Have you ever been left out of some group or organization because of who you were, your nationality, race, or even because of a handicap or disfigurement you had? For some people this exclusion starts back in childhood with neighborhood clubs, and then continues on through college and university groups, and then into adulthood with country clubs and other exclusive organizations. Sometimes this exclusion even extends into the church as some people are made to feel left out, unwelcome, and even unwanted. Our Scripture today from the prophet Isaiah speaks of some people who were excluded from worship, and how the Lord promised to change that. Let’s take a brief look at this.
As we read through God’s Word, the Bible, we see how important it is that we obey His commands, follow after righteousness and justice, and set aside a day to rest and worship the Lord (vs. 1-2). In the days of the Old Testament, God’s Temple in Jerusalem was the focal point for worship among His people. However, there were some people who were excluded from coming there to worship Yahweh. Though there were several groups, two are mentioned in our passage, foreigners (or Gentiles), and eunuchs (vs. 3). These groups, and others, were excluded from Temple worship by the Old Testament Law (Exodus 12:43; Deuteronomy 23:1, 3, 7-8). However, God speaks out here that in the coming kingdom of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, all such exclusions will be removed (vs. 4-7).
The Jewish people, to whom the revelation and truth of the Lord God had been revealed, were to spread this truth to others, and be a beacon, a light to the rest of the world. However, they became possessive of God, and felt that His truth and salvation was to be only for them, and the rest of the world was to be left out and lost. The Jewish people as a whole despised Gentiles, and they were certainly not welcomed in the Temple, even if they had come to believe in Yahweh, and accept Him as the only true God. This exclusion and despising of Gentiles carried over into the New Testament. As we read throughout the Book of Acts, the Apostle Paul and his companions were frequently persecuted by local Jewish congregations because of their spreading the message of Jesus to Gentiles. Eunuchs and other people with deformities, whether they were born that way or became deformed due to an accident, were also excluded from coming into the Temple to worship.
Gentiles, eunuchs, and other “deformed” people were treated at best as second class people by the general population in the time of the Old Testament. Often they were treated worse than that. They had to stay in the outskirts of the Temple and were not allowed to join in the worship. After the return of the people following the Babylonian exile, local synagogues became more prevalent in the villages around the country and in foreign countries where there was a Jewish population. Yet, even in the synagogues worship by a Gentile follower of Yahweh or a deformed person was forbidden.
The Prophet Isaiah brings us God’s Word where he states that this was not the will of God. Through Jesus, believers of any race, any shape, or any physical ability are welcomed to come to Him and be accepted. Jesus will not exclude anyone, no matter what their ethnic or national background is, and no matter what their physical condition may be. If they accept Him, they are welcome.
Do you or the church you attend welcome everyone no matter what their race or nationality may be, or what type of deformity or disability they may have, or are there people from certain ethnic backgrounds, economic level, intellectual ability, or handicapped that are not genuinely welcome? As our Scripture today states, whoever loves the Lord Jesus and obeys His Word the Bible, will be accepted at His altar, for His house is a house of prayer for all people.
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