Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+056
Chapter 56 (ESV)
1 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my righteousness be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man who does this,
and the son of man who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
“The Lord will surely separate me from his people”;
and let not the eunuch say,
“Behold, I am a dry tree.”
4 For thus says the Lord:
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
5 I will give in my house and within my walls
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.
6 “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,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
and holds fast my covenant—
7 these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.”
REFLECTION:
- Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
- What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase? How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?
- In this passage, God is extending an inclusive policy to all people to enter into the temple if they keep Sabbath and keep God’s covenant (verses 4, 6). Have you ever felt an outsider or been excluded from joining some group? How does this passage apply to you today?
- “A house of prayer for all nations” (v7).
- Confession and repentance are proper attitudes for prayer, but so is joy, as this verse reminds us. Joy is also one of the fruits of the spirit (Gal 5:22). Try to begin or end with a praise song to help bring joy to your prayer/devotion time.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
HYMN:
How Can I Keep From Singing – youtu.be/vh_8rTBpvRU
