Chapter 56 presents a powerful, stark contrast between the Lord and Israel’s leaders. Verses 1-8 reveal the Lord’s heart of compassion and kindness for the “outcasts of Israel” (8) and the “foreigners who join themselves to the Lord” (6). By contrast, verses 9-12 picture Israel’s leaders as lazy, hungry dogs and selfish shepherds who seek their own pleasure instead of guarding or guiding the nation.
As the chapter opens, we heart the Lord call His people (including the leaders) to “Keep justice and do righteousness” (1). Soon, He promises, His own “salvation will come” and His “righteousness” will be “revealed.” The blessing and benefit of God’s salvation are reserved for those who join themselves to Him and align their lives (“hold fast”) to His covenant (4). The evidence of this attachment shows up in their daily lives: they keep the Sabbath and also keep their hands from doing any evil (2). By their actions, they show a heart-level embrace of God’s call to “keep justice and do righteousness” (1).
Keeping the Sabbath involved “not profaning it” (2) but keeping it holy, set apart for the purpose it was given. The Hebrew word translated “profaning” חָלַל)) carries the sense of desecrating it or violating the honour of the day. Later, in Isaiah 58, the Lord explains what profaning the Sabbath looks like in practice: “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honourable; if you honour it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord” (58:13-14). The Sabbath was a sign and symbol of covenant loyalty (Exodus 20:8; 31:13-17). It was given to Israel for their spiritual and physical refreshment; it was not to be a day of business or work (the Hebrew word “pleasure” in Isaiah 58:13 can be translated “business”). Keeping the Sabbath was a sign that people were living in covenant obedience (“hold fast to my covenant”—4, 6), centering their lives around the Lord (not themselves—11), delighting in Him and His ways, and aligning with His will and vision for life.
After issuing a call to covenant obedience, the Lord specifically addresses two groups of people who saw themselves as inferior among God’s people: the foreigners and the childless (3-8). Foreigners were considered second-rate outsiders, even when they chose to “join themselves to the Lord” (6). Those who were barren lived with embarrassment (Elizabeth, Luke 1:25) ; they felt they had missed the full blessing of the Lord (Psalm 127).
The Lord speaks to correct the negative self-perception of foreigners and childless among Israel: “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’” (3). The Lord promises the childless (“eunuchs”) who align with His will (“keep my Sabbaths) and adhere to His covenant that He will give them “an everlasting name” that is “better than sons and daughters” (5). Their lasting legacy will live on though they have no physical posterity.
To the “foreigners” who “join themselves to the Lord to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants”, the Lord promises to bring them near to His “holy mountain” and “make them joyful in my house of prayer” (6). He will accept their sacrificial offerings, allowing them to enjoy the fullness of a covenant relationship with Him—even though they are not Israelites by birth. Why will the Lord do this? Because He wants His temple (“house”) “to be called a house of prayer for all people” (7). The Lord’s heart is global in its affections. Just as He gathers “the outcasts of Israel”, so He will also “gather yet others” from outside Israel.
After showcasing the incredibly generous heart of God, Isaiah turns to deal with the greedy, selfish hearts of Israel’s leaders (9-12). Instead of seeking to care for the outcasts and marginalized, these leaders (“watchmen”) only seek to pamper and please themselves. Isaiah calls down judgment for their selfish misuse of their position: “All you beasts of the field, come to devour” (9).
The watchmen of Israel are pictured as lazy dogs and selfish shepherds. Like blin watchdogs, they are all bite and no bark: “they are all silent dogs; they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber” (10). They feed themselves rather than protect God’s people (11). Changing the metaphor, Isaiah calls them “shepherds who have no understanding” (11). Like lost sheep, they “have all turned to their own way” (11, 53:6), only pursuing their own “gain” (12). Rather than provide or protect, they just want to party day after day: “’Come’, they say, ‘let me get wine; let us fill ourselves with strong drink’” (12). These leaders fail to do what God calls all His people to do: “Keep justice and do righteousness” (1). As we will see in the coming chapters, the results will be tragic for both these leaders and the people they lead.
Behold Your God
The Lord receives and rewards outcasts and foreigners who join themselves to Him. The good news (gospel!) proclaimed in Isaiah 56 is the promise that all who join themselves to the Lord will be accepted and blessed by Him. No one needs to remain an outcast, untouchable, or foreigner. All who enter into a covenant relationship with Him (faith and obedience) are received and rewarded as one of His own. Here is the basis for Paul’s encouraging words to Gentiles in Ephesians 2:11-22; all who come to God through Christ are included in the household of God and are no longer “strangers and aliens” (Eph 2:17). The Lord’s heart seeks to bring near “all peoples” (7).
The Lord rebukes and removes leaders who serve themselves instead of His people. While the Lord accepts the lowly who come to Him, He rejects leaders who misuse their positions of power. The lazy watchdogs who fail to watch over or warn His people will know His wrath (9). Selfish shepherds who live for pleasure come under His judgment (11-12). Leaders, like teachers, are held to a higher standard (James 3:1; 1 Tim 3:1-7).
Here Am I
I praise the Lord for letting me join my life to Him in a covenant relationship. As a sinner and a “foreigner” (Eph 2:12), I began life as one of the “children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph 2:3). By God’s grace, I have been “brought near by the blood of Christ (Eph 2:13; Isa 56:7) and been made a “fellow citizen with the saints and member of the household of God” (Eph 2:19). I am one of the “others” that He has “gathered” to Himself and His people (8). He has graciously allowed me to enter a covenant relationship with Him through Christ Jesus. May my life overflow with praise, love, and obedience for His kindness to me.
I will live to please the Lord instead of living for sinful pleasure. The Lord promises a lasting legacy to those who “choose the things that please me” (4). Conversely, He brings judgment on leaders who live for selfish, sinful pleasure (12). Living to please the Lord leads to a joyful nearness to God (“joyful in my house of prayer”—7). Living to please myself leads to a debauchery that devours (9, 12). True pleasure and lasting joy are only found in the Lord (Ps 16:11).
I commit to being an alert watchdog and a selfless shepherd for God’s people. As one who has been entrusted with leadership responsibilities for God’s people, I want to faithfully fulfill my calling (2 Tim 4:5). This will mean warning God’s people of danger (10; 2 Tim 4:2) and shepherding them through life (11; Acts 20:28; 1 Pet 5:2).
Rick and Linda Reed 