Isaiah 55
5 “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.
3 Incline 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.”
There are many memorable lines from this chapter in the prophet Isaiah. I have heard these quotes often growing up in church:
“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;”
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.”
“so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,”
These lines all communicate important truths about God- his nature and his character- who He is. We each need to spend more time than we do thinking about God Himself. Make a list of the important aspects we learn about the nature of Yahweh in this one short chapter. I will start you out:
- He is generous. He gives freely to those of us who can never pay him back.
- He doesn’t need what we have, but we need what he has.
- He gives good things.
- When He loves somebody, He loves them forever.
- He calls leaders.
- He is glorified among the nations.
- He is near. But His nearness is not guaranteed to sinners forever.
- He is abundantly compassionate.
- He thinks well beyond our capacity to match him.
- He acts beyond our power to act.
- He doesn’t speak idle words.
- He accomplishes everything he sets out to accomplish.
- He creates peace where none exists.
- He will be worshipped.
Spend your time today thinking thoughts about God. What would dinner with God look like this evening? How would it change your life? Let God introduce himself to you. Introduce yourself to him in light of the things you know about him.