733_God’s plan for all people (Isaiah 56)
Isaiah 56:6-8 “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.”
8 The Lord God,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
“I will gather yet others to him
besides those already gathered.”
People find it incredibly easy to draw circles that decide who belongs and who does not. Every society has its insiders and outsiders. Sometimes the dividing lines are race, nationality, education, wealth, or social status. Even in churches, the invisible lines are often drawn.
Yet the gospel tells a different story. Someone once said, “The gospel is good news because it is for bad people.” It is also good news because it is for all people. Isaiah 56 shows us that God’s desire has always been to gather people from every background into His family.
This chapter introduces the final section of the book of Isaiah. Chapters 1–39 warned Judah about the judgment their rebellion would bring – the Babylonian exile. Chapters 40–55 comforted the exiles with the promise that God had not forgotten His covenant and would redeem them through His suffering Servant. Now, in chapters 56–66, Isaiah addresses those who have returned to their homeland. They have rebuilt their lives, but they soon discover that returning to the land is not the same as returning to God. What they need most is not merely a restored city but a restored relationship with the Lord.
The chapter begins with these words: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my righteousness be revealed’” (Isaiah 56:1, ESV). This reflects the gospel message: “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!” To receive God’s saving grace, we must first turn from our own self-centered ways. The call to holy living is a call to embrace God’s love and righteousness over our own love of ourselves. John the Baptist prepared the way for the Savior and King by calling the people to repentance. The Pharisees who refused to repent closed the way into the kingdom for themselves.
Two groups who knew what it meant to feel excluded from Israel were eunuchs and foreigners. Many Jewish men were forced to become eunuchs during the Babylonian captivity when the king chose them to serve in his courts. Under the Law, eunuchs were barred from full participation in the congregation (Deuteronomy 23:1). They also carried the lifelong grief of never having children to keep something of themselves alive in the world.
But the Lord promises them: “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” (Isaiah 56:4–5, ESV).
God makes it clear that his faithful people are defined by only one thing: their relationship with him. They are fully accepted and promised an everlasting memorial within his house because they hold fast to the covenant with him. Their acceptance does not depend on physical completeness but on covenant relationship. Though they would never leave behind descendants on earth, God promises them an everlasting name in His own house.
This is the great truth of Christ’s salvation. Human achievements fade, family names are eventually forgotten, but everyone who belongs to Christ receives an inheritance that can never perish. Perhaps we all feel overlooked at times. Life has not unfolded as we hoped. Some dreams have died, some losses cannot be replaced. This promise reminds us that our identity is not found in what we possess or accomplish but in belonging forever to God.
The second excluded group was of foreigners. Throughout Israel’s history, Gentiles who trusted the God of Israel could worship Him, but many barriers remained. After the exile, there was a danger that the returning Jews would become inward-looking, imagining that God’s blessings belonged to them alone.
But God declares, “And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD… these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer… for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:6–7, ESV).
When God called Abraham, He promised that “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3, ESV). Israel was chosen not simply to enjoy God’s blessing but to become the channel through which His blessing would flow to the nations. God’s heart has always been larger than one nation or one people.
Centuries later, the Lord Jesus walked into the temple courts. The Court of the Gentiles—the very place where the nations could come near to worship—had been turned into a bustling marketplace. Profiteering and cheating had replaced the welcome that God extended to every nation.
As the Lord drove out those who were buying and selling, he declared, “My house shall be called a house of prayer ” (Matthew 21:13, ESV), echoing Isaiah’s words. His cleansing of the temple rebukes the use of God’s house as a home for those who love greed and fraud. For it was intended to be a light that drew people of all nations home to the presence of God.
Isaiah continues: “The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, ‘I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered’” (Isaiah 56:8, ESV).
How wonderfully this promise unfolds in the New Testament! After Pentecost, the gospel crosses every boundary. The Samaritans turn to God. An Ethiopian eunuch believes in Christ and is baptized on a desert road. A Roman centurion named Cornelius receives the Holy Spirit. A Philippian jailer and his household come to faith. Soon the church includes Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free, rich and poor, men and women. The family of God grows, not because people share the same culture, but because they trust the same Savior. As Paul later writes, “There is neither Jew nor Greek… for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28, ESV).
Yet the chapter ends with a stern warning to Israel’s leaders. The watchmen, who should have been alert to spiritual danger, are blind and lazy, sleeping and eating comfortably through all the warnings of impending judgment. They are interested only in their own appetite and profit, neglecting the flock of God, the people entrusted to their care.
God continues to gather people from every corner of the world. Across continents, millions are searching for hope and truth. The harvest is plentiful. Yet God’s people are often distracted by comfort, ambition, or routine. We become so occupied with maintaining our own lives that we forget God’s mission, to call and welcome those whom God has called to be his own.
Isaiah 56 reveals the depth of God’s passion for the world. Have we truly embraced God’s heart for all people? Are there people we look down upon, as somehow lesser than us in the kingdom of God? God’s call is wider than our prejudices. The cross of Christ has opened the door to everyone.
Are we faithfully joining God in His work? Are our meetings the very places where the lonely find family, where the broken discover hope, and where seekers encounter the living God? Every act of righteousness and love, every word of God’s truth, every deed that restores hope, every prayer for the nations, all that shows the open door to the kingdom of God reflects the very heart of God for the ignored and the excluded who love him.
Let us constantly remember that we belong to a God who delights in the redemption and restoration of the whole earth. Whether forgotten, wounded, an outsider, or a sinner, the door is open to all who trust him in repentance and faith. Let us extend that heartfelt love and welcome to all. Let us never build barriers where God is gathering his outcasts. May our lives, our families, and our churches, reflect His heart for all people until the day when a great multitude “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” stands before His throne, worshipping the Lamb forever (Revelation 7:9, ESV). God bless.