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True Worship
1 The Lord said:
Heaven is my throne;
the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house
could you build for me?
In what place will I rest?
2I have made everything;
that's how it all came to be.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The people I treasure most
are the humble—
they depend only on me
and tremble when I speak.
3You sacrifice oxen to me,
and you commit murder;
you sacrifice lambs to me
and dogs to other gods;
you offer grain to me
and pigs' blood to idols;
you burn incense to me
and praise your idols.
You have made your own choice
to do these disgusting things
that you enjoy so much.
4You refused to answer
when I called out;
you paid no attention
to my instructions.
Instead, you did what I hated,
knowing it was wrong.
Now I will punish you
in a way you dread the most.
The Lord Will Help
5If you tremble
when the Lord speaks,
listen to what he says:
“Some of your own people hate
and reject you because of me.
They make fun and say,
‘Let the Lord show his power!
Let us see him
make you truly happy.’
But those who say these things
will be terribly ashamed.”
6Do you hear that noise
in the city and those shouts
coming from the temple?
It is the Lord shouting
as he punishes his enemies.
7 Have you ever heard of a woman
who gave birth to a child
before having labor pains?
8Who ever heard of such a thing
or imagined it could happen?
Can a nation be born in a day
or come to life in a second?
Jerusalem is like a mother
who gave birth to her children
as soon as she was in labor.
9The Lord is the one
who makes birth possible.
And he will see that Zion
has many more children.
The Lord has spoken.
10If you love Jerusalem,
celebrate and shout!
If you were in sorrow
because of the city,
you can now be glad.
11She will nurse and comfort you,
just like your own mother,
until you are satisfied.
You will fully enjoy
her wonderful glory.
12The Lord has promised:
“I will flood Jerusalem
with the wealth of nations
and make the city prosper.
Zion will nurse you at her breast,
carry you in her arms,
and hold you in her lap.
13I will comfort you there
like a mother
comforting her child.”
14When you see this happen,
you will celebrate;
your strength will return
faster than grass can sprout.
Then everyone will know
that the Lord provides help
for his servants,
but he is angry
with his enemies.
15The Lord will come down
like a whirlwind
with his flaming chariots.
He will be furiously angry
and punish his enemies
with fire.
16The Lord's fiery sword
will bring justice
everywhere on this earth
and execute many people.
A Threat and a Promise
17Some of you get yourselves ready and go to a garden to worship a foreign goddess. You eat the meat of pigs, lizards, and mice. But I, the Lord, will destroy you for this.
18I know everything you do and think! The time has now come to bring together the people of every language and nation and to show them my glory 19by proving what I can do. I will send the survivors to Tarshish, Pul, Lud, Meshech, Tubal, Javan, and to the distant islands. I will send them to announce my wonderful glory to nations that have never heard about me.
20They will bring your relatives from the nations as an offering to me, the Lord. They will come to Jerusalem, my holy mountain, on horses, chariots, wagons, mules, and camels. It will be like the people of Israel bringing the right offering to my temple. 21I promise that some of them will be priests and others will be helpers in my temple. I, the Lord, have spoken.
22 I also promise that you will always have descendants and will never be forgotten, just as the new heavens and the new earth that I create will last forever. 23On the first day of each month and on each Sabbath, everyone will worship me. I, the Lord, have spoken.
24 My people will go out and look at the dead bodies of those who turned against me. The worms there never die, the fire never stops burning, and the sight of those bodies will be disgusting to everyone.
Reflect
Today’s reading in the last chapter of the first book of the major prophets is echoed in the final chapter of the entire Bible. Not surprisingly, the book of Revelation substantially draws imagery from the book of Isaiah.
After many years of many people trying to convince me of the rich benefits of taking the Perspectives course (a course designed to mobilize the church for mission) I finally did, online. I was not disappointed. One of the early things that clearly stood out for me, which today’s reading amply demonstrates, is God’s three fold purpose in the world: toward himself (to receive glory from all nations), towards people (blessing) and against evil.
The uncontainable God, whose throne is in heaven and has earth as his footstool, first desires to be known among people of every language and to receive glory from all nations (vv 18-23). Here is his assignment for you and me: “I will send them to announce my wonderful glory to nations that have never heard about me.” (v 19).
Secondly, isn’t it amazing that the high and holy One, who made everything, treasures us, especially the humble (vv 1-2)? We show humility when we praise him and obey him (vv 3-4). God wants to bring us a blessing. Isaiah points to traditional material blessings that God will one day shower on his people: fertility, peace, comfort, strength.
And thirdly, the Lord’s purpose is also against evil and we see this portrayed in a variety of ways in several places in the text (vv 5-6, 15-17, 24).
Respond
Sovereign Lord, you who are enthroned in heaven and made everything, visible and invisible, may everything I say and do today bring you glory, be a blessing to people and defeat evil so that your purposes for making all things will be duly accomplished. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Yaw Perbi
Dr. Yaw Perbi is a physician, pastor and president of International Student Ministries Canada (ISMC). He is the founder and Global CEO of The HuD Group and has ministered in 45 countries on five continents. Yaw is a Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative and a Lausanne Movement Catalyst. Dr. Perbi currently resides in Montreal, Canada with his dear wife Anyele and six delightful children. He owes all this to Christ Jesus.