One of the most vivid images that I have of being thirsty is from a trip that I made in 1994, through the Mojave and Chihuahua deserts, from Sacramento California through Nevada, northern Arizona, New Mexico, to Dallas Texas.
We were in a car that didn’t have air conditioning, so we had to drive with our windows open, and while it was a consolation to have air circulating in the car, the problem was that the air came in from the outside hot and dry: no amount of water could really quench our thirst, water was always on our minds, our throats were burning for moisture. At rest stops I’d drench my head in cold water, and put a wet towel on my arms and shoulders to cool me off. Thirst was very real to us.
Anyone that has ever visited or lived in a hot place can easily identify with such a thirst. The first few words from Isaiah 55, would’ve made perfect sense to anyone living in 1st century Palestine: “...everyone who thirsts, come to the waters” (55:1a). What wasn’t so clear, and what ought to raise our eyebrows, are the words that follow. As in the previous case, God is the speaker:
“and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money...” or work “...for that which does not satisfy?” (55:1b-2a)
God is vividly portrayed as a “merchant in a marketplace where people are selling and buying”1; but what’s striking here is that God is not selling anything, he’s offering a free gift. God is sending out an invitation to all those who are in a spiritual desert, burning to have their spiritual thirst satiated, yearning for something to quench the deepest longings of the soul: forgiveness, reconciliation, love, and acceptance. And to anyone who finds herself in this situation he says “Hearken diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in fatness. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live” (55:2b-3a).
I’m not a fan of fat in my meals - this is Vancouver after all, we’re all obsessed with healthy living - but in 1st century Palestine and in many cultures today, the fatty part on a piece of meat is the best part, a treat, because it’s so tasty.2 God here invites us to a rich banquet, a spiritual banquet, where the finest of foods, the finest of spiritual blessings, will be served.
This is not the first time God invited human beings. God has always invited us to his banquet feast, through what the Bible calls covenants, agreements initiated by God, and bringing into relationship God and his people: from Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses, to David (55:3b-5), and finally, Jesus Christ, in whom all previous covenants culminate.
It was Jesus who said to the woman at the well: “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:13b-14). Jesus completes and fulfills all previous covenants; in him we have, literally, God with us. In Jesus, God offers himself as gift.
God’s ways are not like our ways; his thoughts are not like ours; the word that goes forth from his mouth does not return empty, but it accomplishes and prospers his purpose (55:8-11). His faithfulness is on display every time we see a rainbow - God’s promise to Noah that he would never again flood the earth with water. And the recreation and restoration of the world that is yet to come will be a glorious tribute to God’s faithfulness: mountains and hills will burst into song, trees will clap their hands, the thorn and brier of human sin will be removed forever, and we shall go out in joy and peace (55:12-13).
But we cannot do justice to this chapter by focusing exclusively on God’s invitation, we must also give due attention to the verses of admonition. God’s spiritual banquet might be likened to the parable of the wedding banquet that Jesus warns about: the host of the wedding has prepared a massive feast, but all those who were invited reject the invitation. The host then goes to the streets and invites anyone who is eager to attend. Once the seats are filled, the wedding gets underway. All in attendance enjoy a fabulous meal, while those on the outside weep and long for food (Matthew 22:1-14).
In the same way, God offers a banquet spread, but guests must come. “No one need be an outsider, but neither will anyone be forced to enter, and the invitation to do so will not be extended indefinitely.”3 May we not be found ungrateful for the invitation that we have received. Pardon is available, but we must forsake our wicked ways and seek the Lord while he may still be found (55:6-7).
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen ✠
We were in a car that didn’t have air conditioning, so we had to drive with our windows open, and while it was a consolation to have air circulating in the car, the problem was that the air came in from the outside hot and dry: no amount of water could really quench our thirst, water was always on our minds, our throats were burning for moisture. At rest stops I’d drench my head in cold water, and put a wet towel on my arms and shoulders to cool me off. Thirst was very real to us.
Anyone that has ever visited or lived in a hot place can easily identify with such a thirst. The first few words from Isaiah 55, would’ve made perfect sense to anyone living in 1st century Palestine: “...everyone who thirsts, come to the waters” (55:1a). What wasn’t so clear, and what ought to raise our eyebrows, are the words that follow. As in the previous case, God is the speaker:
“and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money...” or work “...for that which does not satisfy?” (55:1b-2a)
God is vividly portrayed as a “merchant in a marketplace where people are selling and buying”1; but what’s striking here is that God is not selling anything, he’s offering a free gift. God is sending out an invitation to all those who are in a spiritual desert, burning to have their spiritual thirst satiated, yearning for something to quench the deepest longings of the soul: forgiveness, reconciliation, love, and acceptance. And to anyone who finds herself in this situation he says “Hearken diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in fatness. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live” (55:2b-3a).
I’m not a fan of fat in my meals - this is Vancouver after all, we’re all obsessed with healthy living - but in 1st century Palestine and in many cultures today, the fatty part on a piece of meat is the best part, a treat, because it’s so tasty.2 God here invites us to a rich banquet, a spiritual banquet, where the finest of foods, the finest of spiritual blessings, will be served.
This is not the first time God invited human beings. God has always invited us to his banquet feast, through what the Bible calls covenants, agreements initiated by God, and bringing into relationship God and his people: from Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses, to David (55:3b-5), and finally, Jesus Christ, in whom all previous covenants culminate.
It was Jesus who said to the woman at the well: “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:13b-14). Jesus completes and fulfills all previous covenants; in him we have, literally, God with us. In Jesus, God offers himself as gift.
God’s ways are not like our ways; his thoughts are not like ours; the word that goes forth from his mouth does not return empty, but it accomplishes and prospers his purpose (55:8-11). His faithfulness is on display every time we see a rainbow - God’s promise to Noah that he would never again flood the earth with water. And the recreation and restoration of the world that is yet to come will be a glorious tribute to God’s faithfulness: mountains and hills will burst into song, trees will clap their hands, the thorn and brier of human sin will be removed forever, and we shall go out in joy and peace (55:12-13).
But we cannot do justice to this chapter by focusing exclusively on God’s invitation, we must also give due attention to the verses of admonition. God’s spiritual banquet might be likened to the parable of the wedding banquet that Jesus warns about: the host of the wedding has prepared a massive feast, but all those who were invited reject the invitation. The host then goes to the streets and invites anyone who is eager to attend. Once the seats are filled, the wedding gets underway. All in attendance enjoy a fabulous meal, while those on the outside weep and long for food (Matthew 22:1-14).
In the same way, God offers a banquet spread, but guests must come. “No one need be an outsider, but neither will anyone be forced to enter, and the invitation to do so will not be extended indefinitely.”3 May we not be found ungrateful for the invitation that we have received. Pardon is available, but we must forsake our wicked ways and seek the Lord while he may still be found (55:6-7).
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen ✠
-----
1- Larry, Walker, Isaiah. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Volume 8. Philip W. Comfort, ed. (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2005), 243.
2- Larry, Walker, Isaiah. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Volume 8. Philip W. Comfort, ed. (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2005), 242.
3- Barry G. Webb, The Message of Isaiah: On Eagle’s Wings. The Bible Speaks Today. J. A. Motyer, ed. (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP, 1996), 218.
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