Isaiah 56:1, commentary and pictures

The verse calls for maintaining right judgment and practicing justice because divine deliverance is near to come and divine righteousness is about to be unveiled. Keeping judgment means laying hold on the covenant by honoring the Sabbath from pollution, keeping the hand from every evil deed, and choosing what pleases God. The blessing that follows rests on all who do so, including faithful strangers joined to the Lord and eunuchs who keep the Sabbaths and hold fast the covenant, who are brought into His house and given an everlasting name better than sons and daughters. The prophecy belongs to the Christian age when the gospel gathers Gentiles as well as Israel, foretelling a last-day Sabbath reform showing the fourth commandment still binding after Christ's crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. That righteousness is to be revealed in the lives of God's people through obedience to His commandments and practical care for the suffering and afflicted, requiring humble repentance, turning from selfishness and pride, and full rather than half service in preparation to meet the Lord. The command stands as a precious assurance from a God who never fails, bringing light to those in darkness, peace and comfort amid present trials, and glory, honor and immortality in the life to come.

Words and Immediate Context

The command is to maintain just judgment and practice right doing, because divine deliverance is close at hand and divine righteousness is on the point of being disclosed. That right response to the nearness of salvation is inseparable from the blessing pronounced next upon the one who acts justly by guarding the Sabbath from profanation and withholding the hand from every evil. Joining the Lord in this way means being welcomed among His people, holding fast His covenant, and receiving a lasting place and name in His house, even for those once counted as outsiders or as without descendants. Upholding justice and doing right is therefore the fitting obedience in view of coming salvation.

The promised salvation is accomplished through Jesus Christ for every individual soul, the very salvation into which the prophets inquired. The Lord draws near in mercy and compassion and love, to be taken in as a welcomed guest. The verse belongs together with Isaiah 55 and Isaiah 58 and bears directly upon present experience, pressing for discernment of what must be done along right lines because time is moving swiftly.

The whole chapter is a divine reproof whose full instruction is to be studied, summoning those addressed to heed instruction and enter upon thorough reformation instead of taking only chosen words. Studied in that way it becomes a call to spiritual awakening and to impart the light of the gospel to others.

Sabbath and Covenant Blessing

The blessing belongs to the one who acts in line with the call to uphold justice and do what is right because salvation is near and righteousness is about to be revealed. That person is blessed for keeping the Sabbath from being profaned and keeping the hand from doing any evil. The surrounding verses show that this faithful conduct includes holding fast to the covenant, and that those who join themselves to the Lord are welcomed among His people and given a lasting place and name in His house.

Keeping judgment means laying hold on the covenant, keeping the Sabbath from polluting it, keeping the hand from doing any evil, and choosing the things that please Him. Those who do this and lay hold on it are blessed, including the stranger joined to the Lord and the eunuch who keep the Sabbaths, choose what pleases Him, and take hold of the covenant.

Keeping the Sabbath means remembering the day specified for keeping, about which there is no uncertainty. Six days are for labor and all work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord. By observing that Sabbath, the observer receives the holiness put upon that day.

Faithful strangers joined to the Lord and eunuchs who keep the Sabbaths, choose what pleases Him, and hold fast His covenant are welcomed into His house. They are given in His house and within His walls a place and an everlasting name better than sons and daughters, a name that shall not be cut off. This promise extends to those once regarded as outsiders or without descendants, and it is precious assurance from a God who never fails that gives light to those in darkness who accept it.

Prophecy for the Last Days

The prophecy belongs to the Christian age, when the gospel gathers Gentiles as well as Israel, and its blessing on those who honor the Sabbath extends to all as the gospel is preached to all nations. To do what is right because salvation is near and righteousness is about to be revealed leads directly into blessing for keeping the Sabbath holy and doing no evil. That setting shows Sabbath observance belongs to the reform foretold for the last days. The fourth commandment therefore remains binding after Christ's crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, through the time when His servants preach to all nations.

The verse is a message to be proclaimed now with earnestness and fervor, because trouble is soon to come all over the world and persecution is coming upon those who proclaim the truth, leaving no time to delay in seeking to know God. Living justly and doing what is right in view of near salvation includes keeping the Sabbath from pollution and keeping the hand from doing any evil. The blessing belongs to all who do this and lay hold on it, including the stranger joined to the Lord and the eunuch who keep the Sabbaths, choose what pleases Him, and take hold of His covenant, who will be given in His house a place and an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. The verse lays a heavy burden on God's people to arouse themselves to give the last note of warning to save a perishing world.

The passage from verse 1 onward gives promising words for the encouragement of churches, especially in times of spiritual lack and emergency. It calls God's people to trust His sure promises and remain faithful rather than be discouraged by unbelief and disaffection.

Righteousness in Daily Life

Keeping judgment and doing justice is Bible sanctification and the higher education, which is unity with Jesus Christ and oneness with God through acquaintance with God who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes should not perish but have everlasting life, gained by making the Bible the book of study. That higher education means bringing God into mind and heart and having Christ in the life in order to reveal Him. It means learning to humble self and subdue self, receiving the education that proceeds from God and imparts knowledge of what the Lord says. It means walking in the footsteps of Jesus, preaching as He preached and working as He worked, and giving students a knowledge of the Word of God.

Because salvation is near to come and righteousness is to be revealed, full and not half service is required. That service honors God and lives in right relation to Him in preparation to meet the Lord when He comes in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. His righteousness is to be revealed in the lives of His people through obedience to His commandments and practical care for the suffering and afflicted. This service brings them into harmony with God as they follow Him and form character according to His Word, and doing His will becomes a source of strength and influence.

The call is addressed to each person and means humble repentance, turning from sin, and a life of obedience. In particular it means resisting selfishness, pride, covetousness, and human rules that lack support in God's word, and cooperating with God in His work. True justice values inward conscientiousness over outward perfection and oddities. Unlike human viewing, God's judgment forbids showing contempt, stirring up another mind, and handling a conscientious God-fearing person roughly without thought of injuring Christ in the person of His child, and it forbids respecting some while injuring another by word or act.

Keeping judgment means taxing every capacity to develop discernment now, for God's people have only half the judgment they could have and must educate themselves in judgment in view of transfer to the higher court. There believers will walk beside Christ and receive the only true higher education, as He holds the Book in His hand and shows the meaning of words they did not comprehend. He leads them on the path with the tree of life on either side to the trees for the healing of the nations, where they pluck and eat food that needs no difficult care.

Comfort and Assured Promise

The command to keep judgment and do justice because salvation is near and righteousness is about to be revealed is a precious assurance from a God who never fails. To lay hold on that call is to lay hold on His covenant, to keep the Sabbath from polluting it, to keep the hand from doing any evil, and to choose what pleases Him. Those who do so are blessed, and the truth found in the Word of the Lord is to be their constant assurance. That assurance gives light in the Lord to those in darkness who accept it, including the stranger joined to the Lord and the eunuch, with a place in His house and an everlasting name better than sons and daughters that shall not be cut off.

The obedient receive peace and comfort amid present trials and, in the life to come, glory, honor, and immortality. A woman who does not take a child to care for should not feel condemned nor regard her faithfulness as lesser. The Lord may have greater work for her in teaching those who do not know God to do His will. Even strangers and eunuchs who might feel excluded or without lasting descendants are promised a place in God's house and within His walls and an everlasting name better than sons and daughters when they join themselves to the Lord, keep His Sabbaths, choose what pleases Him, and hold fast His covenant.

The chapter is a source of comfort and encouragement with an open door to meet with God. It calls for humble hearts and a right relationship with Him. He will be found by those who seek Him earnestly.

Proclamation and Mission Work

The call to keep judgment and do justice because salvation is near to come and righteousness is about to be revealed stands as God's own word and as His pledge of power for faithful work, urging believers to reach out with the gospel into new places. Its message belongs to today, for the glad tidings of salvation are to be carried to those who have not yet heard them. In that present work God's people must not allow defects of character or false teaching to hinder the advance of the message.

The same command sets the grand and noble work of faithful shepherds and guardians of the flock. A minister and his wife qualify themselves for that work by helping struggling, ignorant, and poor souls, by sharing their homes with children left orphans by Sabbathkeeping parents where orphan care is undertaken, and by serving as co-laborers with Christ in educating others. Such co-labor is hindered rather than helped when they voluntarily tie their hands with the care of an infant. The instruction in the chapter about caring for God's loyal, commandment-keeping people is not to be used to support spending God's resources on the kind of work among people in the slums described in that connection.