It was God’s purpose that through Israel the Gentiles might come to know the true God and His salvation (Gen. 12:1–3). But instead, Israel adopted the false gods of the Gentiles! Their leaders were like blind watchmen, greedy watchdogs that could not bark, and shepherds concerned only for themselves (vv. 9–12). No wonder the nation went into captivity! And what a warning to spiritual leaders today!
But God did not abandon the Gentiles. The “outcast” foreigner is accepted (vv. 6–8), and the eunuch is welcomed (vv. 3–5; Deut. 23:1). In Jesus Christ, the wall between Jews and Gentiles is broken down; and any sinner can come to the Savior and find forgiveness and acceptance (Eph. 2).
Jesus quoted from verse 7 when He cleansed the temple in Jerusalem (Matt. 21:13). How tragic that the religious leaders had turned a place of worship and witness into a den of thieves. Would any Gentile want to know the God of Israel after seeing the Court of the Gentiles made into a marketplace? But what do outsiders see when they attend our church services today (1 Cor. 14:23–25)?
