Isa_56-59

Isaiah 56:1-12 (ESV)
¹  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.”
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.”

1. 1 – Keep justice , and do righteousness –  Fundamental virtues embodying the ideal standards of God, both legal and ethical.

Right attitude and intent are more important to God than right actions for the wrong reasons.

V.1 – about to come … to be revealed. Incentives to comply with 55:6, 7 include the nearness of God’s kingdom of salvation and righteousness (51:5)

V.2 – “blessed is” or “happy is” statement was a common formula for wisdom teaching in the ancient world—especially biblical poetry and Wisdom literature in the ot.
The Beatitudes in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:3–10) are a nt example of a “blessed is” teaching. Isaiah 56:1–2 resembles a wisdom saying; it emphasizes right living and proper behavior

Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath. Sabbath observance, established after the deliverance from Egypt (Ex. 20:8–11), became a sign of fulfilling the covenant God made with Moses (Ex. 31:13–17).

V.3 – foreigner … eunuch. Such individuals, excluded from Israel by the law (Ex. 12:43; Deut. 23:1, 3, 7, 8), will find in the coming of the messianic kingdom the removal of such exclusions.

V.4 – 5  – hold fast My covenant … an everlasting name. Eunuchs with hearts inclined to comply with the Mosaic Covenant may anticipate an endless posterity. It is never works that save (cf. Rom. 3:20; Eph. 2:8, 9); rather, obeying God’s law, doing what pleases Him or desiring to keep the promises of obedience are the evidences that one has been saved, and will thus enjoy all salvation blessings.

V.6 – holds fast My covenant … accepted on My altar. The sacrifices of a foreigner who loves God, whose heart is inclined to serve Him and obey the Mosaic law, will find his sacrifices welcome, in the coming kingdom as well.

1. 7 My house … for all nations. In the kingdom of the Messiah, the Jerusalem temple will be the focal point for worship of the Lord by people of all ethnic backgrounds. Jesus cited a violation of this anticipation by His contemporaries in His second cleansing of the temple: Jewish leaders had made the temple a commercial venture (Matt. 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46).

V.8 – …”who gathers the outcasts of Israel…”will gather yet others to him”…

Others besides those … gathered. Besides gathering Israel’s exiles into His kingdom, the Lord will bring in non-Jews also (49:6).

V.9 – Israel’s Irresponsible Leaders…

56:9–12 A commentary on Israel’s false prophets and irresponsible leaders who led them astray.

56:9–11 beasts … watchmen … shepherds. These titles identify the wicked; other prophets refer to Israel’s enemies as beasts (Jer. 12:9; Ezek. 34:5, 8). Prophets, who should have been watchmen and warned Israel to repent, ignored their responsibility (cf. Ezek. 3:17). Priests also failed to lead Israel in paths of righteousness (Ezek. 34:1–6; Zech. 11:15–17).

56:12 wine … intoxicating drink. This is indicative of the self-indulgent irresponsibility of the leaders. Drunkenness completely obliterated any concern that leaders had for their people. See notes on Prov. 31:4–7.

Isaiah 57:1-13a – The people are on trial and are charged, found guilty, and sentenced.  The people are pictured collectively as an adulterer or a prostitute. 

Read 57:13 and note in 13b the note of comfort for the faithful.  

¹³  When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you! The wind will carry them all off, a breath will take them away. But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land and shall inherit my holy mountain.
Read 57:16-21 – we see the righteous anger and the amazing grace of God along with the persistence of man’s rebellion against him.   (Eph. 2:17) 

Isaiah 57:16-21(ESV)
¹⁶  For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before me, and the breath of life that I made.
¹⁷  Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.
¹⁸  I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners,
¹⁹  creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the LORD, “and I will heal him.
²⁰  But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
²¹  There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

Isaiah 58:1 – 66:24 – God as Judge and Savior….

Isaiah 58:1-9 – The people showed outward evidence of wanting to do God’s will by doing moderate inconveniences of fasting.  But they retained their basic lifestyle.   Such empty externalism reappears in every age and culture.

They showed their lack of being spiritually motivated in having their laborers work all the harder to make up for lost time.

Read:  Isaiah 58:8-9

Isaiah 58:8-9 (ESV)
⁸  Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
⁹  Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

Isaiah 58:8 your righteousness … rear guard. When Israel learned the proper way to fast, she would enjoy the blessings of salvation and the Messiah’s kingdom.

58:9 Here I am. See 65:1. In contrast with the complaint of v. 3, a time will come when the Lord will be completely responsive to the prayers of His people (65:24). This will be done when they are converted and giving evidence of the transformation in the kind of works that reflect a truly repentant heart (vv. 9, 10). At the time of Christ’s return, Israel will demonstrate true repentance and the fullness of blessing will be poured out (vv. 10b, 11).

Isaiah 59 – Sin, Sorrow, and Salvation….

Here however they come in a very different context, stressing condemnation rather than comfort. God is addressing people who have anticipated some kind of divine intervention and have prayed for it, but whose life style reveals all too clearly that their desire and prayer are not directed toward the establishment of God’s rule on earth; for they are themselves rebels against that rule.

The people are guilty particularly of ‘social injustice’.

READ:  Isaiah 59:20-21

Isaiah 59:20-21 (ESV)
²⁰  “And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the LORD.
²¹  “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from this time forth and forevermore.”

59:20, 21 The Redeemer will come. The Messiah, the Suffering Servant, will redeem Zion and all faithful Israelites. This unalterable promise to the nation was the basis for Paul’s reassurance of the future salvation of Israel (Rom. 11:26, 27).

59:21 My covenant … forevermore. Because God’s New Covenant with Israel is “everlasting” (55:3; cf. Jer. 31:31–34), God’s Spirit and His words are to remain objects of their attention continually.