Isaiah 56-57

Isaiah 56
1-8 The Covenant Extended to All Who Obey

1 "Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come." Simple words, but which require wisdom in order to discern what is just and right and courage to follow through.
2 Happy is the mortal who does this, keeps the sabbath and refrains from doing evil.
3-5 I will bless foreigners and eunuchs who keep my covenant even more than my own sons and daughters and will give them an everlasting name. I'm enjoying the readings in this section because they refer to our place in God's kingdom, to one of my favorite themes: the inclusion of all believers -- no matter their heritage, culture, or economic status. Peter declares the same in Acts 10:34-35: Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him." As good as it is to see our new U.S. President's passion for unity in our government and our country, I suspect his purposes may be futile. True unity comes only when we all submit to the perfect pattern, Jesus Christ. Even for people who subscribe to the divine standard, unity is difficult. Without the acknowledgement that there is indeed only one true and perfect standard, unity is impossible.
6-8 I will bring to my holy mountain those foreigners who love and serve the LORD, who keep my Sabbaths. I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices. Since I believe this passage is talking about the Christian age, it would seem to indicate that Christians should be observing the sabbath. And I might believe it, were it not for Hebrews 4:4-11, which speaks of God's resting on the sabbath and applying it to Christians not as a day of rest, but as an eternal rest: 9 So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; 10 for those who enter God's rest also cease from their labors as God did from his. There is also every indication that the apostles and churches of the New Testament met and worshiped on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2).

9-12 The Corruption of Israel's Rulers

9-12 You wild animals in the forest can come and devour my people, because their sentinels (leaders) are blind, ignorant, lazy and greedy. The shepherds are also self-centered, seeking only to indulge their own appetites.

Isaiah 57
1-13 Israel's Futile Idolatry

1-2 The place of the righteous among the idolatrous: they perish, but no one cares. They will be vindicated, however, and will be taken away from calamity and enter into peace. This must refer to a physical death and spiritual life. Otherwise, it is contradictory. It is certainly true that the worldly cannot understand this dichotomy.
3-10 As for the rest of you, this is my indictment:

• You are children of a sorceress, adulterer and whore
• You mock because you are children of transgression
• You burn with lust among the oaks and slaughter your children in the valleys
• You offer drink and grain offerings to rocks
• You set your beds and offer sacrifices on the mountains
• You have deserted me and gone whoring after pagan gods
• Even though you grow tired in all your wanderings, you do not give them up.

11-13 When I keep silent, you lose respect for me. But your devotion to your idols is misplaced; being subject to the elements, they cannot help you. I will bless those who take refuge in me.

14-21 Promise of Help and Healing

14-15 Eventually, some will come back to me, and I will clear the path for those who are contrite and humble in spirit.
16-19 I will not always be angry with my people for their wicked covetousness; I will heal them, comfort them and give them peace.
20-21 But the wicked, like a tossing sea, will continue to bring up muck. For them there will never be any peace. Whew! Is this not an apt description of those in our society who are so militant in pushing their godless behavior on others? They will not be satisfied until everyone accepts their lifestyle choices, viciously and hatefully attacking those who would dare call it sin.