Isaiah 66:2, “But this is the one to whom I will look; he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”
What a simple and crucial reminder of the posture we are to take before the LORD our God. HIS word, HIS revelation–which for us means–HIS inspired scripture is to rest like a weight of glory over our minds and hearts, mercifully bowing our heads in humility, drawing pleas for mercy from our spirits, and moving us to tremble at the majesty of our self-communicative God.
As I considered illustrating a daily verse picture for Isaiah 66:2, I asked myself–where is Christ in this text? And there are at least three answers, all of which I tried to picture above.
First, Christ IS the Word of God incarnate. YHWH’s revelation, His word preserved in the law, prophets and writings is all–ultimately–revelatory of Himself. And this self-revealing function of God’s word is fulfilled with finality when the eternal Word, the Son, takes on flesh and dwells in our midst (John 1:14, 18; Hebrews 1:1-3). If we are going to be humble and contrite and tremble at the word of God, then that must include and climax with a humility, contrition and trembling before the man Christ Jesus as He is revealed in scripture.
Second, the ultimate word from God that is to make us tremble in awe and humble repentence is the “word of the cross” (1 Corinthians 1:18ff) The word of the crucified and risen Son, the good news of the glory of the blessed God in the face of Jesus Christ–THIS is God’s message to humanity. And no word ever spoken before–not at the conception of reality, or from the fires of Sinai, or from the mouth of a scribe–no word ever spoken before ought to more humble and pierce with awe the human soul than this word.
And lastly, consider how the Isaiah 66 text starts. YHWH says “this is the one to whom I will look…” That is a term of favor, of grace, of acceptance. There could be NO such grace flowing from the holy God to His rebellious creatures if there was no incarnate Word whose death and resurrection comprise the revelatory redemption of the “word of the cross.” Without the wrath-absorbing, relationship-reconciling work of God in Christ, our hearts would never be humble, they would stand in brazen opposition to God until the last damning blow fell. So, it is the person and work of the Son that makes the favor implied in Isaiah 66:2 possible.
In these three ways, then–as the incarnate Word, as the one whose life, death, and resurrection comprise the “word of the cross,” and as the one on whose person and work all grace to humanity is founded–we see the claim and risen Christ in this text and can praise the Father, in the Son, by the Spirit for His unchanging Name…..and may He give us blood-bought grace to be humble and contrite and to tremble at every word that comes from the mouth of our God.
