Isaiah 66:2 - The Kind Of People God Is Taking To Heaven.
Isa.66:2; The Kind Of People God Is Taking To Heaven.
Isa.66:2; God will bless those who are humble and penitent in
spirit who listen in awe to His word and are eager to do His will.
CONTENT; What's in the verse; Translations; Paraphrase; Word
Study:
Isa 66:2 (KJV) For all those things hath mine hand made, and
all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I
look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth
at my word.
Isaiah 66:2 (NIV) Has not my hand made all these things, and so
they came into being?" declares the LORD. "This is the one I esteem:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.
Isa 66:2 (TEV) I myself created the whole universe! I am
pleased with those who are humble and repentant, who fear me and obey
me.
Isa 66:2 (NCV) My hand made all things. All things are here
because I made them," says the LORD. "These are the people I am pleased
with: those who are not proud or stubborn and who fear my word.
Isaiah 66:2 (NLT) My hands have made both heaven and earth, and
they are mine. I, the LORD, have spoken! "I will bless those who have
humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word.
Isa 66:2 (CWR) Haven't I created the whole universe and
everything in it? Didn't I speak, and all creation came into being? What
I really look for are those who are humble and penitent in spirit,
who listen in awe to my word and are eager to do my bidding.
CONTEXT; What's around the verse; Overview; Topic:
Overview
A vision of God's apocalyptic day of vengeance (63:1-6) moved
Isaiah to desperate prayer for his people (v. 7-64:12). God replied.
Sinners must be punished, but a remnant of Israel would survive
(65:1-16). God will then create a new heaven and new earth (vv. 17-25).
After the judgment, Zion will suddenly be repopulated (66:1-17), and
all peoples will worship as brothers before God's throne (vv.
18-24). [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]
66:1-24 Exclusions From The New Heavens And Earth
The future blessings of the redeemed were further described.
Isaiah 66:2 revealed the kind of person that God truly delights in (cf.
Mic. 6:8). Religious hypocrisy was strongly condemned (Isa. 66:3).
God is never pleased with hand ritual apart from heart
righteousness. Isaiah 66:7-9 anticipated the spiritual rebirth of the nation of
Israel, an event to coincide with the second coming of the Messiah (cf.
Zech. 12:10-13:1; Rom. 11:26). The blessings and prosperity of the
Messianic kingdom (Isa. 66:10-14) were set in contrast with a vivid
description of the judgment to be anticipated at the Lord's coming
(66:15-17; cf. 2 Thess. 1:7-9). During the time of the Messianic kingdom,
believers among the Gentile nations will gather in Jerusalem to worship
the Messiah with believing Jews (Isa. 66:18-20). Isaiah's grand
prophecy concluded with a description of the eternal state (66:22-23; cf.
Rev. 21:1-22:5) and a final announcement of the certain divine
judgment of the wicked (Isa. 66:24; cf. Rev. 20:15-20). The joy of the
redeemed was contrasted with the pain of the damned, all of which
glorifies the compassion and justice of God. [New Bible Companion]
1 The glorious God will be served in humble sincerity. 5 He
comforteth the humble with the marvellous generation, 10 and with the
gracious benefits of the church. 15 God's severe judgments against the
wicked. 19 The Gentiles shall have an holy church. 24 and see the
damnation of the wicked. [SDA Commentary]
SECTION HEADINGS
The People of the LORD's New Creation
The Humble and Contrite in Spirit (66:1-6)
CROSS REFERENCES; What's in verses elsewhere.
Psalm 34:18 (KJV) The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a
broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Psalm 51:17 (KJV) The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a
broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Psalm 138:6 (KJV) Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect
unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
Proverbs 28:14 (KJV) Happy is the man that feareth alway: but
he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
Isaiah 57:15 (KJV) For thus saith the high and lofty One that
inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy
place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive
the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite
ones.
Isaiah 61:1 (KJV) The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me;
because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek;
he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty
to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are
bound;
Jeremiah 31:19 (KJV) Surely after that I was turned, I
repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was
ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my
youth.
Matthew 5:3-4 (KJV) Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven. [4] Blessed are they that mourn: for they
shall be comforted.
Luke 18:13-14 (KJV) And the publican, standing afar off, would
not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his
breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. [14] I tell you, this
man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for
every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted.
Acts 16:29-30 (KJV) Then he called for a light, and sprang in,
and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, [30] And
brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Philip. 2:12 (KJV) Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always
obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
1 Peter 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
COMMENTARY / APPLICATION: Moving From The Head To The Heart
What is God teaching here? What does it teach about Jesus?
66:2, 3 These key verses summarize Isaiah's message. He
contrasted two ways of living: that of humble persons who have a profound
reverence for God's messages and their application to life, and that of
those who choose their own way. The sacrifices of the arrogant were
only external compliance. In their hearts they were murderers,
perverts, and idolaters. God shows mercy to the humble, but he curses the
proud and self-sufficient (see Luke 1:51-53). Our society urges us to
be assertive and to affirm ourselves. Don't let your freedom and
right to choose lead you away from God's pathway to eternal life.
[Life Application SB]
66:1-6 Although God's power is universal and sovereign, he has
chosen to associate with his human creatures who are humble and
contrite. [Cambridge Annotated SB]
Heaven and earth and all created things are the handiwork of
God. God sustains the earth and the entire universe by His mighty
power. He is not dependent for a place of residence upon any structure
built by man. Such structures have their place, but apart from a
humble, contrite, and obedient spirit on the part of those who worship
there, they lose their significance. [SDA Commentary]
66:2 Those things refers to everything in the universe. I look:
God seeks true worshipers (John 4:24). Contrite spirit ... trembles at
My word is similar to Jesus' phrase "in spirit and truth" (John
4:24). [Nelson SB]
What satisfaction can the Eternal Mind take in a house made with
men's hands? God has a heaven and an earth of his own making, and
temples of man's making; but he overlooks them, that he may look with
favour to him who is poor in spirit and serious, self-abasing and
self-denying; whose heart truly sorrows for sin: such a heart is a living
temple for God. [Matthew Henry Commentary]
66:1-4 The opposite of sin is not religion but humble
obedience. Religious rites combining what God asks and what people practice
in other religions is not acceptable. To delight in false worship
ceremonies rather than answer God's call to obedient service is sin.
[Disciple SB]
True repentance occurs when we begin to see sin from God's point
of view - when we see the way our sin has broken his heart.
Perhaps the idea that God's heart can be broken by our sin is new to
you. In Gen.6:5-6 we are told, "Then the Lord saw that the
wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry
that he had made man on the earth, and he was grieved in his heart"
(NASB). God was so disappointed with what he saw that there was a grief
or sorrow in his heart.
Jesus also was brokenhearted as he wept over Jerusalem. "O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to
you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a
hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!"
(Lk.13:34). God's heart aches over our sin. It alienates us from him and
from our fellow believers.
If we want to have victory over sin and turn our lives
wholeheartedly over to God, then we must see our sin from God's perspective.
No sermon on hell can ever change a person's heart like seeing the
grief sin has brought to the heart of the One who created us. We must
ask God to show us what our sin does to him. As we do this and
begin to understand his great love for us, despite how much we have
hurt and grieved his heart then we will want to turn away from sin
and let God give us new desires with new ways of living. [Floyd
McClung; Time with God devotional SB mod re Psa.51:17]
God will respond to us when we follow these key recovery
principles: the humility to acknowledge our faults, the willingness to turn
from and deal with our wrongs (contrite heart), and a desire to do
what is right, no matter how difficult (tremble at God's Word).
There is a double blessing when we follow these principles: we are
able to overcome our addictions, and we are able to share in God's
Kingdom. [Life Recovery SB]
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