Isaiah 55
by Pastor Mark Hudson
This is a great chapter on being satisfied with God. We are not a satisfied people. Well, we think we are satisfied with the purchase of a better vehicle until we see even a better one next to us. We like the feeling of buying things until that wears off. We often think certain things we know we should not do will satisfy until we once again are left with the real-world consequences. Sin is a slave trader dressed as an abolitionist. We are always spending our money and our time on things that don’t satisfy.
Look at 55:1-5. Knowing we are thirsty, always thirsting, we are told to come and drink. We are curiously asked to buy wine and milk with no money. “Come buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Isaiah is using water, wine, and milk but talking about what truly satisfies: God. He does this in v. 2, “Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in rich food.” Feast on Christ. Listen to His word that tells us of His majesty. See and savor His goodness.
In v. 4, “hear, that your soul may live” is the constant theme in Isaiah. Listen to His word because they tell the truth. God’s words are true, and they point us to God’s glory. The deepest and most enduring happiness is found only in God. Not from God, but in God (John Piper or JP). He wants your soul to prosper. So you must keep the covenant God made with David and trust in the Messiah.
“If you can’t see the sun, you will be impressed with a streetlight. If you’ve never felt thunder and lightning, you will be impressed with fireworks
And if you turn your back on the greatness and majesty of God, you’ll fall in love with a world of shadows and short-lived pleasures” (JP). Don’t settle for shiny new things or for bigger things. Don’t settle for things at all when you are invited to pleasures forevermore. Ask yourself, “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” And keep asking yourself that question. This world can be enjoyed but it will never satisfy for “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him” (JP).
Then in 6-11, we are told to seek the Lord. To do that implies we have to turn away from our thoughts and our ways. Our thoughts are not neutral but active plotting against all that is good. Not what most people want to hear. Our ways do not bend toward God but toward our selves. Self is our idol. And since God will not allow idols, we hate God. We want Him out of the picture, quiet, and in His place. He, on the other hand, will not let us off that easily because He wants us to enjoy true joy and to relish His goodness into eternity.
His claim is that He is not like us. His thoughts are so utterly perfect, so good, so suited for every human. Our thoughts are focused on our little self. His ways are the best ways for every Indian, Chinese, Russian, Peruvian, and Brazilian. Our ways aren’t even good for ourselves. We make a mess of our lives. He offers us a path of hope, light, love and we choose darkness and hatred.
God does what is good and His purposes will be accomplished. God’s Word is from God Himself. His Word is from heaven; higher than anything we can see. Notice what God says about rain which comes from heaven. In v. 10, we return to the idea of water – here as rain or snow. The rain and snow accomplish God’s purposes: water, bring forth, sprout, giving see to the sower and bread to the eater. The rain and snow have a job to do, and they do it.
God’s word is also coming down from heaven – goes out from my mouth. His Word does not just float along in the air, aimless, effecting no one or nothing. God’s word:
goes out,
it returns,
it accomplishes
what I purpose,
succeeds in the thing for which
I sent it
His word accomplishes the purpose God has for it. His Word will succeed because His Word is divine. Trust in His word. We cannot reach God by our thoughts. We need special revelation. God speaks but He must lower Himself to speak very simply to such people who cling to the ground and can see nothing except what we can see, touch, and experience.
There is so much more beyond our little lives. He is grand and glorious. He is all-sufficient. His Spirit satisfies the loneliest widow, the struggling teenager, and the mid-life parent who is overwhelmed. He, and He alone, offers us eternal life that we can experience now.
To enjoy this life, you must lay down your life. Jesus preached repentance when He preached the gospel. Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Our entire life is one of repentance, but repenting is a delicious grace. How refreshing to admit you sin against God first and foremost as King David understood in Ps 51. Of course we hurt others around us, but sin is cosmic treason first.
Yet the very One who we have offended and wronged is willing to forgive us through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. But you must seek him as a thirsty, parched person seeks water. He actually tells us to believe and encourages us to come to Him for forgiveness. Acts 3:19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.
Father, I seek many, many things. But sadly, I don’t go out of my way for You. I rarely schedule time just for you. I watch many useless things, read things that do not edify, hear things that do not encourage. I repent once again of my cold, cold heart. Pour Your life into my soul so I will reach upward to You and outward to others in Your name. Revive me so I experience Your joy. Gladden my heart with Your truth. Satisfy Me with Your righteousness and lead me into Your glorious presence at the end of my life. In Christ. Amen.