If there's one thing the Bible tells me again and again as I read it, it's that God really is nothing like us. But that's more than just a theological curiosity, its integral to how we worship him and know what really matters.
1Thus says the LORD, "Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest?
2"For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being," declares the LORD. "But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.
3"But he who kills an ox is like one who slays a man; He who sacrifices a lamb is like the one who breaks a dog's neck; He who offers a grain offering is like one who offers swine's blood; He who burns incense is like the one who blesses an idol. As they have chosen their own ways, And their soul delights in their abominations,
4So I will choose their punishments And will bring on them what they dread. Because I called, but no one answered; I spoke, but they did not listen. And they did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight."
Now I'm a little unusual among some of my Evangelical contemporaries, in that I actually don't think "religion" is a dirty word. Nevertheless this passage (and chapters 65-66 as a whole) tells us what really matters to God, and it isn't the sort of things we might imagine God being interested in.
The temple in Jerusalem - the house of the LORD, as it is often referred to - was the centre of Jewish religion and worship until its final destruction in AD 70. First constructed by King Solomon as a place for God's name (1Kings 5:5; 8:20) and then re-built after the Jews returned from exile, it was the place where the Jews made their sacrifices and where God's presence was thought to dwell in the midst of his covenant people (while not denying God's omnipresence).
It also happened to be a singularly impressive building both in size and construction. Now there was nothing wrong with the temple itself - God himself had ordained both the sacrifices and the temple worship in the earlier books of the Old Testament. Isaiah is not writing against the temple or the temple worship itself. Yet a cursory glance down chapter 66 will make abundantly clear that God is less than impressed with those who were doing these very things and rejoicing in the temple where his name dwelt. Why?
1Thus says the LORD, "Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest?2"For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being," declares the LORD. "But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.
These first two verses express in vivid language a message for all time. God might have ordained the temple and the sacrifices performed therein - but he is in no way impressed by them. The temple might have been a singularly grand building, but God created the universe.
"Build a house for me, will you?" says God. "I created the cosmos in all its immeasurable vastness! How do you propose to build a house for me?"
But wait, there's more!
For even if we were to create a universe sized temple for God, it would not suffice. God isn't interested in how big we can make our buildings or if we multiply our sacrifices or how loud our worship is. "To this one I will look" (v. 2): not your puny temple, not your churches, not your animal sacrifices, not your songs, not even the heavens and the earth, but "to him who is humble and contrite of spirit and who trembles at My word".
Search your Bible! I would provide you with a couple of quotes, but the Bible is simply brimming with this theme again, and again and again. God's eye is on the humble - he pleases God more than all the other wonderful things we can do. And indeed, if you affirm Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, then we as the Church and you as an individual really are the temple of the Living God, where his Name and his Spirit are pleased to dwell (1Cor. 6:19; 2Cor. 6:16).
And what is this true, godly humility? If not by displays of piety, how are we to please God? We have already been told.
37And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'38"This is the great and foremost commandment.39"The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'40"On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."
6"Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke?
7"Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8"Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9"Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
10And if you give yourself to the hungry And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness And your gloom will become like midday.
11"And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
12"Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.
13"If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure on My holy day, And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, And honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your own word,
14Then you will take delight in the LORD, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
