Isaiah 56:1

This chapter is designated by many scholars as another glimpse of the times of Messiah, but we cannot accept such an interpretation; and, although there are certain portions of the chapter which indeed are definitely applicable to "latter days" in the kingdom of heaven, there are other portions of it which are thoroughly Jewish with no application whatever to Christians or times of the Messiah. This strange mingling of separate subjects in a single passage is often found in Scripture, the great example being that spoken by Christ himself in his prophecy of the destruction of the literal Jerusalem, which is also, at the very same time, a prophecy of the end of the world (Matthew 24).

Therefore, in this chapter, all references to "the sabbath" and to "burnt-offerings and sacrifices" are directed to Jews alone; whereas, the prophecy of that "new name," better than "of sons and daughters," and the acceptability of eunuchs and "foreigners," that is, "Gentiles," into the service of God is clearly a prophecy of the Messianic kingdom.

Failure to take account of this fundamental principle of Biblical interpretation led even great scholars like Albert Barnes to make this chapter a prophecy that the Sabbath Day would be incorporated as a binding obligation in the Church of Jesus Christ.[1] The only trouble with such an interpretation is that it forces Isaiah to prophecy a lie.

In all the New Testament, or the whole Bible for that matter, there is never an instance in which the sabbath day was ever made a requirement for anyone except Jews. The apostle Paul commanded, "Let no man, therefore judge you in respect of ... a sabbath day ... For he (Christ) hath taken it out of the way, nailing it to his cross" (Colossians 2:14,15).

J. R. Dummelow has given a very convincing analysis of why this whole passage pertains to the pre-exilic Israel, and is not primarily directed either to post-exilic or Christian times:

(a) The picture here of the infatuated and self-indulgent leaders of Israel fits the pre-exilic Israel much better than it does the times of the exile (Isaiah 56:10-12). (b) The idolatrous rites alluded to (Isaiah 57:5-9) are those practiced in the later days of the Jewish monarchy (Manasseh's reign). (c) The persecution of true followers of Jehovah (Isaiah 57:1) suggests the reign of Manasseh. (d) The natural features mentioned (Isaiah 57:5,6) are Palestinian, not Baylonian. (e) The seeking of foreign alliances alluded to (Isaiah 57:6-10) fits the days of Israel's monarchy, not the times of the exile, or later.[2]

It should be noted that Dummelow treated this and the following chapters as a unit, which, of course, is correct. To the analysis given above, we wish to add the fact that the triple injunction regarding the "Sabbath" in Isaiah 56:2,4,6 of this chapter removes every possibility of the chapter's application to the times of the captivity; because nobody can believe that God would have commanded a nation of slaves in Babylon to "observe the sabbath day." What slave-master would have allowed such a thing? No, the very fact of the commandment implies that Israel could have observed it. Most of the commentators who favor other interpretations have noted this difficulty and suppose that it was some kind of "a spiritual observance" that was commanded. Who ever heard of such a thing?

The great thrust of both Isaiah 56 and Isaiah 57, is God's warnings to his apostate people, then approaching their captivity, to, "Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, even the statutes and ordinances" (Malachi 4:4). Thus the very last word of Jehovah to his wicked nation, as recorded here, was exactly the same as the last word of the Old Testament to the same apostate and hardened people in the last three verses of the Old Testament, (Malachi 4:4). quoted above, namely, "Get with it, and observe the law of Moses!".

Isaiah 56:1-2

"Thus saith Jehovah, Keep ye justice, and do righteousness; for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that holdeth it fast; that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing anything evil."

In a word, these two verses are simply an admonition to the apostate Israelites to "Remember the law of Moses" and obey it. They were nearing the climax of their long pursuit of the utmost wickedness under Manasseh, which would result in God's removing the whole nation into captivity. The command to "keep the sabbath" is a synecdoche, standing for all of the obligations of the law of Moses. This figure is used extensively throughout both the Old Testament and the New Testament, as in the New Testament declaration that men are justified "by faith," which means the belief, acceptance, and obedience to all the obligations of the Christian religion. It will recur in Isaiah 56:4 and Isaiah 56:6.