Isaiah Chapter 66

God is so great. Even the magnificent Temple in Jerusalem was insufficient to contain Him (Isaiah 66:1). King Solomon also understands that even the entire temple cannot contain God (2 Chronicles 2:6). 

He is an Almighty God who focuses on men who fear Him. Especially those who are poor and of a contrite spirit, and those who tremble at My word or honour the Word of God (Isaiah 66:2).

Being a King, King David possessed everything that he needed, he could offer anything to God, but he realised that God did not want his sacrifices. What God wants is a broken spirit and contrite heart (Psalms 51:16-17).

We are far from being perfect. In the present of God who is so Almighty, we are falling short of the standard of the Lord. To be in God’s presence, we need to understand our own shortcomings and be humble before Him. 

The key messages of Isaiah 66 are about what True worship is and what is a worship that is not accepted by God.

So even among the believers, even in the same community of faith, God draws distinction between those who are truthful and those who are not truthful. When Jesus Christ comes again, He will separate them one from another. He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Those who are on God’s right hand are those who love God, and those who stand on the left are those who do not love God (Matthew 25:31-46).

To worship God is not just about coming to church and gathering together to pray. But our hearts must be right before God. If we realise that we have done wrong, we must confess before God and to have contrite spirit.

Many of us serve God in church. The question is whether God accepts our services. Even if we do a lot of work in church, but if our lives are not really right in the eyes of God, if we continue sinning, our services would not be accepted by God, even if we continue serving Him diligently.

We will like the group of people mentioned in Isaiah 66:3-4. Their services were completely rejected by God. These people are just like idol worshippers. They practise pagan rituals. Their sacrifices are likened to slays a man and breaks a dog’s neck. They burn incense as if they bless their idols. Their soul delights in their abominations, and their actions crush the heart of God. In the eyes of God, their actions were abominable.

Today we may not worship any physical idols, but are there any invisible idols displayed in our hearts?

Let us remove all idols in our hearts and continue to be in the spirit of contrition and to honour the Word of God.

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