Isaiah 66:1-2

Isaiah 66:1-2

[1] Thus saith  the LORD,  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?  [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. 

What does Isaiah 66:1-2 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Yahweh reminded His people that He is sovereign over His universe (cf. Isaiah 65:17). They should not assign too much importance to the temple and its service, since they built the temple for God (cf. 2 Samuel 7:4-14; 1 Kings 8:27; Psalm 11:4; Psalm 103:19; Jeremiah 7:12-14; Jeremiah 23:24; Matthew 5:34-35). It was a symbol of Him. They should consider more important that He had created all things Himself (cf. Acts 7:48-50). It is people who are not self-assertive or preoccupied with their own rights, but rather who delight in the Lord"s Word, that He favors (cf. Exodus 20:18-21; Luke 18:9-14; Luke 23:39-43).
"If cult is performed to curry favor with God, to satisfy God"s supposed needs, and thereby get something for ourselves from him, we should shut the doors of the temple at once and abandon the whole thing. But if our attitude in worship is the opposite of such arrogance as to think we can do something for God, and is instead the humble recognition that we can do nothing either for or to him (afflicted), the awareness that we deserve nothing but destruction from him (broken in spirit), and the desire to do nothing other than what he commands (trembles at my word), then the expression of such a spirit through the medium of ritual and symbolic worship is entirely pleasing to God." [1]
"The Lord"s priority is the individual who has a trembling reverence for his word." [2]