Salvation for Foreigners
Isa 56:1 This is what the LORD says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.
Isa 56:2 Blessed is the one who does this— the person who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps their hands from doing any evil.”
Isa 56:3 Let no foreigner who is bound to the LORD say, “The LORD will surely exclude me from his people.” And let no eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.”
Isa 56:4 For this is what the LORD says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant—
Isa 56:5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever.
Isa 56:6 And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant—
Isa 56:7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
Isa 56:8 The Sovereign LORD declares— he who gathers the exiles of Israel: “I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.”
Israel’s Irresponsible Leaders
Isa 56:9 Come, all you beasts of the field, come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!
Isa 56:10 Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep.
Isa 56:11 They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, they seek their own gain.
Isa 56:12 “Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better.”
1 The prophet exhorts to sanctification.
3 He promises it shall be general without respect of persons.
9 He inveighs against blind watchmen.
Salvation for Foreigners
Isa 56:1 This is what the LORD says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.
The central thought of ch. 56 is the conversion of the Gentiles. Against this bright prospect is placed the gloomy picture of Israel’s unreadiness to receive them.
A great work of reformation is necessary before God can work to bring into fellowship with His people these “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise” (Eph. 2:12). This work of reform is to center in a return to faithful Sabbath observance. The message of this chapter is fraught with meaning for the church today.
Maintain justice. “Keep justice and do righteousness.” Compare the pointed admonition of Micah 6:8. Religion is not mere theory; it is intensely practical. God’s people must be orthodox in conduct as well as in doctrine before God can work through them for the conversion of others (see on Matt. 7:21–27).
Maintain justice. Compare the pointed admonition of Micah 6:8. Religion is not mere theory; it is intensely practical. God’s people must be orthodox in conduct as well as in doctrine before God can work through them for the conversion of others (see on Matt. 7:21–27).
Compare the pointed admonition of Micah 6:8. Religion is not mere theory; it is intensely practical. God’s people must be orthodox in conduct as well as in doctrine before God can work through them for the conversion of others (see on Matt. 7:21–27).
Salvation is close at hand. If Israel had cooperated fully with God’s requirements, His glorious promises would not have been long delayed. The same is true of the church today.
Sill soon be revealed. Revealed, that is, in the fulfillment of the glorious promises to make Israel His mighty instrument for the conversion of the world . The gospel was not for the Jews only, but for all men.
Isa 56:2 Blessed is the one who does this— the person who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps their hands from doing any evil.”
It was as important for converted Gentiles to observe faithfully the Sabbath (v. 6) as it was for the Jews. Genuine Sabbath observance is evidence that men recognize God as their Creator and Redeemer and that they are willing to render Him unquestioning obedience in all things (see on Isa. 58:13; Eze. 20:12, 20).
It is no less essential for Gentiles to recognize these principles than it ever was for Jews. God created both; He has provided for the salvation of both (Rom. 1:16, 17), and has equal claim to their loyal obedience. Furthermore, the principles involved in man’s relationship to God as Creator and Redeemer are no different in Christian times from what they were in Jewish times, and Sabbath observance is no less important today than it was then.
Isa 56:3 Let no foreigner who is bound to the LORD say, “The LORD will surely exclude me from his people.” And let no eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.”
Foreigner Son of the stranger. That is, the Gentile converted to Judaism.
Separated. The Gentile convert was not to feel himself in any way inferior to those who had been born Jews. Both were to share equally in the privileges and responsibilities involved in the covenant relationship.
A dry tree. A dry tree could bear no fruit. Eunuchs were, according to the law, not to “enter into the congregation of the Lord” (see on Deut. 23:1), that is, not to participate in the services of the Temple. Isaiah here assures such persons of God’s impartial love and acceptance. They were not to feel forsaken by God or despised and forgotten in Israel.
Isa 56:4 For this is what the LORD says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant—
Keep. Irrespective of conditions over which they have no control, those who love God and serve Him with undivided hearts are accepted of Him (see Acts 10:34, 35).
Isa 56:6 And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant—
According to the Hebrews a man’s ultimate earthly happiness depended upon having one or more sons through whom the family name and inheritance might be preserved (see on Matt. 1:1). Leaving no posterity, a eunuch might fear that his name and inheritance would be lost in Israel.
However, God promises such persons who remain faithful to Him something far better than children, that is, new names (Rev. 2:17), and the assurance that their names will be inscribed in the book of life (Rev. 3:5). Physical handicaps in no way affect a man’s standing before God. He is concerned only with character and fidelity to principles of righteousness and truth.
Everlasting name. That is, one unaffected by physical handicaps or other conditions beyond a man’s control.
Isa 56:6 And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant—
Gentiles were to enjoy the same rights and privileges as Jews. The only condition was submission to the Lord’s requirements. This verse is a conclusive answer to those who assert that the Sabbath is not for the Gentiles.
Isa 56:7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
Isaiah again refers to the glorious ingathering of the Gentiles (see pp. 28–30).
Mine house. God intended that the Temple should be a house of prayer (1 Kings 8:30, 38, 41–43), but the Jews had made of it a “den of robbers” (Jer. 7:11; cf. Luke 19:46).
For all people. Had Israel been faithful, men from all nations would have come to Jerusalem to worship God, but on account of transgression the Jews were eventually rejected, and the Temple was destroyed. The blessings that might have been theirs were given to the Gentiles (Isa. 60:3; Mal. 1:11; Acts 13:46, 47).
Isa 56:8 The Sovereign LORD declares— he who gathers the exiles of Israel: “I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.”
The outcasts of Israel. A reference to Jews, who, by their course of action, have alienated themselves from God; also the Jews in exile (see Deut. 30:1–3; Ps. 106:43–45; 147:2, 3; Jer. 29:10–14).
Isa 56:9 Come, all you beasts of the field, come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!
The scene changes. The “beasts of the field” are the foreign nations soon to “devour” the people of Judah because of their sins. In contrast with the bright prospects that were to follow obedience, Isaiah now (vs. 9–12) depicts the wretched spiritual condition of leaders and people and its results (see on v. 1).
Isa 56:10 Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep.
Those whose responsibility it was to instruct others—the leaders—are blind themselves and unable to discern the danger that threatens (see Jer. 6:17; see on Matt. 15:14; 23:16).
Mute dogs. The leaders of Israel lacked even the intelligence of a watchdog. They slept on at the approach of danger and failed to sound a warning.
Isa 56:11 They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way; they seek their own gain.
Instead of seeking the welfare of the flock entrusted to their care the leaders of Israel were like dogs that devoured the sheep they were supposed to protect (see Jer. 12:10, 11; Eze. 34:8). A fearful responsibility rested upon these shepherds, whose only interest was in themselves. God would hold them accountable for the loss of the flock (Jer. 13:20; Eze. 34:9, 10).
Isa 56:12 “Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better.”
In a time of imminent peril, with the call already gone forth to the wild beasts to “come to devour” (v. 9), the unfaithful shepherds bid their fellows to come and drink (cf. Matt. 24:49; Luke 12:19).
Tomorrow. They acted as if time would go on indefinitely, as if judgment were not “near” (see v. 1). Their drinking and merrymaking were continual and habitual. When God revealed His “righteousness” they would be destroyed, not delivered. The line of thought introduced in vs. 9–12 continues without interruption through ch. 57:12.