On This One Will I Look

Brethren, you and I live in a world that lifts up the strong, the proud, and the accomplished. As those who are in the spotlight, who receive the recognition, who receive the attraction. You know, confidence gets applause oftentimes. Power gets respect. Wealth and status are treated as if they reflect the true value of the person's heart. But let me ask you this question here today. Who does God esteem? Who does God esteem? You know, we all have people maybe we respect, we like.

Certain actors or actresses, they come out with a new movie and we say, we got to go see that movie. I was informed Tuesday night is discount night for Jurassic Park. So, you know, what can I say? We may take in a little family fun before Darla and I take off. But there's people that are in a spotlight. There's people who, because of maybe certain status or things that they have accomplished, and rightly so, have the attention of the world.

Maybe they've accomplished something incredible, an invention or something that they've built that's revolutionary and changed the world. And people esteem those things. But what does God esteem? Whose life catches his attention? And what kind of a heart does God look upon with favor? Today we're going to explore passage from the book of Isaiah that answers this very question and this whole group of questions. Title for the message is, On This One Will I Look? On This One Will I Look? It's the words of God. It's expression from His lips as to just to has His attention, His focus, and His esteem.

These words are taken from Isaiah chapter 66. You can be making your way over there. Isaiah 66. And these words tell us that there are character traits that God is attracted to in terms of His focus, His attention, upon these individuals. And so let's begin today by turning to, again, the scripture that will be the anchor point for today's message. Isaiah chapter 66 verse 1 and 2. Thus says the Lord, says, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool. Where's the house you will build me?

He says, And where is the place of my rest? For all these things my hands have made, and all these 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. You know, this is a powerful passage with a lot packed into just these two verses. So I want to take some time today and unpack here both the lead into through verse 1 and then the substance of what God looks to in verse 2 so we can clearly understand who it is that God looks upon with favor and why.

Now right off the bat we see something important here, and that is God is not impressed by societal status, by the positions we hold, or even the possessions we accumulate. Those things might be blessings from Him and many times they are. They're a blessing that comes from maybe our skill and our effort and our education that has led to something matched by God's blessing.

Okay, and these things are things that are wonderful in our lives. But is it something that is impressive to God? Is it something that brings His attention and favor? Understand God is not focused on the outward things as much as we are as human beings. He is focused on the inside. As the Bible tells us, God looks upon something much deeper. He sees our heart and He examines our spirit.

So let's start again here with verse 1 and the first portion of verse 2 because this essentially sets the stage and gives us an understanding of the scope of what we're talking about here and what God really looks to. And I would say this is a reality check regarding the magnificence of God. Because if we're going to see ourselves correctly in this equation, we understand who God is and we have to understand who we are as well by comparison.

So Isaiah 66 verse 1 begins again, says, This begins by highlighting the sovereignty and the majesty of God. It portrays Him as the Eternal King, the one who reigns over all creation. And for me, I would say something that brings scope to my vision is go outside on a dark night and look up. You know, in recent, you know, last year, year and a half, we've had the Northern Lights from time to time.

So I think some of us have gone outside and looked up because they've reached as far south even, I think, as the Tri-Cities here on a couple of occasions. But look up. Consider what you see in the heavens on a dark night. You see the incredible expanse of stars and galaxies that God created, and I would say we can't help but stare up in awe at the power, at the majesty, at the wonder of His creation.

But understand this is something that is a creation of His hand. It's not even Him, but it is of His power and His might that He brought this to be. And certainly, again, by the scope of, as we see, our insignificance by comparison. We understand the awesomeness of God. There's power that's contained here. There's vastness. There's gravitational forces. There's, what, dark matter, black holes. There's moons. There's suns.

There's orbits. There's gravitational pull as these things slingshot around each other. There's solar forces. And it's all held together by the will of God, by simply His desire for it to be so. Again, what an incredible and awesome God we worship. These things reveal to us the handiwork of the one who sits enthroned above it all. And as King David acknowledged, we're just a speck. My word's not His, but that's what He was saying. We are just a speck by comparison. What is man that you're mindful of Him, David asked. I've had occasion once or twice to ask that question myself.

Probably 15 years ago, it was a Challenger program in Nigeria. We were up in Joss, up in Plateau State, which was a location that you took a flight to the last major city and you boarded a bus transport and were several hours in the transport. Eventually, you ended up down this dirt road to the last village on this dirt road. And then when you bailed out of the transport, you put on the packs and you started hiking. And we hiked into the wilderness and up onto this Plateau, essentially a flat top to this rock that just jutted out of the earth.

This was not a small deal, bigger than this building. You had to hike and climb up this till you got to the top where it was flattened out. And that's where we made camp for the Challenger program. Literally, there were nights where I would venture away from the campfire, kind of over and down over the edge of the rim.

You could go down and just sit on a rock and look out and look at the sky. And you would see the stars. And when your eyes adjusted, you would see the stars beyond the stars.

And you know, the depth that comes in the focus with time and the vastness beyond that. And I literally thought the same thing. It's like, what is man? Or who am I? God, that you would even be mindful or have thought to pay notice. So this is the majesty of God. His Word tells us that heaven is not just the place he visits from time to time. It is his throne. That's where God is enthroned.

And you know, the earth, this beautiful planet we live on with its, you know, towering snow-capped mountains, with its deep oceans, these vast oceans that even the bottom in certain places hasn't been found. And the raging rivers and the flowing streams and, you know, the forest, the trees, the towering trees through the forest, this earth on which we live, teeming with life, he says, this is his footstool. You know, a place to rest his feet, essentially, should he feel as such. Heaven is his throne, earth is his footstool.

What an incredible scale to comprehend. Just looking around at the creation should move us in awe of God, of who he is in his might, his power, his majesty.

A quote for you, Psalm chapter 19 verse 1, this is familiar to us, says, the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firm lament shows his handiwork. You know, just look up and see it, and wonder in awe, and see God's fingerprints. Romans chapter 1 verse 20 also says, for since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. Even his eternal power and Godhead so that they are without excuse. And so when we look around, brethren, you and I are without excuse, because we can see again God's fingerprints and his handiwork displayed all throughout creation. In light of this, how could we ever deny him? How could we ever deny his majesty, his sovereignty, his plan and purpose for our life? God needs nothing from us. Okay, this is a point we're getting to. God needs nothing from us. He made all things visible and invisible, and he holds all things together by the word of his power. And so what we need to understand is this is the perspective from which God asked these questions in Isaiah 66 verse 1. Where is the house that you will build for me? And what is the place of my rest? Again, when you consider, it all exists, God says. Heaven's my throne, earth's my footstool. Young man, young woman, what could you ever build that would be that impressive to God? What is the house you will build for me? What is the place of my rest? In other words, what structure made by human hands could ever contain the one who created it all anyway? You know, when David's son Solomon dedicated the temple, you recall David wanted to build this house for God, but God said, no, you're your man of war.

Your son will build my temple. And David collected the items, and Solomon then constructed this temple. And when the dedication of that temple happened, it came as an acknowledgement as well that no structure of man's devising could ever hold him. This is part of Solomon's expression. This magnificent temple that was this gem, okay, and the central to the place of worship, even at the dedication Solomon acknowledges this point. Notice 1 Kings chapter 8 and verse 26. 1 Kings chapter 8 and verse 26. Here again, Solomon's prayer and dedication. He says, And now I pray, O God of Israel, let your word come true, which you have spoken to your servant David, my father. He says, But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heavens of heavens cannot contain you. Again, it's your majesty, who you are, all that you are. Nothing, not even something that God has created, can contain the fullness of what he is. David says the heavens of heavens can't contain you. And yet by us, just by scope, it's awesome. How much less this temple which I've built. Verse 28 says, Yet regard the prayer of your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God. And, excuse me, listen, he says, To the cry in the prayer which your servant is praying before you today, that your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, towards the place of which you said, My name shall be there, that you may hear the prayer which your servant makes towards this place, and you may hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray towards this place. He says, Here in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. And so again, this is the God we worship.

He cannot be reduced. He cannot be contained. He cannot be manipulated by man because his greatness dwarfs all human effort. Now we know his glory did dwell in the temple. It dwelled as a representation of his presence among the people, but it was not a literal containment of God. Solomon says, Even the heavens of heavens cannot contain you. But this would be a central focus of their worship. They would pray towards this place.

God would hear from heaven and would respond. You recall that just before his stoning and death, Stephen declared in Acts chapter 7 verse 48, The Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands. Again, he was quoting Isaiah 66, 1, and 2.

But as human beings, how often do you and I forget our place, frankly? Again, if we're talking about scope and comparison, how often do we forget our place? How often do we elevate ourselves? How often do we think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think? I've accomplished something pretty incredible here that God will really be impressed with. And again, we come back to the recognition of who God truly is.

And in light of that, it must lead to our humility before him. So that's what this passage is reminding us, Isaiah 66, as it begins. God says, Heaven's my throne, Earth is my footstool. What could you build to contain me? And then come to understand as we transition that God says, I'm actually going to show you what I gravitate towards, what I esteem, what my focus and attention is on. This is a God who made the heavens and the earth, the one who rules above all creation.

He's exalted above all the works of man, and he's not impressed with nor desires the things we might construct. And yet the same God chooses to look upon and to dwell with, as we will see, a certain kind of person. He's drawn to a particular sort of heart and spirit and an expression of character that he finds restful. God says, what are you going to build for me to inhabit in, and what's going to be the place of my rest?

What we find, it is actually in a relationship with individuals of a specific character. Let's go back to Isaiah chapter 66. Isaiah 66 in verse 2, the second part of that verse. Pick up where we left off. Isaiah chapter 66 and verse 2, God says, but on this one will I look. On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit and who trembles at my word. It's a very humbling and yet encouraging passage, because it tells us that God looks. He looks. He watches. And he sees. And he sees not just, you know, from a distance casting a passing glance, God sees intimately and carefully.

This first tells us exactly what captures the attention of the Almighty God and where his presence and favor rests. So, brother, I don't want to break down these three qualities and the time we have remaining today so we can understand what God looks to. And hopefully in our lives, examine ourselves and consider where we are in this process. I do hope and pray we are people who God esteem, who God looks to and values in these ways. Quality number one, God looks on the poor in spirit. God looks on the poor in spirit.

Well, what's the poor in spirit? You know, you probably get various, if you went out here to the Rock Show or, you know, the art show that's taking place right down here by the river and there's a lot of people out today, if you ask people for an opinion, what is poor in spirit? You'd likely get a number of different ideas on that.

Some might say it means to be downtrodden. You know, someone who has been taken advantage of, beaten down. Maybe someone who's been abused in some way. They go along with their head hanging, no self-esteem. You know, that might be considered poor in spirit by some. Is that what the Bible says? Is poor in spirit? Is that actually what God values?

The Bible shows that one who is poor in spirit is humble. We're talking about humility at its foundation. They recognize their spiritual poverty apart from God's mercy and blessing, and they understand their complete dependence upon His grace. Okay, so I'm going to say that again.

There was a lot in there, and this is important. To be poor in spirit is to be humble. They recognize their spiritual poverty apart from God's mercy and blessing, as in they recognize God apart from you and your involvement in my life. I am nothing. I'm spiritually bankrupt, and they understand their complete dependence upon His grace.

Really, the value of my life, God, depends on you. This is someone who God looks upon with favor. Someone who He says, you know what, I see them, and I can work with them because they acknowledge their need for me. Okay, it's my creation that says, I need you, God.

I can't do this without you. In fact, you are the value to my life. It's not all about me and my accomplishments. Where's the house you'll build me, God says. How about where is the Spirit in you that will receive me? That's truly what God values. It's interesting when you consider poor in Spirit and sometimes wondering what that even looks like in practical application. We have in the Bible various examples. Christ led off actually the Beatitudes. Let's start there, Matthew chapter 5, with a description of the value of being poor in Spirit.

Matthew chapter 5 and verse 1. This is such an important attitude that Jesus opened up what we would call the Sermon on the Mount with this. He opened the Beatitudes with this point. Matthew chapter 5 verse 1. And seeing the multitudes, he went up on a mountain and he was seated. His disciples came to him. Then he opened his mouth and he taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. It is clearly a good thing to be poor in Spirit, because not only does God say, I see you, I see you, but Jesus Christ also says the kingdom awaits you.

The kingdom awaits you. If this is your attitude, not your only attitude, but your attitude coupled with these other things that we've been given to live by, blessed are the poor in Spirit, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. So what does this kind of attitude actually look like in action? Again, God says he esteem's the one who is poor in spirit, so wouldn't it be good to actually see what it looks like in practical application with our relationship with God? And Jesus Christ gives us a good example of what it means to be poor in spirit. Let's go to Luke chapter 18 and verse 9.

Luke 18 verse 9, we're going to consider the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, again from the perspective of poor in spirit. Luke chapter 18 and verse 9 says, also Jesus spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. Okay, so understand, he's speaking here to those who had the opposite of a poor spirit, right? Opposite of humility. These were people filled with pride, self-reliance. They were convicted of their own righteousness, and they were unwilling to see their need for repentance. Again, what we're walking through today is someone's realization, I need God, and I need to be in a relationship with him such that he can work with me.

So Jesus brings forth this parable to show a very sharp lesson. These were who he spoke to very self-reliant and proud. Verse 10 says, two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. Understand the contrast Jesus is setting up here, because this isn't a random pairing, and he does this throughout a number of his parables, because he wants to make a point. Okay, the Pharisee was a respected religious figure, and actually probably who his audience would have identified with. I want to be him in this story as the story begins.

And the tax collector was essentially a Jew who I would say is despised. They're viewed as a Roman collaborator, a Roman traitor, because they were actually enlisted by the Jews to collect taxes, enlisted by the Romans to collect taxes from their fellow Jews, right? So it's like, you know, you looked around and that tax collector was your countryman, but he's working for the Romans. He's collecting taxes from you that's your land, that God promised, that God gave you.

Well, that's just a dirty rotten scoundrel anyway, you know. Who wants to associate with the tax collector? And this is the contrast that Jesus outlines. You'll recall Matthew. His disciple was a tax collector. Verse 11, the Pharisee stood and prayed, thus with himself. Okay, notice the focus. With himself, saying, God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.

You know, as he's telling it, you almost get the idea, here's the tax collector not standing far away. He can actually maybe even hear the prayer of the Pharisee, and he's like, God, I'm glad I'm not like him and him and him and him, and especially that guy over there. Okay, strong comparison. Verse 12, I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I possess. Okay, good things. I ought to be doing those things. And the tax collector standing afar off would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, Jesus said, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Okay, this parable is such a rich illustration contrasting pride, with humility. Right? The lifted up in spirit versus the poor in spirit. The Pharisee was proud of his good behavior. You know what? He'd done good things. Things that he should have been doing. Christ oftentimes said, you know, you ought to have done the one without neglecting the other as well. But he was proud of his good behavior, whereas the tax collector was aware of his sinful state. I'm a sinner. I need your forgiveness. Poor in spirit. The Pharisee prays about himself and his accomplishments. God, I thank you that I am this, I'm this, and this. The tax collector cries out to God, acknowledging who and what he is. Again, poor in spirit. The Pharisee compares himself to others, while the tax collector compares himself to God's holiness. Right? Wouldn't even lift up his eyes. Didn't even feel worthy to look up towards heaven. God, I'm not I'm not worthy of you. Poor in spirit. The Pharisee believes he deserves God's approval. The tax collector pleads for God's mercy.

Brethren, being poor in spirit means having the same attitude as this tax collector. It means you recognize your need for God's mercy, rather than trusting in your own goodness, rather than saying, here's what I've done, here's what I've accomplished. God says, great, heaven's my throne, earth's my footstool. Tell me, really, what have you accomplished? I'm not looking at the exterior, I'm looking at the heart. He looks for, again, the poor in spirit. It means you recognize your need for God's mercy, and it's approaching God with a humility and an honesty, not with pride or self-justification. It's actually coming under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that justifies us. If we self-justify, we're actually not acknowledging our sin and what needs to change, and we're making an end run around the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We're saying, I'm okay, God. Here's why it's okay. But again, this tax collector simply poor in spirit knew who he was, knew what he needed. No pretense about being anything before God, apart by his own hand.

Proverbs 16, verse 18. The Old Testament contains a number of illustrations on poor in spirit as well. We'll look at a couple. Proverbs 16, verse 18. What does it look like in action, and what are the benefits? Proverbs 16, verse 18 says, Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. You know, one that is lifted up and feels like, I'm good. Destruction comes quickly. Verse 19 says, Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud. And so if humility is our inward attitude, then we're going to have a heart that God looks on with favor. This world may not hold it up at very high esteem, a poor in spirit, a humble heart, but understand that doesn't mean we're not to be confident or professional at what we do or good at what we do or even be, you know, happy in the accomplishments that we put our hand to. Those are good things, but when it comes in comparison with our relationship with God and truly what he values as an accomplishment, things that are esteemed are truly this humility. Isaiah 57 verse 15. Isaiah 57 verse 15, this is actually a passage very, very similar. It parallels Isaiah 66. Isaiah chapter 57 and verse 15, For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy, again expressing the majesty of God, he says, I dwell, I dwell, okay, where's the temple? You'll build me. Where's the place of my dwelling? I dwell in the high and holy place with him who has a contrite and a humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. It's a wonderful thing, brethren, to realize that the exalted God is interested in a relationship with those that are lowly and humble and reverent towards him. In fact, not only does God say, on this one will I look, he goes a step further and says, with this one I will dwell. That's what he said, right? Isaiah 57, 15, I will dwell in the high and holy place with him who has a contrite and a humble spirit. So ultimately, this isn't about any physical house we could build for God, rather it's about the heart and the spirit that becomes the place of his focus and rest. It begins with poor in spirit. Quality number two from Isaiah 66 verse 2. God looks on the contrite in spirit.

God looks on the contrite in spirit, and although the words poor and contrite in spirit are somewhat similar, they're not exactly the same.

Poor in spirit involves recognizing one's dependence on God. Okay, we've looked at that. God, I need you. I depend on you. That's what poor in spirit ultimately comes down to. While contrition implies a deep sorrow for sin and a need for genuine repentance. There's both are an attitude, both are a spirit and heart, but there is a difference. Again, contrition implies a deep sorrow for sin and a need for genuine repentance. To be contrite means to be actually brokenhearted over your sin. You know what you've done. You know who the righteous God is and what the standard is he's laid out, and you know how you've fallen short. And that's not just a come-and-go thought. No, you're brokenhearted over what you have done. Not just because of the consequences, but because you have gone against the expectations of a holy and righteous God. The Hebrew word for contrite, as it's used in Isaiah 66 verse 2, literally means crippled or maimed. I was a little surprised when I looked into the word.

It means crippled or maimed, but actually it makes sense. The first use of this word appears in connection with Mephiboseth. He has a name to wrap your tongue around. Mephiboseth. You remember him. This was Jonathan's son. In 2 Samuel chapter 9 verse 3, there is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in both feet. The word lame is the word contrite. Again, it means crippled or maimed.

You recall his condition resulted from a childhood accident. News comes in that Saul has been killed, Jonathan has been killed, the Philistines are advancing, and his nurse grabs him in an attempt to quickly get out of there. Some manner, he's dropped, he falls, and he's crippled. He's lame. Perhaps shattered feet and ankles, however that manifested itself. But again, this is the word. And as a result, he was lame, but later he received, as you'll remember, favor from King David as he demonstrated covenant faithfulness towards Jonathan. Remember, David and Jonathan made a covenant, and Jonathan said, you will be king, and when you are, when God has cut off all your enemies, be kind to my family, be kind to my descendants. Because the way all the other kings and the nations around them did was they killed any, you know, possible challenge to the throne. So David and Jonathan had a covenant, and David, as you recall, took care of this man, and made provision for him for the rest of his life. Quoting from the topical index, or the topical lexicon on Bible Hub, it says, quote, Mephiboseth's lameness, this word for his lameness and contrite, thus becomes a narrative device to spotlight unearned favor, an Old Testament foreshadowing of the gospel principle that God shows kindness to those who cannot help themselves.

So as the prophet applies this word, Hebrew word meaning contrite, to the inner life, this is the one I will esteem, he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at my word. Isaiah 66 verse 2 says, here the term modifies spirit rather than feet, pointing to a heart that senses its own insufficiency, thus physical lameness becomes an image for moral and spiritual bankruptcy, end quote. So what does it mean to be contrite in spirit? It means when we recognize our sins, again, we are literally broken up over them when they occur. We feel the weight of them so deeply that they humble us, and it's like being spiritually crippled by what we've done.

You know, we recognize, God, I cannot walk in the way of your righteousness. I am lame as long as I carry this sin. I need your forgiveness. I need your mercy. Thus, again, this physical lameness becomes an image for moral and spiritual bankruptcy. I'm wounded by the separation the sin has caused between me and God, and so much so that I yearn, I long to be restored again. That's a contrite spirit. That's the spirit King David lived with. David was a very passionate man. David did some not so good things, right? But you recognize in David's heart he never desired to be separated from God. He plead with God, don't take your spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation. And it's in that brokenness that we turn to God because only He can restore us, and only He can extend to us the covenant favor and mercy that we so desperately need.

Again, it's about a covenant relationship and a heart that's prepared for it.

Again, this was King David's sorrow, and he writes about it so powerfully through the Psalms. Notice Psalm chapter 34. Psalm chapter 34 in verse 18. David wasn't afraid to express what was being felt on the inside out in the open, and we can thank him one day for that.

It's very helpful. Psalm 34 in verse 18. David says, The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and save such as have a contrite spirit. You know, what encouraging words does God draw near to those who have this spirit? If they're truly broken and lame and crippled, again, the broken heart that David describes, yearning for reconciliation with God, he esteems that, and he draws near to that, and he comforts them. Psalm chapter 38.

Psalm 38 here. David describes what it's like to carry about such a burden of sin, and indeed a longing to be free of it. Psalm chapter 38 in verse 3. It says, There is no soundness in my flesh because of your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin. He says this weight I'm carrying around is literally crippling, and it's wounding over my sin. Verse 4 says, For my iniquities have gone over my head, like a heavy burden are too heavy for me. Jumping down to verse 17, David says, For I am ready to fall, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare my iniquity. I will be in anguish over my sin.

David here is describing a heart that is weighed down, almost crushed by sin, but what he does next is essential. He brings it to God. Right? He brings it to God. He confesses it, and he turns away from it. And that is exactly the kind of spirit God responds to, one that was crushed and lame.

But in that state has reached out to him. Psalm 51.

Psalm chapter 51 expresses David's repentance following his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah. And you just consider how crippling that was when David came to himself and literally was willing to confront what he had done. You know, he committed an adultery with another man's wife, and in order to cover it up, he had that man, his friend, one of his mighty men that had his back in his wilderness runs from Saul. Had him killed in battle to cover his own sin. And ultimately, we'll call Nathan confronts him, and he says, you are that man. And now just consider the weight and the crushing weight that would come down on David through that.

But notice what he acknowledges about God's desire in all of this as well. Psalm 51 and verse 15. David says, This is what God desires, a heart that is truly contrite over sin. One that doesn't make excuses but comes to him in sincere humility and repentance, and says, God, this weight is crushing. It's crippling. And isn't that the point we have to get to sometimes before we come to God? Hopefully it doesn't always have to come to that, but God wants to see the heart that is grieved by it and will respond and says, God, I need you. Pull me out of the pit and save me from this place. And it's a spirit that God looks upon well. On this one, will I look, God says, because he will not reject this. He receives it as a precious offering, more valuable to him than any outward sacrifice could ever be. He looks on the heart. And this one, will I look?

Quality number three from Isaiah 66 verse two. God looks on those who tremble at his word. God looks at those who tremble at his word. The tremble of God's word means to approach it with such an awe, such a reverence, that it produces obedience in us. Let's approach it with fear, actually. Not a wrong kind of fear, but a healthy fear of God, because he is God, and these are his words. To tremble at his words. It's not just to maybe hear this thundering voice and tremble. It's maybe even in the quiet time of your personal study to read these words, hear God's instruction, and tremble. But this is someone whom God looks upon, one who trembles at his word. And again, it's not terror. It's not Mount Sinai. Remember, Israel was at the foot of Mount Sinai, and there was flashing, lightning, thundering, smoke, and God thunders the Ten Commandments. And what did the people say? They say, Moses, you speak to us. It says, they trembled. They really trembled in fear. And he said, Moses, you speak to us. Don't don't have God's...you talk to God, and then you come and tell us what he says. God doesn't want us to tremble in such a fear that we would distance ourselves in that way, but it's a respectful and appropriate fear for God's authority and holiness. It's an attitude that says, when God speaks, I better listen up, and I better respond immediately. When we study his word, when we see something that actually is like looking in the mirror, and we see our reflection in something, it's not like, someday I'll get to that. To tremble at his word is today. Respond today. Let's look at a couple practical examples of individuals trembling at the Word of God. 2 Kings 22.

2 Kings 22. Sometimes examples may contain the Word, such as trembling. And other times, you know, the Word may not be there, but the application of it clearly is there. That's the case for 2 Kings 22. Verse 8. What does it look like to properly tremble at his word? 2 Kings 22. The context here is the reign of King Josiah. Recall, Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord. Josiah went about restoring the temple of God, which has fallen into disrepair because of, you know, the actions of the kings before him. And as a result of restoring the temple, the book of the law was discovered. So 2 Kings 22. Verse 8.

It says, Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, he says, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord.

What was the book of the law? That would have been the writings of Moses, right? The five books.

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. I have found it in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. So Shaphan the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word, saying, Your servants have gathered the money and found in the house, which was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hands of those who do the work, who will oversee the house of the Lord. Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.

Verse 11, now it happened when the king heard the words of the book of the law, that he tore his clothes. He tore his clothes.

Josiah had an immediate and emotional response to God's word, because he knew now what it said, and he knew the condition of the people. Right? He knew they had not been living it.

Not only is the commandments of God contained in there, so is the repercussions of not following it. So is the judgment. And so immediately he reacts. He tears his clothes. He understands the judgment that would come upon the people as a result of actually generations of disobedience.

Dropping down to verse 13, he says, Go inquire the Lord for me, for the people, for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book to do according to all that is written concerning us. Verse 16, Thus says the Lord, okay now this is God's reply to the inquiry, Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the words of the book which are written, okay, all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read, because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands. He says, Therefore my wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched. But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord in this matter, you shall speak to him. Thus says the Lord God of Israel, concerning the words which you have heard, he says, because, okay speaking of Josiah, because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place, and against his inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and you wept before me. God says, I also have heard you, says the Lord. Surely therefore I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see the calamity which I shall bring on this place. So they brought back the word to the king.

What was Josiah's response? Again, when confronted with the word of God, it was an emotional appropriate, okay, emotional response. He tore his clothes. He was in despair because of how they had departed from the ways of God, but his desire was to return again. He literally trembled at God's word. He didn't brush off what he heard. He didn't treat it as, you know, that's just outdated material, you know, hundreds of years old laying around in the temple. He responded to the word of God with humility and repentance, and he saw it as authoritative. And again, because of that, he tore his clothes, he wept, and he saw it the Lord. And the account shows he didn't actually stop there with himself. Josiah didn't tremble personally. He led the entire nation into reform, and he turned his conviction into action. Brethren, this is what it means to tremble at God's word, to read it, to understand it for what it is and from whom it comes, to see how it is to be applied in our life, and to the degree we're not doing, to turn and live, to turn and do it, to respond in a way that brings glory to God certainly, but is a blessing to our life, to tremble at the word of God. Another Old Testament example can be found in Ezra chapter 9.

Ezra 9.

Again, the tremble means to be moved by God's word, to be cut to the heart, to be humbled, and to turn in repentance and obedience again. Ezra chapter 9, in the context here, essentially Ezra's attention is drawn to a sin. A number of the exiles who had returned to the land from Babylonian captivity have taken wives of the surrounding nations. Okay, this doesn't look like they came from Babylon with wives of other nations. These were some of the early remnant that returned to Judah, to the land, the ones that were part of rebuilding the wall and establishing the temple of God. Some of those had gone out and taken wives of either some of the foreigners that had inhabited the land as they had been taken out, or even of the nations about them. But again, these are those who had stepped into this after their return from the land. And it's really incredible and sad that after such a great deliverance, or after such a time of restoration, complacency and compromise can still creep in again. And the fact is, even some of Judah's leaders were caught up in this sin.

So the word comes to Ezra. Ezra chapter 9 and verse 3. Ezra says, So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and I sat down astonished. You know, this is despair over what has occurred.

He says, I sat down astonished. Verse 4, Then everyone noticed who trembled at the words of the Lord, of the God of Israel, who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, they assembled to me because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I was astonished until the evening sacrifice. So there were still some who had not grown numb, some who still had reverence from what God had said. God had said, you do these things, you do not take foreign wives, they'll they'll pull you away from me, they'll pull your heart away, and they still trembled, at least some of this remnant, at the word of God. Verse 5, at the evening sacrifice, Ezra says, I arose from my fasting, and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God. And I said, oh my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.

I didn't actually go back and look at this, but an interesting study might be, what is, David used this phrase too, you know, iniquities have risen higher than our heads, you know. I think probably he's saying, I'm in over my head here. Maybe that's what he's saying. It seems to be a common phrase of the day. Either way, Ezra is displaying a heart and a humility, pouring out a confession of guilt to God on behalf of the people, and it's a heartfelt plea. It's a plea for God's mercy, a plea for simply him to give them time, give them time to make this right again.

Carrying on in chapter 10 in verse 1, it says, now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel, for the people wept bitterly. You know, some of them probably wept because of the sin they acknowledged, okay, and how could this happen?

God's restored us, and look what we've done. Others very well may have been weeping at the recognition they're about to be parted from the one they took as spouse. These are hard things. There were children born into these relationships. The cost of strength from obeying God, as he says, sometimes can be high, but we must obey him anyway. Verse 2 in Shekaniah, the son of Jaihael, one of the sons of Elam spoke up and said to Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land. Yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this. Now, therefore, let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives, and those who have been born to them according to the advice of my master, okay, that would be Ezra, according to the advice of Ezra, and of those who tremble at the commandment of our Lord, and let it be done according to the law. So not only did Ezra respond with a deep moaning and mourning and crying out to God, but those who tremble at the commandment of God also stepped forward. At a reverence for God's word, they advised the nation to put away their foreign wives, recognizing that obedience to God must take priority even when it's difficult. If you tremble at the word of God, and you recognize you've strayed from God, the answer is to get back to God. And there's times that the consequences, not because of God, but because of what you've done, are difficult. They're hard. I don't imagine it wasn't heartbreaking in some of these houses in some of these families. The Bible doesn't give us extensive detail. It does give provision for those who are outside of Israel if they recognize God as their God. They could essentially become as an Israelite. So maybe there was some provision in this. You put out the foreigners who were pagan and who are living in those ways. But the point is, again, obedience to God must take priority even when it's difficult. Trembling at the word of God means being willing to do the hard things in order to be right with Him, even when the price is high. You know, I don't think any of us have faced anything like this, but we've faced...what have we faced? You know, are you going to work the Sabbath? Are you going to work the Holy Days in order to keep your job? Are you going to compromise in some other way in order to have some certain favor? Or are you going to make even what might be a difficult decision? And the end say, well, it's really not that difficult because it is following God, even at a high price, even when it tugs at our heartstrings and our emotions are involved. Trembling at God's word is about saying, God, I'd rather lose something temporary than to lose my right standing with you.

And that's what all of these attitudes are about. They're about yearning and desiring our right standing with God, ultimately keeping it. That's where you want to stay in the place of restoration and restoration and together. You don't want to have to be on the side of, now I must be restored again. But God in His mercy wants our heart to be there, if in fact we are there, and He will look and draw near in those times. Again, even when it's difficult, even when the outcome is uncomfortable, on this one will I look, says God. On this one will I look.

Brethren, we worship a God that is high above all creation, and that's because all of creation springs from Him. And as such, there's nothing that you and I could build with our hands or really even accomplish in physical ways, such as the world looks to as accomplishments, that would really be all that impressive to God. What impresses God, and what is highly esteemed by Him, is a spirit that is poor, humble, that is contrite, and that trembles at His word.

God says, on this one I will look. With this one I will dwell. With this one I will revive their spirit, the spirit of the humble, and I will revive the spirit of the contrite.

And in doing so, I will be their God, and they will be my people.