A Stunning Invitation
Isaiah 55:1-9
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Key Text: Luke 9:35
“Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near.”
Relationships can be fragile. Whether intentionally or inadvertently, we all know what it is like to offend someone, and to experience the outburst – or silence – we get in return. Have you ever sought to admit your fault and apologize to someone who wouldn’t accept your apology, or even talk to you long enough to hear it? That’s frustrating.
We also know how easy it is to fall short of what God expects of us, and how often we need to seek forgiveness. Fortunately, God does not turn a deaf ear to our pleas, but actively desires to live in supportive relationship with us.
Today’s beautifully composed passage comes from the period of the Babylonian exile. It invites the exiles to get on board with God, accept God’s gift of covenant promises, and follow God both in righteous behavior and on the road back to the Promised Land.
A thirsty people (vv. 1-5)
The oracle in Isaiah 55 may have been preached in a public marketplace, for it sounds like a sales pitch from someone hawking wares in the crowded the streets of Babylon. Vendors selling bread, wine, milk and other foods would have been commonplace in any ancient urban setting. [DD]
Isaiah offered food and water said to be beyond price, but at no charge: “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters,” he cried. “And you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (v. 1). [DD]
Passersby may have wondered if the prophet was a little crazy, for he claimed to offer free groceries, but had no visible food or drink to give.
On the surface, Isaiah of the Exile may have been promising the availability of good water and abundant provisions in the Promised Land for those who would return. On another level, he spoke of priceless spiritual food that can be found only – but freely – in relationship with God.
In either case, the prophet charged that what the exiles were buying in Babylon was not real bread, and that their efforts to build fortunes there could not fully satisfy. Instead, he offered “rich food” to those who would “listen carefully” and choose rightly (v. 2).
In addition, the prophet promised that the eternal covenant God had made with David – that his descendants would always lead Israel – would be transferred or extended to all Israel (vv. 3-5). [DD]
“I will make with you an everlasting covenant,” Isaiah said, echoing language from God’s promise to build an everlasting “house,” or dynasty, for David. The promise, however carried with it a responsibility. Because of God’s blessings, David had become “a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples” (v. 4).
Israel was also called to be a witness, no longer politically, but as spiritual guides. In particular, they were to live as a testimony before people who did not know God: “you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that you do not know shall run to you …” (v 5a).
While David’s promised “house” was a witness to the people he ruled, Israel was also promised an everlasting future along with a commission to live as a witness to people who do not know God.
The prophet believed that if the exiles would trust God promise and return to build up Jerusalem as a people fully committed to God’s way, they would become such an inspiration that other nations would “run” to them in search of the secret to success and life that they had discovered in “the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you” (v. 5b).
An awesome God (vv. 6-9)
How does one enter this promised relationship? How does one “Seek the LORD while he may be found,” or “call upon him while he is near” (v. 6)? In some texts, such as Deut. 12:5 and Ps. 105:4, “to seek the LORD” is to come and worship in the temple. For the prophets, however, seeking the Lord involved more than temple worship: it called for a commitment to following God’s way. [DD]
The Babylonians had destroyed the Jerusalem temple in 587 BCE, so the prophet and his fellow exiles in Babylon could no longer “seek God” though temple worship, but God’s presence was not dependent on a special building or priestly intervention. For Isaiah, seeking God began with repentance (v. 7). Thus, he called for the wicked to forsake their wicked ways, and the unrighteous to give up unworthy thoughts. [DD] Writing at the end of the exile, the prophet may also have been encouraging people to accept Cyrus’ offer to return home and rebuild the temple while the opportunity was available.
The exilic Isaiah’s call to repentance led to a promise of pardon. If the people would seek the Lord, they would find mercy and forgiveness. The prophet declared that the exiles’ time in Babylon had paid the penalty for the sins of the ancestors. They were now free to “get out of jail” and return home to live a better life.
For some hearers, accustomed to Babylonian ways and settled in their Babylonian homes, Isaiah’s words may have sounded like foolishness. From a human point of view, the call to pull up stakes and return to an uncertain future made little sense. But God knew things the people did not know, Isaiah said. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD” (v. 8).
Human minds are limited, but God’s knowledge knows no boundaries: “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (v. 9). As much as we may like the idea of understanding everything, we have to acknowledge that God remains far beyond our full comprehension, always shrouded in mystery. Still, the good news is that God wants to be found. For Christians, God’s good future can be found through Christ, who became human, in part, to make God’s invitation clear and unmistakable.
A fruitful word (vv. 10-13)
Isaiah returned to the image of the heavens as higher than the earth and built on it to assure the people he was an authentic channel of God’s powerful and effective word. The metaphor takes on more depth when we understand that in Hebrew, the notions of “word” and “deed” are connoted by the same term. God’s words and God’s deeds go together. Just as rain and snow come from the heavens to water the earth and make it fruitful, so God’s spoken word would accomplish its purpose (vv. 10-11).
And what was that purpose?
It was the return of Israel to the land of promise. Isaiah painted the kind of glorious image you’d only expect to see in a happy-ending movie. He envisioned a joyful journey of gleeful people enjoying a new era of peace, with nearby mountains singing a happy serenade while roadside trees applauding the people as they marched past like heroes on parade (v. 12).
The rough thorn bushes and briers in the ruins of Jerusalem would give way to fragrant cypress and myrtle trees, Isaiah said, which would stand as a living reminder of God’s deliverance for Israel. [DD] The true memorial of God’s work, however, would not be found in tall trees, but in a faithful and fruitful people.
Unfortunately, those who did return to Jerusalem did not experience a happy homecoming. The city was a ruin, the neighbors were hostile, and the land was in the midst of a drought. How do we square the prophet’s pretty picture with the ugly scene the returnees actually faced?
Isaiah’s over-the-top metaphor may have been sparked by the overwhelming joy of realizing that the exiles could finally return home. Though his hyperbolic description of their return did not match the desolate scene they would find in Jerusalem, the prophet looked beyond the ruined land to a spiritual spring when God and people would live together in a joyful setting not unlike Israel’s tradition of Eden.
Sometimes, things have to get worse before they get better.
How often have we anticipated a delightful vacation, only to be sidetracked by cranky children, long lines, or bad weather? Despite the difficulties, we manage to make good memories and remember the trip fondly, carsickness and all.
I can remember imagining how much enjoyment a small shaded patio might add to my backyard – but before the first relaxing glass of lemonade, there were long days of backbreaking labor to dig out a level spot, build a retaining wall, smooth the ground, fill in the substrate, fit the pavers, and landscape the surroundings.
There is a future for us, and the prophet declared it to be bigger and more beautiful, happier and more peaceful than the Jerusalem we know will ever be. Despite the best prophetic efforts, from Ezekiel’s visions to John’s apocalypse, we cannot know exactly what that future will be like, except that it will be with God, so it must be good.
The one thing we can hang our hopes on is that we serve a God who wants to be known, and who wants to bless us. As we “seek the LORD while he may be found,” we embark upon a journey through valleys and hills that may be more stressful than musical, but we do not travel alone – and when we can be confident that the end of the road brings us closer to God, every step will be worth the effort.
Adult Teaching Resources
Download the PDF of teaching resources for this lesson.
This PDF contains the Teaching Guide, Digging Deeper, and Hardest Question pages.
Read Scripture online: Isaiah 55:1-9
Youth Teaching Resources
Parent Prep
The relationships that students have are complex. They get even more complex when the students don’t understand the type of relationship they are in, the person with whom they are in relationship, or if the two parties don’t agree on what type of relationship they have. The best way to help your students through this time is to model healthy relationships. The next best thing is to listen. If they ask for your advice, give it, but trying to force them out of the relationship usually doesn’t work. Be present and listen.
Additional Links/Resources
Read Scripture online: Isaiah 55:1-9
Download the PDF for youth teaching resources using the button below. This PDF contains the Teaching Guide for this lesson:
Video
Encourage youth to check out this video ahead of the lesson.
“Jake’s Apology” from Never Back Down
Via www.youtube.com
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