Isa 66:2

Isa 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.  In his concluding message, Isaiah heard God asking these questions: “The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?” (v.1). The idea here is, that God’s dwelling place is so huge that the earth is but His footstool, hence, no house that could be built on earth could be magnificent enough to be His abode. Solomon built a temple for God but what did he say of it: “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?” (1 Kings 8:27). We may want to build God something, but what can we build? What does God want from us? Does He need a temple? Instead, what God really wants is us and not anything else: “But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word” (v.2). 1. A Humble Heart – If there is one sin that God hates most, it is pride. Pride is the first thing on the list among the many sins that God hates (Proverbs 6:17). A proud person cares only about his own interests. He does not care if his actions hurt another person. Such a person exists in his own world. His happiness is more important than others. Pride is the root of all sin; it causes divisions, quarrels and fights among brethren. Humility is the first of the beatitudes taught by Christ: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). God loves a humble heart. A humble person cares about the feelings of others. He looks at how he could do things to benefit others: “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others” (Philippians 2:4). 2. A Contrite Spirit - “Contrite” comes from the Latin word “contritus”, which means, worn out, ground to pieces, crushed (by guilt). A contrite person is one whose spirit has been crushed because of a sense of sin; he is remorseful. It stands opposed to a spirit that is proud, haughty, self-confident, and self-righteous. The church at Corinth had committed a number of sins. Paul wrote a letter to them and rebuked them. They were remorseful after reading Paul’s letter. They repented. They were sorrowful; exceeding remorseful, in fact. Paul had to write a second letter to comfort them: “Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner” (2 Corinthians 7:9). Their spirits were crushed. They demonstrated true repentance. May we always pray like this publican: “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). 3. Trembles at my word - Today, if you receive a letter telling you to attend court on a certain date or face arrest; what would be your reaction? Trembling with fear! What will you do? You will do as instructed. But, when the command is from God, how is it that many do not tremble at His command? Many simply ignore God’s commandments. What God calls sin they say is not sin. What God commands to obey they say it’s optional. They are not afraid to ignore and disobey God’s commandments. Someone who trembles at God’s Word takes the Word very seriously. They will do as commanded in the word of God. They know to love God is to keep His commandments (John 14:15). God loves one who is humble, possessing a contrite spirit, and who reveres His word. Are you such a one?