“Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;”
My Notes
What Does Isaiah 56:6 Mean?
Isaiah envisions foreigners — "sons of the stranger" — voluntarily joining themselves to the LORD. Not by birth, not by ethnicity, but by choice. They join to serve, to love God's name, and to keep the covenant. The doors of Israel's faith are open to anyone who wants to walk through them.
The three conditions are relational, not ethnic: serve God, love His name, keep the Sabbath and covenant. These are the same requirements for native Israelites. The foreigner who does these things is on the same footing as any born Jew. Isaiah is demolishing the idea that God's people is a closed ethnic community.
This is one of the clearest Old Testament visions of Gentile inclusion — the same reality that would explode into the early church in Acts 10-15. God's covenant was never meant to be a walled garden. It was always designed to receive anyone who would join themselves to the LORD.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Have you ever felt like an outsider in faith — wrong background, wrong story, wrong credentials? How does this verse address that?
- 2.What does it mean that the conditions for belonging are relational (serve, love, keep) rather than ethnic?
- 3.How does this Old Testament vision of Gentile inclusion change how you view the openness of God's family?
- 4.Who in your life might need to hear that they're welcome — that the door is open to anyone who joins themselves to the LORD?
Devotional
Foreigners. Strangers. People with no genealogical connection to Israel. And Isaiah says: they're welcome. If they serve, if they love, if they keep the covenant — they're in.
This should have been the billboard over the temple entrance. Long before the early church debated Gentile inclusion, Isaiah was painting the picture: God's people aren't defined by blood. They're defined by covenant. Anyone who joins themselves to the LORD — who chooses to serve, to love His name, to keep His ways — belongs.
Three conditions, and none of them is ethnicity: serve Him, love His name, keep the covenant. That's it. The foreigner who meets these conditions stands on the same ground as Abraham's descendants. The stranger becomes family. The outsider becomes an insider.
If you've ever felt like you don't belong in God's story — wrong background, wrong family, wrong history — Isaiah says you're wrong. The door was never locked to you. It was designed with you in mind. The "sons of the stranger" aren't second-class citizens in God's kingdom. They're beloved participants who chose to walk through an open door.
God's family has always been bigger than one nation. Isaiah knew it. Jesus demonstrated it. The early church struggled with it. And the invitation still stands: join yourself to the LORD. You're welcome here.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Also the sons of the stranger that join themselves to the Lord,.... Having answered the objection and removed the…
Also the sons of the stranger - (see the note at Isa 56:3). The conditions on which they should be admitted to the same…
The sons of the stranger - The Gentiles.
That join themselves to the Lord - Who shall enter into the Christian covenant…
The prophet is here, in God's name, encouraging those that were hearty in joining themselves to God and yet laboured…
The answer to the misgivings of proselytes (Isa 56:56).
to serve him Better as R.V. to minister unto him. The verb is…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture