Isaiah 56:1 says, Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. God called on the people of Israel to keep His judgments, or Laws, and to do good because His salvation was near. This applied to their deliverance from Babylon, but it also applied to the coming of Jesus Christ to forever set them free. As followers of Christ today, we need to keep His commandments and to do good because Jesus Christ’s return is near, no matter how long it may take. Until He does return, we have already been set free from the penalty of sin and death, so we should want to be obedient to God’s commandments and do good in the world.
Verse two adds, Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. God said that the men who did this were blessed, and if their sons did so as well, they would likewise be blessed. Though it says men and their sons, I believe it applies to women and their daughters as well. All Christian parents should teach their children about God and pray that they will come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Then, they should all do their best to obey God’s commandments, not to earn salvation or even rewards in heaven, but because it is what God expects of them.
Verse three continues, Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. God said the stranger and the eunuch should not think that they were separated from Him. God’s plan was never for only those born into the nation of Israel to be saved, but for the people of Israel to reach out to the whole world with His gospel. No matter our situation in life, we have not been barred from coming to God because of it. Jesus Christ died for the sins of everyone and not just a select few.
Verse four states, For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant: Isaiah said that if the eunuch would keep God's sabbaths and obey His laws that he would be a part of His covenant people. Matthew Henry says they believed this because they could not father children or be fruitful in other words. I believe this means that if the eunuch had faith in God’s promise to send a Redeemer and not just that he obeyed God’s laws, since no one can become a part of God’s kingdom by their own goodness, and that being fruitful was a blessing and not a requirement for salvation. This is still true today.
Verse five adds. Even unto them will I give in mine 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. God said that if a Gentile or a eunuch came to Him by faith, He would give them a name that was better than being an Israelite, and that was an everlasting name that could not be cut off. We may join a particular church today, and some may think this makes those who are members somehow better than others, but this will never be the case. We are better because we are a child of God when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, and we will never be cut off from His kingdom. We also need to realize that no one is excluded, even if we do not like them.
