Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
If you were to state, in one brief sentence, what you think God has designed and is expecting as normal life for our human race, which He created in His image, everywhere in the world…what would that statement be? I find in the Bible several such statements, made by God Himself. Perhaps the most famous one is found in Micah 6:8 which reads: “God has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly before your God.”
But today, I found another one in Isaiah, as we continue our journey with this remarkable prophet at a very strategic time in Israel’s history, when Israel was going through a time so similar to the present. Isaiah 56:1,2 reads as follows: “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. Blessed is the person who does this – the person who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps their hands from doing evil.” Micah and Isaiah’s words are amazingly similar, aren’t they?
So, look around your city, your country, or watch the news headlines any day from all around the world, what do you see? At least from what I see, those statements are largely being disregarded or outright rejected by a very large percentage of the world’s population and especially leaders or those in highly influential roles. If true, why and what has been the result of disregarding God’s vision for humanity?
We understand the Bible is rooted in a very small place in the world, Israel. Most of the Old Testament is the story of God’s relationship with that very small nation, Israel. But even today, a millennia after the events of the Old Testament, isn’t it amazing that little Israel remains, in many ways, the focus of the entire world, and most all world leaders?
But the next words Isaiah wrote remind us God’s heart is for EVERY person in the world: “Let no foreigner who is bound to the LORD say, ‘The LORD will surely exclude me from His people….” (Is. 56:3) The word ‘foreigner‘ would apply in this verse to anyone other than the people of Israel, thus another word we could use would be Gentile. But do you see God’s glorious, good news to the entire human race?
God creates and sustains the life of EVERY person; and God’s love for EVERY person has no limit; and finally, God’s provision of a Savior, Jesus Christ, is for EVERY person who will repent of their sin and turn to God through Jesus! No person who has placed their full trust in Jesus will ever be excluded from the work of God in their life, or from eternal life with God in His heaven.
Now for the Jews of Isaiah day, and even today, this (Is. 56:3) is a radical concept! Many Jews not only refuse to consider Jesus Christ as their Messiah or Jesus as God the Son, they also refuse to accept the truth that God desires Gentiles to trust His Son Jesus and experience the very same deliverance from sin condemnation as Jews will experience when they trust Jesus!
But listen to what the Jewish prophet Isaiah wrote next: “Foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to minster 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 – 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!” (Is. 56:6,7) It’s one of the most powerful, globally inclusive declarations from God in the entire Bible! I’ve got it circled in my Bible and I urge you to do the same! Do you see YOURSELF in that statement my friend?
Are you Jewish by biological heritage? Can you trace your lineage to one of the sons of Jacob, or are you a Gentile, a ‘foreigner‘? Have you ‘bound yourself to the LORD’ by trusting Jesus Christ to save you from your sin and have you declared Jesus to be your Lord, your King and are you living your life in full alignment with God, to the best of your ability?
Do you love the names of God and are you committed to following God obediently as His servant? And what about the Sabbath? Do you have one day in seven which you protect as your day of worship and spiritual refreshment, your day of rest and physical restoration, your day of emotional revitalization? And finally, are you seeking to live your life in a covenant relationship with God established by the blood of Jesus your Savior?
If YES is your answer to all these things that I see in Isaiah 56:6, then do you see God’s promise for you in Isaiah 56:7? “These I will bring to My holy mountain and give them joy in My house of prayer.” Yes, that was God’s promise for the people of Isaiah’s day that they, GENTILES, would be welcome at the Temple in Jerusalem, by God’s invitation. But can you align it with what you understand that Jesus has accomplished in your life through His death and resurrection? Do you see how it’s God’s promise to bring you home to His heaven at the time of your death, and give you boundless joy in His presence for all eternity?
Yes, do you see it was God’s promise for the Gentiles in Isaiah’s day that their sacrifices and offerings, their prayers would be received and heard and honored by God? And can you see it’s the same for Gentiles in our day, as we approach the throne of God in the name of Jesus our Savior? Isn’t that what Hebrews 10:19-23 is all about? And to be sure every person of every generation understands God wants them to own these promises, God gave Isaiah one final declaration: “…for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” (Is. 56:7b) Oh my I love that statement!
In fact when my wife and I lived in Fargo, North Dakota and we were part of an exciting church that was experiencing a great move of God, as a new worship center was built those powerful words were engraved above the entrance into the worship center and each time I walked through those doors and read those words my heart was deeply stirred, often to the point of tears. Can that be said of wherever you gather with others to worship God, my friends? Can it be said of your place of prayer in your home?
Then God puts an exclamation point on this powerful passage with these words: “The Sovereign LORD declares – He who gathers the exiles of Israel: I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.” (Is. 56:8) Oh my friends can you see how this has been fulfilled in so many ways over the centuries since God spoke those words to Isaiah 2700 years ago? Yes, of course, it was the remarkable return of the Jewish exiles and others from Babylonian captivity; and it was the miraculous establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and millions of Jews and Gentiles returning to Jerusalem; and it has been a regular occurrence as Gentiles from almost every nation of the world have come on pilgrimages to visit Israel over these past 75 years. I’ve been there 5 times myself and each time amazed to hear languages spoken from every corner of the world, and watch as people, GENTILES, approach the Western Wall or walk through the Garden of Gethsemane or enter the Tomb with such reverence and thankfulness to God that Gentiles are welcome through Jesus Christ our Savior!
Oh, my friends, let’s worship with great thankfulness today. This song I first heard in Kampala, Uganda a few years ago, as a group of African College students were gathering for worship! It’s a celebration of these powerful declarations of God found in Isaiah 56…
Today’s Scripture: Is. 56:1-8.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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