CHAPTER 56

(712 B.C.)

DO JUSTICE; KEEP GODS JUDGMENTS; GODS CONCERN INCLUDES THE GENTILES

¹Thus says the LORD, Keep you Judgment, and do Justice: for My Salvation is near to come, and My Righteousness to be revealed. (Judgment and Justice have to do with the Word of God. In essence, Christ is all of this and more. He is the Salvation which would come, and in fact did come, and the Righteousness which was to be revealed, and in fact was revealed.)

²Blessed is the man who does this, and the Son of Man who lays hold on it; who keeps the sabbath from polluting it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil. (Jesus Christ is Gods True Sabbath. Worshipping and serving Him thereby keeps the Sabbath.)

³Neither let the son of the stranger, who has joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD has utterly separated me from His People: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. (The idea of this Passage, continuing to refer to the coming Kingdom Age, is that under the New Covenant none are excluded.)

⁴For thus says the LORD unto the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, and choose the things that please Me, and take hold of My Covenant (certain individuals, such as eunuchs, were denied certain privileges in the official life of Israel, because those in positions of leadership were to be types of Christ [Deut. 23:1]; however, this did not preclude their Salvation, but only their service. Under the New Covenant, no such restriction is allowed, because Christ has already come! As well, in the coming Kingdom Age, when the Law of Moses, at least to a certain degree, will be reinstituted, the old restrictions will not be binding, because Christ is present);

⁵Even unto them will I give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. (Even unto them, refers to any and all who will accept Christ as Saviour, irrespective of their nationality, race, or handicap, as being accepted with full rights and privileges! Such is the New Covenant [Rev. 22:17].

Sons and daughters refers to Israel; the acceptance of Christ, irrespective as to who the person might be, gives them a place and position better than Israel had under the Old Covenant.)

⁶Also the sons of the stranger, who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, and to love the Name of the LORD, to be His servants, every one who keeps the sabbath from polluting it, and takes hold of My Covenant (My Covenant refers to The Everlasting Name, which refers to Christ. It is the New Covenant!);

⁷Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My House of Prayer: their Burnt Offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon My Altar; for My House shall be called an House of Prayer for all people. (The House of Prayer, the Burnt Offerings, the sacrifices, the Altar, and the Sabbath will all be restored in the coming Kingdom Age, and so point back to Christ and to Calvary; prior to the First Advent, they pointed forward to them [Ezek., Chpts. 40-48].

Jesus addressed Himself to the phrase, an House of Prayer for all people, [Mk. 11:17]. In His day, it was made a house of merchandise. In the coming Glad Day, it will fulfill that which God originally intended.)

⁸The Lord GOD which gathers the outcasts of Israel says, Yet will I gather others to Him, beside those who are gathered unto Him. (The others that Adonai Jehovah will gather to Israel will be the other sheep of which He Himself speaks in Jn. 10:16, i.e., the Gentiles. They were to be brought in, and in fact have already been brought in. Thus, there is one flock and One Shepherd.)

⁹All you beasts of the field, come to devour, yes, all you beasts in the forest. (In the last four Verses of this Chapter and the first two of the next, Israel is compared to a flock of sheep neglected by unfaithful shepherds, who feed themselves and persecute the Godly. Such was the moral condition which caused Israel to become an outcast.

When shepherds are unfaithful, wild beasts ravage the flocks. The beasts of this Verse symbolize the Gentile princes who will press the Israelites past, present, and future.)

BLIND WATCHMEN REPROVED

¹⁰His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. (The idea, as presented by the Holy Spirit, is that Israel lost her way because of these blind watchmen, i.e., Preachers! Israel forfeited all the great Promises because of these dumb dogs that cannot bark, which means they do not preach the Truth or warn of false doctrine.)

¹¹Yes, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds who cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. (In Jesus day, these watchmen were called blind guides of the Gospel [Mat. 15:14; Lk. 6:39]. They did not have the spiritual discernment which would enable them to lead people aright. Instead of acting as faithful watchdogs who give warning of the approach of danger by their barking, they remain apathetic and utter no warning at all. It is as if they pass their lives in sleep.

Not only do they fail in the way of neglect of duty, but they are actively culpable. Being worldly and not spiritually minded, they are greedy after gain, i.e., greedy dogs.)

¹²Come you, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant. (The Prophets of Isaiahs time, as well as the time of Christ, were not only negligent of their duty, and covetous, but they were given to excess regarding entertainment.

Such crucified their Saviour when He came, and such today reject their Saviour Who has come!)