Isaiah 56  Here, Isaiah reminds Israel what they should be doing to please the Lord, " Preserve justice and do righteousness."   This is important in light of the coming salvation and righteousness of the Lord.  It will be rewarded by God's Hand of blessing.  The Lord desires two particular things of the Israelites:
1. Keep from "profaning the sabbath".
2. Keep their hands, " from doing evil." 

In fact, the Lord extends His invitation to others as well.. to the foreigner and to the eunuch, those who "choose what pleases Me".  And those who "minister to Him and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath, and holds fast My covenant."
All who will come to Him in this way are welcomed to His house of prayer.  Their offerings and sacrifices would be accepted by God and they would be included in His Kingdom.
This means us!!

Yet, Israel would not repent.  They were blind. They didn't know anything. They were like lazy dogs. They were greedy and never satisfied.  Their shepherds cared more about themselves than the sheep.  They cared only about drinking and not about the future, not even the judgement coming.

When Jesus was asked about what the greatest commandment was, He said, " The foremost is, 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.  The second is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.'" (Mark12:29-31) Matthew includes these words, " On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." ( 22:40)  This is what it means for us to choose to do what pleases God and to serve Him.  So what about the sabbath?

Keeping the sabbath holy is one of the ten commandments.  "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.  For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and made it holy." ( Ex. 20:8-11)  There is more of an explanation about this commandment than most of the others.  Isaiah's message implies that this is one of the most vital of commandments to keep!  The word sabbath means to repose, to desist, to cease, to celebrate, to take an intermission.  

Jesus didn't follow the traditions of the religious leaders who had indeed "profaned" the sabbath by making it more important than the other commandments.  They made it a burden and a joyless day instead of a day of rest and celebration.  He declared, " For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
He taught that it was "lawful to do good on the Sabbath." ( Matthew 12)  He healed the withered hand of a man on the sabbath and in Luke 13 He freed a woman from Satan's bondage that had caused her to be bent over for 18 years.  Jesus said that the man and this woman were  more valued by God than an animal... or than the traditions of men.

Hebrews addresses this issue also.  "There remains therefore a Sabbath rest of the people of God." (4:9)  Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath,  is the only way into "His rest".  We are called to enter in by resting from our "works".  We come in the only way we can... in covenant with Jesus Christ.
The sabbath in Isaiah's time was a symbol of Israel's covenant with God.  Now, the symbol of our covenant is the blood of Jesus Christ, shed for us.  And it is in Him that we have true rest.

Father, You are Holy and we want to do what pleases You.  We rest in Christ Jesus our Lord.  We desire to live just and righteous lives.  We choose to place our trust in You and to love You with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength . We choose to love others.  Fill us with Your Spirit to the full so that we may do Your will. May we minister to You and for You in the Name of Jesus. Amen.