A Memorial and a Name (Isaiah 56:1-8)

Please turn to Isaiah 56 in your copy of God’s word, so if you want to mark the other Scriptures, We’ll also spend some time in Matthew 27, finish the story in Acts 8, and close with a quick look at Revelation 22

I know that sounds like a lot, but this morning I want to remind you that the Bible isn’t just a collection of Bible stories that you can use to teach moral lessons to your kids.

The Bible is one big story. 66 books from Genesis to Revelation, 1,189 chapters, 31,102 verses, telling the story of the Creation, the Fall, Reconciliation, and restoration.

Or, since its Memorial Day, we can think of it as a war story. Earth was peaceful until it was invaded by a hostile force—Satan. Satan captured God’s people. They became prisoners of war. So God declared war on sin and Satan. He told the serpent in Genesis 3:15

“15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.””

From that declaration in Genesis, God has been at war with Satan to in order to free all Satan’s captives to sin. Satan uses every weapon in his arsenal— pride, temptation, sin, shame, hatred to make sure his captives stay captive.

So God rolled out his biggest weapon. He sent his own son into the battle. Up to that point, God had allowed the blood of bulls and goats as temporary sin relievers. But when Jesus came, all those old weapons were made obsolete.

Intro: Vietnam Veterans memorial— 4.9 mill visitors per year, second only to lincoln memorial— opposition first, but that has turned around. 58,000 names, all at ground level.

If you think about it, there’s three things that are true for every battle. First, an objective is stated. You give reasons for why this war has to be fought, you state your objective. For Woodrow Wilson, the objective was to make the world safe for democracy. For FDR going into WWII, it was to “defend ourselves to the uttermost and make certain that “this form of treachery will never again endanger us.” For Korea and Vietnam, it was to stop the spread of communism.

Once your objectives are stated and your promises are made, then you fight the battle. Your soldiers have been trained, equipped, and deployed. They understand why they are fighting, and they know what victory looks like.

The Promise Made (Isaiah 56:1–8)

English Standard Version Chapter 56

56 Thus says the LORD:

“Keep justice, and do righteousness,

for soon my salvation will come,

and my righteousness be revealed.

2  Blessed is the man who does this,

and the son of man who holds it fast,

who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,

and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

3  Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say,

“The LORD will surely separate me from his people”;

and let not the eunuch say,

“Behold, I am a dry tree.”

4  For thus says the LORD:

“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,

who choose the things that please me

and hold fast my covenant,

5  I will give in my house and within my walls

a monument and a name

better than sons and daughters;

I will give them an everlasting name

that shall not be cut off.

6  “And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,

to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,

and to be his servants,

everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,

and holds fast my covenant—

7  these I will bring to my holy mountain,

and make them joyful in my house of prayer;

their burnt offerings and their sacrifices

will be accepted on my altar;

for my house shall be called a house of prayer

for all peoples.”

8  The Lord GOD,

who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,

“I will gather yet others to him

besides those already gathered.”

The Battle Fought (Matthew 27:50-54)

The Promise Fulfilled (Acts 8:26-40)