Isaiah 66 reminds me how we disregard God’s
authority. Some picture God as a kindly old but feeble grandpa,
others as an irrelevant bigot, full of anger; but both are equally
wrong. God is the creator of all and has complete knowledge of every
detail of His creation. He is perfect in righteousness and is
abundant in mercy. When we believe God is in error, our
understanding is wrong. In the final chapter of the book of Isaiah,
God warns us against placing symbols over substance. He begins,
“Heaven is My throne, and the
earth is My footstool. Where
is the house you will build for Me?”
We build grand cathedrals, thinking we are doing something great,
but God says, “The ones I look
on with favor… humble
and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at My Word“.
Why do we treat God’s Word so lightly? Next God blasts those that
put their trust in any man-made atonement, “whoever
sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a person“.
I believe He is referring to all of us that seek God’s acceptance
through our own efforts. We minimize the weight of sin when we trust
in any sacrifice we can make. He says that those of us that use
religious words and symbols, but continue living contrary to His
Word, “They have chosen their
own ways, and they delight in their abominations“.
Too often we apply that word to others, but God does not rank sin
from acceptable to horrible. We are either perfect, or we are in
need of His forgiveness. Please do not mistake God’s patience for
His acceptance.
Pride
allows us to see ourselves as better than our neighbor and pride
keeps us from listening. God repeats, “When
I called, no one answered, when I spoke, no one listened“.
He adds a historical truth, “Your
own people who hate you,
and exclude you
because of My name“.
Today the self-proclaimed “tolerant and open minded” hurl hatred
and furry at all who publicly live out their faith. Isaiah
encourages, “Let the Lord
be glorified, that we may see your joy!”
Isaiah predicts the future source of joy, “Before
she goes into labor, she gives birth…
she delivers a Son“.
The Son of Promise, the Messiah, the One who would pay the debt of
sin, once and for all, was slain in Jerusalem. Isaiah asks, “Can
a country be born in a day?”
I believe he is referring to the birth of Christianity on
resurrection day. God speaks of that day, “I
will extend peace to her like a river… As a mother comforts her
child, so will I comfort you… When you see this, your heart will
rejoice“. Don’t miss the
rest of the quote, “the hand of
the Lord
will be made known to His servants, but His fury will be shown to His
foes“. The entire history of
the world balances on the cross of Christ.
Isaiah
closes with a Last Days prophesy, “See,
the Lord
is coming with fire… He will bring down His anger with fury… the
Lord
will execute judgment on all people“.
There are only three things I am certain about. Jesus came the first
time to pay the debt of sin, but He will come again to reclaim this
world from Satan and all who align with him; and today we can receive
forgiveness by faith in the risen Lord. The apostle Paul said, “If
Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your
faith” (1 Corinthians
14:15). Isaiah continues, “”I…
am about to come
and gather the people
of all nations and languages, and they will come and see My glory…
I will set a sign among them, and
I will send some of those who
survive to the nations that have not… seen My glory… And I will
select some of them also to be priests and Levites“.
God declares, “All mankind
will come and bow down before Me“.
Philippians 2:10 specifies, “At
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and
under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is
Lord“. Will you do that in
faith, or in judgment?