Isaiah continues to describe some future Day of judgment and restoration, leading to a new heaven, new earth, new Jerusalem, as the conquering Messiah takes final charge.
Motyer says that the chapter has an envelope ABBA structure, with the first four verses and the last seven describing God's house and the middle passages (5-14 and 15-17) dealing with those who are false and do not deserve this paradise.
Isaiah 66:1-2a, All earth is mine
This is what the Lord says:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house you will build for me?
Where will my resting place be?
Has not my hand made all these things,
and so they came into being?”
declares the Lord.
All earth belongs to God. There is no real physical house that could contain Him. (See 1 Kings 8:27.)
Isaiah 66:2b, Humble and contrite
“These are the ones I look on with favor:
those who are humble and contrite in spirit,
and who tremble at my word.
God looks for those who are humble and contrite, not arrogant and pride.
Isaiah 66:3-4, Abominations
But whoever sacrifices a bull
is like one who kills a person,
and whoever offers a lamb
is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever makes a grain offering
is like one who presents pig’s blood,
and whoever burns memorial incense
is like one who worships an idol.
They have chosen their own ways,
and they delight in their abominations;
so I also will choose harsh treatment for them
and will bring on them what they dread.
For when I called, no one answered,
when I spoke, no one listened.
They did evil in my sight
and chose what displeases me.”
The people have sham worship services and so will eventually face judgment. Verse 3 includes a series of antithetical lines, "in which permissible acts are linked with impermissible ones" (Motyer, p. 313.)
Isaiah 66:5-6, Falsehood repaid
Hear the word of the Lord,
you who tremble at his word:
“Your own people who hate you,
and exclude you because of my name, have said,
‘Let the Lord be glorified,
that we may see your joy!’
Yet they will be put to shame.
Hear that uproar from the city,
hear that noise from the temple!
It is the sound of the Lord
repaying his enemies all they deserve.
The people of Israel will be put to shame. (Grogan argues that the two lines "Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy" do not represent honest worship but are "uttered in irony" (p. 352.)
God's presence in His temple, and his passing judgment, is loud and noisy. As Grogan points out, the Christian is reminded of Jesus clearing the temple (see John 2:13-17, for example.)
Isaiah 66:7-8, Instantly
“Before she goes into labor,
she gives birth;
before the pains come upon her,
she delivers a son.
Who has ever heard of such things?
Who has ever seen things like this?
Can a country be born in a day
or a nation be brought forth in a moment?
Yet no sooner is Zion in labor
than she gives birth to her children.
Judah will arise as a nation in a moment, as if a pregnant woman delivered a baby before birth pangs.
Isaiah 66:9, No futile effort here
Do I bring to the moment of birth
and not give delivery?” says the Lord.
“Do I close up the womb
when I bring to delivery?” says your God.
When God is in charge, the birth and delivery will come to fruition.
Isaiah 66:10-11, Rejoice you who mourn
“Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice greatly with her,
all you who mourn over her.
For you will nurse and be satisfied
at her comforting breasts;
you will drink deeply
and delight in her overflowing abundance.”
Those who mourn for Jerusalem will rejoice and drink deeply of her prosperity. Jerusalem is described as a nursing mother, inviting the people to suck at her breasts.
Isaiah 66:12-14, Peace like a river
For this is what the Lord says:
“I will extend peace to her like a river,
and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream;
you will nurse and be carried on her arm
and dandled on her knees.
As a mother comforts her child,
so will I comfort you;
and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”
When you see this, your heart will rejoice
and you will flourish like grass;
the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants,
but his fury will be shown to his foes.
Peace will extend like a river; Jerusalem will be comforted like a child carried by her mother. The image of God as a mother, comforting her child, is expressed poignantly in Psalm 131.
In many places in the Old Testament (eg. Isaiah 40:8), grass is a symbol of frailty and transience; here it represents widespread steady growth.
Isaiah 66:15-16, Chariots of fire
See, the Lord is coming with fire,
and his chariots are like a whirlwind;
he will bring down his anger with fury,
and his rebuke with flames of fire.
For with fire and with his sword
the Lord will execute judgment on all people,
and many will be those slain by the Lord.
YHWH comes in power and fire, ready to execute judgment.
Isaiah 66:17, Flesh of pigs and rats
“Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one who is among those who eat the flesh of pigs, rats and other unclean things—they will meet their end together with the one they follow,” declares the Lord.
The breaking of eating requirements of the Law is described here.
Isaiah 66:18, A final gathering
“And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory.
And then, suddenly, YHWH gathers all the nations together.
Isaiah 66: 19-21, Proclamation to Tarshish, Libya... and distant islands
“I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord.
“They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels. And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.
The proclamations about God will go out to all the nations, indeed to all the Gentiles. Some of these people will be "priests and Levites", says God.
Isaiah 66:22-24, Two choices
“As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the Lord.
“And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”
The people can rejoice in the new heavens and new earth, or they can be part of the slaughtered. They may rejoice with YHWH or have their bodies tossed into the burning trash heap. The image of the burning trash heap in the Valley of Gehenna is repeated by Jesus in Mark 9:42-48. (A similar prophecy, mentioning this valley, occurs in Jeremiah 7:30-8:3.)
The new earth has no evil in it; the righteous enjoy the presence of YHWH and the evil are gone.
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