An Invitation to Return to the Lord (Part 2)

This world ismarked by an excruciating paradox. On one hand, it offers you all kinds ofopportunity, pleasure, and satisfaction. On the other hand, this same worldalso displays turmoil, frustration, and confusion. Why? Because the people ofthis world are made in the image of God on one hand, but they are not followinghis will on the other.

The Jewishresidents of southern Israel, a region called Judah, experienced a similarscenario in the fifth century BC. Instead of following God, they had embracedthe values and false gods of the nations around them. They had devoted theirlives and settled into lifestyles that pursued the material benefits andpleasures that the land of Palestine offered.

As a result,God arranged for the unbelieving and cruel Assyrian Empire to take them awayinto captivity, far away from their homeland. Before this invasion andcaptivity occurred, Isaiah spoke to the residents of Judah and Jerusalem with amessage from God. We call this book Isaiah and Chapter 55 is a centralpart of this message.

You can outlinethis chapter as follows:

• I.          A divine invitation to genuine life and satisfaction (vv. 1-3a)
• II.         A divine promise of everlasting covenant loyalty (vv. 3b-5)
• III.        A prophetic directive to return to the LORD (vv. 6-7)
• IV.       A divine assurance of God’s entirely reliable word (vv. 8-11)
• V.        A divine forecast of everlasting joy, peace, and blessing (vv. 12-13)

As you can see,the first two and last two sections are given as direct, divine statements (anextended offer) from God, whereas the third and middle section is given as aprophetic announcement of how the residents of Judah should respond this offer.

This chapter isa dramatic invitation from God to enjoy abundant, genuine life by returning tothe LORD (55:1, 3a, 6-7).

Oh! Everyone who is thirsty,

come to the waters!

Whoever does not have money,

come, buy, and eat!

Even come and buy wine and milk,

without money and without price.

Why do you pay money for what is not bread?

Or why do you labor for what is not satisfying?

Listen carefully to me and eat what is good,

and let your soul delight in fatness!

Turn your ear and come to me;

hear and your soul will live.

Isaiah 55:1-3a

It reads like astreet vendor calling out to shoppers in an outdoor market. As such, God offers“the deal of a lifetime,” offering staples of life (water and bread) and luxuryitems (wine and milk) as a bundle, offering them at no cost to those who arethirsty and have no money. When you realize how astounding this is, you willdefinitely want to listen carefully to the rest of this chapter.

Ultimately,this beautiful, heartfelt overture from God offers an unrighteous people a wayof returning to him (55:7), even though judgment for their sin was coming soon.Through this amazing offer, God provided hope for those who were languishing insin, frustrated by economic challenges, and perplexed by political turmoil.

As you considerthis chapter, you should ask yourself, “Am I searching for pleasure andsatisfaction in the wrong places the way that so many people are doing in theworld? Or am I following God and experiencing the satisfying life that he aloneprovides.

You could alsoask yourself, “As I observe the economic challenges and political turmoil ofthe world today, am I worried, frustrated, or afraid? Or do I have peace andjoy instead because my confidence is in God and I know the blessings that lieahead for me in his eternal kingdom?”

The Lord promises everlasting covenant loyalty (vv. 3b-5)

Moving beyondmaterial and physical provision, God refers directly to a covenant that he madewith David.

Then I will make an everlasting covenant with you –

according to the faithful lovingkindness of David.

Isaiah 55:3b

This covenantguaranteed that God would provide a king for the nation of Israel, from thefamily line of King David, who would rule over a perfect kingdom forever. Butwhat does this covenant have to do with these Jews who were living so manyyears after David? And what does it have to do with us today?

Though it was givento King David, the coming “Servant of the LORD” would ultimately fulfill thiscovenant as a descendant of David. The A-line of this second couplet promises afuture covenant relationship, not the fulfillment of the Davidic one perse. Nevertheless, the B-line describes this future, eternal covenant as beingrelated (“according”) to the Davidic one.

This kingdomwould be “related” to the Davidic one because it would fulfill God’s promise toDavid. But it would also “resemble” God’s covenant with David because thiscovenant would come to pass due to the kind of “faithful lovingkindness” thatGod has shown to David.

As you know,David made some shameful decisions. He committed adultery with Bathsheba,arranged for her husband (Urijah) to be murdered, conducted a nationwide censuswhen God said not to, and raised some very disobedient children. Despite thesetragedies, David abandoned his wicked behavior and returned to the LORD. Aspromised, God forgave him and showered him with mercy and compassion. What’smore, he gave David an influential role in the world that continues with ustoday.

Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples,

a leader and commander for the peoples.

Isaiah 55:4

The words witness,leader, and commander all feature a “communication” element. Thisindicates that God gave David a verbal influence and authority in the world.This most likely refers to David’s prophetic ministry through Old TestamentPsalms. So then, God intends for the Book of Psalms (and whatever else Davidwrote or is written about David in the OT) to provide you with doctrine andguidance from God today.

We know thatthis leadership role by David extends beyond the nation of Israel becauseIsaiah said that this influence is to and for “the peoples,”which refers to all the people groups of the world, not just Israel – and thisincludes you.

In verse 5,Isaiah makes this point even clearer. This time he uses two couplets instead ofone, though he links these two statements together as a complete unit of thoughby opening each one with the interjection “behold!” (הֵן),calling for special attention to what he said.

Behold, you will call a nation whom you do not know,

and a nation that does not know you will run to you

Isaiah 55:5a

Notice thecontrast between verses 4 and 5.

• Verse4 opens with a past tense verb, while verse 5 opens with a pair of futures.
• Verse4 presents David as the influential figure but verse 5 presents the Jewishpeople instead.

So whatconnects God’s ministry through David in the past to his ministry through Israelin the future? The faithful lovingkindness of God. Both David and the nation ofIsrael had behaved in unrighteous, ungodly ways. But thanks to the abundantmercy, forgiveness, and faithful love of God, they were able to influence theworld for God, nonetheless. Without the LORD’s intervention and guidance intheir lives, neither David nor believing Israelites would be able to serve theLORD.

How would theyserve the LORD? Like David, the future believing nation of Israel (according tothe A-line) would speak (קָרָא, lit. “call”) to thenations of the world; but according to the B-line (and unlike their response toDavid), the nations would respond in an enthusiastic way (רוץ, lit. "run").

David was notable to lead the nations of the world to follow the LORD; what’s more, hisbiblical writings have not yet had this degree of influence in the world yet either.But a time would come – and still will come – when faithful, believingIsraelites will have such an influence through their verbal witness. When thisfinally happens, people from all the nations of the world will not only come tothe LORD, but they will run to him. What a contrast from the way thatthe nation of Israel used to run to the nations of the world for satisfactioninstead!

Isaiah repeats גּוֹי (“nations”) in this couplet, depicting theentire Gentile world as returning to the LORD in response to Israel’s witness.He makes this point especially clear by referring to “a nation you do not know”in the first A-line and “a nation who does not know you” in the first B-line.This means that they would influence people from distant, undiscovered lands.

Why would thishappen? It would not be the result of anything that Israel themselves had done.It would be due to what God, the LORD, had done on their behalf. He wouldintervene in their lives.

because of the LORD your God – even the Holy One of Israel –

for he has glorified you.

Isaiah 55:5b

The cause ofthis seismic spiritual shift among the nations would be twofold, signaled bythe “cause” words that begin both lines of the second couplet (לְמַ֫עַן andכִּי respectively).These causes would be:

• Accordingto the A-line, the all-powerful nature of the LORD God of Israel (Isa 5:24;37:24; 45:11-12), in contrast to the gods of the nations.
• Accordingto the B-line, the successful deliverance and exaltation of Israel before thenations (Isa 12:6; 43:3; 49:7).

In the A-line, Isaiahinserts a phrase that begins with the word וְ,meaning “even,” draws attention to the unique and supreme character of theLORD, calling him “the Holy One of Israel.” This title for God appears frequently(28 times) throughout the book of Isaiah.

As “the HolyOne of Israel,” God is:

• In aclass of his own and entirely separate from all other God’s of other nationsand religions. He is the Holy One, so he is the only one and is unlikeand unrelated to any other gods.
• Heis the Holy One of Israel, which means that he is completely separatefrom and untouched by evil of any kind. Other so-called gods have flaws,weaknesses, and shortcomings, but not the LORD. Unlike any other god of anyother nation, people group, or religion, he is perfect in every way, withoutfault and without blemish.
• Heis the Holy One of Israel, which means that he is the God who revealedhimself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – to the nation of Israel. Furthermore,though he is supreme and infinitely separated from this fallen world, he iscompletely ready and willing to enter into a relationship with and to identifywith sinful Israel. In this way, he is “of Israel.”

Only in afuture, eternal age will all nations of the world submit themselves to Israel. Inthat future day, the nations of the world will turn away at last from their manyother gods and will run to the God of Israel forever. This future realitystands in strong contrast to the invasion and captivity of Assyria that wasabout to happen. Though Israel was about to be taken away prisoner andscattered throughout the Assyrian Empire, there would come a day that thenations would come to Israel instead. Despite the short-game (the Assyriancaptivity of Israel), God is giving them a view of the long-game (the nationscoming to the Lord through Israel.

This ends thefirst stanza of this chapter and brings us to the middle of this poem.

Isaiah invites you to return to the LORD (vv. 6-7)

Seek the LORD while you can find him;

appeal to him while he is near.

Isaiah 55:6

These are theonly two verses that are clearly spoken by Isaiah the prophet and not by God directly.Verses 1-5 portray God as speaking directly to the people, and so do verses8-13. Sandwiched between these two divine invitations is an invitation fromIsaiah the prophet, who tells us how to respond to what God is saying in therest of the chapter.

Unlike theinitial appeal (Isa 55:1-3a), Isaiah injects a time element here using the word“while” (בְּ) in both lines. Though God offeredan everlasting covenant (v. 3), this offer itself would not go on forever. Itis an offer of an endless relationship with God, but with a limited window foraccepting the offer.

God will notalways be “findable” (מָצָא), nor will he always be“close by” (קָרֽוֹב). Against this backdrop,Isaiah issues this appeal in the A-line as an imperative, urging the people ofJudah to seek the Lord with heartfelt care and seriousness, not just curiosityor casual interest (דרשׁ).

In the B-line,he intensifies this appeal with another imperative that clarifies the reasonfor diligently seeking the Lord – that they may give him a formal appeal (קרא).Isaiah has already used this word (קרא)in the previous stanza (v. 5); but before the residents of Judah would be ableto call out (קרא) to the nations of theworld, they would first need to call out (קרא)to the LORD for themselves (v. 6).

In verse 7,Isaiah continues to explain how to respond to God’s amazing offer of abundantlife now and in eternity. Whereas verse 6 explains the internal, verbal waythat we should respond to the LORD, verse 7 explains how we should respond inan external, behavioral way. It consists of three couplets distinguished bysome interesting features.

Let the wicked abandon his way,

and the unjust man his plans.

Let him return to the LORD,

that he may show compassion to him;

and [let him return] to our God,

for he will abundantly forgive.

Isaiah 55:7

Notice how thisverse features a “narrowing” effect in which the first couplet narrows into thesecond and the second into the third.

Can you see howthe first couplet names the subject outright in the A-line (“the wicked”), thesecond A-line merely refers to the subject by means of a generic pronoun(“him”), and the third A-line eliminates both the subject but and the verb completely.This “narrowing” effect requires you to keep these elements in your heart andmind as you read, giving them thoughtful, personal attention.

Also, can yousee how Isaiah shifts the focus by gradually eliminating these words? In thefirst couplet, he refers to the wicked and unjust man in both the A- and B-lines.In the second couplet, he introduces the LORD; both lines in this secondcouplet also present both the wicked and unjust person (albeit generically) andthe LORD, so this verse serves as a bridge between Couplet 1 and Couplet 3.Couplet 3, then only implies the wicked and unjust man, but names Godexclusively.

These threecouplets illustrate for us the way that returning to the LORD happens. A wickedperson, like yourself, shifts his or her focus away from himself or herself andentirely towards God as his LORD. When a person does this, he leaves behind hiswicked ways and his unjust plans. When he does this, he discovers that the LORDis compassionate and forgiving.

The opening verb(“abandon”, עזב), which means “to leavebehind”, serves as the necessary counterpart to the “seek the LORD with care” (דרשׁ,as in v. 6) and the “turn to him” verbs (שׁוּב,mentioned explicitly in the second A-line of v. 7 and implied in third A-line).So to “seek the Lord in a serious way” (which is an action of forwarddirection), you must also “leave behind” something else (which is an action ofletting something go in your past life as you go forward towards God in yournew life).

This entailsabandoning your “way” (דֶּ֫רֶךְ), which in this caserefers to prior external behavior. It also requires you to abandon your“thoughts” or “plans” (מַחֲשָׁבָה), which refers here toprior internal beliefs, values, goals, and plans – all of which are at oddswith the ways and thoughts of God.

This emphasishighlights Isaiah’s prophetic outlook: though Israel desired a message abouthow to be delivered from Assyrian bondage, God offered them something far better– a message that will deliver them from their greater enemy, their own sinfulnature.

What shouldastound the reader here is the central thought (featured in the middle couplet)that when a sinful person returns to the LORD, that person will receivecompassion rather than judgment. This verb רָחַםmeans “to show mercy, take pity on, show love, i.e., have feelings and actionsof kindness and concern for one in difficulty, regardless of one’s state ofguilt for an offense.” This is especially important because you, like every otherperson, whether Israelite or not, are incredibly guilty before God.

To highlightthis surprising result, Isaiah echoes this appeal to return to the LORD bymeans of an ellipsis, mentioning God by means of a general reference to God (אֱלֹהִים),but distinguishing him from every other god by means of the emphatic firstperson, plural pronoun “our” (אֲנַ֫חְנוּ). His message is clear:only the God of Israel behaves in this compassionate way towards wicked people.

If you studypagan gods, you will find that they do not respond this way. When a personcomes to them, these gods pour out vengeance, terror, and retribution. They donot forgive sins, show compassion, and offer mercy. Only the Holy One ofIsrael, the one true God, the LORD, responds to repentant sinners this way.

The final B-line further amplifies this astonishing result as a noteworthy reason (כִּי) for returning to the LORD: he will not only “remove the guilt associated with your sin” (סלח), which is surprisingenough, but he will do so inexhaustibly (רבה).This word (רבה) means “greatly” and “toan incredible degree.”

Conclusion

Though there ismore to study in this chapter (namely vv. 8-13), this is a good place to pausefor personal reflection. Here are some questions you should ask yourself today.

Do you have theright view of God?

• Do youbelieve that there is only one God, the God of Israel and of David?
• Do youbelieve that he is holy, that he is without sin and perfect in every way?
• Doyou believe that he is compassionate and merciful? That he is very extremelyforgiving? That he is eternally faithful, even to people (like David andIsrael) who have failed miserably? That despite your failure, he is near andready to receive you? That this opportunity will not last forever?

Do you have theright view of yourself?

• Areyou looking for satisfaction in the world, looking for satisfaction, trying tomeet your needs, and attempting to experience pleasure in all the wrong ways?
• Areyou believing the unreliable, untrustworthy promises of this disorderly andungodly world more than you believe God?
• Doyou agree that you are wicked and unjust and that you deserve God’s judgement?

Ultimately, theholiness of the LORD required that the continued disobedience of Israel resultin serious consequences, like captivity to the Assyrian Empire. At the sametime, his merciful lovingkindness and compassion compelled him to abundantlyforgive (to release or “write off”) the sins of any Israelite who would returnto him in repentance.

Today, the LORD’sholy and yet forgiving character remains the same. But how are you responding? Yourwindow of time to respond to his offer of abundant life and complete forgivenesswill not last forever. How long will long will you continue to pass by the “boothof the LORD” in the marketplace of the world?

Have you turnedto seek after God, and have you left behind your former ways of living? Whatare these former thoughts, plans, and ways of living? There are at least threegiven in this chapter:

• Wickedness(v. 7) – this refers to a person who is guilty of sin against man butespecially against God. This is any person who is living contrary to the waythat God has designed and intended for people to live.
• Injustice(v. 7) – this refers to a person who does things that are morally evil andcorrupt, and which damage his or her relationship to God and others.
• Misplacedpriorities (v. 2) – this refers to people who are spending money and wasting hard-earnedincome on those things in the world which ultimately do not satisfy.

Perhaps foryou, it is time to get serious about seeking the LORD. Perhaps you need toabandon wicked habits and wrong behavior that is putting distance between youand God and between you and others? Or perhaps you need to stop wasting so muchtime and effort on experiences, pleasures, and pursuits which are not bringingtrue satisfaction, but are pulling you farther from God instead?

Whatever is the case, you are not sitting still. You are either following a wicked, unjust, and unsatisfying life (like the world around you), or you are seriously seeking after the LORD as you should.

For some, it istime to abandon your plans and ways of living. It is time to stop focusing onyourself and to receive his forgiveness. It is time to return to the LORD witha serious and committed heart. Will you turn to him today? Will you call out tohim?