Year 9, Day 40: Isaiah 56

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Isaiah 56 is a chapter in contrast.  In the beginning we have a message of hope to the people who are oppressed.  Their redemption is coming.  They merely need to stay the course and they will know God’s rescue.  That’s a really cool thing with God.  He is a master at doing the exceptional.  While He is doing the exceptional, all we need to do is the normal.  He can take our normal and make it into His exceptional.  He does it all the time.

There’s more, though.  This isn’t just a message to the Hebrew people.  God has a message for the foreigners, too.  The foreigners who have come to know Him during the exile of the Hebrew people will not be abandoned.  When God takes His people and brings them back to the Promised Land, He will remain with them.  God will remember their faithfulness, because God is the God of all people who come to Him, not just the Hebrew people or those we think are right.  God is the God of all people who turn to Him.

At the end of the chapter, we get contrasting verses to the initial verses of hope.  God speaks to the leaders of the Hebrew people.  He speaks to those who should have been setting the example, who should have been encouraging His people into righteousness, and who should have been upholding justice.  He admonishes them, reminding them that instead of behaving the way He expects they have been seeking their own gain.  They have been selfish, abusing their power to make their lives better.  Instead of leading people to God, they were filling their own bellies and growing lazy in what should have been righteousness.

Leadership is an interesting thing.  Leadership comes with power.  Most people seek the power, notoriety, and prestige.  Leadership also comes with responsibility.  Many who seek the power of leadership actively shirk the responsibility and expectations that come with the position.  This is God’s point as we end this chapter.

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