Isaiah Chapter 66/Commentary

Isaiah Chapter 66 “In this concluding chapter of his magnificent book, the prophet of God once more draws a sharp contrast. He emphasizes both a coming judgment upon the world of the wicked and a jubilation on the part of Zion” (Jackson p. 133).

66:1 “Heaven in My throne and the earth is my footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And a place that I may rest?”

This verse affirms the omnipresence and immensity of God. His presence cannot be limited to or contained in an earthly temple, in fact, the entire physical universe cannot contain Him. Similar thoughts are found in 1 Kings 8:27; Jeremiah 23:23-24; Psalm 11:4; 103:19. This does not mean that building the temple or rebuilding after the Captivity was a mistake, because in both instances the temple was built according to God’s command (see Haggai). “No edifice made by human hands could be more than a symbol; and the symbol could, as Stephen made clear, come to be cherished above the reality (Acts 7:44-54)” (Gaebelein p. 351). When Solomon erected the temple it was understood that such a house could not contain or “house” God. “A physical temple was necessary under that dispensation, but even it could not contain Jehovah.

Accordingly, the people were not to put their trust in the temple, but in Jehovah Himself. Yet they seemed to trust in the temple because it represented His presence (Jeremiah 7:1-4)” (Hailey p. 522).

Therefore, we should not be surprised that when Jesus arrives He reveals that in the New Covenant there will no longer be a physical temple (John 4:23-24).

66:2 “For My hand made all things, thus all these things came into being”: This is a reminder that God is the Creator and He is distinct from the creation. A physical temple, no matter how large or ornate cannot do Him justice, because the construction of such a temple with precious stones, wood and metals is doing nothing more than using materials that God Himself has made. God is not impressed or awed by gold or marble—because He created such materials.

66:2 “But to this one I will look”: That is look with favor. All earthly temples are perishable, “however, the material with which God is to build His new house will be men” (Hailey p. 522). In the New Testament we discover that the church 1

is God’s temple and it is a relationship between God and humble believers in Christ (Ephesians 2:20ff; 1 Peter 2:5ff; 1 Timothy 3:15).

66:2 “To him who is humble”: Isaiah 61:1. God values humble people far above any earthly material or possession and we need to remember this truth.

Honest and good hearts are far more important than earthly wealth and fame.

The real enduring investment is not gold or something else, rather it is faith.

Numerous verses inform us that God is not impressed with arrogant individuals (James 4:1ff).

66:2 “Contrite of spirit”: 1 Samuel 24:5; Isaiah 57:15; Psalm 51:17. May I suggest that this term is the equivalent of being poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3). It is the person who has been crushed by the realization of their sins and who takes their own sins very seriously. Concerning Matthew 5:4: “Those who feel their spiritual need” (Gspd); “They who sense spiritual poverty” (Ber); “The humbleminded” (Phi); “People who are so spiritually poverty-stricken that they have nothing in the way of merit to offer”(Stott p. 36). It does not apply to those who are solely economically poor, or those poor in intellect, or those who are spiritless (those who lack energy and enthusiasm), rather it applies to those who are conscious of their own spiritual bankruptcy before God! Here are some biblical classic examples of being. In addition, also note the following verses:   

Luke 7:38 “and standing behind at his feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment” Luke 15:18 “I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight. I am no more worthy to be called your son: make me as one of Thy hired servants”.

Luke 18:13 ”But the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying, God, be Thou merciful to me a sinner”.

66:2 “And who trembles at My word”: “A warm respect for God’s word” (Hailey p. 522). “At Sinai, where the sacrificial system was given but before its details were made known, God’s people trembled when the Ten Commandments were heard (Exodus 20:18-21). Here it is clearly a humble, sensitive reverence for God’s word that is in view” (Gaebelein p. 351). This verse is describing the future building materials that God will use to erect the church. On a side note there are too many people who profess to be believers who would consider it an insult or a lack of spirituality for one to tremble at God’s word. Faith ceases to be genuine when a person no longer trembles at what God has said. Remember that Noah, when God spoke, was moved with reverence or godly fear (Hebrews 11:7). Do we still tremble at God’s word? Or, has the word ceased to bother us or convict us when we are not living up to it?

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66:3 “But he who kills an ox is like one who slays a man”: “Is the prophet saying that one who burns incense or offers legal sacrifices in the wrong spirit is guilty of murder and of offering abominable sacrifices to idols? Or is he saying that in the new temple and under the new order, the offering of sacrifices that were formerly acceptable will be idolatry?” (Hailey pp. 522-523). “The most sacred exercises of true God-given religion are like the worst of sins when they are divorced from humility of spirit” (Gaebelein p. 352). See 1 Samuel 15:22-23.

66:3 “As they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations”: In the end, the individual chooses all perverted worship, and people end up doing what is wrong because they actually delight in such things.

People end up doing and obeying what they have allowed themselves to love.

Compare with Matthew 6:18-24.

66:4 “So I will bring their punishments and will bring on them what they dread”: God will determine the consequences, and He will bring their worst fears upon them. “Because I called, but no one answered; I spoke, but they did not listen”: They had been given an abundance of opportunities to do the right thing, and they had been warned repeatedly (Isaiah 65:12; Romans 10:21; 2 Chronicles 36:16). Therefore we need to learn the lesson of finding God and paying attention to His word while deliverance and forgiveness is being offered (2 Corinthians 6:1-2). “Chose that in which I did not delight”: The people had deliberately chosen a path that God hated.

66:5 God now addresses those in Israel who were faithful, and trembling at His decrees manifests such faithfulness. “Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My name’s sake”: During Isaiah’s time the faithful few were being persecuted by the unfaithful many. We see the same type of hatred in John 9:24,34. Compare with Matthew 5:10-12. “Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy”: These are words of irony and sarcasm that were being uttered by the unfaithful. Apparently they were saying something like, “You should be happy that we are persecuting you, for as you claim such persecution glorifies the Lord”. They were actually mocking the suffering of God’s people and mocking God as well. They were making fun of such concepts that Jesus would later state, that the suffering of the righteous should be a cause for joy (Matthew 5:10-12). Please note that unbelievers are not as ignorant that they claim. The enemies of God or God’s people often now very well what they are doing and what the Bible says. “But they will be put to shame”: Especially when Jerusalem was destroyed and when they meet God in judgment after death (Hebrews 9:27).

66:6 Hailey felt that this passage applied to the destruction of Jerusalem by either the Babylonians or the Romans in A.D. 70. Here is the sound of battle coming from the city of Jerusalem and from the temple. Some see this voice from the temple as including when Jesus cleansed the temple in John 2.

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66:7 The victory of God’s faithful is now illustrated by another image. The idea is one of suddenness, like a mother who gives birth before she has any labor pains.

Malachi would note that God would come suddenly to His temple (3:1).

66:8 “Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once?” The nation or spiritual land that was born in one day, is the church that was instantly brought forth in Acts 2:47. “This verse stresses the uniqueness of the birth of Christianity” (Jackson p. 134). 66:9 The same God who brought forth this new spiritual nation, will also cause it to grow and prosper. The church is part of God’s eternal purpose (Ephesians 3:10-11), thus He will not allow it to die after it is born. God has planned not only its birth, but also its growth, spread, and survival. This is a great verse for it informs us that the church can grow and spread in any culture and during any time. We can thrive under persecution, and we can thrive when surrounded by denominations or hostile world religions.

Nothing takes God by surprise, He designed the church to exist under all circumstances. “God promises not only a speedy but a complete work” (Gaebelein p. 352). God does not start things and then leave them unfinished!

66:10-13 God promises tender care and comfort to all those who truly love Jerusalem, including spiritual Jerusalem. “As an infant finds satisfaction and comfort at its mother’s breasts, so shall those who love Zion and rejoice in her find complete satisfaction” (Hailey p. 524). Do we delight in the church? “I extend peace to her like a river”: Peace is here pictured as an overflowing river, this is the peace that comes to those who obey Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:6-8). “The glory of the nations like an overflowing stream”: The nations will come to this new Jerusalem, but not for the purpose of conquest, rather from the desire to be converted (Isaiah 2:2-4). The faithful in Israel at this time are being told to get ready for a large influx of new family members. “You will be nursed”: God will care gently for His people. The verse reminds us that God is the only true and real source of all blessings. Here is the picture of one being carried on the side, and being bounced upon the knee in a playful and affectionate manner. “Jehovah describes the future innocence and blessings of His people” (Hailey p. 525).

66:14 “Then you will see this”: Such promises will be fulfilled! “Bones will flourish like the new grass”: Here grass is not a symbol of frailty but of nourishment. “Grow and be made strong with freshness, vigor, and a new life such as characterized the early church and caused it to spread throughout the world” (Hailey p. 525). On the other hand, only wrath comes to His enemies (Romans 11:22).

66:15-16 God’s judgment comes upon all, none are exempt from His will. “The manifestation of His wrath is expressed especially in terms of fire, which, like the whirlwind and the sword, has great destructive potential” (Gaebelein p. 352).

Notice the term “many”, the way to life has always been narrow (Matthew 7:1314). God will hold to His standards and condemn unrepentant sinners---even if

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that means that most or the vast majority end up lost. “Like one riding a warchariot, the Creator will fiercely deal with His enemies” (Jackson p. 134).

66:17 Especially, this judgment will come upon the idol worshippers and those who violate His laws. Notice that worshipping idols and violating God’s food laws in the Old Testament are placed side by side. God has no bigger and lesser sins, in addition, God does not have a distinction between moral laws and ceremonial laws. The infraction of any divine decree is wrong. Please note that God is dead serious about His rules. Yes, eating mice will send a person to hell if that is something that God forbids!

Observe that this section is not talking about some period of utopia upon the world such as a supposed Millennium, because why would God bring back the food laws of the Old Testament during such a period?

66:18 “For I know their works and their thoughts”: God sees everything, including both actions and motives or imaginations. “The time is coming to gather all nations and tongues”: Some see this as referring to the destruction of Jerusalem, yet the establishment of the church would be a gathering of all nations and tongues, and such a gathering would manifest God’s glory.

66:19 “I will set a sign among them”: Is this the sign of 7:14? Or the sign of the resurrection and establishment of the church? “That have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory”: God knows where everyone lives and He knows specifically who has heard about Him and who has not. God had a plan for reaching all men (Mark 16:15). “They will declare My glory among the nations”: Clearly, the work of the apostles and the early Christians declared God’s glory to the entire Roman world (Colossians 1:23).

66:20 Here is a regathering of spiritual Israel in the future, when true Jews, and Gentile believers come to God’s holy mountain (see Acts 2:1ff). Notice how the Gentiles are said to collect the Jewish remnant. “As the children of Israel have brought their oblations to Jehovah in clean vessels, so will the redeemed from the nations be brought in cleanness to the house of Jehovah” (Hailey p. 528).

66:21 Here we have a new priesthood. Clearly the old order, the Law of Moses had ended, for new priests are selected. In the new covenant, all are priests (1 Peter 2:5; Revelation 5:9-10). 66:22 The new nation, the church, will always endure (Ephesians 3:21), it is a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:28).

This verse is not talking about the enduring nature of physical Israel, for the New Testament says that physical Israel was cast out (Galatians 4:21-31). Here is a promise of the enduring nature of the New Testament Church.

66:23 “And from Sabbath to Sabbath”: Seventh Day Adventists try to use this verse to prove that the Sabbath is an eternal command and that it will exist in heaven, which they argue here is the new heavens and new earth. The problem

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with this view is that the same context mentions the “new moon”, which they argue was removed at the cross. Notice that this context connects the Sabbath day with the new moon festival, just as Paul does in Colossians 2:16, where it is argued that such things were removed at the cross. Adventists seek to argue that such celebrations as the new moon were ceremonial laws that were removed while the Sabbath day observance is an eternal law, but both Isaiah and Paul place them side-by-side.

Here God is using language that the Jewish people would understand to teach the truth that His people would continuously obey Him, yet the New Testament further informs us that the Sabbath Day command was merely a shadow and was removed in Christ (Colossians 2:14-16).

66:23 “All mankind”: The New Covenant would be for all, and the church would be composed of believers from all nations. This verse is not teaching that every single individual will eventually repent, but that all nations will be represented, and believers will come from every nation and culture.

66:24 “The prophecy ends on a note of the starkest realism” (Gaebelein p. 353).

The fate of the wicked is not a pleasant one (48:22; 57:20). This verse could be describing the ultimate destiny of the wicked. Jesus used such words to describe eternal torment (Mark 9:48). Notice that the destruction of the wicked is an ongoing state, one in which the worm does not die (2 Peter 2:9). “Then they will go forth and look”: This infers that the righteous often do see the end of evil men. “And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind”: This seems to suggest that even people of the world can see the disgusting nature of evil and rebellion. It may hint that the eventual destruction of unrepentant sinners in an everlasting hell will be completely understood and accepted by the righteous.

More importantly, this verse probably includes the destruction of Jerusalem, where the nations around about Israel would conclude that the unbelieving and rebellious Jewish nation received exactly what it deserved and that God’s punishment was just (see Deuteronomy 28:37; 1 Kings 9:6-9).

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