Our text for today from Isaiah 55 is one of the well-known passages in this book. In many Bibles it is simply titled, “Invitation to the Thirsty.”
I cannot emphasize how relevant this text is for all of us today and for millions of people all over the world. The text famously begins with the words, “Come all you who are thirsty, come to the waters.” in the NIV or “Ho everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters.” from the King James version. Two things are offered to those who are in need, and these are water and food. Water is offered to those who are thirsty, and food is offered to those who need to be nourished and strengthened. Obviously, no one thinks that Isaiah is talking here about physical food and drink but something on a level that the prophet considers to be far more important as exemplified in the words of Jesus several centuries later when he said, “Man does not live by bread alone” (St. Luke 4:4 NIV) or later still in St. John, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life.” (St. John 6:27 NIV) Let us take a deeper dive into what Isaiah was highly likely saying then and how we can be inspired by his words today.
- God is reaching out to those who are most in need.
Everyone knows that the basic human need is for food and water. We need these to nourish the body and to sustain life. Nothing else that we may gain in life is possible or worthwhile without these things. Yet, we know that so many people are deprived of these basic amenities for one reason or the other. Those who are thirsty and hungry range from those who are physically deprived of the bare necessities of life to those who are spiritually deprived. The hungry and the thirsty could also imply those who are weary and at the point of giving up because they have no hope. There are many people in our world who are just barely coping with what life is throwing at them. The hungry and thirsty here could also mean those people who no longer find any meaning or purpose in life. Some people have gone through life and are at the point where they have no pleasure in this life anymore. For them, life is like “chasing after the wind,” as the writer of Ecclesiastes describes it. They are existing but not truly living. When we think of those people who are hungry and thirsty, we are clearly not just referring to those who have physical needs but even psychological and spiritual needs as well. It is to these people that the invitation is being given. You may notice it says come ALL who are thirsty or EVERYONE who is thirsty, depending on which version you are reading from. One thing that stands out to me and hopefully to you as well, is that the invitation, as inclusive as it is, points to the fact that there are people all over the world who are hungry and thirsty irrespective of background, race or religion. God is available and ready to satisfy all who are hungry and thirsty today.
- God wants to do more than just provide for us. He wants a relationship with us.
Isaiah’s message is clear. Human beings are in great need. We are desperate. We are thirsty. We are hungry. Most of us need physical replenishment because life has worn us out. We are drained and completely exhausted by the burdens we carry and by the turmoil that life gives day after day. We rarely consider that it might just be possible that we will always feel drained and worn out because of the simple fact that all that we have and all that we get from this life is not the most important thing. We are blessed to have the opportunity to have a relationship with God that provides for our earthly and spiritual needs but most of us refuse to to look to God for more than our physical needs. We want God to fulfill our human desires and needs but nothing more. Yet the loving and compassionate God wants to do so much more for us. God is offering to every human being that which earthly living cannot supply. God is not just calling us to have our thirst quenched and our tummies filled but God wants to offer the gift of a relationship with him. The earnestness of the plea in words such as “Listen, listen to me…” (Isaiah 55:2b NIV) and “Give ear and come to me…” Isaiah 55:3a NIV) suggests that God was calling to a people who were either unwilling or obstinate in their refusal to see what was best for them. Many of us are just like that today. God may be sending you signals through different experiences in your life in effect saying to you, ‘Come to me, I am the best thing that you could ever want or need.’ Yet many of us have remained stubbornly obstinate and stiffnecked or we have simply doubted that God can really give us better than what we think we already have which quite frankly is nothing compared to what God offers to everyone who comes to him.
- God is always available for the person who genuinely seeks after Him.
Perhaps the most important verse and at the same time difficult verse to understand for many persons in the passage is verse six which says “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.” (Isaiah 55:6 NIV) This verse hints that the offer of a new relationship with God is not open-ended. It is not infinite. This may suggest on first reading that at some point the door will be shut and the opportunity to come into a relationship with God will be closed permanently. Whereas I believe that Isaiah is indeed making the point that the offer is not open-ended, I think though, that Isaiah is suggesting that a constant refusal to listen to God’s voice will over time make it virtually impossible to hear or discern God’s voice after a while. In other words, God will always be interested in a relationship with his children but they will become so hardened in their stubbornness that it will no longer be easy or possible for them to hear the voice of God or discern God’s presence when he is near. The opportune time to respond to God’s nudging or calling is when you can still feel his presence or when you are consciously aware that God is calling or reaching out to you because the time can come when the heart is so hardened that a sinful way of life is seared into your very being so that you can no longer sense God’s presence in your life or hear his voice even if God is shouting at you.
- Choose God now so that you will flourish.
It is clear from the text that we humans have a choice to make but it is a choice that really should not be difficult. One could say that it is a ‘no-brainer’ because God’s ultimate desire is for us his people to flourish and to enjoy life in a rich spiritual relationship with God and as a result have a meaningful and purposeful life on this earth. That to me seems to be the most fulfilling relationship that we could ever want and that’s what God offers to every person who comes to him. No human relationship can be as richly rewarding or as fulfilling. No human accomplishment can give more joy. Yet so many people still chase after what is only short term pleasure and ultimately long term pain because we stubbornly refuse to accept the Lord Jesus as our Savior and Lord. We prefer the world’s pleasure to what God offers which is true life in Christ. When the prophet says in verse twelve, “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace…” (Isaiah 55:12 NIV) He was pointing to the ultimate reward that any person can have and should want which can only be found in a relationship with God. The truth, my friends, is that the pleasures and seeming excitement of this world’s material things is nothing compared to the satisfaction of a soul that is at peace. Why would anyone refuse this? Jesus himself said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” St John 14:27 NIV) In the chaos and confusion that this world gives us, I urge us to believe that the message of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah is as relevant and as powerful and as important for all people today. Choose God and choose life, while the opportunity is still yours to do so. May God give us the courage and the strength to make the right choice today and by the testimony of our own lives be an inspiration and a light of hope to many others who we can influence to make that choice of a life with the Lord Jesus as well. Amen.
