Isaiah 66:1-6
True worship flows from humility before God’s word.
1 Yahweh says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build to me? Where will I rest?
2 For my hand has made all these things, and so all these things came to be,” says Yahweh: “but I will look to this man, even to he who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word.
3 He who kills an ox is as he who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as he who breaks a dog’s neck; he who offers an offering, as he who offers pig’s blood; he who burns frankincense, as he who blesses an idol. Yes, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations:
4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears on them; because when I called, no one answered; when I spoke, they didn’t listen; but they did that which was evil in my eyes, and chose that in which I didn’t delight.”
5 Hear Yahweh’s word, you who tremble at his word: “Your brothers who hate you, who cast you out for my name’s sake, have said, ‘Let Yahweh be glorified, that we may see your joy;’ but it is those who shall be disappointed.
6 A voice of tumult from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of Yahweh that repays his enemies what they deserve.
True worship flows from humility before God’s word.
To expose false worship and affirm that the LORD regards the humble who tremble at his word.
The people maintained temple worship while often lacking genuine devotion, reflecting a disconnect between ritual and heart obedience.
The LORD’s Final Word: The Humble Who Tremble, the Birth of Zion, the Gathering of Nations, and the Judgment of Rebels
The LORD, whose throne is heaven and whose footstool is earth, rejects self-directed religion, looks with favor on the humble who tremble at his word, comforts Zion, gathers the nations to see his glory, establishes enduring new creation worship, and judges rebels with final severity.