Isaiah 66

Isaiah 66:1

Isaiah: God controls the nations God’s promises to his special people An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on Isaiah chapters 58 to 66 www.easyenglish.info Norman Hillyer This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 66 The *Lord divides the ‘people of God’ into two types. There are those people whose *worship is merely traditional and empty (without any real meaning). And there are those people whose *worship shows a sincere desire to love God (see Isaiah 57:14-21). Right *worship v1 This is what the *Lord says: ‘Heaven is my throne (royal seat). The earth acts as my footstool (a rest for my feet). Heaven is vastly superior to any palace that you could ever build for me, your *Lord. The whole earth is immense to you. But to me it is merely a place on which to rest my feet. You cannot produce anything like that. v2 In fact, my own hands have created the heavens and the earth. And everything that is in them. They are all mine. But I am always ready to look with sympathy and love upon anyone who suffers. Or who is in despair. And to give a welcome to the humble person who trembles because of my word of judgement.’

Verse 1

The *Lord uses picture language to teach an important lesson. Solomon made a great *Temple for God. But even Solomon realised that nobody could ever force God to stay inside man-made limits. Even a beautiful *Temple or a magnificent palace is not sufficient for God. (See 1 Kings 8:27; see also Stephen’s defence in Acts 7:48-50.) People cannot control God. And they cannot choose the limits for his activity. Many might like to do so – for their own purposes!

Verse 2

People who are truly humble in front of God are right to be afraid of his great power. They have seen something of God’s punishment against a nation that refuses to obey him. They are afraid that God may have to act again.

 But God will never disappoint people that firmly trust him. He will act on their behalf when they need his help. Wrong *worship v3 ‘But many of you are carrying out wrong acts of *worship in my *Temple on *Mount *Zion. Those acts of *worship are very much like your acts that *break my laws. You kill an animal to *sacrifice in my *Temple. But your motive (intention) is not sincere. Your action is as bad as if you murdered someone. You *sacrifice sheep in my *Temple.

But to me that is the same as if you cruelly broke a dog’s neck. You offer me gifts of grain. But to me that is as if you threw pig’s blood onto my *altar. You burn *incense in my *Temple. But to me that is the same as if you burned *incense to *idols. The fact is that you choose to go your own way.

In other words, you behave in whatever manner pleases you. And you *worship your own gods. Your acts of religion in my *Temple may give you pleasure. But they disgust me. I consider them a mere performance that is without any value. Those acts of religion are just for show.

v4 Therefore I too will choose. I will choose to punish you severely for your evil deeds. I will bring about the things that cause you great fear. When I called to you, you did not reply. When I spoke to you, you did not listen. You continued to do what I had declared to be wicked. You chose to do the things that disgusted me.’

Verse 4

Many of the people feel ‘great fear’ of something unknown. They do not know what it might be. So they give *worship both to the *Lord and also to their *idols. It is a kind of insurance! One thing is clear. They do not really trust the *Lord.

 Fear of the unknown is a very powerful enemy (see Job 3:25). God punishes his enemies v5 Listen to what the *Lord is saying. Listen carefully, you that tremble at his Word. ‘Some of your own people hate you, because you remain loyal to me. They laugh at you. They say, “Let the *Lord show us how great he is! Let us see him save you! Then we will see your happiness.” But they themselves will suffer great shame. v6 Listen! There is a loud roar in the city. A voice is shouting in the *Temple. It is the sound of the *Lord as he punishes his enemies. He is giving them the severe punishment that they so definitely deserve.’

Verse 5a (the first part of verse 5)

The *Temple is not essential for true religion (that is, a right relationship with God). And the animal *sacrifices are not essential for true religion. In fact, both will disappear when enemies destroy the *Temple. But God’s Word is essential for true religion. Only people that are personally loyal to God will obey his Word.

 The *Old Testament *prophets knew this. (See 1 Samuel 15:22; Hosea 6:6; Amos 5:21-27; Micah 6:6-8; Psalms 40:6-8.) *Jerusalem is like a mother v7-8 ‘A woman cannot give birth to a baby without pain. But something wonderful has happened! Nobody has ever heard anything like this before. Nobody has ever seen such an event. No new country is born in one day! That is, no nation has its beginning in a moment! Such events would be as wonderful as a woman who produces sons without hours of pain. But *Zion suffers for just a moment before the nation has its beginning. v9 It is I, the *Lord, who makes birth possible. I am your God; I do not prevent the birth of a baby. I would not bring my special people to the moment of birth - and then not let them be born!

v10 Be full of joy for *Jerusalem, all you who love this city. Be full of joy for *Jerusalem, all you who have wept for this city in the past. v11 Jerusalem has become like a mother. So now you will enjoy the comfort of her breasts, because they will satisfy you. And you will drink her milk deeply and with great delight.’

Verses 7-11

The *Lord uses picture language to emphasise an important truth. In real life, for a mother to give birth without pain cannot happen. Were it to take place, it could only be by the *Lord’s powerful action.

 The *Lord does not perform his purpose only partly and then stop. What he begins, he always finishes. God’s wonderful kindness to *Jerusalem v12 This is what the *Lord says: ‘You will see! I will cause health and goodness to be like rivers that pour continuously over her (*Jerusalem). And the wealth of nations will enter her like a great river that floods. You will be like a child that its mother gently nurses. She will carry you with her arms. With sweet love, she will play with you on her knee. v13 As a mother comforts her little child, so I myself will comfort you,’ says the *Lord. ‘And it will all happen in your home city called *Jerusalem. v14 When you see *Jerusalem again, your heart will fill with joy. You will be strong and healthy, like fresh grass in the spring. All nations will see the work of the good hand of God upon those who obey him. And all nations will also see the result of his great anger upon his enemies.’

Verses 12-14

The *Lord continues the word picture that describes *Jerusalem as a mother. So ‘she’ and ‘her’ in verse 12 mean *Jerusalem. And God’s people, that is, his holy nation, are like the child. God will provide for their complete satisfaction.

God had intended wonderful gifts of love to his people (see Isaiah 48:18). Now those gifts will become a reality. The *Lord will provide love and life, and everything that his people may need. The reason for their happiness will be to give a witness to other nations.

 The ‘good hand of God’ is a word picture. It expresses how God acts in order to show his kindness to his loyal people. God punishes his enemies v15 ‘Look! The *Lord will arrive in *chariots of fire. It is as if he is riding on the winds of a powerful storm. Once more he will act because of his fierce anger. He will pour out flames of fire over his enemies. v16 The *Lord will carry out his judgement on all guilty people in the world. He will punish them by fire and sword. Those whom the *Lord kills will be a great number. v17 They carefully prepare themselves to enter their sacred gardens to *worship *idols. They disgust me because they eat the meat of pigs and mice. I will *destroy you all for this wicked behaviour,’ declares the *Lord.

Verse 15

Fire is often a picture word. Frequently, it describes when God is present (see Exodus 13:21). And it is also a picture word that refers to Christ’s return to act as judge (see 2 Thessalonians 1:7; 2 Peter 3:10-12).

Verses 16-17

God will punish evil behaviour wherever he finds it (see Isaiah 13:11; 30:27-33).

Verse 17b (the second part of verse 17)

To eat such meat was against God’s law (see my notes on Isaiah 65:4b). True *worship The end of the Book of Isaiah returns to the subjects in Isaiah 4:2-6. These final verses leave *Israelites and foreigners alike with a serious question to answer. People can decide to live by God’s standard of right behaviour. Or they can simply continue to live in an evil manner. In other words, they can refuse to obey God’s orders. All people must remember that God’s judgement is a reality for everyone.

 Other *prophets make the choice very clear in their final verses (see Hosea 14:9; Jonah 4:11; Malachi 4:6).

v18 ‘I am well aware of their evil deeds and wicked thoughts. Therefore I myself am coming to gather people from all nations and languages. When they have come together, they will see the result of my great power. They will know that I am punishing them. v19 But I will not *destroy them all. Some I will send to distant countries that have not heard of my fame. Nor have they seen my greatness or my power in action.

They will take my message to Spain and to Libya. They will know danger from the arrows of skilled fighters in Lydia. They will go to Tubal and to Greece. To all these foreign nations they will declare my greatness’, says the *Lord. v20 ‘They will bring back all your families from every country. They will travel on horses and on *camels. They will ride in *chariots and in wagons.

They will be coming to the New *Jerusalem, to my holy mountain *Zion,’ says the *Lord. ‘To me they will be like the great many gifts of grain that flow into the *Temple during the harvest. And they will be holy, like the clean pots that contain the grain. v21 And some of the men who return I will appoint as my priests and *Levites in the *Temple in the New *Jerusalem.

v22 The new heavens and the new earth that I am creating will always continue to exist by my power. That is a sure fact. And just as surely, you will continue to be my special people (that is, the people whom I have chosen). Your name will never disappear. v23 On the special days called New Moon (every month) and *Sabbath (every week), all the people will humbly come to my *Temple. They will come from every nation to give me honour,’ says the *Lord. v24 ‘But on their way out of the *Temple they will see the dead bodies of people who refused to obey me. For those dead bodies, the *worm that eats them will never die. And the fire that burns them will never go out. The terrible fate that these dead people suffer is an awful example to everyone else.’

Verse 18

People cannot hide anything from God (see Psalms 94:9-11; Proverbs 20:12; Luke 6:8).

 God’s action appears elsewhere in the Bible (see Ezekiel 39:25-29).

Verse 19

Not all *Israelites were bad. A small number continued to be loyal to the *Lord. He will give them a task that, as *Jews, they never expected. They will go to *Gentiles on the *Lord’s behalf and tell them about his greatness in *glory and actions. God will include each person who believes their message as a member of his family (see John 1:12). God will even appoint some of them to be priests and *Levites in his *Temple in New *Jerusalem (see verse 21).

 The countries that the *Lord mentions are examples. There is no limit. The *Lord’s loyal people are to take his message to all the nations in the world (see Matthew 28:19-20).

Verse 20

The words of this verse refer to all believers, *Jews and *Gentiles alike. They are all coming to *worship in the New *Jerusalem.

Verse 21

Jesus refers to the *Temple as the ‘House for Prayer for all nations’ (see Mark 11:17).

Verse 22

God will create New *Jerusalem. God creates new life in believers when they turn to him. All that God creates, he permanently supports.

Verse 23

That is, month after month and week after week. In other words, all the time.

Verse 24

This verse describes a terrible scene. It refers to the deep narrow valley called Hinnom. This valley is near to *Jerusalem, on the south side. (The *New Testament uses the *Greek word Gehenna for the *Hebrew word Hinnom – see Matthew 10:28). In the Hinnom Valley, two wicked kings of Israel burned their sons as a *sacrifice to false gods (Ahaz, see 2 Chronicles 28:3; Manasseh, see 2 Chronicles 33:6). And other people copied this wicked behaviour (see Jeremiah 7:32; 19:5-6; 32:35).

 Later, the inhabitants of *Jerusalem threw their rubbish into the Hinnom Valley. What worms did not eat, fire destroyed. The fire never went out. Soon, what happened became powerful picture language to describe Hell. Jesus uses this verse, to mean ‘to *destroy totally’ (see Mark 9:48). Isaiah 66:24 is describing those people who refuse to serve God. They refuse to obey God’s instructions. But God is the origin of life. So these people have removed themselves from the God who gave them life. The verse describes their punishment as the extreme opposite of life. They have brought about their own terrible punishment. And that punishment is death that lasts for all time. (See Luke 16:19-31; 2 Thessalonians 1:9-10.)

© 2007, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

October 2007

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var w13 = new Array;w13[0]=’<b%3ELord</b%3E ~ God’s name in the Bible. In the original language, God’s names mean ‘head over all’ and ‘God always’.’;w13[1]=’<b%3Eworship</b%3E ~ to praise God (or a false god) and to pray to him.’;w13[2]=’<b%3ETemple</b%3E ~ special building in Jerusalem where Jews praised God and offered him prayers and gifts.