Isaiah 56 - Bible Study in 5 Minutes

Isaiah 56 Short Summary:

In the first part of Isaiah 56, God promises a place for the outcasts to participate in His future plans for Judah. He would not exclude the eunuchs or the foreign proselytes from His blessings. The second part of the chapter includes words of rebuke from Isaiah to the leaders of Judah. They were lazy, covetous, and selfish men who cared nothing about the people they led. 

Isaiah 56 Bible Study

TIMELINE:

• The prophetic ministry of Isaiah spanned the reigns of King Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

• Isaiah’s ministry is thought to span from 739-681 BC.

KEY CHARACTERS:

• Isaiah – The son of Amoz (1:1). God commissioned Isaiah as His prophet to Judah.

• The Leaders of Judah – They abused their power and received a strong rebuke from Isaiah.

DEFINITIONS:

• Proselyte - The term refers to a “stranger,” which the Old Testament writers used to refer to a non-Hebrew or non-Jewish person (Gentile) who lived among the people of Judah. The term proselyte is specific to those “strangers” who voluntarily became adherents to the Jewish faith.

OUTLINE:

• A CALL TO RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HOPE FOR OUTSIDERS (56:1-8):

  • God, through Isaiah called the people of Judah to “Keep justice and do righteousness” because God’s promises were going to be soon fulfilled and they would want to be a part of His blessings.

  • The people of Judah had been notoriously bad at keeping God’s laws, including His laws about the Sabbath day, so God reminded them to keep the Sabbath, avoid profaning it, and to withdraw themselves from any evil they were involved in.

  • Then God turned His compassion towards those outside of the common citizenship of Judah, to the eunuchs and the Gentiles (anyone not from Israel or Judah).

  • They could take part in God’s promises. There was a place for Him in His plan.

  • God said He would give the eunuchs “a monument and a name better than sons and daughters” in His house (56:7).

  • Foreigners who lived amongst the people of Judah would also have a place. Proselytes were welcomed by God and told to adhere to God’s covenant and keep the Sabbath.

  • They could even bring burnt offerings to the Temple mount, God’s house, and He would accept their offerings.

  • “For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (56:7).

  • Going further, God promised to gather others into His blessings, including the outcasts of Israel.

• CONDEMNING JUDAH’S BAD LEADERS (56:9-12):

  • The second part of the chapter is less positive. Isaiah condemned the blind watchmen of Judah, comparing them to brute beasts.

  • They didn’t protect the people, they devoured them. Their appetites were “mighty” and they were only self-interested, scheming how they could prosper off the people for their own gain.

  • They were blind watchmen, guard dogs without a bark, and lazy pleasure-worshipping gluttons.

APPLICATION:

• Does this chapter instruct modern Gentile Christians to keep the Sabbath Day?

• What is the context into which Isaiah is speaking?

• He is speaking to individuals who lived under the religious system established by God through Moses on Mount Sinai.

• He was speaking to Jews, eunuchs, and non-Jews who had proselyted into adherence of God.

• Those proselytes, as part of their adherence, were to keep the Sabbath law.

• This passage is not a command for modern Christians to keep the Sabbath law as spelled out in the Law of Moses, just as it is not a command for them to offer burnt offerings at the Temple (56:7).

• Context is key to understanding to whom this command applies.

• The New Testament authors, nor Jesus, every ordered Gentile believers to follow the Sabbath as it was prescribed to the Jews and proselytes under the Law of Moses.

• I don’t think this silence is insignificant, especially when paired with the fact that one of the only references the Apostle Paul makes to Sabbath is to tell Christians not to judge other Christians based on observance of the Sabbath (Colossians 2:16).