To Hunger and Thirst
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Isaiah
50. An expository study of
Isaiah, chapter 55
(click on the photos for larger views)
A passionate invitation
We meditated on the message of
salvation in chapter 53. We studied the one, who would bear the message and
bring forth children in chapter 54. Now we see the message’s recipients and the
manner, in which the message is to be received. Whether or not your translation
carries an exclamation point or points in verse one, these are exclamations, clearly seen by
the repetition of the word come. Come…
come… come!
Did the prophet know that his
invitation would reach to the 21st Century? Who can say? In any
case, the Holy Spirit, who inspired him, knew and willed that we should see it
before our eyes: “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” (v.1).
It is impossible to miss the
good intentions of the heavenly Father. Seven hundred years later, the Word was
made flesh and renewed the invitation: “Come
to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt.11:28).
He added in John 6:37: “All that
the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast
out.” Many years later still, five verses before the Apostle John closes the New
Testament canon, speaking for the Spirit and the Church, he gives the readers one
last cry: “The Spirit and the Bride say,
‘Come’. And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty
come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price” (Rev.22:17).
Spiritual hunger and thirst
The only requirement given is
that there be genuine thirst and hunger. There is an abundance of water. The
word is plural, and we find the same abundance in John 7:38… rivers of living water! However, it is
not only the bare quenching of thirst or preservation of life that is offered,
as all-important as that may be. Wine and milk are offered and that without
price; it is an offer of grace. In fact, you cannot pay for the blessings that
God offers and an attempt to do so will bring a curse, rather than a blessing
(see Acts 8:20).
“Why do you
spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which
does not satisfy?” Spiritual hunger is essential in order to partake of
heavenly things. There is no greater joy than to observe a desperate sinner drink
deeply of the waters of salvation or to watch young believers, recently
birthed, who cannot get enough of the milk of the word. However, at this point,
warning must be given that extremely hungry people can be seen, foraging
through garbage containers. It might drive others to pay top dollar for any and
every kind of inferior food.
Hunger and thirst might cause
some to listen to the Jehovah Witnesses that come to their door. Young people
leave their homes to join a dangerous community sect, which call themselves
family, and satisfy a certain lust for love and peace. A few have even
committed suicide with fanatical groups, led by insane authoritarians. At the
very least, millions, at tremendous cost, try to satisfy themselves by
acquiring material possessions and security.
That brings on the rational
question as to why people should take these kinds of spiritual detours. Where
else can the answer lie, outside of the fallen nature of man? I can find no
sane reason. Fallen human nature drives people away from truth and their Creature
and will only turn to Him as a last resort. Meanwhile the blessed God-given
hunger and thirst is satiated and slaked by demonic junk-food.
“Listen
diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in rich food” (v.2). God holds
nothing back; He offers heaven’s best, instead of this world’s worst. Anyone,
who has ever feasted at His table, will tell you that there is nothing earthly
that can compare. Don’t let the opportunity slip away; listen diligently to the
gospel: “Incline your ear, and come to
me: hear, that your soul may live”.
The writer of Hebrews pleads
with the potential Jewish believer: “We
must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from
it… How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” (Heb.2:1,3). Throughout his book, he presents arguments that
prove the superiority of the gospel to the Jew’s religion. Listen diligently…
incline your ear… hear… pay much closer attention… “It pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who
believe” (1 Co.1:21).
A love covenant
“I will make
with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David” (v.3). The
person who listens and believes enters into a new covenant; we call it the New
Testament. It is for the Jew first, but the Gentile is grafted into this new
and living way. It is a pathway of eternal, steadfast, and sure love.
You may remember that David
wanted to build a house for the Lord, but God sent His prophet, Nathan, to
counter with His own will and purpose: “The
Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house” (2 Sam.7:11). Man’s religion is all about what
one can do for God. Christianity is about what God does for man. It teaches us
to come without money and without price. It teaches us grace, to take Him at
His word and trust Him. We come with empty hands… What can we offer Him?
The love covenant of David is
the one that is offered in Isaiah’s book to the hungry and thirsty: “I will be to him a father, and he shall be
to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him… but my steadfast
love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul… Your house and your
kingdom shall be made sure forever before me” (2 Sam.7:14-16). Isaiah
speaks more of David in verse 4, showing what He made David to be, according to His will.
Israel will call forth a
nation, which neither they know, nor does that nation know them (v.5). They had
no relations with them and Peter had to be convinced by a heavenly vision to go
into a Gentile house and preach to them (Ac.10:28). And so, he wrote to them: “For you are a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation… once you were not a people, but now you are God’s
people…” (1 P.2:9,10). Jehovah is
Israel’s God, His person and His ways are holy, and He has glorified them. The
gospel was first preached to them, then through them to the Gentile world. They
will again be God’s light to bring forth a nation that will be saved through
the Great Tribulation and populate the Millennium. Israel will lead the nations
in Christ’s kingdom.
Conditions
The Lord’s invitation to the
hungry and thirsty is without money and without price, but it is not without
conditions. If there were no conditions attached, then salvation would be
universal, but notice here God’s counsel to those He invites: “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call
upon him while he is near; 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” (v.6-7).
The first condition is to
seek. We will notice that he must seek within the Lord’s time frame, not at his
own leisure. We do wrong in telling the sinner that he can come to the Lord,
when he pleases. There must be a clear recognition of His sovereign lordship.
He chooses the time to make Himself available, and men, as poor, unworthy
wretches, must call, while He is near. No one is saved, who holds fast to his
own will and way.
The next verse speaks of
repentance. He forsakes his own way, so he must abandon his style of living,
his plans, his future, and turn to God’s way for his life. He not only turns
from his own actions, but his own thoughts. His mind will now belong to the
Lord. These are the negative steps away from himself and this is followed by
trust.
To believe is to trust. He
returns, depending on the Lord, fully surrendered to His way. Then he will
experience the compassion and love of God for him. Already Isaiah has shown us
the cross and the sinner turns to chapter 53 for forgiveness. God has taken
care of his sins through the death of his Son. The conditions, then, are
repentance and trust, or faith, in the person and work of the Lord God. There
is no difference really between salvation in Old Testament times and New
Testament times. It is by repenting and turning to God by grace through faith.
God's thoughts and words
Now we receive a tremendous
lesson concerning God’s thoughts, compared to ours: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,
declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways
higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (v.8-9). Upon
repenting and turning in faith to Christ, our “world view” undergoes a tremendous transformation. Our way of seeing things must be totally turned
right-side-up. Fallen man is cursed with perverse thinking and his mentality is
100% opposed to God’s. Because of man’s thinking, his world system is the
opposite of the Kingdom of God.
Christ’s disciples had an immense conflict with His ways, beginning with the way he received children. The conflict continued through the occasion, when a woman poured her costly perfume
over Him. There were many other instances of their ignorance of Christ’s
purposes. Therefore the apostle Paul calls us to nonconformity to the world and
a renewed mentality: “Do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that
by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable
and perfect” (Ro.12:2). It is impossible to live Christianity by human ways,
abilities and manners. Collectively, it is impossible for the church to
function by using the world’s methods and tools.
We go on to learn of the
sovereign, infallible power of His word. “As the
rain and snow come down from heaven… water the earth… giving seed and bread…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” (v.10,11). Learn heavenly vocabulary: For example, hope in God is
not “hope-so” hope. His hope is a sure, steadfast guarantee, a sealed future
which cannot fail to happen, exactly as He said.
To believe God is to believe His
word and act accordingly. These two verses are telling us that it will reap a
sure harvest. “For from Him”… through
the word that He sends to us from heaven… “and
through Him”… by the power of the Holy Spirit, working on this earth
through human beings to accomplish His purposes… “and to Him”… returning to Him with a profit. This is the only way
that a true and lasting work can be done.
All that God does is eternal. What
is the eternal word from heaven in the situation, we have just contemplated? It
is an unfailing promise that will work through us and return to heaven to bring
glory and honor to its Author. As Isaiah puts it, it will make a name for Him: “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. 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” (v.12-13).
This is the new creation and
superior world of the New Covenant. This is what He intended, when He invited
everyone who hungers and thirsts to come. This is the land of abundant waters,
of wine, milk and rich food, which will be entirely a provision of God. “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous
in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad
in it” (Ps.118:23-24). This is the work, which begins in the individual
human heart, and will find literal and physical fulfillment in the
thousand-year reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. The rejected stone becomes the
chief Cornerstone. I will leave you to
bask in it and in Him.
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