Isaiah 66
This is what Yahweh says:
“The heavens are my throne
and the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house you will build for me?
Where is the place where I will rest?
My hand made these things so they all belong to me,” declares Yahweh.
“But there is one my eyes are drawn to:
the humble one, the tender one, the trembling one
who lives in awe of all I say.
But the one who offers a bull with no humility
is like one who kills a man.
The one who offers a lamb without contrition
is like one who breaks a dog’s neck.
The one who brings grain offerings with no heart-purity
is like one who offers pig’s blood!
The one who offers incense with no sincerity
is like one who kisses an idol!
They have all chosen their own way, not mine,
and they take delight in these disgusting things!
So I chose to punish them
and to bring on them what they fear the most
because I called out to them and they ignored me.
I spoke and they did not listen
but did what is evil in my sight
and chose what I despise.”
…
Zion gave birth suddenly, even before going into labor.
She delivered a son without any painful contractions.
Who has ever seen or heard of such a wonder?
Could a country be born in a day?
Can a nation be birthed so suddenly?
Yet no sooner does Zion go into labor
than she gives birth to sons!
Yahweh, your God, says,
“Do I allow you to conceive and not to give birth?
Do I shut the womb when I’m the one who delivers?”
So rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her!
All who love her, join in with her great joy,
especially those who remember her grief!
You, her children, will drink the milk of her prosperity
and nurse with delight from her glorious abundance!
For Yahweh says:
“I will extend to her prosperity like a river
and the wealth of gentiles like a flooding river.
You will nurse from her breast, be cradled in her arms,
and delightfully bounced on her knees.
As a mother tenderly comforts her child,
so will I tenderly comfort you,
and you will find comfort in Jerusalem.”
When you feast your eyes on this,
your heart will leap for joy and be revived;
your body will flourish and sprout like grass.
The mighty power of Yahweh will be revealed,
resting on his servants,
but his fury will be shown to his enemies!
Look! Yahweh is coming as a raging fire
and his chariots like a whirlwind
to unleash his anger with fiery fury
and with the fiery lightning of his rebuke!
For with fire and with his sword
Yahweh will judge humanity—
many will be the slain of Yahweh!
…
“The time is coming for me to gather people together from all over the world, and they will come and gaze on my radiance. I will set an amazing sign among them. I will send some of the remnant to other nations—to Tarshish, Put, Lud (known for its archers), Tubal, Javan, and distant islands that have never heard of my fame nor gazed on my glory. They will declare my glory among the gentiles! And they will bring back from the nations your own people as an offering to me,” says Yahweh.
“They will come on horseback, in chariots, in wagons, on mules and camels to my holy mountain, Jerusalem,” says Yahweh. “In the same way my people bring a grain offering in a sacred vessel to the temple, they will be brought as grain offerings to my holy mountain, Jerusalem, as a holy offering to me. And some of them I will appoint as Levitical priests,” says Yahweh.
This is what Yahweh declares: “The new heavens and the new earth that I am making will remain and endure before me in the same way your offspring and your name will endure. From one Sabbath to the next, one month to the next, one year to the next, all humanity will come to worship me!
Isaiah 66:1-4, 7-16, &19-23
I finally finished Isaiah today. I started back in March, right around the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in America. I can’t describe how much I have loved being in the book over the last several months. I can’t imagine having felt the nearness of God in any other book during this time, but that’s the thing with scripture – it is God’s living Word. God would have spoken to me regardless of where I was in the bible, yet Isaiah felt especially relevant and appropriate for what life has been like since March. There were so many weeks and days where I felt like the passage I was studying was exactly what I needed to be reminded of in that moment. I’ve never gone through a book of the bible so slowly, and I loved doing deep dives into so many different Hebrew words that seemed to be themes throughout this book. Words like wait, glory, rest, and peace.
In all Isaiah reassured me of the LORD’s sovereignty over the earth – over pandemics, over justice, over rulers and nations, over sin and death. God’s heart for His people Israel, but also for all people, is revealed throughout the book of Isaiah. He desires that all humanity would seek Him, turn to Him, and experience His salvation. He sent His Servant, Jesus, in order to make a way, to clear the path and all that is blocking us from living reconciled to God. He did so, in accordance with His plan and pleasure, by allowing Jesus to die in our place for our sin so that we might be clothed in the robe of His righteousness. He longs to restore the earth to His perfect design where we will dwell with Him in perfect peace free from the curse of sin.
A popular worship song right now is Way Maker, and as I sung the lyrics in church the other day, I couldn’t help but think of the book of Isaiah.
Way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper
Light in the darkness
My God, that is who You are
Oh it’s who You are, Jesus, yeah
Way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper
Light in the darkness
My God, that is who You are
He is the Way Maker, the One Who performs miracles like saving people from the pit of their despair and the penalty of their sin, the One Who is faithful to His promises, and Who is a light, the only light, in this very dark world.
There’s a bridge in the song that goes:
Even when I don’t see it You’re working
Even when I don’t feel it You’re working
You never stop, never stop working,
You never stop, never stop working
It was true thousands of years ago when Isaiah prophesied to Israel and it is true today – He is always at work. The next several months feel as though they will be filled with more uncertainty, more fear, more chaos and turmoil, but there is peace in the reminder that God is in control. AMEN!
Living Stone 