ready and go to a garden to worship a foreign goddess. You eat the meat of pigs, lizards, and mice. But I, the LORD, will destroy you for this.
    
18. I know everything you do and think! The time has now come to bring together the people of every language and nation and to show them my glory
    
19. by proving what I can do. I will send the survivors to Tarshish, Pul, Lud, Meshech, Tubal, Javan, and to the distant islands. I will send them to announce my wonderful glory to nations that have never heard about me.
    
20. They will bring your relatives from the nations as an offering to me, the LORD. They will come on horses, chariots, wagons, mules, and camels to Jerusalem, my holy mountain. It will be like the people of Israel bringing the right offering to my temple.
    
21. I promise that some of them will be priests and others will be helpers in my temple. I, the LORD, have spoken.
    
22. I also promise that you will always have descendants and will never be forgotten, just as the new heavens and the new earth that I create will last forever.
    
23. On the first day of each month and on each Sabbath, everyone will worship me. I, the LORD, have spoken.
    
24. My people will go out and look at the dead bodies of those who turned against me. The worms there never die, the fire never stops burning, and the sight of those bodies will be disgusting to everyone.

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In this final chapter, Isaiah addresses his fellow Israelites, both the faithful and the impenitent, concerning God's expectation and His future promise.

To the impenitent he relays the Lord's message, "Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What house could you possibly build for Me?" (66:1) He goes on to refer to their perverted forms of worship. The message is that God is not impressed with their outward forms of worship or any house of worship they might build. What impresses Him is "one who is humble, submissive in spirit, and who trembles at My word."  (66:2) It is the heart on which He looks. Externals are meaningful only if they are driven by a heart with pure motives. Though our practice today is not to offer sacrifices, the Lord is no more impressed with our "authentic" worship practices nor with the enthusiasm of our worship music and gyrations unless they are motivated by a pure heart. Unless we are humble before the Lord, submissive in spirit to His will in our lives, and observe the teaching of His word, He will be no more pleased with our worship practices than with those of the unfaithful Israelites.

To the faithful Isaiah relays this message from the Lord: "Your brothers who hate and exclude you because of Me have said: Let the LORD be glorified, so that we can see your joy! But they will be put to shame." (66:5) Their impenitent Israelite brothers will persecute them for their faithfulness to the Lord even while they are in exile. Their brothers will mock them by telling them to glorify the Lord so they might see their joy at being miraculously delivered from exile. This behavior raises a question, for it is not uncommon behavior for people of any time period or nationality. Why is it that we think the only reason to worship God and be faithful to Him is for the blessings He might give us? Is not the fact that God is our Creator and the source of life and everything we have sufficient to faithfully submit ourselves to Him and worship Him? Is not the fact that a life lived in observance of God's word brings with it greater fulfillment and joy than one lived otherwise further reason for faithfulness to God regardless of whether or not we have great prosperity or live a life free of problems? Are we in the habit of befriending only people who we perceive might benefit us in some way, or do we also befriend people for the shear pleasure of their company? Why must God constantly be the benefactor of good things for us to befriend Him? Is it not sufficient to befriend Him and be faithful to Him for the pleasure of the relationship and the resulting joy?

God also says to the faithful, "I will make peace flow to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flood; you will nurse and be carried on her hip, and bounced on her lap. As a mother comforts her son, so I will comfort you, and you will be comforted in Jerusalem. You will see, you will rejoice, and you will flourish like grass; then the LORD's power will be revealed to His servants." (66:12-14) This is a reference to God's deliverance of the faithful of Israel in the millenium.  In contrast to the blessings of the millenium for the faithful, though, there will be judgment for the unfaithful. Though verse 14 says, "then the LORD's power will be revealed to His servants," it goes on to say, "but He will show His wrath against His enemies."

God will send the faithful of Israel as 'missionaries' to the nations of the world to proclaim His glory to reduce the number upon whom His judgment will fall. As a result, "They will bring all your brothers from all the nations as a gift to the LORD on horses and chariots, in litters, and on mules and camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. I will also take some of them as priests and Levites, says the LORD."  (66:20-21)