The Company You Keep and the God You Serve Text: Isaiah 66:5-6
Introduction: The Great Sifting
As the prophet Isaiah brings his magnificent prophecy to a close, he does not do so with gentle platitudes. He concludes with a sharp, dividing sword. The end of all things is not a group hug; it is a great sifting, a separation of the true from the false, the wheat from the chaff, the worshiper from the idolater. And this sifting, as we see in our text, does not begin with the pagan nations "out there." It begins, as judgment always does, in the house of God. It is a family dispute, a civil war within the covenant community.
We live in a time of profound religious confusion. The lines are blurred, the definitions are soft, and the tolerance for doctrinal clarity is remarkably low. We are told that what matters is a vague sincerity, a general niceness. But the God of Isaiah is not interested in our vague sincerity. He is interested in truth. He is looking for a particular kind of person, and it is not the person who is popular, successful, or religiously respectable in the eyes of the world. In fact, it is often the exact opposite.
This passage is a word of profound comfort to the faithful remnant and a word of stark terror to the religious pretenders. It addresses a situation that has repeated itself throughout the history of redemption: true believers being persecuted, not by raving atheists, but by their own "brothers" within the visible church. This is the story of Abel and Cain, of Isaac and Ishmael, of David and Saul, of Jeremiah and the false prophets, of Christ and the Pharisees, and of the true church and the apostate church down to this day. The most bitter opposition often comes from those who claim to serve the same God you do, but who serve Him in a way He despises.
Isaiah is drawing a line in the sand. On one side are those who tremble at God's Word. On the other are those who use God's name as a club to beat the faithful. God sees this division, and He is about to act decisively. This is not just ancient history; it is a perpetual reality. We must therefore ask ourselves which side of this line we stand on. Do we tremble, or do we taunt?
The Text
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.
A voice of rumbling from the city, a voice from the temple,
The voice of Yahweh who is paying recompense to His enemies.
(Isaiah 66:5-6)
The Two Congregations (v. 5)
Verse 5 lays out the conflict with surgical precision, identifying the two parties involved.
"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.'" (Isaiah 66:5)
First, notice to whom God is speaking. He addresses "you who tremble at His word." This is the defining characteristic of the true child of God. This is not about having a case of the jitters. To tremble at God's Word means to take it with ultimate seriousness. It means you believe it is true, that it is authoritative, and that it carries the full weight of the living God behind it. It means you approach Scripture with a soft heart and a ready mind, prepared to submit and obey, even when it is costly. It is the opposite of the modern, casual approach that treats the Bible as a collection of helpful hints or a spiritual buffet from which we can pick and choose. The one who trembles at God's Word knows that he is the clay and God is the potter. He does not stand over the Word in judgment; he stands under it.
Now, look at the opposition. They are described as "your brothers." This is the sting. The hatred and exclusion come from within the family, from those who share the same covenant signs, who attend the same temple, who are part of the same nation. This is an intra-covenantal war. These are not Philistines or Babylonians; these are Israelites. They hate the faithful remnant, and they "exclude" them, which means they excommunicate them, cast them out, cancel them. And for what reason? "For My name's sake." The faithful are cast out precisely because they are faithful. Their loyalty to God's name, God's law, and God's truth has made them intolerable to the corrupt religious establishment.
And what is the slogan of these persecutors? It is dripping with pious sarcasm: "Let Yahweh be glorified, that we may see your gladness." This is a masterpiece of sanctimonious mockery. They are, in effect, saying, "You people who claim to be so righteous, you who tremble at God's Word, let's see your God show up for you. Let's see this great joy you are always talking about. Let God vindicate you so we can all have a good laugh." They use the language of worship as a weapon of contempt. They wrap their malice in a prayer shawl. This is the ancient version of "I'll pray for you" when what you really mean is something far less charitable. They are challenging God to a public contest, fully confident that the faithful will be humiliated.
But God has the final word. "But they will be put to shame." The tables will be turned, completely and catastrophically. The mockers will be mortified. The scoffers will be silenced. Their arrogant challenge will be answered, but not in the way they expect. God will indeed be glorified, but His glory will be the instrument of their profound and eternal shame. Their confidence is in their numbers, their institutional power, and their religious prestige. God's confidence is in Himself.
The Voice of Recompense (v. 6)
Verse 6 describes the sudden and terrifying arrival of God's answer to the mockers' challenge.
"A voice of rumbling from the city, a voice from the temple, The voice of Yahweh who is paying recompense to His enemies." (Isaiah 66:6)
The scene shifts abruptly. The taunts of the false brothers are suddenly drowned out by a terrifying noise. "A voice of rumbling from the city, a voice from the temple." Where do they expect to find God? In the temple, of course. That is their headquarters, the seat of their religious power. And that is precisely where the voice of judgment originates. The very place they thought was the source of their security becomes the epicenter of their destruction. The rumbling is not the sound of an approaching foreign army; it is the voice of Yahweh Himself, speaking from the heart of His own house.
And what is this voice doing? It is "paying recompense to His enemies." Let us be very clear about who these enemies are. In the context of the previous verse, the enemies are not the Assyrians or the Egyptians. The enemies are the false brothers, the religious hypocrites who hate the true worshipers and cast them out for His name's sake. God is settling accounts, and He is starting with the apostates within His own covenant people.
This is a foundational principle of Scripture. Judgment begins at the household of God (1 Peter 4:17). Before God deals with the sins of the pagan world, He purges the corruption from His own people. The temple, which was meant to be a house of prayer for all nations, had become a den of thieves, a center of corrupt and empty ritualism. And so, the voice of God roars from that very place, not in blessing for the corrupt establishment, but in judgment against them. He is taking back His house. He is vindicating His name, which they so casually and cynically invoked. They wanted to see God glorified? He is about to be glorified in their complete undoing.
Conclusion: The Unshakable Kingdom
This passage is a bucket of ice water for any church that has grown comfortable, respectable, and corrupt. It reminds us that there is a great difference between the visible church, with its institutions and buildings and budgets, and the invisible church, which consists of all those who truly tremble at His Word. And very often, these two are at war with one another.
When the Lord Jesus Christ came, this prophecy was fulfilled in the most dramatic way imaginable. He was the ultimate one who trembled at His Father's Word, who came to do His will. And who were His chief enemies? Not the Roman pagans, but His "brothers" according to the flesh, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the chief priests. They were the ones who hated Him, who excluded Him, and who ultimately had Him put to death. They did it all while claiming to be zealous for God. They said, "We have one Father, even God," while plotting to murder His Son.
And what happened? Jesus promised that their house would be left to them desolate (Matt. 23:38). And in A.D. 70, the voice of rumbling was heard from the city, and the voice from the temple was the sound of Roman swords and consuming fire. God paid recompense to His enemies. He vindicated His Son, and the persecutors were put to everlasting shame. The old covenant order, which had become a hollowed-out shell, was demolished to make way for the new.
The application for us is straightforward. Do not be surprised when the most significant opposition to faithful, biblical Christianity comes from within the church. Do not be surprised when those who are most committed to the authority and sufficiency of Scripture are excluded and mocked by the religious establishment. This is the pattern.
But take comfort. Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His Word. Your vindication is coming. The God who sees the cynical taunts and the unjust excommunications is a God who pays recompense. He will not be mocked. The day is coming when every knee will bow, and those who thought they were scoring points by taunting the faithful will be speechless and ashamed. Therefore, stand fast. Do not seek the approval of the religious insiders. Seek only the approval of the one whose voice can shake the temple, and whose Word alone is life eternal.