Isaiah 55: Pt. 1- Listen that you may drink deeply

Hello all!

In this four-part series, I want to take a look at one of my favorite Scriptural passages: Isaiah 55. In this passage, God, after showing his wrath, reveals his love to his people. Today I want to examine verses 1-3. Properly titled, "The Compassion of the Lord," it gives a beautiful, rich, and inspiring word to live by. I hope that this passage will bless you as much as it has blessed me. All Scripture quotations are ESV, courtesy of www.biblegateway.com

Isaiah 55

The Compassion of the LORD

 ¹ "Come, everyone who thirsts,
   come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
   without money and without price.
² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
   and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
   and delight yourselves in rich food.
³Incline your ear, and come to me;
    hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
    my steadfast, sure love for David.
⁴ Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
    a leader and commander for the peoples.
⁵ Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
   and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
    for he has glorified you. ⁶ "Seek the LORD while he may be found;
   call upon him while he is near;
⁷ let the wicked forsake his way,
   and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
   and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
   and my thoughts than your thoughts.
 ¹⁰ "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
   and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹ so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
   it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
   and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
 ¹² "For you shall go out in joy
   and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
   shall break forth into singing,
   and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
   instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the LORD,
   an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."

Verse 1: These words are beautiful, refreshing, and utterly inspiring. Sometimes, in our daily rushed American lives, we become thirsty. We are workaholics, people who are so consumed with what we are doing that we can easily forget to pause and simply listen to what God has to say to us. At other times, we want to come, but are so lacking and impoverished for God and grace in life that we shrink away, viewing God as too great, or pricey for us to be able to grasp onto him. Yet, as we think these things, turning to Scripture shows us that we are exactly the kind of people he wants to come to him. He tells us here in this passage that we are welcome before him, even without money. In fact, he wants us to come without anything, and to be freely given the bread of Life.

Verse 2: What if we try to purchase bread with what we do have? God tells us (his People) in this passage that it is a waste to try to do this, because all we can purchase is stuff. There is nothing wrong with having stuff, but God doesn't want that to be our priority. If we earnestly seek him, we will find our satisfaction in him and nothing else will matter. God ought to be everything to us, because he will provide for us all we will ever need. Period.

Verse 3: What does it mean to "earnestly seek God?" This passage provides a glimpse of what it entails. First, we must listen. Have you ever tried to have a conversation with someone where you did all the talking? It probably didn't work very well, and it also couldn't have been very fun. We must "incline our ears" and listen to God! When we listen, we then must come naked before him, open to receive his grace. Only then can we live. We must lose our lives to gain them. Then, and then only, can we begin to truly understand the love and grace of God. This is the Gospel at its most fundamental level. Isn't it beautiful?

I love this passage so much. I hope you will join me as this week I will be meditating every day on this passage, and seeking to understand God's love and grace just a bit deeper.

Next time: Isaiah 55: Pt. 2- Lead that the nations might follow

Till then,
Resting in His Grace.

Meridian