Isaiah 56:6-8 - My house shall be called a house of prayer

56:6,7

Foreigners were also regarded as “outside the tent”, but here God declares that He will bring them to His Holy Mountain, and give them joy in His house of prayer. We should also note that these promises apply to those who “bind themselves to the Lord to minister to Him”, those who love the Name of the Lord and serve Him. The promise is universal in the sense of it is open to all, but only open to all who turn to the Lord. Again there is talk of the keeping the sabbath. The promise is to those whose hope is in the Lord’s salvation. The gospel is a call to people to be part of God’s kingdom, not an offer of God becoming part of our kingdom!

56:8

“The sovereign Lord” is a much repeated term in Isaiah, for it is the only grounds for the fulfillment of His plans and promises. It is God who will gather the exiles of Israel, and He will gather “still others”. These are the sheep of another fold that Jesus spoke of another fold (John 10:16). The Jews needed to understand that God’s plans went far beyond Israel. We need to understand that Israel is still part of God’s plan.