I began this series on Isaiah on September 6, 2022. For the past sixteen months, we’ve looked at one chapter a week from Isaiah’s magnificent book. Since there is only one chapter left (Chapter 66), and since 2023 is coming to a close, I thought I’d post the final chapter of Isaiah on this final day of the year. Thank you for spending Tuesdays with God through reading Isaiah!
In light of the everlasting blessings of the new heaven and new earth promised to the Lord’s servants (65:13-25), a pressing question remains: What does it take to be included among the Lord’s servants? Chapter 66 opens with the answer (1-6).
The Lord who made the heavens and earth (and will one day create a new heavens and earth) makes clear the kind of people He favours and blesses: “But this is the one to whom I will look; he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” (2). The Hebrew word translated “look” carries the sense of considering, regarding, or looking on with favour (NIV “look on with favor”; 1 Sam 16:7). The Lord whose throne is the heavens and footstool the earth (1), condescends to pay attention to an individual (“the one”) who is “humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” (2).
To be “humble” is literally to be “poor” and “afflicted.” “Contrite” speaks of being “struck down”, “bruised” or “smitten” (2). A few verses later we learn these servants are literally “hated” and “cast out” and mocked by their “brothers” (5). So, these servants of the Lord endure physical affliction. But the Lord’s attention focuses on their inward state; they are “contrite in spirit” (2). He looks with favour on their humble hearts and bruised spirits. As Jesus would say in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the poor is spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3).
The third descriptor of the one the Lord of heaven and earth regards with favour is his or her response to the Lord’s word: “who trembles at my word” (2). Again, the Hebrew word for tremble literally means to shake with fear or awe (Judges 7:3). Servants of the Lord shake with fear and reverence at the Word of the Lord. This is not simply shown by physical trembling but by a reverent, obedient response to it.
Isaiah contrasts those who tremble at the Lord’s words with those who “have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations” (3). While they may continue the outward forms of religious piety (sacrifices and offerings—3), the Lord indicts them for having “done what was evil in my eyes and chose that in which I did not delight” (4). Further, they persecute (“hate” and “cast out”) those seeking to humbly and faithfully adhere to the Lord’s word (5). They taunt their “brothers” with cynical, scornful words: “Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy” (6). They cynically call on the Lord to showcase His glory by acting on behalf of these humble, hated servants. Much to their surprise, the Lord will indeed come in power to bring “joy” to the faithful and to “recompense his enemies” (6, 7-24).
In summary, the one who will receive eternal blessings in the new heaven and earth can be recognized by his or her response to the Lord’s Word. Rather than choosing their own ways in life, true servants choose the Lord’s higher ways (55:8-9). Rather than going along with those who arrogantly disregard God’s word, they remain humbly reverence God’s Word, delighting to do what He delights in. These are the ones the Lord regards; these are one He will reward.
The grand reversal in which the Lord glorifies Himself by bringing joy to the faithful and recompense to the rebels is described in verses 7-24. Verses 7-14 focus primarily on the “rejoicing” (10, 14) of the Lord’s humble servants when He suddenly brings about the “rebirth” of Jerusalem.
Using an extended metaphor of a baby’s sudden birth, the Lord declares He will cause His people and their central city of Zion to “be born in one day” (8). This sudden rebirth of the nation will stun and surprise everyone: “Who has ever heard such a thing?” (8). Zion will give birth to a nation without a long, painful labor: “For as soon as Zion was in labor, she brought forth her children” (8). This new birth comes by the Lord’s doing; as the One who brings Israel “to the point of birth”, He will also bring about the delivery of His people (9).
When the Lord causes Zion to be reborn, the sorrow of His servants will suddenly turn to joy: “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her” (10). Like a newborn infant with his mother, the Lord’s joyful people will “nurse and be satisfied” (11). Jerusalem will be a loving mother who carries her people “on her hip” and playfully bounces them “on her knees” (12). Best of all, the Lord will act like a mother to His people: “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you” (13).
The amazing rebirth will not be temporary or hidden. Peace will flow into Jerusalem “like a river”, as will the “glory of the nations” (12). God’s true servants will “see” and “rejoice” (14). For to the surprise and consternation of the skeptics and rebels (5), the Lord will indeed show His glory on behalf of His servants: “the hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants, and he shall show his indignation against his enemies” (14).
Verse 14, which contrasts the Lord’s elevation of His name among His servants with His indignation towards His enemies leads into the final section of the chapter—and the closing section of the entire book (15-24). The finale of the chapter/book showcases the greatness and glory of God. He comes “in fire” and “fury” to “enter into judgment” with those who worship abominations (15-17). A time is “coming” when the Lord will “gather all nations and tongues” to reveal His “glory” (18). The “many” enemies of God will be slain by Him (16). The Lord says He will send “survivors” to the nations “that have not heard my fame or seen my glory” (19). These survivors will tell of God’s greatness and glory: “And they shall declare my glory among the nations” (19).
Global judgment will also bring about a global regathering of God’s people. The nations will “bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord” (20). Isaiah, in language that fits his day, speaks of these exiles returning to Jerusalem (“my holy mountain”) on horses, chariots, mules and camels (20). The returning Israelites are pictured as a grain offering brought to the house of the Lord in a clean vessel to be presented to Him (20). The Lord will enlist some of those who return to be “priests” and “Levites”, a hint of a coming change in the Mosaic priestly system (21, see Hebrews 7:11-18).
From prose, the text shifts to poetry, to describe the glorious future for the redeemed (22-23). The Lord declares He will create “the new heavens and the new earth” to “remain before me” (22). His servants will also “remain” with a new, glorious name (22; 62:12). Further, there will be continual “worship” before the Lord from all the nations (“all flesh”—23).
The book ends not with these glorious words, but with a grisly post-script: “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” (24). Here is a glimpse into a place of fiery judgment, a place Jesus called Gehenna (Mark 9:43) or hell (Matt. 10:28). Here is a final, explicit warning that the glorious future promised by the Lord God will only be for those who submit to His reign and follow His ways. Here is ample reason to be humble, contrite in spirit, and to tremble at the Lord’s word! The choice the reader is left with is both incredibly stark and eternally significant.
Behold Your God
The Lord towers over the heavens and earth yet turns His attention to His humble servants. The Creator of the heavens and earth pays close attention to those who are “humble, contrite in spirit and trembles” at His word (2). He is transcendent and immanent. He dwarfs all His creation but still draws near to the person who humbly trusts and obeys Him. Though others may look down on His servants with contempt (5), He looks on them with favour (2). No one who “trembles at His Word” is too small or insignificant to escape His notice.
The Lord gently comforts His humble servants and furiously recompenses His rebellious enemies. Isaiah paints a picture of the Lord that in bold and brilliant hues; there is nothing pastel about Him. His comfort is as sweet as a nursing mother who carries her child close and bounces her on His knees (12); his fury burns with “flames of fire” to “render recompense to His enemies” (6, 15, 24). Isaiah refutes any notion of God that sees him as a benign, harmless, dispassionate deity. He is more gracious and fierce than we can imagine.
The Lord will ultimately vindicate His downtrodden people and globally glorify His great name. The present may be dark and difficult for those who follow the Lord’s Word, but the future shines gloriously bright. In His time, the Lord will suddenly (“in one day”—8) change the storyline for the humble ones who tremble at His Word. He will create an everlasting new heaven and earth as a forever home for them and their offspring (21).
The Lord knows those who are His. Isaiah reminds us that the great God who made heaven and earth (1), the One who will create “the new heavens and the new earth” (22), knows the “works” and “thoughts” of all people (18). He knows when acts of worship hide a rebellious heart that chooses its own ways (3). He knows when shame and suffering result from allegiance to His Word in a hostile world (5). As was the case in the days of Moses and Korah, “the Lord will show who is his” (Numbers 16:5). As Paul reminded Timothy: “The Lord knows those who are his” (2 Tim. 2:19).
Here Am I
I want to tremble at the Lord’s word and trust in the Lord’s promises. Twice in chapter 66, the Lord addresses those who “tremble” at His word (2, 5). In both cases the Lord speaks a word of promise: He will “look” upon them with favour (2); He will recompense those who cause them grief (5). In other words, those who tremble at God’s word have no reason to fear. The Lord will keep them in His gaze and intervene to defend them. In light of these promises, I want to be one who reverently receives and faithfully follows His word. This is the path of blessing—now and forever.
I choose to choose His will and ways over any other—including my own. Isaiah 66 reiterates a theme running through the entire book: the fundamental choice in life is who will be lord? Will I bow to the Lord of heaven and history—the God who reigns over all? Or will I lean on my own understanding (Prov 3:5) and choose what seems right in my own eyes (and “evil” in His—4)? Will I trust the Lord or turn to idols (including the idol of self)? That was the basic question before the Israelites. It remains the baseline question for all today. My study in Isaiah has repeatedly reminded me that only in fearing and following the Lord will my story end well—worshipping Him in the new heavens and the new earth (22). Rebelling against him results in eternal tragedy—winding up in a fiery, final judgment (23).
I will live for the Lord’s global glory. Isaiah 66 concludes with a recapitalization of a macro theme in the book: the Lord will receive global glory. He will ensure His name is known to the ends of the earth (19). He will see His name reverenced and worshipped by “all flesh” (23). This is the end game for history. I want to live in light of this vision to be on the right side of history and eternity! I will see to “declare his glory among the nations” to align with the Lord’s purpose and promise to be worshipped globally (23; Rev. 5:9-10; 7:9-10).
Rick and Linda Reed 