Isaiah 66:1 “Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?”
This chapter starts off with a beautiful statement of the greatness of our God. It takes the heavens to provide a place for Him to sit. Interestingly, the Hebrew for throne states “properly covered, to cover (for clothing or secrecy), conceal, overwhelm.” Even as YHWH sits enthroned in the heavens, they serve to conceal the fullness of His glory from us who are on planet earth. It also made me think that though we are awed by the heavens, if His glory were allowed to shine forth in its fullness, we would be totally overwhelmed. The time is not right for that revelation. As God sits on His throne, the earth serves as His footstool. As I continued to think about this, it occurred to me that God is not scurrying about in frantic response to the events on planet earth. He is comfortably in place on His throne overseeing the implementation of His plan, that plan which existed before the earth was ever created.
Ephesians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:”
1Peter 1:18-20 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you….”
The martyr Stephen quoted this portion of Isaiah. He too interpreted this verse as a statement of God’s greatness--too great to dwell in a temple made by the hands of men.
Acts 7:48 “Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet….”
I like the phrasing of the NLT for the last half of the verse: “Could you ever build me a temple as good as that? Could you build a dwelling place for me?”
Isaiah 66:2 “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.”
This verse starts off with a statement of God as the Creator of heaven and earth. He has not only created them; He sustains them; they haven’t worn out or wasted away.
Colossians 1:16-17 “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”
“consist” – Strong’s = to set together; Webster = To stand firm, to be in a fixed or permanent state, to hold together, to be supported and maintained
After establishing His position as the Great God, the Creator and Sustainer of life, He has a word of encouragement for the insignificant creature (as we compare ourselves to the wonders of the universe) called man. He will regard with pleasure, favor and care (from the Hebrew for look) the man who:
· is poor – I think this is speaking of the poor in spirit. Webster includes a definition that states, “Free from self-assertion; not proud or arrogant; meek.” This would be supported by the truth Christ taught in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
This paints a picture of one who has submitted to God’s authority.
· is of a contrite spirit – The Hebrew for contrite states “smitten.” Webster states, “Broken down with grief and penitence; deeply sorrowful for sin because it is displeasing to God; humbly and thoroughly penitent.” This paints a picture of one who recognizes their need for a Savior, a Shepherd, a Deliverer.
· trembles at my word – The Hebrew for tremble references both fear and reverence. God’s word should instill within us a healthy fear of the consequences of going against His will as well as a reverence and awe of the One Who loves us so much to so carefully detail what is good for us and what is not, how to live in victory over sin and not as its slave, to make wise choices instead of foolish ones.
The thought of these two verses is basically summed up in a previous verse in Isaiah.
Isaiah 57:15 “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.”
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August 2010
An Open Prayer to The Father
Dear Father,
My heart is heavy as I see what is happening in my nation. We continue to get farther and farther away from You and the principles of Your word. I know we are positioned for judgment, and my heart trembles at the thought of it.
Even more is my heart heavy for my spiritual family in this nation. I am afraid that there are far more claiming your name as Savior than truly possess you as Savior. I know that we are not the spiritual force for good that we could be for many reasons, but I think mainly because we do not properly fear You and serve You as LORD. We so struggle with taking self off the throne and submitting to Your will. Neither do we worship You in unity of Spirit and truth. This has always been troublesome to me. Your Word is truth, yet we are divided in large part because our hearts are stubborn and prideful. It’s like we are afraid to just open our hearts and let You teach us through Your Spirit because it might take us out of our comfort zone or not fit in with what we have always been taught. We choose to divide into groups instead of opening our hearts to let the Spirit teach us Your truth and join our spirits in that truth.
It also seems as though the enemy and his forces have increased their efforts exponentially as it gets closer to the time for him to be given his last hurrah. There are so many serving him while claiming to serve You as part of Your family. I know you warned us of this, but somehow I just didn’t think it would get this bad in my lifetime. I never dreamed that the day would come when I would hear “Christians” claiming that Your word can’t be trusted. It never occurred to me that “Christians” would try to use Your word to justify their sin and encourage others to do the same.
I know Your heart is grieved as You see Your family so divided when Your desire is for unity of Spirit exercising power in love. I know You are angry as You see sin so rampant and heresy so embraced and the sacrifice of Your Son so rejected.
I know You are coming soon to take the true church home. I am so eager for that time, yet at the same time grieving over friends and loved ones who I don’t know are ready to go too. Father, please continue to humble me and use me in any way possible to reach as many people as possible with the truth of Your word. Please burden the rest of my spiritual family to draw together in unity of Spirit to serve You in obedience according to the truth revealed in Your word. Please strengthen us to be able to stand boldly in faith if You choose to allow persecution to touch us. May we choose to honor You with our lives, guard our hearts and serve and encourage one another in love.
In the name of Your precious Son Jesus I pray this,
Come Lord Jesus!