April 4, 2011
DOES GOD GO TO WATERMARK?
Isaiah 66
Jeff Ward
Central Truth
Time and again, God tells His people that He wants hearts that trust Him, that want a relationship with Him, that obey out of trust, as opposed to external behavior modification and empty religious practice. He walks with those whose hearts are humbled, submitted, and responsive to His Word.
Key Verse | Isaiah 66:1–2
Thus says the LORD,
'Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.
Where then is a house you could build for Me?
And where is a place that I may rest?
For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,' declares the LORD.
'But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.'
(Isaiah 66:1-2)
Isaiah 66
The Humble and Contrite in Spirit
1
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.”
1
66:11
Or breast
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 2 66:18 Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew lacks know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming 3 66:18 Hebrew and it 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.”
Dive Deeper | Isaiah 66
You've made it through 66 chapters! To summarize, Isaiah has described time and again how God is sovereign. He loves His people. His ways are best. There are blessings for obedience. There is judgment for disobedience.
So, it is interesting that he begins this final chapter of hope, judgment, and prophecy with God saying, "Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? . . . But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word." From the outside, Israel was making sacrifices and "obeying" God's Word, but inside, their hearts were not in it. This is a final reminder to the reader of Isaiah that what God wants is our hearts . . . not just better behavior.
If you have kids, you know that there can be two responses to asking a kid to clean his room: the stomping, grudging type that thinks you're just trying to rob him of more TV time; and then the other respectful and responsible type that understands there are bigger reasons for the request. I've experienced both! And, in both cases, the room gets cleaned, but one honors dad, and one does not -- one indicates a trust in dad and one does not.
So what's the connection and application from this passage? God is not in the building that houses Watermark. God is not found in the externals of attending church on Sunday, writing a check, attending community group, or even serving. God is honored by and grants favor to the humble and those who obey and reverence His Word -- and importantly, do these "obedient" things because they wholly trust, respect, and are devoted to the One who gave that Word.
"For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.''' (2 Corinthians 6:16)
He lives in the hearts of the humble and hopefully that describes us.
Discussion Questions
1. Are you devoted to God's Word, regularly reading, mediating on, and memorizing it?
2. Are you just going through the motions of obedience out of grit and duty or out of a trust and dependence that God has your best in mind?
3. How has God shown Himself to be faithful this past week?
4. Are you praying a "dangerous" prayer that God would teach you humility and conformity to Christ?
WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY
ISAIAH 66–JEREMIAH 4 (APR 4-8)
Read Jeremiah 1:4-10.
1. How long ago did God set Jeremiah apart as His prophet?
2. What was Jeremiah worried about? (verse 6)
3. How did God reassure Jeremiah? (verses 8-9)
4. What did God call Jeremiah to do? (verse 10)
5. Why would the words that Jeremiah was sent to tell the nations cause these different things to happen (i.e. pluck up, break down, destroy, overthrow, build, and plant)?
6. Is it hard or easy for you to tell others about the truth of who Jesus is?
Activity: Plant a Basil Garden
Before the kingdoms and nations were ready for building and planting, they had to be prepared. Follow the progression outlined in Jeremiah 1: pluck up, break down, destroy, overthrow, build, and plant.
Get a small piece of land (think 2x2) ready for planting. First, pluck up the weeds and grass that might be infesting the space. Break down and turn the soil with a rake, hoe, or small shovel, getting it ready for planting. Make sure there are no weeds. Next, build up the area with new, fertile top soil (from your local home and garden store). Finally, scatter your seeds. Be sure to gently cover the seeds with soil. Be sure to water. Last, wait patiently and faithfully.
Think about the garden and what it shows us about sharing truth with others and how it might take time and patience and work!
(Note: if you don't have space for the garden, get a pot or plastic dish and go through the process with outside dirt and stuff from the store.)