Day 30 — Isaiah 66:1-24 Heaven’s Throne, All Nations Gathered
Opening prayer
Almighty God, as I come to the end of Isaiah, give me a humble and contrite heart that trembles at your word. Help me to receive your grace, rejoice in your promises, and proclaim your glory among the nations. Amen.
Headline
The LORD rejects empty religion, comforts his trembling people, judges his enemies, and gathers worshippers from all nations into his everlasting new creation.
Isaiah 66:1-24
66 This is what the Lord says:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house you will build for me?
Where will my resting place be?
2 Has not my hand made all these things,
and so they came into being?”
declares the Lord.
“These are the ones I look on with favor:
those who are humble and contrite in spirit,
and who tremble at my word.
3 But whoever sacrifices a bull
is like one who kills a person,
and whoever offers a lamb
is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever makes a grain offering
is like one who presents pig’s blood,
and whoever burns memorial incense
is like one who worships an idol.
They have chosen their own ways,
and they delight in their abominations;
4 so I also will choose harsh treatment for them
and will bring on them what they dread.
For when I called, no one answered,
when I spoke, no one listened.
They did evil in my sight
and chose what displeases me.”
5 Hear the word of the Lord,
you who tremble at his word:
“Your own people who hate you,
and exclude you because of my name, have said,
‘Let the Lord be glorified,
that we may see your joy!’
Yet they will be put to shame.
6 Hear that uproar from the city,
hear that noise from the temple!
It is the sound of the Lord
repaying his enemies all they deserve.
7 “Before she goes into labor,
she gives birth;
before the pains come upon her,
she delivers a son.
8 Who has ever heard of such things?
Who has ever seen things like this?
Can a country be born in a day
or a nation be brought forth in a moment?
Yet no sooner is Zion in labor
than she gives birth to her children.
9 Do I bring to the moment of birth
and not give delivery?” says the Lord.
“Do I close up the womb
when I bring to delivery?” says your God.
10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice greatly with her,
all you who mourn over her.
11 For you will nurse and be satisfied
at her comforting breasts;
you will drink deeply
and delight in her overflowing abundance.”
12 For this is what the Lord says:
“I will extend peace to her like a river,
and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream;
you will nurse and be carried on her arm
and dandled on her knees.
13 As a mother comforts her child,
so will I comfort you;
and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”
14 When you see this, your heart will rejoice
and you will flourish like grass;
the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants,
but his fury will be shown to his foes.
15 See, the Lord is coming with fire,
and his chariots are like a whirlwind;
he will bring down his anger with fury,
and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For with fire and with his sword
the Lord will execute judgment on all people,
and many will be those slain by the Lord.
17 “Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens,following one who is among those who eat the flesh of pigs, rats and other unclean things—they will meet their end together with the one they follow,” declares the Lord.
18 “And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to comeand gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory.
19 “I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. 20 And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels. 21 And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.
22 “As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure.23 From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the Lord. 24 “And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”
Comment
Isaiah ends where the whole book began: with the holy God exposing false worship and calling for true-hearted response.
The returning exiles would rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, but God immediately reminds them that no building can contain him:
“Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool” (v.1).
God is not homeless until we construct a religious space for him. Nor is he impressed by outward devotion if our hearts remain far from him. The question is not whether we can build a house big enough for God, but whether we will humble ourselves before him.
“These are the ones I look on with favour: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word” (v.2).
That is the mark of true faith at the end of Isaiah: not religious performance, but humble submission to God’s word. The sacrifices of the proud and disobedient are offensive to him (vv.3–4). This takes us back to chapter 1, where God rejected worship divorced from repentance. Isaiah’s final chapter therefore warns us that churchgoing, Bible reading, singing, serving, and giving can all become empty if we will not listen to God.
But there is comfort for those who do tremble at his word. They may be hated and excluded by others who claim to honour God, but the LORD will vindicate them (vv.5–6).
Then Isaiah gives a remarkable picture of Zion as a mother giving birth suddenly and miraculously:
“Before she goes into labour, she gives birth; before the pains come upon her, she delivers a son” (v.7).
This is not ordinary human achievement. God brings a people to birth by his own power. From Israel’s judgment and apparent barrenness, God will create a new covenant people. In the light of Christ, we see this fulfilled in the church, born through the death and resurrection of Jesus and gathered by the Spirit through the gospel.
So God says, “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her” (v.10). His people will be comforted like children nourished by their mother. Peace will flow like a river (v.12). The God who is too great to be contained by the heavens is tender enough to comfort his people as a mother comforts her child (v.13).
Yet the comfort is not for everyone. The LORD also comes with fire (vv.15–17). As throughout Isaiah, salvation and judgment belong together. Everything depends on our relationship to him: are we his servants or his foes?
The tragedy is sharpened by the glory of what is offered. God’s purpose is not small or tribal. He says, “I…am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory” (v.18).
This is Isaiah’s missionary climax. God sets a sign among the nations and sends messengers to the distant coastlands, to people who have not heard of his fame or seen his glory. They will proclaim his glory among the nations (v.19). From every direction, people will be brought as an offering to the LORD (v.20). Even some from the nations will be made priests and Levites (v.21).
The promise to Abraham is fulfilled. The Servant’s mission succeeds. The house of prayer for all nations is filled. The faithful city is populated by redeemed people from everywhere.
Finally, God promises that the new heavens and new earth will endure, and so will his people (v.22). All humanity will come and bow before him (v.23). But Isaiah ends with a terrible warning: the final sight of those who persist in rebellion (v.24). It is a sobering ending, but a necessary one. The choice between two ways, two peoples, and two destinies cannot be avoided.
Why does God want me to hear this today? Because at the end of Isaiah I am left with the great question of the whole book: will I tremble at God’s word and trust his Servant, or will I cling to empty religion and my own way? God’s purpose is to gather worshippers from all nations into his everlasting new creation. Through Jesus, the suffering Servant and risen Lord, I can belong to that future now. And until he comes, I am called to humble worship and joyful mission.
Reflect
Do I tremble at God’s word, or am I tempted to substitute religious activity for humble obedience?
How does God’s tenderness towards his people strengthen me to persevere?
Who needs to hear God’s glory proclaimed so that they too may be gathered into his new creation?
Closing prayer
Almighty God of the nations, thank you for the prophecy of Isaiah and for the glorious salvation fulfilled in Jesus, your suffering Servant and risen King. Give me a humble and contrite heart that trembles at your word. Keep me from empty religion. Comfort me with your promises, and send me with your people to proclaim your glory among the nations, until all flesh bows before you in the new heavens and new earth. Amen.
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