Isaiah 55:1-13

Isaiah 55:1-13 NIV

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. 

Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.”

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord ’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”

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In 1999 my wife and I travelled to Israel with an educational group to tour the holy land. We came to Jerusalem and prayed at the wailing wall, that which remains of the temple. Why were we there? We were there because of the God of Israel, and our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 55 is probably my favorite chapter in all of Isaiah, although chapter 40 is a strong competitor. This invitation to the exiles, and to us, is filled with faith boosting words and ideas that bring me joy.

The chapter begins by calling to the thirsty and hungry. The Lord is offering free and satisfying delights to quench our thirst and sate our hunger. These delights of drink and food are not purchased at a restaurant or supermarket. They are received by listening to God's good news. God knows there is a deeper thirst that no water or wine can quench. There is a hunger in the human heart only God can fill. We were meant for communion with our Creator, but we are cut off from the very One who can satisfy us. We try all other kinds of delights in order to satisfy our hunger and thirst, but these fade and do not last. Why do we keep going to the quick fix when that's not what we truly need? What we need is God.

God promises to make covenant with the exiles, like the one He made with King David, an agreement that binds God to Israel forever. Because of God's faithful love for Israel, gentiles will come running to them to find gratification for their inner need.

Isaiah 55:5 NIV

"Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel..."

My visit to Jerusalem in 1999 is a literal fulfillment of this prophecy. When Israel listened to the Lord and created holy community once more, the Lord blessed them and they blessed the world with the knowledge of God. For through Israel came the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

Listening to the Lord means that the wicked and unrighteous will change and follow God's right ways. God calls us to a higher path, to greater thoughts. The Lord is offering mercy to all comers. Come while you still can, while the Lord may be found by you.

There is a new exodus on the horizon, a great deliverance to come. The captives will be set free and they will walk home, where they belong with their God. They will journey into His embrace unmolested and unharmed. The suffering is over. The exile has ended. Good times are now here with endless delights to come.

This word is for all who hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God. Can you believe it? Your time of exile from all the goodness of God is over. Stop trying to buy happiness. Listen to good news and be satisfied with your heart's delight. Even if you doubt, know that the Lord will fulfill this promise. For just as the rain from the mountains waters the plains and produces grain from the the fields, so every promise God speaks, every word that comes from His mouth, will be accomplished. Yahweh is God and there is no other.

Let me end with the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 5:6 NIV

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.