By Dan
& Brenda Cathcart
The video
version is available at: https://youtu.be/Odob2G8YB7o
The
scripture reading is: Isaiah 66:1-24
The
haftarah reading for this week is a special reading for when a new moon falls
on the Sabbath. The new moon, Rosh
Chodesh, is the start of each month on the biblical calendar. It signals the
renewal of hope as each month begins anew. This haftarah, Isaiah 66:1-24 is the
final chapter in the book of Isaiah. It concludes the entire book of Isaiah, as
well as concluding the second part of the book with its message of comfort to
Israel because God is coming! The next to last verse in this reading prophesies
about a time when all mankind will come to worship God “from one new moon to
another.”
Isaiah 66:23 NKJV 23 And it shall come to pass
That from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh
shall come to worship before Me," says the LORD.
This will
be a time when God’s enemies will be destroyed and His servants return to the
restored land of Israel. This message of hope is especially relevant at this
new moon as we begin the month of Elul.
The meaning
of the word Elul is uncertain. Some say it comes from an Akkadian word for the
harvest. Others say that it’s derived from an Aramaic word meaning to search.
Both possibilities shed light on this month of Elul. During Elul, the late
summer harvest is in full swing in Israel. The grapes are ripening and the
fruits of the trees are being harvested. The late wheat harvest is ripening in
the fields. It is said to be a time when the king is in the field.
The month
of Elul, also, coincides with the beginning of Moses’ second sojourn on Mt.
Sinai at the end of which the children of Israel received the new set of
tablets of the Ten Commandments. While Moses is on the mountain, the children
of Israel are at the base of the mountain searching their hearts. They are
hoping that at Moses’ return, he will bring the tent of meeting, along with the
presence of the glory of God, back into the midst of the camp.
This
haftarah speaks of the waiting period as the children of Israel wait for the
return of God’s glory to Jerusalem. It opens with a declaration of God’s
sovereignty.
Isaiah 66:1-2 NKJV 1 Thus says the LORD:
"Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that
you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? 2 For all those things My
hand has made, And all those things exist," Says the LORD. "But on
this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who
trembles at My word.
God is the
creator of both heaven and earth. He is so much bigger than even the earth; how
could man possibly build a house, no matter how big and grand in earth terms,
that could possibly serve as God’s dwelling place? Solomon reflected on this as
he dedicated the house he built for God.
1 Kings 8:27 NKJV 27 "But will God indeed
dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain
You. How much less this temple which I have built!
Yet, in
spite of how small the earth is in relation to God and how small we are in
relation to the whole earth, God sees even the lowest of His people. He looks
on those who have a humble heart. Solomon continued in his prayer to ask that
God see and hear His people.
1 Kings 8:28-30 NKJV 28 "Yet regard the
prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, and listen to the
cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today: 29
"that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the
place of which You said, 'My name shall be there,' that You may hear the prayer
which Your servant makes toward this place. 30 "And may You hear the
supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward
this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.
As Isaiah’s
ministry ended, the northern tribes of Israel had gone into captivity into
Assyria. In Judah, God had heard Hezekiah’s plea and destroyed the Assyrian
army. However, just over one hundred years later, Judah would, also, be taken
into captivity and the temple which Solomon built and dedicated to the LORD
would be destroyed. The house that Solomon built for God would be gone, and
God’s question that He spoke through Isaiah echoes, “Where is the house that
you will build me?” The house that Israel and Judah tried to build for God was
not one over which God delighted. Isaiah explains:
Isaiah 66:3-4 NKJV 3 "He who kills a bull
is as if he slays a man; He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog's neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine's blood; He who burns
incense, as if he blesses an idol. Just as they have chosen their own ways, And
their soul delights in their abominations, 4 So will I choose their delusions,
And bring their fears on them; Because, when I called, no one answered, When I
spoke they did not hear; But they did evil before My eyes, And chose that in
which I do not delight."
The
children of Israel chose their own way and delighted in doing so! Because of
this, God allowed them to believe in their delusions. He let them think what
they wanted to think which was that what they were doing pleased God. They
acted on their delusions refusing to hear and accept the prophets who truly
spoke God’s word. Isaiah spoke words of encouragement to those who fear God and
proclaimed His word. They would be vindicated and judgment would fall on those
who twisted God’s word.
Isaiah 66:5-6 NKJV 5 Hear the word of the LORD,
You who tremble at His word: "Your brethren who hated you, Who cast you
out for My name's sake, said, 'Let the LORD be glorified, That we may see your
joy.' But they shall be ashamed." 6 The sound of noise from the city! A
voice from the temple! The voice of the LORD, Who fully repays His enemies!
The
judgment on God’s own people who rejected Him comes upon them as the sound of
noise. The word “noise” is the Hebrew word “sha’own,” number 7588 in Strong’s
Concordance meaning an uproar, destruction and tumult. This noise is the uproar
caused by the destruction of the city and the temple which was accomplished
twice—first by the Babylonians and later by the Romans. The “enemies” that were
destroyed by Babylon and Rome were not the Babylonians and the Romans; they
were God’s people who had turned away from following Him and, instead, followed
after idols.
Yeshua
speaks of the judgment coming on the leaders of Israel for the rejection of the
prophets God sent to them throughout their history.
Matthew 23:34-35 NKJV 34 "Therefore,
indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill
and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute
from city to city, 35 "that on you may come all the righteous blood shed
on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son
of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
This
judgment was and is inevitable, but those who fear the LORD receive
vindication. God promises to restore the nation. He uses the metaphor of a
woman giving birth.
Isaiah 66:7-8 MKJV 7 Before she travailed, she
gave birth; before her pain came, she delivered a man child. 8 Who has heard a
thing like this? Who has seen things like these? Will the earth be brought
forth in one day? Or will a nation be born at once? For Zion travailed and also
brought forth her sons.
The image
that Isaiah conveys here is that the birth occurs so quickly that it is
painless. As a woman who has given birth in a very fast labor, I know that a
fast labor means one pain right on top of another with no letting up between
pains. So, this description of a fast labor is one that is miraculously pain
free. I think of the time before the fall of Adam and Eve when birth was
pain-free. Is God looking at the time of the restoration of all things
including the restoration of the Garden of Eden? This is perhaps the deeper
meaning of this verse, but clearly, the plain meaning of the text is that we
are looking at the rapid and unexpected birth of the nation of Israel. Right up
until 1948, world opinion was that the nation of Israel no longer existed and would
not exist in this world. Isaiah says the opposite; that the rebirth of Israel
was a certainty and no one could stop it from happening!
Isaiah 66:9 NKJV 9 Shall I bring to the time of
birth, and not cause delivery?" says the LORD. "Shall I who cause delivery
shut up the womb?" says your God.
We are to
rejoice at the re-establishment of Israel just like we rejoice with a mother at
the birth of her child! But Isaiah takes this further; all those who rejoice
and have mourned with Jerusalem will be blessed at the birth of this child and
the nation!
Isaiah 66:10-11 NKJV 10 "Rejoice with
Jerusalem, And be glad with her, all you who love her; Rejoice for joy with
her, all you who mourn for her; 11 That you may feed and be satisfied With the
consolation of her bosom, That you may drink deeply and be delighted With the
abundance of her glory."
Isaiah
writes of the peace God extends to that kingdom and the comfort He extends to
Jerusalem. He, again, uses the metaphor of a woman and her child.
Isaiah 66:12-13 NKJV 12 For thus says the LORD:
"Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, And the glory of the
Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then you shall feed; On her sides shall you be
carried, And be dandled on her knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforts, So I will
comfort you; And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem."
This
establishment of Israel will not come without judgment on His own people.
Isaiah says to look for that coming judgment when we see Israel restored and
Jerusalem comforted.
Isaiah 66:14-16 NKJV 14 When you see this, your
heart shall rejoice, And your bones shall flourish like grass; The hand of the
LORD shall be known to His servants, And His indignation to His enemies. 15 For
behold, the LORD will come with fire And with His chariots, like a whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by
fire and by His sword The LORD will judge all flesh; And the slain of the LORD
shall be many.
In this
passage, those slain by the LORD are those enemies of God that have gone after
idols and delude themselves that they are following after God as we saw in
verses three through five.
Isaiah 66:17 NKJV 17 "Those who sanctify
themselves and purify themselves, To go to the gardens After an idol in the
midst, Eating swine's flesh and the abomination and the mouse, Shall be
consumed together," says the LORD.
Those who delude
themselves about pleasing God are the ones who cast out the real followers of God.
These are the leaders who rejected God’s prophets. They are the ones who
rejected Yeshua that led to the Roman destruction of the temple. God says that
He knows their works and will call on all the nations to observe the judgement
of His enemies and the return of His people.
Isaiah 66:18-20 NKJV 18 "For I know their
works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and
tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. 19 "I will set a sign among
them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish
and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar
off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My
glory among the Gentiles. 20 "Then they shall bring all your brethren for
an offering to the LORD out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in
litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem," says the
LORD, "as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into
the house of the LORD.
Those of
God’s enemies who escape His judgment will be sent to retrieve the very people
they rejected. They will go to the nations and spread the word of God’s glory.
They will go to the nations and bring back all of God’s people! Some of these
people will be of the tribe of Levi and the house of Aaron. God will know their
lineage!
Isaiah 66:21 NKJV 21 "And I will also take
some of them for priests and Levites," says the LORD.
The Levites
and the priests will be needed to restore the worship of God for all those who
come to before Him.
Isaiah 66:22-23 NKJV 22 "For as the new
heavens and the new earth Which I will make shall remain before Me," says
the LORD, "So shall your descendants and your name remain. 23 And it shall
come to pass That from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to
another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me," says the LORD.
These words
of Isaiah were partially fulfilled when Hezekiah took the throne of Israel. The
temple had been closed during the reign of his father, but Hezekiah opened it
as soon as he became king. He gathered the Levites and the priests charging
them with the task of restoring the House of God.
2 Chronicles 29:3-5 NKJV 3 In the first year of
his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and
repaired them. 4 Then he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered
them in the East Square, 5 and said to them: "Hear me, Levites! Now
sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and
carry out the rubbish from the holy place.
Hezekiah
explained that many of their people had died and been taken into captivity
because they had turned away from God.
2 Chronicles 29:6 and 9 NKJV 6 "For our
fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the LORD our God; they
have forsaken Him, have turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the
LORD, and turned their backs on Him. 9
"For indeed, because of this our fathers have fallen by the sword; and our
sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity.
Hezekiah
charged the Levites and the priests to be faithful servants of God.
2 Chronicles 29:10-11 NKJV 10 "Now it is
in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that His fierce
wrath may turn away from us. 11 "My sons, do not be negligent now, for the
LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should
minister to Him and burn incense."
From those
who escaped this judgment, Hezekiah chose and sent out runners to all of Israel
to bring them back to worship the God of their fathers.
2 Chronicles 30:6 NKJV 6 Then the runners went
throughout all Israel and Judah with the letters from the king and his leaders,
and spoke according to the command of the king: "Children of Israel,
return to the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel; then He will return to
the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria.
All the
days of Hezekiah, as long as he followed after God, he and Judah prospered.
2 Chronicles 31:20-21 NKJV 20 Thus Hezekiah did
throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and true before the
LORD his God. 21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of
God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his
heart. So he prospered.
We can look
at the fulfillments of Isaiah’s prophecies at the time of Hezekiah to
understand how these prophecies will be fulfilled in the future. Isaiah prophesied
about a time when not only Jerusalem and Israel would worship God, but that all
flesh would come to worship at Jerusalem! Then, from out of Jerusalem, all
flesh would look on those who were slain because of their sins against God.
Isaiah 66:24 NKJV 24 "And they shall go
forth and look Upon the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm does not die, And their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence
to all flesh."
This did
not happen at the time of Isaiah and Hezekiah. Nor has it yet happened! Yeshua
quoted this last verse in Isaiah in the context of His followers causing others
to stumble. He warns that it would be better to cut off a hand or foot or even
gouge out an eye than to face the judgment coming to those who cause one of the
little ones, that is, a new believer, to stumble.
Mark 9:42 NKJV 42 "But whoever causes one
of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him
if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.
Yeshua then
quotes Isaiah 66:24 three times to emphasize the certainty of this judgment
against tolerating those in the body who sin and cause others to sin also. Yeshua
concludes in Mark 9:49 and 50:
Mark 9:49-50 NKJV 49 "For everyone will be
seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. 50
"Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it?
Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."
The
seventeenth century theologian Matthew Poole explains the meaning of this statement:
“It is true, the Lord's sacred fire of his Holy
Spirit will, like fire and salt, cause smart while it purgeth out our lusts,
like the cutting off of a right hand or foot; but judge you whether it be not
better to endure that smart than to endure hell fire, for every one must endure
one of these.”
As we enter
into the month of Elul, it is a time when our King Yeshua is in the field and
the harvest at the end of the year is ripe. It is the time of separation
between the enemies of God and the servants of God. It is the time of the
establishment of Yeshua’s reign in Israel when all flesh will come to worship
the LORD. Let us examine ourselves and have “salt in ourselves” as we seek to remove
anything that causes impurity in our lives so that we might be accepted as
servants and followers of God through our messiah Yeshua.
Study
Questions:
1. Discuss the connection of
this teaching to the Torah Portion Va’etchanan Deut. 3:23-7:11.
2. Isaiah refers to those who
are cast out for the sake of God’s name in Isaiah 66:5. What does Yeshua say
about those who are cast out for His name’s sake?
3. What are the arguments for
and against the child described in Isaiah 66:7 being the Messiah. Compare the
description of this child with the description of the child in Isaiah 9:6-7 and
Revelation 12.
4. Isaiah says that God knows
the works and thoughts of those who identify as His followers. What does Yeshua
say about knowing the works and thoughts of those who report that they follow
God?
5. Has the restoration of Israel that Isaiah
prophesied about been fulfilled in the present state of Israel? Why or why not?
6. What new insight did you
gain from this teaching? How do you respond to this new insight? How will you
realign your life based on this new understanding?
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