Isaiah 56 & 57

There are three spiritual topics discussed in Isaiah 56: keeping the Sabbath, the Temple and prayer. In opposition to these three pillars stand the sacraments of Satan which are discussed in Isaiah 57: immorality, idol worship and abortion.

The Sabbath

The scriptures are replete with commandments from the Lord regarding Sabbath observance. The Bible Dictionary for Sabbath does an excellent job summarizing the history and reasons for the Sabbath. In part of the explanation in the Bible Dictionary, it says that observance of the Sabbath is "an eternal principal."

We have been taught time and time again by the ancient and modern-day prophets that the Sabbath is for resting and spiritual nourishment. On the Sabbath, we are to refrain from work and recreation and to devote ourselves to worship and spiritual edification.

Isaiah 56:1, 4, 6 reference the Lord's commandment to all people to keep the Sabbath pure.

The Temple

Isaiah 56:5 promises those who keep the commandments a blessing that is "better than sons and daughters" and a blessing of "an everlasting name." This verse has reference to the temple. Ludlow discusses how "a place and a name" can be interpreted to mean a "hand and a name." (473) This takes on significant meaning for Latter-day Saints who are fully endowed in the temple.

The D&C furthers instructs us on the meaning of a "new name." Read D&C 130:11.

Prayer

The temple is not only a place to receive instruction from the Lord, but it is also a place to pray. The temple is really a "house of prayer" as described in Isaiah 56:7.

No Peace for the Wicked

Isaiah 57 describes the abject wickedness committed by Israelites in Isaiah's days as well as the moral decay that we see in our world today.

Everywhere we look, we are bombarded by images and words depicting immorality. The idol worship in Isaiah's day was tied to their agriculture. They believed that by acting out immoral deeds, their crops would be successful.

Their idol worship even included sacrificing infants to the god Molech (see footnote a in Isaiah 57:9). This type of idolatry is very similar to our own society's practice of abortion. The most common reason women have abortions today is because the child inconveniences the parents' lifestyle and ability to provide for themselves. Rather than sacrificing their lifestyles or money, they sacrifice their children to continue their worship of false gods.

The last three verses of Isaiah 57 warns those who fail to keep the commandments and submit themselves to idolatry.

"Peace, peace to him that is far off and to him that is near, said the Lord; and I will heal him.

"But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

"There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."

Isaiah 26 & 27

The 26th chapter of Isaiah contains some wonderful verses about trusting in the Lord and prayer.

Trust in the Lord

The first verse about trusting in the Lord is found in Isaiah 26:3, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." To me, this simply means that if I trust in the Lord and constantly remember and think of the Lord, then I will have true peace in my life.

Ezra Taft Benson referenced this scripture once in a talk. He said, "Let your minds be filled with the goal of being like the Lord, and you will crowd out depressing thoughts as you anxiously seek to know him and do his will. “Let this mind be in you,” said Paul. (Philippians 2:5.) “Look unto me in every thought,” said Jesus. (D&C 6:36.) And what will follow if we do? “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.” (Isaiah 26:3.) (Ezra Taft Benson, “Do Not Despair,” Ensign, Nov. 1974, 65)

We trust in the Lord when we strive to remember him in all that we do. This is another reason why we need to partake of the sacrament each week. We will only have the Spirit with us as we "always remember him" (see Moroni 4 & 5). If we can train our mind and heart to stay on the Lord, then remembering Him will be much easier.

One of my favorite scriptures is Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all they ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct they paths."

But how do we trust in the Lord and keep on mind focused on Him?

Prayer

Isaiah 26:9 holds the answer to this question. "With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me I seek thee early."

President Thomas Monson often likes to quote the hymn "Prayer Is the Soul's Sincere Desire" (Hymn 145)

Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast. …

O thou by whom we come to God,
The Life, the Truth, the Way!
The path of prayer thyself hast trod;
Lord, teach us how to pray.

The Resurrection

Isaiah references the resurrection in this chapter as well. "They dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead" (Isaiah 26:19).

This free gift from God is granted unto all regardless of the life we have lived on this earth.

Leviathan

To point out how little I know, I've always know that Leviathan was a deep sea monster and that there was a movie made about it. I had no idea it is a creature that has roots in the creation and ancient biblical texts.

Isaiah 27:1 says, "In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea."

As Ludlow points out, the footnote in the LDS KJV notes that leviathan is "a legendary sea-monster representing the forces of chaos that opposed the Creator." The forces of chaos are Satan and his followers.

The Wikipedia entry on Leviathan goes into more detail about how this creature is described in Judaism and Christianity.