Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my righteousness be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man who does this,
and the son of man who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
“The Lord will surely separate me from his people”;
and let not the eunuch say,
“Behold, I am a dry tree.”
4 For thus says the Lord:
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
5 I will give in my house and within my walls
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.
6 “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
and to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
and holds fast my covenant—
7 these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.”
8 The Lord God,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
“I will gather yet others to him
besides those already gathered.”
Israel's Irresponsible Leaders
9 All you beasts of the field, come to devour—
all you beasts in the forest.
10 His watchmen are blind;
they are all without knowledge;
they are all silent dogs;
they cannot bark,
dreaming, lying down,
loving to slumber.
11 The dogs have a mighty appetite;
they never have enough.
But they are shepherds who have no understanding;
they have all turned to their own way,
each to his own gain, one and all.
12 “Come,” they say, “let me get wine;
let us fill ourselves with strong drink;
and tomorrow will be like this day,
great beyond measure.” Isaiah 56 ESV
Isaiah 56 Foreigners and Israel's irresponsible leaders
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take extra oil with them; 4 but the prudent ones took oil in flasks with their lamps. 5 Now while the groom was delaying, they all became drowsy and began to sleep. 6 But at midnight there finally was a shout: ‘Behold, the groom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 But the foolish virgins said to the prudent ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ 9 However, the prudent ones answered, ‘No, there most certainly would not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the groom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 Yet later, the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Be on the alert then, because you do not know the day nor the hour. Matthew 25: 1-13
1-2. Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon My salvation will come - Isaiah has already explained to them what salvation looks like, Who brings it, none other than the suffering Servant, that Messiah will be the substitution for their sins. He has also told them that they will be taken into captivity in a foreign land, and that they will return. The message here is broad, far reaching; it covers much of human history. What did you believe, Who did you believe in, and how has that affected the way you live? When the Master of the house returns what will you be found doing? We should be living in eager expectation of Christ return, being a light to all nations, doing what is just and righteous in God's sight, just like Christ lived, only doing what He saw the Father doing.
Blessed is the man who does this - This is a hard saying for those going to Babylon. Their temple would be gone, and so they would have no priests to mediate or offer sacrifice for them. The letter of the law would be impossible, yet their allegiance to the One true God cannot change. God has been most gracious in Scripture, showing us examples of what it looks like to be God's people in a pagan land. Daniel and his friends stayed fast to God's commands, but this was by no means celebrated by their conquerors. Daniel went to the Lion's den for his faith, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego all went into the furnace.
…9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.… Matthew 5: 9-11
…10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates. 11For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.12Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.… Exodus 20: 10-12
Keeping the Sabbath would also be difficult in a foreign land, but there were Jews during the Babylonian captivity and under the Persian rule that still met and prayed by the river. This was still a common practice for Jews living abroad in Paul's time.
…12From there we went to the Roman colony of Philippi, the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. 13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river, where it was customary to find a place of prayer. After sitting down, we spoke to the women who had gathered there. 14Among those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.… Acts 16: 12-14
…15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. 16Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath. 17These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.… Colossians 2: 15-17
3-5. Who choose the things that please me - Eunuchs are understood in this sense to have put aside all else in service to the Lord. Some did this by vow, and others were made Eunuchs by their captors, like taking a stud horse and turning it into a gelding. The key is the service and the calling. Those that were forced to be eunuchs were bereft of the possibility of having children, but those who either forced or by call, who chose to see this as a gift, as freedom from such earthly attachments and responsibilities, and the ability to serve God fully for the sake of the gospel, those will receive special honor. Roman Catholicism, like all works systems cults, has screwed this up to no end.
…32I want you to be free from concern. The unmarried man is concerned about the work of the Lord, how he can please the Lord. 33But the married man is concerned about the affairs of this world, how he can please his wife, 34and his interests are divided. The unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the work of the Lord, how she can be holy in both body and spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world, how she can please her husband.…
…35I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but in order to promote proper decorum and undivided devotion to the Lord. 36However, if someone thinks he is acting inappropriately toward his betrothed, and if she is beyond her youth and they ought to marry, let him do as he wishes; he is not sinning; they should get married. 37But the man who is firmly established in his heart and under no constraint, with control over his will and resolve in his heart not to marry the virgin, he will do well.…
…38So then, he who marries the virgin does well, but he who does not marry her does even better. 39A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, as long as he belongs to the Lord. 40In my judgment, however, she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.… 1 Corinthians 7: 32-40
…4Have we no right to food and to drink? 5Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? 1 Corinthians 9: 4-5
6-8. And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord - He will bring them to His holy mountain as well. Israel was always under the order to be a light to the other nations, but instead they despised them. Many put much on their lineage, but in no way sought to be pleasing to the Lord, if they had, then evangelism would have been part of this obedience.
…27For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.… Galatians 3: 27-29
For My house shall be called a house of prayer - Not an exclusive club for Jews, the rich and famous, but for all who call upon the name of the Lord. It is still a narrow entry, but it is not through the door of self righteousness, blood line or money; it is the cross of the suffering Servant.
12Then Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves. 13And He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’ 14The blind and the lame came to Him at the temple, and He healed them.… Matthew 21: 12-14
9-12. His watchmen are blind - This was a wonderful opportunity for the wild beasts, the wolves outside. Israel's prophets couldn't see danger when approaching. They had no understanding, lacking true wisdom from above. Isaiah compares these would be prophets to dogs that can't even bark. Come one, come all, the dogs in that house won't wake the master and they don't have enough sense to know who to bite. They are lazy, and rather than study they would prefer to share their silly dreams. Rather than warn the people of danger and their need to repent, they would rather lead them into those very sins that God hates. They were prophets for profit, not shepherds called by God.
The prophets of Israel were called to be ‘watchmen’ for the people who are to sound the call when they hear that the enemy is coming, or when they see that the people are turning away from the Lord they were to go and tell them of the error of their way and implore the people to repent.
4.3. The beasts of the field and the forests are called to come and to eat. I believe that the food that they are invited to eat is the people of God who as dumb sheep are not being protected by their shepherds. Their shepherds cannot protect them because they have ‘no understanding,’ spiritually speaking, and don’t even realize that God’s people are in any danger, nor do they care.
4.4. Those of us who are leaders in the church today must take the burden of leadership so seriously. God’s people need to be protected, nourished, and taken care of by shepherds that the Lord raises up to watch over them. God’s people are like sheep in that they are so vulnerable to many things that could harm them, and good shepherds are ever needed to watch over and tend them.
4.4.1. There is a degree in which all of us as Christians have someone over whom we are to be a watchman and a shepherd, and we all ought to take that responsibility to heart. Those of us who are parents have the awesome responsibility to be good shepherds over our children. J. B. from Precept Austin
…20The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart. In the days to come you will understand this clearly. 21I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.22But if they had stood in My council, they would have proclaimed My words to My people and turned them back from their evil ways and deeds.”… Jeremiah 23: 20-22
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