Student Devotionals
Isaiah 66:2b
Tremble at God's Word
In a previous devotional, I wrote about how meditating on God’s Word is one of the primary gifts that God gives us for experiencing joy in life. Today, I want to expand on this subject and look at the importance of studying God’s Word from a different angle- its absolute necessity for pleasing God!
Just how necessary is it to study God’s Word? Let’s look at what God says in Isaiah 66:1-3:
"Thus says the Lord: Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word."
In other words, if we want to be pleasing to God, we need to become the kind of people who tremble at God’s Word.
That’s a powerful word… tremble. I love the imagery. It is a joy to give the King the respect He deserves!
Every time the word translated “Tremble” appears in the Old Testament, it refers to fear, quaking, and anxiety. Now, those might not sound like very positive words to you, but trust me… in the right context, they’re beautiful! Perhaps a good way to capture this beauty would be to compare it to the reverent, even bewildered mixture of joy and fear that a new father demonstrates when he holds his child for the first time. It is right for one to tremble when he comes into contact with a treasure of incalculable value. It is not something to be handled lightly, and the fear goes hand-in-hand with the sheer magnitude of the joy!
Not only is God’s Word a treasure to be prized in its own right, but God expects us to tremble because following His instruction leads to life. God continues his exhortation in Isaiah 66 with some stern pronouncements of judgement against those who think otherwise. He says that if someone merely goes through the ritual motions of offering a sacrifice to Him but fails to then actually obey His Word, a horrible fate awaits him. God likens such a man to a murderer, a dog-killer, someone who offers pig blood (an abomination to any Jew), and even an idol-worshiper (66:3).
The bottom line is this: such a man is a liar, and God sees right through his fake devotion.
Wow, that’s intense, isn’t it? I never want to be guilty of trying to deceive God with false worship. But even though this is an urgent warning that demands our obedience, we must again look at the beautiful reassurance that this passage offers to the faithful. Take heart… God is genuinely pleased when people rightly respect His Word! Pleasing God is not some far off, unachievable goal that the average person could never hope to achieve. This is right in our grasp, especially in our context as believers who are filled with the Spirit!
If we really understood the kingly respect that God deserves, it would rejuvenate our lives. Worship would become one of the greatest joys and privileges we could imagine. Our prayer lives would also become amazing. Every time we would pray, we would be able to think… “Wait a second, I’m being invited to personally talk to the King of Kings? He actually cares about what a creature like me says? He is actually willing to respond to grant the requests I ask of Him! Praise God!”
So, let me offer both a warning and an encouragement to you for the coming week:
Here is the warning: you need to read God’s Word. There are no “ifs, ands, or buts” about it. The only way we are going to find life is if we study the Bible.
Now, here is the encouragement: You want to read God’s Word! Even if you’ve never done it before, this could be the first week of your life where you pick up the Bible and actually tremble at the incredible gift you have been given. Let the truth soak in… when you hold a Bible, you are handling the loving and authoritative pronouncements of the highest royalty. These are words that have the power to lead someone to eternal life! You are being invited to learn truths that will lead to your greatest happiness and the blessing of others.
Above all. you are being invited to know God. What more could anyone ask for? As I think about the joy in front of you as your heart begins to grasp this, I’m filled with excitement for you.
Even though this is a difficult season of life for everyone… maybe… just maybe… it’s going to be a great week! God’s Word can do that for you.
Your Brother in Christ,
Michael Towson