Bird's-eye view
As Isaiah brings his monumental prophecy to a close, he draws the sharpest possible line between two groups of people. This is not a division between the insiders and the outsiders in the way we might commonly think of it, between Israel and the pagan nations. No, this is a division straight down the middle of the covenant community itself. There are those who claim to be God's people, who have all the external trappings, and there are those who are the genuine article. The prophet here is comforting the true remnant and issuing a stark warning to the religious pretenders. This passage is a perennial word for the church, reminding us that the most bitter opposition often comes from our own "brothers," and that God Himself will be the one to sort it all out in the end.
Outline
- 1. A Word for the True Remnant (v. 5)
- a. The Audience Defined: Those Who Tremble (v. 5a)
- b. The Affliction Described: Hated by Brothers (v. 5b)
- c. The Taunt of the Hypocrites (v. 5c)
- d. The Promise of Vindication (v. 5d)
- 2. A Word of Judgment for the False (v. 6)
- a. The Source of Judgment: City and Temple (v. 6a)
- b. The Nature of Judgment: Divine Recompense (v. 6b)
Context In Isaiah
These verses come at the very climax of the book of Isaiah. The prophet has spoken of judgment and restoration, of the suffering servant and the coming glory. Now, in this final chapter, he is describing the final separation. The new heavens and the new earth have been announced (Isa. 65:17), but before that final state is realized, there must be a definitive judgment. This judgment begins, as it always does, at the house of God. The conflict described here is between the apostate, formalistic worshippers who trust in the temple and their own righteousness, and the humble, faithful remnant who trust in God alone. This sets the stage for the final verses of the book, which describe the two eternal destinies awaiting these two groups.
Key Issues
- The Nature of True Fear
- Intra-Covenant Conflict
- Pious Hypocrisy
- Divine Vindication and Judgment
- The Temple as a Source of Judgment
Isaiah 66:5
Hear the word of Yahweh, you who tremble at His word: “Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My name’s sake, Have said, ‘Let Yahweh be glorified, that we may see your gladness.’ But they will be put to shame.
The summons to "Hear the word of Yahweh" is a common prophetic call, but the audience is specified in a crucial way. It is not addressed to everyone in Jerusalem, not to all the descendants of Abraham. It is for "you who tremble at His word." This is the defining characteristic of the true child of God. It is not a servile, cowering fear, but a holy reverence, an awesome respect. It is the recognition that this is God speaking, and that His words have ultimate weight. The one who trembles at the Word is the one who takes it seriously, who submits to it, who allows it to shape his entire existence. This is the opposite of the casual, pick-and-choose approach to Scripture that is so rampant in the modern church. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and the beginning of true hearing is to tremble at His word.
And what is the condition of these faithful ones? They are hated and excluded. But by whom? By invading Babylonians? By pagan idolaters? No, far worse. By "your brothers." This is a family dispute, a civil war within the covenant. The persecution is coming from those who share the same heritage, who offer sacrifices at the same temple. This is Cain and Abel. This is Joseph and his brothers. This is David and Saul. This is Jeremiah and the priests of Anathoth. This is Jesus and the Pharisees. This is the story of the true church throughout all ages. The most vicious opposition frequently comes from the religious establishment. And the reason for this hatred is explicit: it is "for My name's sake." The faithful are not being cast out for being abrasive or difficult, but because their trembling obedience to God's name is a standing rebuke to the compromised and the hypocritical.
The taunt of these false brothers is dripping with pious sarcasm. "Let Yahweh be glorified, that we may see your gladness." They are wrapping their malice in the language of Zion. They are, in effect, saying, "You people claim to be so close to God. You talk about joy in the Lord. Fine. Let's see it. Let God put on a show for you, so we can all applaud." They are challenging God to vindicate the faithful, but they do not believe for a second that He will. They use the glory of God as a rhetorical weapon to mock the righteous. This is a high sin, to profane the holiest of motives, the glory of God, and turn it into a jeer. They want to see the gladness of the faithful turn to ash, and they want to do it under the guise of zeal for God's honor.
But God gets the last word. The pivot is sharp and absolute: "But they will be put to shame." The great reversal is coming. All their posturing, all their religious maneuvering, all their confident mockery will be exposed for what it is. The shame they intended for the faithful will boomerang and strike them. When God finally acts, it will not be to vindicate their corrupt system, but to vindicate His trembling people, and in so doing, to bring all the proud pretenders to ruin and disgrace.
Isaiah 66:6
A voice of rumbling from the city, a voice from the temple, The voice of Yahweh who is paying recompense to His enemies.
The scene shifts from the taunts of men to the action of God. A sound is heard, a "voice of rumbling." And where does it come from? It comes "from the city... from the temple." This is profoundly significant. The city and the temple were the center of the religious life of the nation. It was the place where the false brothers felt most secure, most in control. It was the seat of their authority. They thought God was in their pocket, that the temple guaranteed their security. But they were dead wrong. The very place they trusted in for their salvation becomes the epicenter of their judgment. God's voice of judgment does not come from some distant mountain; it roars out from the heart of their own corrupt religious establishment. Judgment begins at the house of God.
And there is no ambiguity about what this voice is doing. It is "the voice of Yahweh who is paying recompense to His enemies." The word recompense means a payment, a settling of accounts. God is a righteous judge, and He does not let wickedness go unanswered. And notice who His enemies are in this context. They are not the Assyrians or the Egyptians. They are the "brothers" from the previous verse. They thought they were God's defenders, but by hating and excluding God's true people, they had made themselves God's enemies. Their hypocrisy, their false worship, their persecution of the saints had all been entered into the ledger, and now the time for payment has come. This is the voice of holy justice, the roar of the Lion of Judah against all who would trifle with His name and persecute His little ones.
Application
The line that God draws in this text is a line that runs through every church and every generation. There are always those who are comfortable in Zion, who have the institution on their side, who know how to speak the language of faith but whose hearts are far from God. And there are those who tremble at His word, who seek to live in simple, faithful obedience, and who often find themselves on the outs with the religious mainstream for their trouble.
This passage is a great comfort to the faithful. It tells us not to be surprised when opposition comes from within our own ranks. It is the ancient story. When you are excluded "for His name's sake," you are in the goodly company of the prophets and the apostles. And when the mockers taunt you with pious-sounding challenges, know that God hears them, and that their day of shame is coming.
This passage is also a terrible warning to all who would play church. It is a dangerous thing to hate what God loves. It is a damning thing to use the glory of God as a cloak for your own malice. God's judgment will not begin with the godless culture outside, but with the corruption inside the temple. We must therefore examine ourselves. Do we tremble at His word? Or are we comfortable, confident in our traditions, our buildings, and our status as "brothers"? The voice of rumbling is coming, and it will sort us all out.