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Isaiah, Prophet of Salvation, Book 8, part 10

Isaiah 56:1 says,

¹ Thus says the Lord, “Preserve [shamar, “guard”] justice and do righteousness, for My salvation [Yeshua] is about to come, and My righteousness to be revealed.”

This is a messianic passage that foretells the coming of Yeshua-Jesus. It seems like something that John the Baptist would have proclaimed to the people of his day in his message of repentance to prepare the way for the Messiah. It is the same as the second coming of Christ draws near, described in the previous chapter (Isaiah 56) in terms of the rain of the Holy Spirit.

Manifesting God’s Righteousness

Jesus Christ came to reveal the righteousness of His heavenly Father. So also Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:30,

³⁰ But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.

Being “the exact representation of His nature” (Hebrews 1:3), Christ revealed the righteousness of God as in an undistorted mirror. We too are called to reflect the same image of righteousness that He did (2 Corinthians 3:18). For this reason He is leading us from justification through the wilderness of Pentecost, and into the Promised Land, where we are changed into His image through the feast of Tabernacles.

Isaiah 56:2 continues,

² How blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who takes hold of [chazak, “grasps, retains”] it; who keeps from profaning the Sabbath, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.

This is a continuation of what we saw in verse 1. The “blessed” man is the Messiah named by the prophets, Yeshua. He is also “the last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45), the progenitor of the sons of God, the One who did what the first Adam failed to do. From this comparison came the messianic title, “Son of Man,” a title which Jesus used often.

Obviously, “son of man” can refer to the sons of the first Adam who followed in the footsteps of their earthly father in their corruption and sin. But on the other hand, the Son of Man reversed course and set the pattern for a new creation. All who have New Covenant faith have been begotten by the Father through the Holy Spirit. 1 John 3:9 reads in The Emphatic Diaglott,

⁹ No one who has been begotten by God practices sin; because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been begotten by God.

In other words, every new creation embryo that has been begotten by God “cannot sin, because he has been begotten by God.” Paul says that if we sin, it is only the Adamic man that sins, and if we transfer our identity from the old man to the new man, then we can say that “we” ourselves are sinless, regardless of what the old man does (Romans 7:17).

Hence, Isaiah’s “son of man” can be viewed on two levels, depending on which “man” (Adam) is being referenced. We know from Daniel 7:13 that the term, “Son of Man,” is a title for the Messiah and that Jesus used that title often to distinguish Himself from other men. Yet we may also extend its meaning to include all who are part of His body—those who are begotten by the Spirit according to the pattern of Jesus’ virgin birth (Matthew 1:18).

The main theme of the Gospel of John is how to manifest God’s glory and righteousness (John 2:11). By eight signs, John proves that Jesus Christ fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 56:1, 2. John also records the Sabbath conflict, especially in John 5:8-10 and in John 9:14-16. When Jesus healed on the Sabbath day, the religious leaders found fault with Him. Nonetheless, He corrected their view of the Sabbath and was undeterred in manifesting the righteousness of the Father.

The “blessed” Man did not profane the Sabbath by doing good on that day, regardless of the traditions of men. Neither did His hand do any evil by healing on the Sabbath. The purpose of the Sabbath was to set men free, not to keep them in bondage. Jesus grasped this truth and acted accordingly.

Foreigners United with God

Isaiah 56:3 says,

³ Let not the foreigner [ben nekar, “son of a foreigner”] who has joined [lavah, “united”] himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate [badal, “divide, separate”] me from His people…”

The prophet thus lists foreigners among “His people,” granting them equality in their relationship with God. The prophet did not set forth any new doctrine here. He merely affirmed that which the law itself had established. Leviticus 19:33, 34, 35, 36 says,

³³ When a foreigner resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. ³⁴ The foreigner who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God. ³⁵ You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight or capacity. ³⁶ You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin…

When Israel resided as aliens in Egypt, they were not treated equally. God expected the Israelites to know by experience what it was like to be treated unequally (as slaves). Hence, they were to learn the law of God which set forth the principle of liberty and equality in direct contrast to Egyptian law.

Equal justice for foreigners is linked here to the law of equal weights and measures. We are forbidden from dispensing unequal justice. The sin of an Israelite is to carry the same “weight” as the sin of a foreigner. We are not to judge foreigners by their sin and ourselves by our intentions. In Matthew 7:2 Jesus interpreted the law of equal weights and measures in judicial terms as well, saying,

² For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.

This, in part, is how God defines love. True love extends beyond one’s family, tribe, or nation to include all who reside with us. In other words, those foreigners who have faith in the God of Israel, who take hold of God’s covenant, and who follow the same laws of God are to be full and equal citizens in the Kingdom. The only ones that do not enjoy equal citizenship are those who have allegiance to other gods and their laws. This includes those who claim to be Israelites but who either follow the traditions of men or repudiate God’s law outright.

The Jewish notion that foreigners (“gentiles”) follow the “Noahide laws” of Genesis 9:1-7, while Jews follow the laws of Moses is an abomination to God. Such unequal justice maintains the traditions of men which Jesus repudiated.

Again, we read in Numbers 15:15, 16,

¹⁵ As for the assembly [kahal, “church”], there shall be one statute for you and for the alien who sojourns with you, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the alien be before the Lord. ¹⁶ There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.

No doubt these laws given by Moses, along with the affirmation by the prophet Isaiah, is where Paul received his enlightenment of the righteousness of God. He well knew about the dividing wall at the temple which separated and divided Jewish men from women and gentiles. Paul declared that Jesus Christ had come to demolish that “dividing wall” and to make all men and women equal in the Kingdom of God. He wrote in Ephesians 2:13, 14, 15, 16, 18,

¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, ¹⁵ by abolishing in His flesh the enmity which is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity… ¹⁸ for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

When Paul speaks of making “both groups into one,” he was speaking of the division in the temple itself, which had divided Jewish men from women and gentiles. There was no divine command in the law or the prophets to erect a dividing wall to separate people who came to worship God. That was a tradition of men, which Jesus Christ “broke down.”

In doing this, Jesus Christ fulfilled the word of Isaiah telling the foreigners NOT to say, “The Lord will surely separate me from His people.” The righteousness of God, presented by Yeshua, proved that He grasped the justice and righteousness of God that was due to all men equally.

This was a lesson that Peter had to learn as well when he was sent to the house of Cornelius. His vision of the sheet full of unclean animals (Acts 10:11-15) revealed to him that the Spirit of God was for all, not just for Jews (Acts 10:44, 45, 46). Peter gave testimony in Acts 10:34, 35,

³⁴ Opening his mouth, Peter said, “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, ³⁵ but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.”

The law of impartiality is stated clearly in the law (Exodus 23:1-3, 9). James 2:1-9 expounds upon this law, ending in James 2:9,

⁹ But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

Unfortunately, many have not believed or even understood the law of impartiality. They have yet to learn the same lesson that Peter learned or that Paul and James taught. Modern Zionism has again rebuilt the dividing wall in the temple, creating division between Jews and gentiles. If the Zionists succeed in building a third temple, they will again build a dividing wall in the outer court to maintain their traditions of men in violation of Christ’s command.

Such dividing walls create a mental and spiritual barrier, which cause men to think that one’s genealogy makes a person “chosen” and therefore distinct from others. This doctrine was always a thorn in the side of those who sought equal access to God.

So let us accept the law of impartiality that Jesus and His apostles set forth, so that peace may be established between the two groups. Let us think of all believers, whether Israelites or not, as “one new man.” Let us not commit the sin of partiality or define the "chosen" people in terms of race instead of faith. Paul makes it clear in Romans 11:7 that the "elect" or "chosen" ones are the remnant of grace, which is determined by faith.