Brian Abasciano, Isaiah 56:1-8 ("Maintain Justice and Do What Is Right, for My …

Brian Abasciano

A sermon on Isaiah 56:1-8 by Brian Abasciano delivered on 1/8/2023 at Faith Community Church, Hampton, NH. The projector slides file for the sermon is attached on this page in an Open Document presentation file.  Here is a note from Pastor Brian on this sermon:  When talking about Isaiah 56:5's reference to giving eunuchs who love and serve the Lord a name better than sons and daughters, I had meant to share an additional meaning of having a name better than sons and daughters that I thought was also present in the text, but I did not get to it (probably because of time and how the flow of the sermon ended up going). Basically, there are 2 main meanings that I was thinking of for that encouragement of being given a name better than sons and daughters. The first one, which I shared in the sermon, is that we get a name that is better than the name of sons and daughters. The second one is that God gives an everlasting name, and having the blessing of that everlasting name is better than having sons and daughters. This second meaning is surely present since it is promised to eunuchs, who were not normally allowed among God's people. The promise in Isaiah 56 is that they would be fully allowed among God's people and receive the fullness of God's blessings if they would devote themselves to the Lord. I went into this sermon thinking both of these meanings were present. But the second meaning, which I did not end up sharing, is almost certainly the primary meaning of the text given the context of eunuchs. And as I have thought about it more, I have concluded that it is probably the only meaning of the text. Just about all that I said about God's attitude toward us with the idea of him giving us a better name than sons and daughters was true, but the point the text makes is more that the blessings God gives to those who are devoted to him is far greater than any earthly blessings.