Read
All Nations Will Be Part
1The Lord said:
Be honest and fair!
Soon I will come to save you;
my saving power will be seen
everywhere on earth.
2I will bless everyone
who respects the Sabbath
and refuses to do wrong.
3Foreigners who worship me
must not say,
“The Lord won't let us
be part of his people.”
Men who are unable
to become fathers
must no longer say,
“We are dried-up trees.”
4 To them, I, the Lord, say:
Respect the Sabbath,
obey me completely,
and keep our agreement.
5Then you will be like monuments
in my temple with your names
written on them.
This will be much better
than having children,
because these monuments
will stand there forever.
6Foreigners will follow me.
They will love me and worship
in my name;
they will respect the Sabbath
and keep our agreement.
7 I will bring them
to my holy mountain,
where they will celebrate
in my house of worship.
Their sacrifices and offerings
will always be welcome
on my altar.
Then my house will be known
as a house of worship
for all nations.
8I, the Lord, promise
to bring together my people
who were taken away,
and let them join the others.
God Promises To Punish
9Come from the forest,
you wild animals!
Attack and gobble up
your victims.
10You leaders of Israel
should be watchdogs,
protecting my people.
But you can't see a thing,
and you never warn them.
Dozing and daydreaming
are all you ever do.
11You stupid leaders are a pack
of hungry and greedy dogs
that never get enough.
You are shepherds
who mistreat your own sheep
for selfish gain.
12You say to each other,
“Let's drink till we're drunk!
Tomorrow we'll do it again.
We'll really enjoy ourselves.”
Reflect
I don’t know about you, but when I think about God’s salvation being for everyone, I always think about Peter’s statement in Acts 15:7-9. There Peter boldly declares that God “decided long ago” to preach to the Gentiles.
Yet in this chapter of Isaiah, we find Old Testament evidence of God’s love for all nations. He wants all to come to him. Speaking through Isaiah, we see that God values our hearts over our lineage.
This concept goes entirely against human nature. Our tendency to divide into “us” and “them” starts young and continues throughout our lifetimes. Evidence abounds of how destructive these divisions can be whether it’s middle school cliques, thousands of Christian denominations, or the caste system of India.
When we are talking about “God’s people” then who is in? Who makes the cut?
The answer in both Isaiah and Acts is those who worship the Lord are his people. As 2 Corinthians 5:15 states, “And Christ did die for all of us. He died so we would no longer live for ourselves, but for the one who died and was raised to life for us.” Today make it a point to look on each person as a person for whom Christ died.
Respond
Father, you see our hearts and provide complete cleansing for each of us. Help me to overcome my human tendency to divide the world into “us” and “them.” May I be a vehicle for sharing your love to each person I meet. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Arnie Cole
DR. ARNIE COLE (Pepperdine) is the CEO of Back to the Bible—an international radio and internet ministry—and Director of Research and Development for the Center for Bible Engagement. He has spent much of his professional life tracking trends of human behavior. Dr. Cole is the co-author of seven books, including Seven Secrets of Worry-Free Living (BroadStreet Publishing). He and his wife, Char, are parents of adult children and operate an equestrian center in Nebraska.