“Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” Isaiah 66:1-2 ESV.
Reflection: what would cause anyone to “tremble” at God’s word?
Have you noticed there is a new virus in the news these days, getting a lot of attention? During the recent “pandemic”, we all witnessed the power of governmental and bureaucratic control over the population. We saw many businesses, organizations and institutions, that willingly took payments to carry the orders and message from those in power, regardless of whether it would benefit or harm the population. And, as a result, people were manipulated at a massive scale. Quite scary, when you take time to study what actually happened. How ridiculous rules could be so easily implemented, and the population willingly followed. How was this even possible? Clearly, one of the key catalysts was fear. In fact, to the point of people were “trembling” in fear even seeing someone not following the rules. People were willing to do pretty much anything the government said. Rational thinking went out the window; people just did what they were told. We don’t have to go into any detail, but each of us should recognize this, and think about our own behavior. But the question to wrestle with today is, do we
fear and “tremble” at God’s word?
How serious do we take God at His word? Say, compared to what the church teaches? Or compared to what our schools teach and businesses promote? Or compared to what institutions and our governments say? Whom do we actually listen to and fear? We read in the last chapter of this amazing book of Isaiah, about right and wrong worship of God, among a few other topics. We see this in the opening verses, where the Lord reminds us that He has made everything; all that we see around us. How can we offer Him anything, that isn’t already His? We can think of all the elaborate buildings made by man, even the religious rituals that make people “feel” good; feel holy in their actions. But God says that He listens to and is with
“he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” Isaiah 66:2b ESV.
It is very interesting that God finds that to be the right worship, right? Because it is so contrary to human teachings of self worship. Even contrary to what most churches teach. The Lord outlines examples of what He finds offensive, as we read on ““He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck; he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig’s blood; he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol. These have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations;” Isaiah 66:3 ESV. He is talking about the kind of worship He finds offensive. This is really worship of self, of delight in their own ways. Boy, do we see a lot of that these days! It is all about self, even all the church teachings of how to receive more blessings from the Lord, which is all focused on self. How we can get more money, more things, more gifts of the Spirit, etc.. Does it not remind us of the church In Laodicea?
“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,” not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” Revelation 3:14-19 ESV.
Notice how arrogant the church had become.
But God says the right worship is from those who are humble and contrite in spirit, which comes from an understanding of ourselves, and our lack of making good decisions without the Lord, without the light of truth. An understanding that choices we make by ourselves are only self motivated, and therefore destructive. That we desperately need the word of God to guide us and lead us, in every aspect of life. Jesus says the church in Laodicea, to be “zealous and repent”. To a point where we tremble in fear of not knowing and following the word of God. This is clearly contrary to the world, and most likely be contrary to what many churches teach.
