A Translation and Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 02 March 2008
1. Thus says Jehovah,
Keep justice
and do righteousness,
for soon
my salvation is to come,
and my righteousness to be revealed.
2. It is a blessed man who does this,
and the son of man who has a strong-grip in it,
keeping the Sabbath from violating it
and keeping his hand from the doing of any evil.
3. And let not the son of a foreigner - the one who has been joined to Jehovah, say,
“Jehovah will surely cause me to be separated from upon His people!”
and let not the eunuch say, “Look, I am a dry tree!”
4. For thus days Jehovah to the eunuchs
who keep my Sabbaths
and choose that with which I am pleased
and those who have a strong-grip in my covenant,
5. “Yet I will give to them in my house and in my walls
a hand and the name better than sons and daughters!
An everlasting name I will give to him, which will not be cut off.
6. And the sons of the foreigner,
those joined upon Jehovah to minister to Him
and to love the name of Jehovah, to belong to Him as servants,
all who keep the Sabbath from violating it
and who keep a strong grasp in my covenant,
7. I will cause them to go to my holy mountain,
and I will make them joyful in my house of prayer.
Their sacrifices for burning up and their [other] sacrifices
are to be accepted upon my altar.”
8. The Lord Jehovah, who gathers the outcasts of Israel declares,
“Again I will gather upon him in addition to his gathered ones.
9. Every living one of his, of my field, come to eat, every living one of his in the forest!”
There once was a land whose King had gone up from the city to conquer the world. When he left, he left behind his army and told them to wait until his return.
After many years had passed, the members of his army had either deserted or given up hope. Generations passed, and the memory of the king was all but forgotten in His city. But there was one man, a very old farmer, who did not give up hope. He did not live in the city of the King, but outside its gates, tilling his land and caring for a few goats and fowl. Every evening, he would sit at the gate reciting the stories of the great King and every evening, he would end his stories with the words, “And one day, He shall return.” The beggars listened more than the businessmen, and sometimes the beggars would even help the old man look after his farm. Of course, it is rather difficult for a lame or blind man to take care of an energetic chicken or a playful kid, but they did what they could.
In time, lepers, AIDS patients, and recovering addicts also began to gather themselves around this old farmer. All sorts of derelict and marginalized peoples built themselves huts on the vacant land beside the old farmer’s property. There were other farmers, but none so generous and none who told such wonderful stories. The old farmer would share his table even with former prostitutes and any other soul rejected by the citizenry, if only they were willing to do a bit of work. He did not treat them as slaves, but as brothers and sisters, as sons and daughters. The man had no special gift of healing or wisdom or power to guide this growing village, he only told the ancient stories of the King, and the more stories the people heard about the King, the more they acted as though the King were already there.
One day the King returned to the city just as He had left it, alone. The citizens did not recognize Him, but all the friends of the old farmer welcomed Him and immediately were healed. Those who had for so long been rejected and despised suddenly became strong, and at the word of the King, they took the city by storm, driving out the unfaithful and proud citizens.
This little parable, written by a missionary friend sets the stage for the next two messages from Isaiah. This week we will be looking at faithfulness to the King and its rewards, and next week we will look at the horrors of unfaithfulness to the King.
A) v.1 “Keep Justice & Do righteousness”
1. 42:20 The people of Judah “saw much but would not be keepers”
2. Commands
are in the plural form:
This is a continuation of the message in chapter 55 addressed to the nations:
“Come and eat… call upon the Lord while He is near… let
the wicked forsake his way…”
B) What does it mean to keep justice and do righteousness?
1. “keep Sabbath from violating it” (v.2,4,6)
a. polluting (KJV), profane (ASV), defile (NKJ), desecrating (NIV), root=pierce, violate
b. Isaiah 58:13-14 “If you turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, and the holy of Jehovah honorable; and shall honor it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words: 14 then you will delight thyself in Jehovah; and I will make you to ride upon the high places of the earth...”
c. HOW is the Sabbath violated?
i. failing to rest from regular work
ii. failing to give rest to others
iii. failing to make it special/holy/set apart
iv. failing to join in corporate worship
v. giving our attention to other things
d. WHY single out the Sabbath?
i. It is a creation ordinance which preceded the ten commandments by thousands of years.
ii. Acknowledgement of God as creator
iii. Repeated remembering of the truth
iv. Sign of blessing and deliverance
v. Symbol of holiness – setting time apart as special as a result of being engaged in a covenantal relationship with a God who does the same.
vi. Synecdoche for all of the law.
2. “not doing any kind of evil” (v.2)
a. 33:15 “One who walks righteously and who speaks straight, who rejects profit from oppression, who shakes his hands against holding the bribe, who stops his ear from hearing about bloodshed, and who shuts his eyes from the sight of evil. 16 This is the one who will sit on high…”
b. But to keep your hand from doing ANY evil? This is not possible! Only Jesus could do this.
3. “choose that with which I am pleased” (v.4)
a. Jews of Isaiah’s day were choosing the opposite of what pleased God
i. Isaiah 65:11-12 But you who forsake Jehovah, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for Fortune, and that fill up mingled wine unto Destiny; 12 I will destine you to the sword, and you will all bow down to the slaughter; because when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not hear; but you did that which was evil in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I delighted not.
ii. 40:20 “…a tree that will not rot he chooses, a skillful craftsman he seeks for himself to set up an idol…”
b. What pleases God? What should we choose to involve ourselves in? These are the three things that Isaiah specifically says please God:
i. His law-word: 42:21
ii. His salvation through Jesus’ suffering: 53:10
iii. His people: 62:4
4. “strong grip in my covenant” (v.4,6)
a. lit. “causes strength” keeps a strong grasp, holds fast
i. 27:5 “he will get a strong grip in my protection, he will make peace toward me…"
ii. 35:3 Strengthen the drooping hands and make firm the feeble knees. 4. Say to the hasty of heart, “Be strong, do not fear, see your God! Vengeance will come – God’s payback! He Himself will come, and he will save you.”
iii. 54:2 “Enlarge the place of your tent… Lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.”
b. “my covenant” = relationship established with:
i. Noah: Gen 9
ii. Abraham: Gen 17
iii. Moses and Israel: Lev. 26:15
iv. N.T. Church: Romans 11:27
c. How do we keep a strong grasp in God’s covenant?
i. By reading the Bible, the written terms of His covenant.
ii. By acknowledging and celebrating our covenant relationship with God through prayer and singing and witness to others.
iii. By praying for strength from God and seeking the fellowship of God’s people for encouragement.
5. “joined to the Lord” (v.6)
a. The Hebrew word “nilvah” “joined” indicates a contractual/covenantal relationship
i. Used of business loans in Ex. 22:25, Deut 28:12&44, Neh. 5:4, & Isa 24:2
ii. Used of marriage relationship in Gen. 29:34
iii. Used of Levites joining Aaron in tabernacle ministry in Num 18:2-4
iv. Used of
spiritual covenant renewal:
Jeremiah 50:4-5 “In those days, and in that time, says Jehovah, the children of
Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; they shall go on
their way weeping, and shall seek Jehovah their God. 5 They shall inquire
concerning Zion with their faces that way, saying, ‘Y’all come and be joined to
Jehovah in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten.’”
v. Used of proselytes joining God’s people in
a. Zechariah 2:11 “And many nations shall be joined to Jehovah in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of you…”
b. (and Esth. 9:27, Psalm 83:8, Isa. 14:1, 56:3-6)
b. “nilvah” is passive. I know all the English translations render this phrase “joined himself/attached Himself to the Lord” but we are not actually able to attach ourselves to God because He is holy and we are sinful, we can’t come close to Him! He has to do the joining of Himself to us. This He did by becoming a man, Jesus, who attached Himself to us in the new covenant, the covenant sealed with His blood on the cross that paid the guilt penalty for all our sin, the covenantal union referred often in the New Testament as a marriage between the bride-church and the Lamb of God, Jesus.
c. Application in the church
i. Be baptized into His name
ii. Take communion
iii. Identify with the church in membership
d. Purpose of this joining (v.6):
i.
“to minister to Him,”
Like a waiter or a flight attendant, watching to see what he wants and
hurrying to do it for Him.
ii. “to love
His name,”
Jesus – talk about Him, enjoy Him!
iii. and “to belong
to Him as servants”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “…do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”
In summary, we keep justice and do righteousness through keeping the Sabbath, keeping our hand from evil, choosing what pleases God – His word, His salvation, His people, keeping a strong grip in His covenant, and being joined to the lord to minister to Him, love His name, and belong to Him as servants.
C) The Reason: the coming revelation of God’s righteous salvation (end of v.1)
1. God’s
righteousness is revealed in His salvation:
Rom. 1:16-17 “…I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto
salvation to every one who believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17
For therein is revealed the righteousness of God from faith unto faith…”
2. 40:5 “And the glory of Jehovah will be revealed and all flesh together will see…” (speaking of Jesus)
3. Jesus’
first coming – applied to Jews of Isaiah’s time
John the Baptizer’s ministry “repent for the kingdom of heaven is near”
4. Jesus’
second coming – applies to us now. Parable of the faithful servant
Matthew 24:42-47 “Watch therefore: for you know not on what day your Lord will come.
43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the
thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house
to be broken into! 44 Therefore you also be ready; for the Son of man will
come in an hour that you don’t expect. 45 Who then is the faithful and wise
servant, whom his lord has set over his household, to give them their food in
due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord shall find so doing,
when he comes. 47 Truly I say unto you, that he will set him over everything
that he owns!”
A) Happiness/Blessedness (v.2)
1. “does this” = “does righteousness” from v.1 (matching Fem. Sing.)
2. 30:18c “Since Jehovah is a God of justice, happy are all who wait for Him.”
3. “Joy” v.7
4. 25.9c “This is Jehovah; we have waited for Him; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation."
5. James 1:25 “But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and so continues, being not a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in his doing.”
6. John 13:17 “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”
7. This applies both to the Son of Man (Jesus) and to the sons of men (us)
B) A place in
God’s house
v.5 – “I will give in my house and in my walls”
1. Ps. 23:6 “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”
2. This is the church: 1Ti 3:15b “…the house of God, which is the church of the living God…”
C) “a hand and a name”
1. “memorial”-ASV,
“monument”-ESV
2Sa 18:18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for
himself the pillar, which is in the king's dale; for he said, I have no
son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own
name; and it is called Absalom's hand, unto this day.
2. “place”-LXX & KJV
3. lit. “hand,” - I think it is God’s powerful hand and reputation that becomes ours:
a. 29:23 “For when he sees his children, the work of My hand, in his vicinity, he will sanctify My name and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and he will stand in awe of the God of Israel.”
b. The everlasting name in 63:12 is Jehovah
c. 1 Ki. 8:42 (2Ch 6:32 ) “[foreigners] shall hear of Your great name, and of Your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm… and pray toward this house”
d. Jeremiah 16:21 “…I will cause them to know my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is Jehovah.”
e. Daniel 9:15 “And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and got a name for Yourself...”
f. Acts 4:29-30 “And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings: and grant unto Your servants to speak Your word with all boldness, 30 while You stretch forth Your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
4. Let us prize the name of God and His grace toward us more than we prize children and more than we try to protect our own reputation!
D) ACCEPTANCE
in God’s presence
v. 7 – I will bring them to my holy mountain, make them joyful in my house of
prayer, and accept their offerings, for my house shall be called a house of
prayer for all peoples.
1. “holy mountain”
a. temple mount in Jerusalem/church/heaven
b. Jews rioted when they thought the Apostle Paul had brought a gentile, Tromphimus the Ephesian, into the temple courts, but Isaiah prophecies a time when gentiles will be brought freely into the courts of the Lord
c. 2:2 “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of Jehovah shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it”
d. Isa 57:13b “he that takes refuge in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain.”
e. Isaiah 66:20 “And they shall bring all your brethren out of all the nations for an oblation unto Jehovah… to my holy mountain ...”
f. Revelation 21:10&24 “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God… 24 And the nations shall walk amidst the light thereof: and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it.”
2. “my house”
a. Temple: I Chr. 28.6, Mal 3:10, Hav. 1:9, Ezek. 44:7, Ezek. 23:39
b. People of God:
i. Jeremiah 12:7 I have forsaken my house, I have cast off my heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.
ii. Zach 3:7 “you will judge my house” cf Num 12:7 “Moses has been faithful in all my house”
c.
Kingdom of God:
1 Chronicles 17:14 but I will settle him (David) in my house and in my kingdom
for ever; and his throne shall be established for ever.
d. Fulfillment of this prophecy cannot be confined to the physical mountain in Jerusalem.
3. “offerings acceptable”
a. Unlike the unacceptable offerings of the Jews in 1:11
b. The burnt offering was all sent up in smoke, but other offerings were eaten as a fellowship meal, thus the two words for the sacrifices here in v. 7
c. In Acts 10:31, God told Cornelius the Gentile Italian, “your prayers and your offerings have ascended to me” – acceptance!
d. Our prayers and our own bodies are now the sacrifices we offer, not animals anymore (Rom. 12:1)
e. If you have been joined to the Lord, you are acceptable!
4. “House of prayer for all peoples” (v.7)
a.
The inclusion of the gentiles in God’s temple is the fulfillment of
Solomon’s prayer when he dedicated the first temple
1 Kings 8:41-43 “Moreover concerning the foreigner, that is not of Your people
Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for Your name's sake… and pray
toward this house; 43 hear from heaven Your dwelling-place, and do according
to all that the foreigner calls to You for; that all the peoples of the earth
may know Your name, to fear You...”
b.
Jesus quoted this passage from Isaiah when He cleaned out the
moneychangers from the court of the Gentiles in the second temple
Mark 11:17 – “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations”
E) The scope of the blessing includes all peoples (v.3-9)
1. Throughout history, God has been separating for Himself a people for His name. In Leviticus 20:24-26, I Ki. 8:53, Ezr. 9:1, Ezr. 10:11, and Neh. 10:28, this concept is stated, “The Lord separated you from the people” for His holy purposes.
2. v.3 exhorts the son of the foreigner who has been joined to the Lord not to take that concept out of context. God’s purpose for history is not to keep separating Jews from the rest of the Gentile world, but to separate people – Jews and Gentiles – out of every nation and people in the world to create a new people, His people, who will worship Him and love Him.
3. “The
son of the foreigner” is a quote from the covenant God made with Abraham:
Genesis 17:12 “And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you,
every male throughout your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought
with money from any son of a foreigner…” Gentiles were included in the
covenant from the beginning!
4. The new covenant is more inclusive than the old:
a. Eunuchs were not allowed in the temple service – Deut. 23:2 (responsive reading)
b. Possible that Daniel was made a eunuch, since he was under the chief of the eunuchs (Daniel 1), and many other Jews were made eunuchs in Babylon during the exile (mentioned 12 times in the book of Esther).
c. In Isaiah, the promise includes them.
d. In Acts 8, a eunuch is baptized, receiving the sign of the new covenant which he could never have had under the old!
e. This may be the fulfillment of Ezekiel 17:24 “I will cause the dry tree to flourish!”
f. Colossians 3:11 “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcision or uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.”
5. v.8 God, the gatherer of the outcasts of Israel and one to adds to those gathered
a. outcasts (KJV), exiles (NIV), dispersed (NAS), lit. “driven” or “pushed” out.
i. Jews were driven out of promised land temporarily by Chaldeans
ii. “him” = Israel. The return of the Jews from Babylon would be the first installment of a larger gathering of Gentiles into the people of God through Jesus.
iii. Even Jewish commentators agree this is speaking of gentiles
iv. Isaiah 66:18 “…the time is coming that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they will come and see my glory.”
v. John 10:16 “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice: and they shall become one flock…”
vi. Note recurrence of “were added to the church” in Acts:
a. Act 2:41 They then that received his word were baptized: and there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls.
b. Acts 5:14 and believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of them and women;
c. Acts 11:22-24”…they sent forth Barnabas as far as Antioch: 23 who, when he was come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad; and he exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord: 24 … and many people were added unto the Lord.”
F) The scope of the blessing is for all time (v. 5)
1. “everlasting
name”
Isaiah 63:12 “He caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of
Moses and divided the waters before them, to make Himself an everlasting name.”
This glory will never fade!
2. “not
be cut off”
55:12 “For in joy y’all will go out, and in peace y’all will be lead forth.
The mountains and the hills will break forth into song before your faces, and
all the trees of the field will clap the hand. 13. Instead of the thorn, a
cypress will grow up; instead of the nettle, a myrtle will grow up, and it will
be for Jehovah for a name, for an everlasting sign; it will not be cut off.” There
is no end to this blessing; it will never get cut off!
A) It is in this context that we have the command in v.9 to eat.
B) This can be taken three ways:
1. This is a feast for the wild animals upon the enemies of God and His people
a. Traditional Jewish interpretation (Targum)
b. Revelation 19:17-18 “I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, ‘Come and be gathered together unto the great supper of God; 18 that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit thereon...”
2. Picture of God’s abandonment of the Jews to the ravages of the Babylonians
a. Traditional Christian interpretation
b. Hosea 2:12 “I will lay waste her vines and her fig-trees, whereof she hath said, ‘These are my hire that my lovers have given me,’ and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.”
c. cf. Isa. 5:29, 27:10-11, Jer 11:9, Jer. 12:9
3. Invitation to partake in God’s salvation pictured as a feast for beleaguered people:
a. 25:6 “On this mountain Jehovah of Hosts will make for all the peoples a rich feast, a feast of aged wine, of rich things full of marrow, of refined, aged wine. 7 And he will swallow up on this mountain the… veil that is spread over all the nations. 8 He has swallowed up death forever; and Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from all faces..”
b. 53:1 “Hey, all who thirst, step-forward to the waters - and the ones who have no silver. Step-forward, buy, and eat, and step-forward, buy wine and milk without silver and without price! 2. To what [purpose] do y’all weigh out silver with non-bread, and your labor with dissatisfaction? Listen carefully to me and eat the good, and let your soul delight itself in the richness.”
c. The Hebrew word translated “beast” in all English translations is refers to human life in the previous instance of this word in Isaiah (53:8) and the subsequent use of this word (57:10), so it could refer to people who were living in desolation – the undeveloped fields and forests instead of the developed city.
d. v.9 appears to be part of the declaration of God introduced in v.8. The Hebrew Masoretic text ends a paragraph here.
e. Forms a contrast to the counterfeit feast of the wicked in v.12 who also say “come” but their invitation is to get drunk.
f. I cannot be dogmatic on this point, and if you study this and come to the traditional conclusion, I will not argue with you, but I am going to use this as my application:
God has a spiritual meal for you. Come and eat.
How do you eat it?
T By keeping justice and doing righteousness,
T By being joined to the Lord,
T Keeping His Sabbath,
T Choosing His word, His salvation, His people,
T And keeping a strong grip in His covenant.
Come and eat – by faith enjoy the blessings of communion with God, the blessings of:
T Happiness
T A place in God’s house – His kingdom, among His people, and forever in Heaven
T The gift of God’s powerful arm and His name
T God’s full Acceptance of you in His beloved Son Jesus.