STUDY THEME: INVITATION TO MAXIMUM LIVING. 11-26-06.
“LIVE NOW AND FOREVER.” ISAISH 52: 13-55:13.
ISAIAH 55: 1, 2-5, 6-7, 8-13.
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO ISAIAH 55.
The emphasis on Christmas is already in full swing in the stores and in people’s December plans. We will hear many times the announcement that Jesus Christ was born to save those who repent and turn to Him as their Lord and Savior.
However, when Christians attempt to share that message personally with others, many put off giving serious consideration to Christ’s offer of forgiveness and eternal life. God urges all people to receive new life in Christ today.
For many reasons many adults put off considering the claims of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They do not see God’s offer of Salvation and new life as an urgent matter.
Some young adults may think, I want to live my life now. Maybe I’ll turn to religion later.
Median adults may view faith as just one piece of a puzzle. They want the satisfaction of knowing that they are not completely irreligious, but they also want to maintain control of their multidimensional lives.
Some senior adults may think that there can’t be anything new for them. God wants us to respond now to His offer of new life, because every day spent in right relationship with God is a day of maximum living.
The background passage of Isaiah 52: 13-55:13 is a part of the Book of Isaiah in Isaiah 49:1-57:21 that is called “The Gospel of the servant of the Lord.” This passage is probably the most important chapters in the Book of Isaiah. It gives the Person of salvation by describing the Suffering Servant, whom the N.T. says was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
That good news was first a prophecy to Israel in Babylonian captivity concerning God’s plans and promise to deliver them from exile through Cyrus whom He anointed for that task in Isa. 45: 1.
Ultimately, the good news was a prophecy to all mankind in the bondage of sin of God’s plans and promise of One called in Isa. 52:13, “My servant, who would deliver and forgive those who turn to Him in repentance and faith.” That person is the Messiah. Isaiah further developed the theme of God’s forgiveness that would come through the Messiah.
In 52:13 the prophet focused on the person (Christ) of forgiveness. In 54: 1-17 he set forth God’s announcement of forgiveness through the grace of God. In 55: 1-13 Isaiah pressed home God’s invitation to experience forgiveness now.
The Ethiopian eunuch was reading from this passage when God led Philip to tell him of Jesus. Jesus was the One who suffered and died for the sins of the world. The introduction of this Servant colors all that follows in the Book of Isaiah.
Ch. 54 is an announcement of this salvation and a declaration that it was intended for all people to receive forgiveness and new life. It describes the invitation to experience the forgiveness that God freely offers to all who will repent and believe.
1.Please read Isaiah 55: 1.
Isaiah 55: 1-13 was originally addressed to Jews who were living in exile, but it can be applied to people today who do not know the Lord. Isaiah exhorted the people to pay attention and respond to the Lord’s offer of new life and new relationship with Him.
The Lord urged the people to avoid any hesitation in repenting and turning to Him, for He would freely forgive their sins. God assured the people that His promises of forgiveness are absolutely trustworthy, even if the people were unable to fully understand His thoughts and ways.
Rev. 22: 17 combines the word come with the idea of water, just as in Isaiah 55: 1 “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.
Water is another biblical word used to symbolize salvation and new life in relationship with God. In Jeremiah 2: 13 the Lord is “the fountain of living waters.” In Jesus conversation with the Samaritan woman, in John 4: 13 He used the well water to signify the kind of water that can not satisfy spiritual thirst.
He told the woman that whoever drank from the well water would thirst again, but whoever drank of the water He offered would never be thirsty again. Isaiah 55: 1 was addressed to “everyone who is thirsty.”
The people of Jesus’ land and times were often thirsty. Drinkable water was scarce. As terrible as it is to be thirsty for water, it is more serious to have a soul that is thirsty. When water is given to those who are dying from lack of water, it provides life. People who are living apart from God are living in a spiritual desert. Some refuse to recognize the true nature of their inner thirst.
God called those who had no money to come. God offers this living water freely. He offers it as a gift, not as something that we earn or deserve. Many N.T. passages point out that salvation is not of human works but is the gift of God. (Rom. 6:2; Eph. 2: 8-9.)
In lands where water is scarce, vendors sometimes sell water on the street. Some Bible students think that this may be the background for this promise. The vendors are said to have cried out “Water of life, Water of life: who will buy?” Sometimes a generous person paid for the vendors’ water. Then the vendor said, “Water of life, water of life, who will take?”
Vs. 1 mentions not only water but also wine and milk. At times in the Bible, wine was mentioned as a sign of joy. Both Testaments condemn drunkenness, and many of us today believe in total abstinence because of concern for our own health and to avoid putting a stumbling block in front of others.
But in that day wine was often the only safe drink because of water contamination. Milk represented a special treat and provided good nourishment. When the Israelites entered the Promised Land, they were told to expect to find a land of milk and honey.
As with the water, the wine and milk were free. The people were invited to buy wine and milk without money and without price or cost.
These gifts are free to the ones who take them. They are free, but they are not cheap. Isa. 53 tells us of their cost. They cost God the life of His only Son. He paid the price for our sins. Through him and only through Him is the gift of salvation offered by God. Grace is free, but it is not cheap.
2. PLEASE READ ISAIAH 55: 2-5.
The invitation to come was an urgent call for response. Vs. 2 asks, “Why do you spend money on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy?” The people were seeking to satisfy their inner stirrings by filling their lives with false solutions.
They failed to recognize the nature of what troubled them. They tried to satisfy moral and spiritual needs with things that ultimately did not satisfy. These included things such as wealth, pleasures, and fame: but these did not satisfy their real needs.
Isaiah’s hearers needed to eat things that were good, such as the gifts of God in vs. 1. Believers are often amazed at how many people try to find the good life in their own ways and pass up the life that God offers, which alone meets our deepest needs.
Jesus told the Samaritan woman in John 4; 13-14, “whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Too many people are drinking from things that do not quench their thirst and rejecting the true water of life. God asks such people why they do such a foolish thing as to spend their time, energy, and money on things that do not satisfy their deepest needs.
In vs. 2 God was speaking to a people who wanted a full and meaningful life, but they were looking for it in all the wrong places. Those who had money, whether a lot or a little, were spending it on what was not food.
God did not elaborate what those purchases might have been. But He did characterize them as purchases that were not food spiritually and therefore did not satisfy. Life apart from God is unsatisfying.
Some historians believe that some of the Jewish exiles in Babylon became prosperous and gained considerable wealth. However, getting and spending did not satisfy their souls. They needed true bread and water that were spiritual resources that came only from God.
Therefore, God declared to them that it was imperative they listen carefully to Him and then they would eat what is good. From His hand they would enjoy the choicest of foods. Did they believe God? Was this an offer too good to be true?
A remnant believed, but many did not. Like many today, they preferred a self-directed life, even with its disappointments, to a God given and God-directed life with its promised blessings of the best life possible.
People without Christ did not realize how satisfying and meaningful life is in Christ. They have only experienced life apart from God’s best. A loving God continues to urge unbelievers to come to Him. In Him, they enter a relationship where He meets their innermost needs and gives them abundant life.
Vs. 3 contains more of God’s call. His commands to pay attention and listen indicated the people had not been in contact with Him. God called them, but they had the responsibility to hear his call and receive His message. Failure to listen would bring the opposite result to the result they would experience if they listened.
God told them that if they paid attention and listened, you will live. Live refers to more than physical life. It is the abundant life Jesus came to give in John 10:10b---life to the maximum.
The first part of vs. 3 clarifies the reality behind the three “come’s” in vs. 1.”What was the metaphor, come to the waters in vs. 1, is now reality, come to Me.” The Lord is Himself the feast. Coming to the water, the wine, and the milk signify coming to the Lord Himself. He calls us to a personal relationship with Him. Only such a relationship will satisfy our inner hunger and thirst.
Verses 3b-5 remind us that we are in the O.T. The promise God made to David is prominent. God told David that one of his descendants would rule over a kingdom that will never end.
Writing to Jewish exiles, Isaiah was used by God to remind them of this everlasting covenant. The Book of Isaiah contains many messianic promises. The word Messiah means “anointed one.” It was often used to describe the future king promised to David and through him to all God’s people. Many of the Jews of Jesus’ day were looking for a king who would be a king like David. After all, David was a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
Many of the first-century Jews failed to recognize that the O.T. also referred to the Messiah as the Suffering Servant. Jesus knew that His mission was to fulfill both strands of O.T. prophecy. He was the promised King, son of David, the King of kings; but He ascended His throne by suffering and dying for sinners, as was foretold in Isa. 53.
God promised He would make Israel a witness if they would turn to Him and follow the descendant of David through whom God would give them this new life. The N.T. reveals that descendant is Jesus Christ.
Vs. 5 is a prophecy of the inclusion of Gentiles among those who honor the Son of David. In the Bible, the word “nations” often refers to non-Jews or Gentiles. They knew not the Lord, called here the Holy One of Israel, but through the Messiah-Suffering Servant they would come to satisfy their thirst with the water of life. Isaiah predicted the coming of Gentiles to worship the Lord in several prophecies in his book. (see 42:4 and 49:6)
As God had used David, He would use the restored people of Israel under the leadership of the Messiah, David’s promised seed. They would be a witness to foreign nations they did not know, through the mighty blessings and deeds God would do in and through them. Other nations would hear and run to Israel in order to participate in those blessings.
The drawing card would be the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel. Israel would be glorified and thus draw other people to them-selves. Whereas Israel’s sin had separated them from God, Israel’s return to God would reunite them with Him. Through them, God would continue His redemptive purposes in calling people everywhere to come to Him for forgiveness and a new life.
In Luke 14:16-24 Jesus told the parable of the large banquet. When the meal was ready, the man sent his servants to call the invited guests to come: however, they all offered excuses why they could not come.
Then the man sent the servants into the highways and hedges to call others to come. He invited the poor and sick, who could not afford such a meal. He freely gave them a bountiful meal, without any cost to them. This is the message of Isaiah 55: 1-5.
3. PLEASE READ ISAIAH 55: 6-7.
After God gave His gracious invitation to come to Him, Isaiah warned about the danger of hesitating to repent and turn to Him. He encouraged his hearers by promising them a welcomed reception by the Lord and an eternal salvation in Him.
Isaiah repeated the Lord’s urgent invitation in vs. 6 to come to Him for life now and forever. He warned the people that it was imperative for them to seek the Lord now. Seek means to “seek with care” or “inquire.”
The word suggests seeking God sincerely in an effort to find knowledge, advice, and insight into knowing Him and doing His will. They were to seek the Lord by prayer. Isaiah urged them to call to Him. The reason? God had taken the initiative to call His people to Himself. At that particular time, He could be found. At this particular time, He was near. God’s invitation must be taken when offered. The people must not assume a later opportunity would be given. They must not postpone returning to Him.
Many people say they want to be saved but are not ready at this time. Such people are playing a dangerous game by postponing this urgent invitation. The Bible reminds us in 2 Cor. 6:2 that today is the day of salvation. If someone is to be saved, it must be on some day, and we have no promise of tomorrow. Today is the only day one has. Life is short and uncertain, and some wait until it is too late
Some people assume they can have deathbed repentance. But some do not die in bed, and those who do are often unconscious or so sedated that they cannot make a decision.
Another factor is that although God continues to call, each rejection moves us farther away from Him. Some people become so hardened or deaf to God’s Spirit that they do not hear His call.
Felix, the governor of Judea in Acts 24: 24-27 invited Paul to speak to him and his wife. Paul preached on righteousness, self-control, and judgment. Felix was so convicted that he trembled, but he did not repent. He told Paul that he would listen to him again, but he never did. His big opportunity was missed, and we never again read of Felix trembling with conviction.
Many people remain unsaved because they do not think they have done anything sinful enough for them to need salvation. Such self-righteousness keeps many people from turning to God for pardon for sin. They deny that they are among the wicked or the unrighteous. They deny that their way is wicked or that their thoughts are unrighteous. Nothing in the Bible is any more clear than that all have sinned and that there is no one righteous. (Isa. 53:6; Rom. 3: 10, 23).
Jesus taught in Matt. 5: 21-30 that not all sins are actions or deeds. Thoughts and inner attitudes are also expressions of sin.
The fourth pair of words are forsake and return. These words describe the human response that enables the Lord to show mercy and to pardon sinners. These two words in context describe repentance and when the words “unto the Lord” are added to return, they picture faith.
Paul said in Acts 20:21 that he preached “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Repentance is ineffective if it does not lead to faith in the Lord. Faith is unavailing unless it is preceded by repentance.
The fifth pair of parallel words are have mercy or have compassion, and abundantly pardon. These words describe what God does when sinners turn from sin to Him. ;
At the other extreme from the self-righteous are those who don’t believe that God can forgive their sins. They may have done something truly evil, and they believe that they are beyond the reach of God’s mercy and forgiveness. How do we know that God will forgive our sins and save us? We know it because the God of the Bible is a God of love. Two aspects of His love are mercy and compassion. These are revealed most fully in Jesus Christ. The Hebrew word for pardon is used only of God in the O.T. and never of humans. In pardoning sinners, God sets aside the barrier that sin places between Him and sinners and He abundantly or freely forgives them. This willingness to forgive sin is possible because the Suffering Servant bore our sins for us.
The sacrificial, substitutionary death of Christ on the cross so completely satisfied the justice and wrath of God that God can forgive all sins, no matter how many and terrible they are. Forgiveness is available to all who repent and come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ.
If our loving, all-powerful father really desires to meet His children’s needs, then why do so many go unmet? Let’s look at a few key reasons why we may lack understanding.
First, we don’t ask. Second, we may ask, but we doubt that God can or will meet our needs.
Third, we ask God to address the symptoms, not the real need.
The heavenly Father wants to meet our needs. If you cannot see His work in your life, be sure to critically look at yourself from His perspective. Are you standing in the way of God’s intervention?
4. PLEASE READ ISAIAH 55: 8-13.
God encouraged the exiles to believe His promise of forgiveness and restoration, even if they could not fully understand God’s thoughts and ways. Picture Isaiah’s hearers. Isaiah prophesied between 740 and 689 B.C., and that was the time they heard his messages. They were worried about the menace of Assyria. Yet Isaiah spoke about the coming destruction of Jerusalem and Judah by Babylon, which occurred in 587/586 B.C.
They also heard Isaiah prophesy concerning how God would raise up Cyrus of Persia to defeat Babylon and allow Israel to return to their homeland. That return occurred in 539 B.C. All of Isaiah’s references to the coming of the Messiah would not be fulfilled for another 500-plus years after that—until the birth of Jesus Christ.
In light of the above, one can understand why the Lord needed to encourage His people that His promises would not never fail, though they might be long in coming. He knew the people would have trouble understanding God’s thoughts and also His ways. Surely Isaiah’s message about Babylon, exile, Cyrus, a glorious return, the coming of one of David’s descendants, and the conversion of many from many nations were difficult to understand. How could all of that happen? God thus reminded them that His thoughts were not their thoughts nor were His ways their ways.
In vs. 9 God declared that just as heaven is higher than earth, His ways and thoughts were higher than mankind’s ways and thoughts. How high is the heaven above the earth? That is how high God’s ways and thoughts are above mankind’s. Especially is this true of prophetic materials.
Just because people could not understand the way God would fulfill a promise did not mean they should refuse to believe the promise. His perfect knowledge, power, and presence guarantees His ability to know what to do, how to do it, and to have the ability to cause it to happen.
In vs. 10 God traced the results of what happens when rain and snow fall. He used them as an analogy of what happens when he sends forth his word.
The verse assumes that God sends the rain and snow. They fall…and do not return there. Instead, they saturate the ground, making seeds germinate and sprout. The plants provide seed for later sowing and food for present consumption. That is God’s eternal cycle of seed-time and harvest. Judah’s agricultural people knew this cycle intimately.
God likened His Word to the rain and snow. God sends His word from His mouth to mankind. That word does not return to God empty without doing what it was sent to do. His word accomplishes what God wants it to accomplish. It will have immediate results and also long-range results.
God’s word is anything and everything God says to mankind. The immediate application of this promise was to those who heard God call them to turn to Him for deliverance and forgiveness.
Whether or not they could understand how or why God would deliver them and forgive them, God guaranteed them He would save them. What would be some of the results that those who responded to God’s call would experience?
In vs. 12 God declared that they would experience joy and be peacefully guided. Their joy would come from the opportunity to leave Babylon and go home. Their return would have the blessings of Cyrus, the ruler of Persia, and his pledge of their protection on the way home,
They would rejoice in the fulfillment of God’s prophecy of their return. Also, there would be no more thirsting and hunger spiritually. No more feeding on the unsatisfying things of the world. Rather, they would feed on every word that proceeded from the mouth of God.
In an expression of poetic praise, God said that even the great mountains and the hills would break forth into singing. Even the lowly, wild trees of the field would clap their hands in praise.
God’s people would be delivered to go home and experience God’s transforming work in their lives to become His victorious and blessed people.
In figurative language, even nature would experience this transformation. The thorn bush and the brier were common, worthless desert plants. They would become trees of distinction and beauty like the cypress and the myrtle.
This transformation of nature will make a name for the Lord. It will be an everlasting sign that no one or nothing can destroy. This image might be a reference to the practice of kings recording their achievements in the rocks so the next generation would know of their exploits.
Later conquerors often removed such records. Figuratively speaking, such transformed nature will declare loudly the power of God’s salvation to deliver and transform those who heed God’s call and come to Him for salvation.
Trust God anyway, whether you can understand His ways and thoughts or not. When God speaks, things happen. His word is self fulfilling. God offers Joy, Peace, and guidance to all who receive His salvation. New life, new attitudes, new directions, and a new nature are the results of God’s forgiveness in a believer: such things magnify God’s greatness and attract others to Him. Even Nature rejoices when a person receives God’s deliverance and forgiveness.
NEXT SUNDAY WE BEGIN A FIVE WEEKS STUDY OF GOD’S LIFE CHANGING GIFTS. IN HEBREWS 11 AND 12 WE FIND THAT FAITH WORKS. A.V. DAUGHERTY
SUMMARY:
God’s invitation to maximum living involves living in obedience and not in rebellion to Him. It includes living in all the light one can receive from God. Maximum living is living in the reality of trusting in God and not in any kind of idol.
However, maximum living begins by turning one’s life over the God by repenting of sins and trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. God calls each person to come to Christ for maximum life. Those who have come to Him should thank Him daily for life and share with others how they too might really live.