Ep. 170. Isaiah 56-57 | Contrite and Lowly Spirit

EPISODE 170

CONTRITE AND LOWLY SPIRIT: ISAIAH 56-57

"My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." This was the first half of Jesus' statement when he flipped over the tables of traders. (or traitors) The second half, "but you've made it a robber's den," comes from Jeremiah when the prophet addresses the idolatry and wickedness happening in the temple court. But don't skip over the context of Isaiah 56. All people, in this case, the foreigners and eunuchs, the outcasts, are invited to the presence of God. There is enough grace and enough room for everyone who believes. The foreigner need not say, "I have not known the God of heaven, I have not read his Scriptures, I have not heard his prophets, therefore I do not belong." The eunuch need not weep and say, "I am mangled, I cannot enter the temple of the Lord, I cannot leave a legacy or a family, I am too lowly to be brought in." (Interestingly enough, the Old Testament Law already made it clear that anyone with mangled testicles could not enter the presence of the Lord, and yet here God is making room for them)

There is not a soul on this planet beyond the gracious reach of God's steadfast love. There is room there at the feet of Jesus, even for that one person you hide in the corner of your mind as the unredeemable one.

ADDITIONAL READING: Isaiah 49:6; Jeremiah 7:11; Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; Psalm 37; 1 Peter 5: 5-7