Isaiah 66 brings the book of Isaiah to an end - and what an end!
I've been reading Isaiah in the ESV, primarily. My daughter talked me into purchasing an ESV edition of the Bible, which came with the ability to view it and all commentaries to it online. I like reviewing different versions of the Bible. I like comparing them. My 'go to' favorite is the NIV - but the verses I learned in my childhood and youth were from the King James, and they still come back to my mind most easily. I find it harder to memorize accurately from other versions, because the King James is so rooted in my mind. My solution for that is a site called Bible Gateway. I can type in a word or a phrase and immediately access what I am trying to locate. And - on Bible Gateway I can compare multiple versions of the Bible, without having open books strewn all over my desk.... It makes comparisons very convenient!
I mention that to say, when I find small issues in God's Word that don't quite jell for me, I know that it could be because I don't see through God's eyes - or because a word or concept might have been mistranslated. I absolutely believe that the Bible is God's Word - and that in its given form it is inerrant - and it is primarily my understanding that is flawed...but I also know that in the process of translation, there are times that trying to say in English what was said in the original Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek (as the case may be), is problematic.
I have an old translation of the New Testament that was translated directly from the Aramaic. I have found things in it that make more sense to me than the way I have seen the same passage translated in the other translations I use - and it was that awareness that brought me to realize there is still a human factor that must be accounted for when something seems ambiguous.
The good news is that none of those minor issues have clouded the general theological concepts we adhere to. Those are rock solid. One of the greatest proofs of that was the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran in 1947. The scrolls found there predated all other scrolls that had ever been located - and they attested to the accuracy of the transmission of God's Word.
God is eternal. God is the Creator of the universe. God gave us His Word so we could know Him and His character. He cannot violate who He is. He does not lie. I may grapple with specific things that don't make sense yet to me - but I can trust Him. His Word is true. I can also trust Him to grant me wisdom and insight as He sees fit. All of that is an aside. I mention it because there are things in Isaiah I do not understand - but there is far more that I 'get' and I've loved walking through it - one day at a time; one chapter at a time. When I realized that today Isaiah ends, I was disappointed.
Isaiah 66:1: Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool...." That certainly puts things in perspective! He goes on to declare that he made everything - referencing the heaven and the earth, and yet, in that moment of declaring His majesty, His next thought is this: "But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word."
I read the rest of the chapter before beginning to write - but I am stuck here for the moment. I'll be back to conclude the chapter later. I don't want to go further right now and miss the weight of this one crucial message....
In real time, it is 5 hours later. My blog entry time won't reflect that I took a break - but I did.
This is a very self-explanatory chapter. It is a draw-us-up-short reminder of what is important to God. Not edifices, not sacrifices, but the humility of recognizing who He is, and that we're not. There is nothing we can 'do' to earn His favor. However, he extends it to the tenderhearted openly.
Isaiah 66 concludes with another affirmation for God's plan for Israel. Again, there are threads of layered prophecy: pointing first to the birth of Jesus - she delivered a son - and then to end of time when He will gather all nations and tongues.
Your Word is a lamp to our feet and a light for our path. Thank you, Lord, for the faithful witness of Isaiah.
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