Grace for Strangers and Outcasts
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Isaiah
51. An expository study of
Isaiah, chapter 56
The Kingdom is at hand
One of the main themes of our
last chapter was hunger and thirst and in the Beatitudes, Jesus proclaimed: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Mt.5:6). Here in this chapter God calls to a people to
“keep justice, and do righteousness”.
These are not a religious
people, trying to do good works, confiding in them in order to attain their
salvation. His salvation is at hand; they are anticipating His deliverance and
preparing their hearts: “Soon my salvation
will come, and my deliverance be revealed” (v.1). ). Isaiah may be encouraging
the Jews threatened by Sennacherib or those in Babylonian exile, but it is an
appropriate word also for the coming Messiah, of whom all the prophets spoke. Like
those that Jesus blessed in the Beatitudes, so these are a blessed people. Though
there may be many, they are addressed individually: “Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast.”
In the time of John Baptist, a
man’s whole world came to a halt, as he left his daily chores and necessary
work, in order to hear this final prophet, as he pointed him to the Savior. This
person “keeps the Sabbath, not profaning
it”, resting from his own labors and turning to God, giving Him His proper priority
and worthy honor. (In chapter 58, I want to write more about the Christian
Sabbath.) He is repentant and “keeps his
hand from doing any evil” (v.2). It is a day of momentous spiritual
significance and no time for careless living. John said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt.3:2). I tend to believe that we are living in a
similar time.
The eunuch and the foreigner
Isaiah singles out two classes
of people, who would generally be ignored and disdained… the foreigner and the
eunuch: “Let not the eunuch say,
‘Behold, I am a dry tree’… To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the
things that please me and hold fast my covenant. 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” (v.3-5).
To be a eunuch meant to accept
anonymity, to be bereft of children and to be deprived of any meaningful
future. Therefore he says, “I am a dry tree”… no blossom, no fruit. All those
disadvantages are swept away for the one, who turns to please the Lord and live
for His glory. God will engrave his name in a monument, not only to be seen in
his day, but to be remembered in generations to come. In fact, his fame will
extend into eternity.
“Let not the
foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, ‘The Lord will surely
separate me from his people… 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 –
these I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of
prayer” (v.3, 6-7a).
Two foreigners come to mind,
as I write… Rahab and Ruth, one a prostitute, the other a Moabite widow. One is
condemned to die in Jericho, the city of destruction. Her life is saved
(Josh.6:17), she finds a place in Israel (Josh.6:25), marries a prominent
Judean, becomes an ancestor of the Christ (Mt.1:5) and her name lives on in the
New Testament (Heb.11:31; Jam.2:25). She comes into the blessings of eternity.
By law, Ruth, a Moabitess, is
forbidden a place among the Israelites (Dt.23:3), yet by grace, she also finds
a place among God’s people (Ruth 1:16,17). She marries a prosperous
Bethlehemite, Boaz (Ruth 4:13), and her name enters the genealogy of the Son of
Man (Mt.1:5). Everywhere and at any time, when the Bible is read around the
world, these two women are honored. Let no one today say, “The Lord will surely
separate me from his people” or “I am a dry tree”. You sense your unworthiness,
of course, but you are honoring the grace and will of God by accepting His love
and favor.
What a magnificent portion of
Scripture! Do these words bring a humble warmth into your heart, as they do
mine? Two thoughts have come to me these days: Because of the understanding
that the Lord gives to us concerning Himself, we fall in love with Him. Because
of the greatest part of His person, which is beyond our understanding, we can
do nothing else, but worship Him. How great is our God! How big is His heart to
take into consideration the outcast and the stranger!
The Kingdom of God is not a
system, an organization, an institution, a set of rules, and certainly not a
business or a building. It is a house of prayer, a place of communion and
fellowship, where we come to know Him intimately. “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (v.7b).
Jesus called it His Father’s house and taught us to pray, “Our Father who is in heaven”. Because of the Jews’ violation of
His house, only a symbol in His day, Jesus, in anger, cleansed the temple of
commercialism. The house, the burnt offerings and sacrifices, mentioned in
verse seven, are spiritual. Peter says, “You
yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a
holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ” (1 P.2:5).
Paul teaches, “The kingdom of God is not a matter of
eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Ro.14:17).
The
Millennial Reign of Christ will bring this principle to its highest level. The
gates of the city of Zion will be open to the foreigner, the gentile, and he
will share the fullness of joy, which the Jew inherits. The Lord gathers the
outcasts of Israel, but He also says, “I
will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered” (v.8). The
Good Shepherd said, “I have other sheep
that are not of this fold. I must bring them also” (Jn.10:16). So He has
formed His flock of Jews and Gentiles, who want for nothing that is worthwhile,
who lie down together in green pastures and are led beside still waters.”
Blind watchmen and mute dogs
In the closing verses of the
chapter (v.9-12), Isaiah has left off prophetic utterances to speak of current
events. He tells of the beasts, who have come to devour, of blind shepherds,
and of silent sheepdogs. Jesus wept over sheep without a shepherd. It is sad
for the Jew and for the church, surrounded by wolves, when there is no loving
and capable leadership. Paul was deeply concerned: “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you,
not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking
twisted things…” (Ac.20:29,30). Imagine a situation, in which those who are
supposed to be watchman are blind and without knowledge. Well, not much is left
to the imagination; in actuality, they are in abundance these days. Mute watch
dogs are also plentiful, to be condemned for their guilty silence.
J. C. Ryle, a 19th
Century bishop of the Church of England, captures exactly the attitude, of
which Isaiah writes, in his book, Warnings to the Churches (I translate
from Spanish): We save ourselves from
many problems by closing our eyes and saying, “I do not see any danger”. It is
easy to plug our ears and say, “I do not hear anything”, and because we hear
nothing, we feel no alarm… Be careful of supposing that we are not in any kind
of danger… (Beware of assuming) We
rest upon solid ground; it may be that others will fall, but we are safe!
Be advised that
the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles made constant reference to the Old
Testament as a document which carried the same authority as the New. Be advised
that they quoted the Old Testament as the voice of God, as though each word had
been given by inspiration… Let us arm ourselves therefore, on the one hand,
with a profound knowledge of the Word of God. Let us read our Bible more diligently
than ever and familiarize ourselves with every part…
Let us not be
held back for fear of controversy. The thief loves dogs that do not bark and
the watchmen that do not raise their voice in alarm. The devil is a thief. If
we are still… we please him and displease God… Paul feared false doctrine… and
he wanted to teach us that we should contend for it jealously and fear the loss
of truth more than the loss of peace. The truth of Christ in the church is even
more important than maintaining peace.
A lack of concern is very
prominent today in the church. It exists because of a love for the status quo. The false shepherds say, “Tomorrow
will be like this day, great beyond measure.” They want nothing to disturb
the peace of their comfortable positions. “They
are all silent dogs; they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to
slumber.” It is leadership, given over to a concern for salary, living
space and, in one hyphenated word, self-indulgence: “They never have enough… let us fill ourselves…” The great goal is
to lean back, relax, keep a positive attitude and enjoy life.
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