Isaiah 56:6-7 A House of Prayer

In Matther 21 we read the account of Jesus turning over the tables of the money-changers in the temple, exclaiming:

And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” (Matthew 21:13)

The verse Jesus quoted came from our reading in Isaiah today:

“Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants— Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and holds fast My covenant— Even them 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 nations.” (Isaiah 56:6-7)

In the account in Matthew, Jesus was indignant (and rightly so) that the religious leaders were using their ‘requirement’ that the Temple Tax be paid using temple currency, and they were fleecing the common people in the process.

Yet when we look at that reference in context, we see a wider purpose of the house of God than only prayer - in that God’s house is a house of prayer for ALL people! 

It doesn’t matter what your nationality, your social status, or even what gods you might have served before - the Living God wants to open His house of prayer to you.

Check out the promises that God declares here:

“the sons of the foreigner...” - in other words, anyone! (John 3:16)

“who join themselves” - whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13)

“who holds fast my covenant...” - The covenant we have today is the ‘new covenant’ in Jesus Christ (Luke 22:20)

“I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house…” - The result of being in Christ is inclusion in the family of God (Ephesians 2:19) and joy (John 15:11)

"Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted…” - Jesus is our acceptable offering to God for our sin (2 Corinthians 5:21)

And the great beauty is that we don’t have to go to a temple, we can enter into God's house of prayer whenever and wherever we are - because Christ lives in us through His Holy Spirit, we ARE the temple of the Living God!

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? (1 Corinthians 6:19)

We can change the world, one life at a time...

Pastor Clay