Isaiah 56:11

Rulers were often called ‘*shepherds’, because it was their duty to take care of their people (see 2 Samuel 24:17; 1 Kings 22:17; Ezekiel 34:2)

Lord ~ God’s name in the Bible; in the original language, it means ‘head over all’ and ‘God always’.
Sabbath ~ the seventh day of the week, when people were to rest from work (see Exodus 20:8-11).
worship ~ to praise God (or a false god) and to pray to him.
eunuch ~ man who is unable to be a father.
keep ~ to obey a law; to perform a promise.
Temple ~ special building in Jerusalem where Jews praised God and offered him prayers and gifts.
Jerusalem ~ at the time of David and Solomon, the capital of the country called Israel. During the time of Isaiah, Jerusalem was the capital of the country called Judah.
Jews ~ people who belong to the countries called Judah and Israel; people who belong to the 12 tribes of Israel.
tribe ~ group of the later family of one father.
Jerusalem ~ at the time of David and Solomon, the capital of the country called Israel. During the time of Isaiah, Jerusalem was the capital of the country called Judah.
covenant ~ special personal agreement that the Lord made with Israel (see Exodus chapter 24).
Lord ~ God’s name in the Bible; in the original language, it means ‘head over all’ and ‘God always’.
altar ~ special stone on which priests burned animals as gifts to God (or, to a false god).
Jews ~ people who belong to the countries called Judah and Israel; people who belong to the 12 tribes of Israel.
tribe ~ group of the later family of one father.
exile ~ someone that an enemy takes away to a foreign country.
resurrection ~ when a dead body becomes alive again.'look-out ~ someone whose job is to watch for danger; the place where that person waits whilst on duty.
shepherd ~ someone who looks after sheep.'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible. It contains 39 books, all from before Jesus was born.

1. Isaiah: New *Heavens and a New Earth

God’s *Messiah Beats God’s Enemies

Isaiah Chapter s 56 to 66

Gordon Churchyard

The words in square brackets, […], are not in the *Hebrew Bible. They make the book easier to understand in English. Isaiah wrote his book in the *Hebrew language. The words in round brackets (…) are explanations.

2. Isaiah Chapter s 56 to 66: God’s *messiah beats God’s enemies

Here is a list of the main sections in the Book of Isaiah.

• Chapter s 1 to 5 - Isaiah describes the people that live in Judah and Jerusalem.

• Chapter 6 - God makes Isaiah into a *prophet.
• Chapter s 7 to 40 - God’s king rules God’s people.

• Chapter s 41 to 55 - God’s servant saves God’s people.

• Chapter s 56 to 66 - God’s *messiah beats God’s enemies.

The fifth (5th) and last main section of the book begins here.

3. About the *messiah

*Messiah is a *Hebrew word. Isaiah wrote his book in the *Hebrew language. The original *Hebrew word is masah, which can have these meanings:

• To paint, which means to cover the surface of something.

• To anoint, which means to pour oil onto something.
• To appoint, which means to give somebody a job.

Our word *Messiah combines the second and third of these meanings. When God’s people, the *Jews, gave someone the job of king or priest, they poured oil onto him. This oil was from a fruit called the *olive. *Messiah describes the person who has become a king or a priest. The priests were God’s special servants at the *temple (God’s house) in Jerusalem. So all the kings of Judah and all the priests were *messiahs.

But the *Messiah in Isaiah Chapter s 56 to 66 is more than a king and a priest. His job is to defeat all God’s enemies. The *Jews expected that the *Messiah would come. Andrew said to Peter, ‘We have found the *Messiah’ (John 1:41). The woman at the well said to Jesus, ‘The *Messiah will come’ (John 4:25). But they expected that the *Messiah would defeat the Romans. The Romans were people from the nation called Rome, which ruled the *Jews in Israel at that time. Many *Jews believed that the *Messiah would defeat the Romans. Then he would rule the *Jews. The Romans would no longer rule them. When Jesus went up to heaven, his disciples (special students) asked him this: ‘Will you now give back the *kingdom to Israel?’ (Acts 1:6) A *kingdom is a country that a king rules. But Jesus’ job was not just to defeat Rome. It was something that is much bigger. It is to beat all God’s enemies. The last 11 Chapter s of Isaiah tell us something about this defeat.

4. Chapter s 56 to 57

There are 2 sections in these Chapter s.

(1) Isaiah 56:1-8. These verses are about God’s people. The important thing to notice is this. God’s people can come from anywhere. They do not have to live in Israel or Judah. They do not have to be *Jews. Jesus used words from verse 7 to describe the church. It is ‘a house of prayer for all nations’. Read the verses in the section ‘Something to do’ after chapter 56. They will help us to understand this idea.

(2) Isaiah 56:9-57. These verses are about people that do not really love God. They do not obey him. They are not part of his people. They are not *Jews that love God. And they are not part of the Christian church. The first part, 56:9-12, is about bad leaders. The second part, 57:1-21, compares the good people of 56:1-8 with the bad people of 56:9-12. Together, the two Chapter s teach this important lesson. You cannot be a good leader if your private life is bad.

5. Chapter 56

v1 This is what the *LORD is saying [to you]. ‘Always be fair. And do what is right. [Do this] because of the safety that I [will give to you]. It is very near. Also, I will soon show [everybody] that I am *righteous (very, very good).

v2 [God] will *bless the man that does this. He is the man that really does this. He *keeps the *Sabbath and he does not spoil it. And he does not allow his hand to do anything that is evil.

v3 [A foreigner] may have promised to obey the *LORD. Do not let that foreigner say this. “The *LORD will certainly not let me join his people.” Do not let any *eunuch complain. [Do not let him say], “I am only [like] a dry tree.” ’

v4 The *LORD says this to the *eunuchs who [do these things].

• ‘They *keep my *Sabbaths.

• They choose to do what pleases me.

• They really obey my *covenant.

v5 Then I will give them these things inside the walls of my *temple.

• Something to [make people] remember them.

• A name that is better than sons and daughters.

I will give them a name that will always remain. Nobody will cut it off (remove it).

v6 [This will happen] to foreigners who [do these things].

• They promise to obey and to serve the *LORD.

• They love the name of the *LORD and they *worship him.

• They all *keep the *Sabbath and they do not spoil it.

• They hold firm to my *covenant.

v7 I will bring them to my *holy mountain. And I will give them joy in my house of prayer. I will accept what they offer. [I will accept] what they burn as *sacrifices on my *altar. [This is] because [people will] call my house, “A house of prayer for all nations”.’

v8 The *LORD, [who is] *Lord, says this. He [is the God] that gathers the *exiles of Israel together. ‘I will gather even other [people] to them. [This will be] in addition to those that I have already gathered.’

v9 [God says this to wicked people]. ‘Come here, you wild animals [that live] in fields! Come to eat everything, you wild animals [that live] in the forest!

v10 [Israel’s] men that watch for danger are [like] blind people. They do not know anything. They are all [like] dumb dogs. They cannot bark. They lie about and dream. They love to sleep.

v11 They are [like] dogs that love to eat a lot. And they never have enough. [Also], they are [like] *shepherds who understand nothing. They all turn to their own way. Each one [tries] to gain [whatever he can for himself].

v12 [Each one of them] cries, “Come, let me get wine! Let us drink as much beer as we can! And tomorrow will be like today. It might be much better!” ’

1. Notes

Verse 1 ‘*LORD’ is God’s special name. In the *Hebrew language it is YHWH. It probably means ‘always alive’. Only God is really very, very good. But he wants his people to be good also. He wants them to be fair. Notice the word ‘soon’. This verse refers to when Jesus, the *Messiah, first came to the earth. It also refers to when he will return to the earth. Jesus’ last words in the Bible are, ‘Certainly I will come soon’ (Revelation 22:20).

Verse 2 ‘This’ refers to what God says at the start of verse 1. ‘That really does this’ is ‘holds it firmly’ in the *Hebrew Bible.

The ‘*Sabbath’ is the 7^th day of the week, or Saturday. The *Jews had special rules by which they ‘*kept the *Sabbath’. ‘*Keep the *Sabbath’ means ‘do what the rules allow on the *Sabbath’. In this way, the *Jews did not spoil the *Sabbath. They kept it as a special day for rest and prayer. For Christians, it is Sunday that is important, not the *Sabbath or Saturday. This is because Jesus came alive again on Sunday, the day after the *Sabbath.

‘His hand’ is a *Jewish way to say ‘himself’. We usually do things with our hands. So, this man does not allow himself to do anything that is evil.

Isaiah used two different *Hebrew words for ‘man’ in this verse:

• ‘*bless the man’ has ‘enosh’ for man. This word means a man with all human weaknesses.

• ‘the man that really does this’ is ‘ben adam’ in the *Hebrew Bible. This means, the ‘son of man’. It is any man from any country in the world. It is not only *Jews.

Verse 3 No person, from any country, should say, ‘The *LORD will not allow me to join his people’. Exodus 12:48-49 tells us that anybody can join the *LORD’s people. A *eunuch is a man without the sex parts of his body. Someone had cut them off, perhaps as part of an evil religion. *Eunuchs could not join the *LORD’s people, Deuteronomy 23:1. But here, the *LORD (through Isaiah) changes this rule. Anybody that lacks some part of their body can join the *LORD’s people! ‘A dry tree’ means a dead tree that cannot therefore produce any seeds. It is a picture of a *eunuch, who cannot have children.

Verse 4 A *covenant is what people agree to. In God’s *covenant with his people, they agree to love and to obey him. He agrees to be their God, and to take care of them. ‘Really obey’ translates the same *Hebrew word as ‘really does this’ in verse 2.

Verse 5 It was important for *Jews to have ‘a name’. In other words, they wanted people to remember them. And because of that, they considered it important to have children and grandchildren. They would make sure that people did not forget their parents or grandparents. But God promised more than this. He promised these things.

• People would remember them in his *temple. The *temple was God’s house in Jerusalem. For Christians, it is the place where God is king, or the church.

• They would have a name better than just sons and daughters. Revelation 2:17 says that all God’s people will have a new name!
• Nobody will remove this name. The verse says ‘cut off’. This would mean a lot to *eunuchs, because people had ‘cut off’ their sex parts.

Verse 6 This verse tells us what we must do to ‘hold firm to my (God’s) *covenant’. ‘*Worship’ means ‘to tell God that we love him’. We do this because he is so great and wonderful.

Verse 7 The ‘*holy mountain’ was *Zion. The *Jews built God’s house, or *temple, on *Zion. There was an *altar there. This was a special table outside the building. The priests burnt animals there in order to please God. Also, they did it to obey his rules in the Book of Leviticus. These animals were the *sacrifices. Jesus used the end of the verse in Matthew 21:13.

Verse 8 The two words for *LORD and *Lord are not the same in the *Hebrew Bible. ‘*LORD’ in the *Hebrew language probably means ‘always alive’ and ‘*Lord’ means ‘master’. The word ‘*exiles’ here means the people of God that lived in another country. They are not only *Jews. They are people that have gone away from God. This verse emphasises that God will help people from other countries, not just people from Israel. They will come together in the place which Jesus has prepared for them, John 14:2.

Verse 9 The *Hebrew word is the same each time, ‘wild animal’. The writer uses that word to describe wicked leaders. God tells them to ‘eat everything’ like wild animals. Here, God invites foreign armies to defeat Judah.

Verse 10 It was the job of certain men to watch for danger. When they saw danger, they told their people about it. But the men in Israel that had this responsibility were not carrying out their work properly. God describes them as blind people. They could not see danger. So, Israel’s leaders were not protecting their nation.

Verse 11 Here is a second special description of Israel’s leaders. They are not only like men that should warn people about danger. They are also like *shepherds (people that look after sheep). They should provide what their people need. But instead, they try to gain things for themselves. The *Hebrew word for ‘gain’ means ‘get [things] in a bad way’. Notice that in verses 10 and 11, the leaders do not do their jobs properly. The reason is that they prefer to look after themselves, and not other people. They do whatever they want to do in their private lives.

Verse 12 The leaders did not care what would happen tomorrow. Only today mattered!

1. Something to do

1. Think about ‘the *Sabbath’. The *Jews lost nearly everything when they lost their land. But they still had the *Sabbath. Now, for Christians, Sunday may be one of the few things that make them different from everybody else!

2. Read the account that is in Matthew 21:12-16. Of which verse in Isaiah chapter 56 does it remind you? Now read John 2:13-22. Note especially John 2:21. Isaiah was probably writing about two different *temples! One was in Jerusalem, the other was Christ’s body, the church, Ephesians 1:22-23.

3. Pray that God will gather to himself people from your own town and country.

4. Read part of Solomon’s prayer in 1 Kings 8:41-43. Here, Solomon prays that everybody will come to God’s *temple, not only *Jews.

6. heavens ~ another word for ‘skies’. It can also mean the place where God lives and the skies above us.
   messiah ~ a leader such as a king. With a capital M (that is, ‘Messiah’), it means Jesus for Christians.
   Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
   messiah ~ a leader such as a king. With a capital M (that is, ‘Messiah’), it means Jesus for Christians.
   prophet ~ someone who says what God is saying.
   Jews ~ the people that lived in Judah (which sounds like ‘Jew-dah’) and Israel.
   olive ~ a fruit that gives oil.
   temple ~ God’s house in Jerusalem. False gods also had temples.
   kingdom ~ a country that a king rules.
   LORD ~ LORD is a special name of God. In the Hebrew language, it is YHWH. It may mean ‘always alive’. So LORD is a sign that the Hebrew word is YHWH.
   lord ~ master. When it has a capital L (that is, ‘Lord’), it is a name for God.
   Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
   righteous ~ very, very good. Only God is really righteous (always right) but he calls his people righteous too.
   bless ~ to declare good things for someone; to show that person special kindness.
   Sabbath ~ the 7^th day of the week (Saturday), when the Jews worshipped God. It was a day for rest and prayer.
   Jews ~ the people that lived in Judah (which sounds like ‘Jew-dah’) and Israel.
   worship ~ to tell God (or a false god) that he is wonderful; and also, to tell him that you love him.
   eunuch ~ a man who cannot have sex. This is because somebody has cut off a certain part of his body. And that part is necessary in order to have sex.
   covenant ~ the agreement between God and his people. In this agreement God agrees to help and to protect his people. His people agree to love and to serve God. Or, an agreement between nations.
   worship ~ to tell God (or a false god) that he is wonderful; and also, to tell him that you love him.
   holy ~ very, very good. Only God is really holy. He is so holy that he is separate from everybody else.
   sacrifice ~ something that the priests put apart (or separated) for the LORD. Usually it was an animal. They killed it and burned it.
   LORD ~ LORD is a special name of God. In the Hebrew language, it is YHWH. It may mean ‘always alive’. So LORD is a sign that the Hebrew word is YHWH.
   lord ~ master. When it has a capital L (that is, ‘Lord’), it is a name for God.
   Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
   altar ~ a special metal table where people burnt animals and corn to please God.
   LORD ~ LORD is a special name of God. In the Hebrew language, it is YHWH. It may mean ‘always alive’. So LORD is a sign that the Hebrew word is YHWH.
   lord ~ master. When it has a capital L (that is, ‘Lord’), it is a name for God.
   Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
   exile ~ a person whom enemies force to live away from his own home or country. Or, the place where that person has to live.
   shepherd ~ a person who looks after sheep.
   Jewish ~ a description of something that has a relationship to the Jews.
   Jews ~ the people that lived in Judah (which sounds like ‘Jew-dah’) and Israel.
   eunuch ~ a man who cannot have sex. This is because somebody has cut off a certain part of his body. And that part is necessary in order to have sex.
   worship ~ to tell God (or a false god) that he is wonderful; and also, to tell him that you love him.
   Zion ~ a name for Jerusalem.