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<h2><a onclick="return mV('Isa',66,'1-');">Isa 66</a> - Rejoicing in God's Ultimate Victory</h2>
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<p>A. The <span class="c6">Lord</span> will repay His enemies.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',66,'1-2');">1-2</a>) The greatness of God, and proper response of man.</p>
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<p class="c2">Thus says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>: "Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist," Says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. "But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool</span></b>: Here, the <span class="c6">Lord</span> puts things back into proper perspective. We can never understand much of anything until we understand that the Lord <span class="c6">God</span> is enthroned in heaven, and that the earth is under His command - indeed, the <b><span class="c3">earth is</span></b> His <b><span class="c3">footstool</span></b>!</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Stephen quoted <a onclick="return mV('Isa',66,'1-2');">Isa 66:1-2</a> in <a onclick="return mV('Act',7,'49-50');">Act 7:49-50</a>, agreeing with Solomon and Isaiah about the greatness of God the Creator.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Where is the house that you will build Me?...But on this one I will look: on Him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word</span></b>: We may want to serve God - but serve Him <i>our</i> way. We may want to <b><span class="c3">build</span></b> God something, but what can we <b><span class="c3">build</span></b> that is worthy of God? Instead, what God really wants from us is a <b><span class="c3">poor</span></b> and <b><span class="c3">a contrite spirit</span></b>, and to tremble at His <b><span class="c3">word</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <b><span class="c3">Contrite</span></b> is literally "'lamed' or disabled, here used with spiritual significance: one who is aware of the damage wrought by sin, of personal inability to stand upright before God." (Motyer)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Are you one of those who <b><span class="c3">trembles at </span></b>God's <b><span class="c3">word</span></b>? <span>"They tremble at the searching power of God's Word. Do you never come into this place and sit down in the pew, and say, 'Lord, grant that thy Word may search me and try me, that I may not be deceived'? Certain people must always have sweets and comforts; but God's wise children do not wish for these in undue measure. Daily bread we ask for, not daily sugar." (Spurgeon)</span></p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',66,'3-4');">3-4</a>) God's answer to empty religious ritual.</p>
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<p class="c2">He who kills a bull is as if he slays a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog's neck; he who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine's blood; he who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol. Just as they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations, so will I choose their delusions, and bring their fears on them; because, when I called, no one answered, when I spoke they did not hear; but they did evil before My eyes, and chose that in which I do not delight.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">He who kills a bull as if he slays a man</span></b>: In the empty religious ritualism, God's people thought they were pleasing God. But the <span class="c6">Lord</span> says that when a man <b><span class="c3">kills a bull</span></b> in sacrifice, it is <b><span class="c3">as if he slays a man</span></b>. Their religious ritualism <i>added</i> to their sin, it didn't take it away!</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <b><span class="c3">Mice</span></b> "were eaten as a delicacy by the Romans and other heathen people and were used by others as idolatrous sacrifices." (Bultema)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Just as they have chosen their own ways...so will I choose their delusions</span></b>: God's people chose their rebellion against Him, and they persisted in it despite His continual warnings. As an extreme display of judgment, God will <b><span class="c3">choose their delusions</span></b> and send a delusion among them.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This is a sobering reminder of what God will do on the earth during the Great Tribulation, as described by Paul in <a onclick="return mV('2Th',2,11);">2Th 2:11</a>: <i>God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie</i>. But what will happen during the Great Tribulation is just the ultimate fruit of what God does all the time among men. When we reject God and seek our own delusion, He may send one to us.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. An example of this kind of delusion are those who believe that the world was created out of <i>nothing</i> or by <i>chance</i>. What could be more delusional than to believe that something can come from nothing? To believe that <i>chance</i> actually has some kind of "power"? Yet for those who insist on believing it, God will give them over to this delusion.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Because, when I called, no one answered, when I spoke they did not hear</span></b>: How can we keep from being given over to a delusion? By answering the <span class="c6">Lord</span> when He calls, by hearing Him when He speaks. It's really that simple.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',66,'5-6');">5-6</a>) The <span class="c6">Lord</span> repays His enemies.</p>
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<p class="c2">Hear the word of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, you who tremble at His word: "Your brethren who hated you, who cast you out for My name's sake, said, 'Let the <span class="c6">Lord</span> be glorified, that we may see your joy.' But they shall be ashamed." The sound of noise from the city! A voice from the temple! The voice of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, who fully repays His enemies!</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Your brethren who hated you, who cast you out for My name's sake, said, "Let the <span class="c6">Lord</span> be glorified, that we may see your joy."</span></b> Here, Isaiah shows how those with a shallow, empty religion mock those of genuine faith. First, empty religion <i>hates</i> genuine faith (<b><span class="c3">hated you</span></b>). Second, empty religion <i>rejects</i> true faith (<b><span class="c3">cast you out</span></b>). Third, empty religion <i>acts in the name of the <span class="c6">Lord</span></i> (<b><span class="c3">for My name's sake</span></b>). Fourth, empty religion mocks with spiritual sounding words (<b><span class="c3">"Let the <span class="c6">Lord</span> be glorified, that we may see your joy"</span></b>).</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">But they shall be ashamed</span></b>: Most importantly, empty religion will never ultimately triumph. At the end of days, if not before, <b><span class="c3">they shall be ashamed</span></b>, when they hear <b><span class="c3">the voice of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, who fully repays His enemies!</span></b></p>
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<p>B. The <span class="c6">Lord</span> comes with fire.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',66,'7-11');">7-11</a>) Rejoicing in the deliverance of Jerusalem.</p>
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<p class="c2">Before she was in labor, she gave birth; before her pain came, she delivered a male child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children. "Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?" says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. "Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?" says your God. Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all you who love her; rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her; that you may feed and be satisfied with the consolation of her bosom, that you may drink deeply and be delighted With the abundance of her glory.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Before she travailed, she gave birth</span></b>: Isaiah prophesies a day when the victory will come easily to Jerusalem, when she will be as the promise of <a onclick="return mV('Rom',8,37);">Rom 8:37</a>, <i>more than conquerors through Him who loved us</i>. Here, she gives birth - but without pain! Truly, <b><span class="c3">who has heard such a thing?</span></b></p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Rejoice with Jerusalem</span></b>: All God's people are called to share in Jerusalem's joy. The time of deliverance, victory, and vindication have come! <b><span class="c3">Be glad with her, all you who love her</span></b>! If God's people will do this, it will be a blessing for them also: <b><span class="c3">that you may feed and be satisfied with the consolation of her bosom</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This intense, great, rejoicing may sometimes make the world uncomfortable and make us the target of mocking. <span>"Very seldom are believers nowadays charged with being fanatical, nor even with being too enthusiastic; and this is a sign that we are below the right heat. When the world calls us fanatics we are nearing that point of ardor which is our Lord's due.</span>" (Spurgeon)</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',66,'12-17');">12-17</a>) The <span class="c6">Lord</span> comes in judgment.</p>
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<p class="c2">For thus says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>: "Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then you shall feed; on her sides shall you be carried, and be dandled on her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem." When you see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like grass; the hand of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> shall be known to His servants, and His indignation to His enemies. For behold, the <span class="c6">Lord</span> will come with fire and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword the <span class="c6">Lord</span> will judge all flesh; and the slain of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> shall be many. "Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves, to go to the gardens after an idol in the midst, eating swine's flesh and the abomination and the mouse, shall be consumed together," says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river</span></b>: When the Messiah returns in glory and triumph, the <b><span class="c3">peace</span></b> of Jerusalem will be like a gentle, powerful river that is never disturbed. But not Jerusalem alone: <b><span class="c3">And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you</span></b>: God speaks with supreme tenderness to His faithful servants. No one can comfort like a mother, and God will bring that kind of comfort to His people.</p>
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<p class="c5"><span>i. "This is a peculiarly delightful metaphor. A father can comfort, but I think he is not much at home as the work. When God speaks about his pity, he compares himself to their father: 'Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth, them that fear him.' But when he speaks about comfort, he selects the mother. When I have seen the little ones sick, I have felt all the pity in the world for them, but I did not know how to set to work to comfort them; but a mother knows by instinct how to do it.</span>" (Spurgeon)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">The hand of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> shall be known to His servants, and His indignation to His enemies</span></b>: When the Messiah returns in glory and triumph, for some it will be a great blessing - and for others it is be nothing but judgment. Indeed, <b><span class="c3">the <span class="c6">Lord</span> will judge all flesh; and the slain of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> shall be many</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves, to go to the gardens, after an idol in the midst</span></b>: When the Messiah returns in glory and triumph, He will see through those who practice empty religion. They <b><span class="c3">"shall be consumed together," says the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',66,'18-21');">18-21</a>) The <span class="c6">Lord</span> gathers and restores His people.</p>
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<p class="c2">"For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the <span class="c6">Lord</span> out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem," says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, "as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites," says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory</span></b>: God has promised a great regathering work among Israel; but He will also do a regathering work among the whole world, some from <b><span class="c3">all nations and tongues</span></b> to see His <b><span class="c3">glory</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. One place this finds ultimate fulfillment is around the throne of God (<a onclick="return mV('Rev',5,'9-10');">Rev 5:9-10</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "God says that He will set a <i>sign</i> among the nations. This sign is the same as the <i>sign of the Son of man</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',24,30);">Mat 24:30</a>)." (Bultema)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Those among them who escape I will send to the nations...to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory</span></b>: Isaiah makes prophetic reference to the missionary calling and work of God's people. Of course, God had a missionary intent for Israel, that they would be a priesthood among the nations (<a onclick="return mV('Exd',19,6);">Exd 19:6</a>) and a light to the Gentiles. But even more pointedly, God has commanded the church <b><span class="c3">to the nations</span></b>, to <b><span class="c3">declare My glory among the Gentiles</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "They are sent to <i>Tarshish</i> (Spain, France and Italy) to <i>Pul</i> (a region in Africa) and to <i>Lud</i>, which according to some is the same as Lydia, though it seems preferable to take <i>Pul</i> and <i>Lud</i> together for all of Africa. Tubal was a son of Japheth, whose descendants settled in north-eastern Europe or Russia and <i>Javan</i> is the biblical name for Greece." (Bultema)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. In a limited sense, this is fulfilled by the missionary outreach of the church through centuries. But this is only a partial fulfillment. Ultimately, these may be the 144,000 witnesses during the Great Tribulation; they may be Jewish evangelists in the days of the millennial earth.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the <span class="c6">Lord</span> out of all nations</span></b>: As part of God's ultimate work, as the missionaries go out, the people of Israel ultimately come back, in a magnificent regathering. This is partially fulfilled now in the Israel's regathered state; but will be ultimately fulfilled in the millennial earth of the Messiah.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. A remarkable example of modern-day regathering from the Arutz 7 news agency in Israel:</p>
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<p>"Thirty-seven members of the Bnei Menashe tribe in India - believed to be descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes - arrived in Israel on Friday. The new arrivals, many of whom have relatives in Israel among the 450 Bnei Menashe who have arrived within the last five years, were brought to Israel under the auspices of the Jerusalem-based Amishav organization. Amishav is dedicated to locating descendants of the Lost Tribes and returning them to the Jewish people. 'This is a historic moment for the Jewish people,' said Amishav founder and chairman Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail, who has devoted his life to finding and assisting the descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel. 'After a lengthy and difficult separation, the Bnei Menashe are being reunited with the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. This is a triumph of faith. Their return to Zion marks the closing of a historical circle.'"</p>
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<p>The Bnei Menashe, with a rich oral tradition tracing themselves back to the Israelite tribe of Menashe, continue to practice many uniquely Jewish customs. About 3,500 Bnei Menashe decided to formally return to the Jewish people about 30 years ago, and began living a fully Jewish life to the best of their ability in accordance with Jewish law. Rabbi Avichail learned of their existence about 20 years ago, and began to investigate their claims to Jewish ancestry. After making several visits there and carefully studying their claims and the relevant history, Rabbi Avichail consulted with leading rabbinical authorities and concluded that there is convincing evidence linking the Bnei Menashe with the Jewish people. Among the evidence, Rabbi Avichail notes their ancient tradition speaking of the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; their custom of circumcising male children on the 8th day after birth; and their sacrificial ceremony on an altar reminiscent of the Jewish Temple in which the Hebrew Biblical name of G-d, Mount Sinai, Mount Moriah and Mount Zion are mentioned.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">And I will take some of them for priests and Levites</span></b>: The idea is that in that day, God will extend the priesthood beyond its previous boundaries. This is ultimately fulfilled in the church, because saints are called <i>priests</i> (<a onclick="return mV('1Pe',2,'5-9');">1Pe 2:5-9</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Rev',1,6);">Rev 1:6</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Rev',5,10);">5:10</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Rev',20,6);">20:6</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "Just as in Isaiah's day only some were priests and Levites, but through them Israel was constituted as the Lord's priestly people, so now he foresees Gentiles incorporated on equal terms, into equal privileges." (Motyer)</p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',66,'22-24');">22-24</a>) The certainty of the both the <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s judgment and His restoration.</p>
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<p class="c2">"For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me," says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, "So shall your descendants and your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me," says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. "And they shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">And it shall come to pass...all flesh shall come to worship before Me</span></b>: Here, God describes His ultimate triumph. Through the majestic book of Isaiah, the nations have been judged and often condemned. But God has an ultimate plan to reach the nations, seen in its ultimate fulfillment in <a onclick="return mV('Rev',5,'9-10');">Rev 5:9-10</a>. God will take people from every tribe and tongue, and <b><span class="c3">"all flesh shall come to worship before Me," says the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Isaiah puts it into context of <b><span class="c3">from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come and to worship before Me</span></b>. Significantly, Isaiah began the book with a condemnation of the shallow worship of God's people at the time of the New Moons and Sabbaths (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',1,'12-15');">Isa 1:12-15</a>). Now, after the greatness of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s work, all that is different.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">And they shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me</span></b>: Some from every tribe and tongue will have a destiny of ultimate triumph; some also will have the destiny - freely chosen - of ultimate tragedy. Using the images of eternal damnation (<b><span class="c3">their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched</span></b>), Isaiah describes the fate of those who reject God - even if they had the veneer of empty religion.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "After this life, and at the day of judgment, they shall go into eternal torments; where they will feel a work of conscience that shall never die, and a fiery wrath of God upon their souls and bodies that shall never go out." (Poole)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. The book of Isaiah closes with a sobering contrast, revealing the ultimate, eternal <i>importance</i> of this present life. Each life can choose its destiny: <b><span class="c3">worship</span></b> or the <b><span class="c3">worm</span></b>. Which is it for you?</p>
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