Thus says the LORD: Maintain justice and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed. Happy is the mortal who does this, the one who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it, and refrains from doing any evil. Do not let the foreigner joined to the LORD say, “The LORD will surely separate me from his people”; and do not let the eunuch say, “I am just a dry tree.” For thus says the LORD: To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, 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. 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, and do not profane it, and hold fast my covenant- 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. Isaiah 56: 1-8, NRSV.
Gracious God, today we want to thank You for Your everlasting love, that endures forever! We will sit at Your feet, and listen to Your voice; in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Yesterday we looked at the terms of acceptance for the eunuchs, and the foreigners. We use the phrase “terms of acceptance;” but what they really are, are similarities between those who choose to join themselves to the LORD. God’s terms of acceptance, for all people, is, “Come just as you are. I will make you what you were created to be – because I have a plan for your life.” Today we will look at the promises of the covenant.
To the mortal – “[S]oon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed. ” The way things are going these days, I do not believe that there is anyone who is not longing for God’s salvation to come, and His deliverance to be revealed. Depending on the length of our days, the wandering may be long, or short, but I believe that the desire to be delivered, is cherished by all. It seems that we have been wandering too long in this wilderness of frustration and sadness. God’s promise to us is, that the long night of sorrow is drawing to its close. It will soon be, “the breaking of the day.”
To the eunuch – His promise to them is, “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.“ When I read this, I thought about the verse in Revelation 2: 17b, ” I will also give [them] a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to [them].” What name could be better than the name given to us by Jesus! Jesus knows the battles we have fought. He knows the obstacles that we have overcome! He knows the feelings of insecurity we have surmounted. No one but Jesus can name us adequately, because no one knows us the way Jesus does. Only you and I will know what our new name means, because there are things about ourselves, known only to Jesus and us. Perhaps if others knew our names it would mean nothing at all to them. I believe that the “monument” that the Lord will give us, and the stone on which our new name will be written, are symbolic of the fact that these names are “written in stone,” and they “are an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.” Hallelujah!
To the foreigner – “[T]hese 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[.]” A promise of complete acceptance! Our repentance and our confession, our prayers and our praises, will all be acceptable to God. God, through His Holy Spirit, will do the calling. Foreigners will come to His temple and learn of Him. As in the story of Philip and the Ethiopian; after he was taught of the Lord, and was baptized, scripture informs us that, ” . . . the eunuch did not see him (Philip) again, but went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8: 39b, NIV). In like manner, “foreigners will be joyful in [God’s] house of prayer.” There is no experience that can rival coming to the LORD. It is the best thing any man, woman, boy, and girl, can do! With the psalmist we can exclaim: “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Psalm 16: 11, emphasis provided).
Yes my friends, all of this will be provided, “On the mountain of the LORD.”