Salvation for Foreigners
“This is what the LORD says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for My salvation is coming soon, and My righteousness will be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
Let no foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will utterly exclude me from His people.”
And let the eunuch not say, “I am but a dry tree.” For this is what the LORD says: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, who choose what pleases Me and hold fast to My covenant—I will give them, in My house and within My walls, a memorial and a name better than that of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.
And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD to minister to Him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be His servants—all who keep the Sabbath without profaning it and who hold fast to My covenant—I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.” Thus declares the Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel: “I will gather to them still others besides those already gathered.”
Israel’s Sinful Leaders
Come, all you beasts of the field; eat greedily, all you beasts of the forest. Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber. Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain: “Come, let me get the wine, let us imbibe the strong drink, and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”
Imagine that you are starving, wandering mean streets in search of any kind of food. You stop long enough to gaze longingly into the lighted windows of a busy restaurant. Just as you are about to turn away hopeless, the restaurant owner comes out, takes your hand, and leads you in, seating you at a table already laden with food.
“Is this for me?” you ask. “Yes, indeed,” replies the owner. “And you can return as frequently as you need to. You will always be welcome here for the rest of your life.” At that point, you might be so overcome by emotion that you throw yourself at the owner’s feet in gratitude.
There have always been people with hearts hungry for God who are searching for Him. Even in Isaiah’s time, there were many foreigners who came to Jerusalem to worship. What these people thought about the multitude of idols they encountered on the way to the temple is anybody’s guess. Once foreigners reached the temple, they could only stand in an outer court while Jews could enter further. Here God is issuing an open invitation to those foreigners. “This is what the LORD says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for My salvation is coming soon, and My righteousness will be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
But what about eunuchs? Deuteronomy 23:1 clearly states “ No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord.” Any eunuch reading these words must have felt his heart sink in despair. Eunuchs were men who had been castrated or who had lost their testicles in accidents. Obviously, eunuchs could never marry, nor could they father children, meaning that their family names would die with them. Some slaves were castrated before allowing them to serve in sensitive places such as the royal harem. Here God is assuring eunuchs that He will preserve their names. “For this is what the LORD says: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, who choose what pleases Me and hold fast to My covenant—I will give them, in My house and within My walls, a memorial and a name better than that of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.”
One of the most famous eunuchs mentioned in the Bible was the Ethiopian eunuch who served under the Ethiopian queen Candace as the head of her treasury. This man had actually been worshiping in Jerusalem (Did he stand outside the temple?) and was on his way home when God sent the deacon Philip to meet him on a desert road. The eunuch was reading Isaiah 53 and Philip instructed the man about Jesus. This man was immediately baptized and went back to Ethiopia rejoicing.
Foreigners and eunuchs – two groups that practicing Jews regarded as second or third – class citizens when it came to worship. But God knows the human heart. “And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD to minister to Him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be His servants—all who keep the Sabbath without profaning it and who hold fast to My covenant—I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.” Thus declares the Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel: “I will gather to them still others besides those already gathered.”
So far, so good, but God’s not through yet. While welcoming true believers, God also rebukes the religious leaders who should be leading by example but who have become corrupt. “Come, all you beasts of the field; eat greedily, all you beasts of the forest. Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber. Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain: “Come, let me get the wine, let us imbibe the strong drink, and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”
APPLICATION: It’s noon near a small Samaritan village. Jesus and his disciples have been walking for hours; now Jesus is sitting by the well while his disciples go into town to get food. One village woman approaches the well, even though everyone else has already fetched water earlier in the day. This lady is a social pariah, someone who has already had several husbands and who is now living with a man who refuses to marry her. Jesus isn’t worried; he knows this lady and he knows all the details of her life. But this lady is honestly searching. Jesus tells her, “God is a spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” The lady gets it, realizes who Jesus is, and runs off to tell everybody in town that she has met the Messiah. Too bad the religious leaders in Isaiah’s day weren’t as discerning. Those men thought that as long as they went through the motions, they could fool God.
Beasts of the field eating greedily, blind watchmen, ravenous dogs, shepherds with no discernment, drinking themselves into a stupor – this is the level to which much of the leadership in Judah has descended in Isaiah’s time. Such temptations exist for anyone in leadership in any age. As we read this description, we may find ourselves thinking of some who are in current world leadership. Let us remember that such people need our urgent prayers rather than our condemnation.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, reveal yourself to world leaders so that they will hunger and thirst for righteousness and that they will truly serve You for the rest of their lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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