Free! God spread a banquet for the exiles─He provided the nourishment for their physical needs and their soul food. All of this was provided by abundant harvests─ample rains and fertile fields. He renewed the Davidistic covenant and made them a witness for all nations. Israel became a model for the Gentile countries and the Gentiles flowed into Israel. The prophet tells them that all who seek God will find him, he is near to all who call upon him. He calls for the lawless and wicked to cast off their wicked ways and obtain a full pardon. The plan was not devised by puny man but the Creator. It was enriched with wisdom and knowledge past finding out. As rain and snow provide ample moisture for all plant life so the word of God provides the seeker the spiritual food for his soul. The exiles left Babylon with joy and gladness─he pictures a people whose sadness had turned to joy, of depression and prison with praise─a people filled with the spirit of God, sanctified and justified─of wolf and lambs, leopards and goats, lions and calves lying together. The crocodile of the Nile and the serpent of the Euphrates had been destroyed.
Discovering the Free Banquet and Everlasting Covenant
Isaiah 55:1
Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
It’s free! Great religious experiences are compared to a banquet─wine and milk symbolizes abundance and this could be purchased without cash, credit card or check.
Cross References
- Rev 21:6: And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
- 1Co 3:2: I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
- 1Pe 2:2: As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
- Pro 1:21-23: Read
Isaiah 55:2
Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
Let your soul delight in the rich nourishment of bread, wine, and milk. God is bringing the exiles back and is providing verdant fields, ample rains, watered gardens, seed time and harvest and soul food.
Cross References
- Psa 36:8: They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
- Jer 2:13; Hos 8:7; Hos 12:1: Read
Isaiah 55:3
Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
Take note and pay attention─open your ears wide─I am renewing the everlasting covenant that I made with David.
Cross References
- Eze 37:24-25: And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
- Act 13:34: And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.
- Pro 4:20; Joh 7:37-38: Read
Isaiah 55:4
Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
God had set David up as a witness to the nations and now he was doing the same for them.
Cross References
- Joh 18:37: Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
- Rev 3:14: And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Isaiah 55:5
Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
Nations that Israel knew not would come seeking the God of Jacob─Isaiah said, “All nations shall flow unto it.” (Isa. 2:2)
Cross References
- Isa 11:10: And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
- Eph 2:11: Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Isaiah 55:6
Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
God will be found by all who seek him─he is near to all who call upon him.
Cross References
- 1Ch 28:9: And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
- Psa 145:18: The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
Isaiah 55:7
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
If the lawless, wicked and guilty cast off their evil deeds, and turn back to God he will have pity on them and restore them with a full pardon.
Cross References
- 2Ch 7:14: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
- Jer 4:14: O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?
- Eze 18:30: Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
Isaiah 55:8
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
God’s plan was not a mere plan of man─the just walk in his plan but the wicked stumble over the stumbling stone.
Cross References
- Hos 14:9: Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.
Isaiah 55:9
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
After a reading of the scriptures and comparing it to all the other religious writings of poets and secular books there is no comparison. The depth of the riches both of wisdom and knowledge is past finding out.
Cross References
- Psa 103:11: For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
- Mat 11:25: At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
- Rom 11:31-36: ...O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!...
Isaiah 55:10
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
Rain and snow accomplish their job by providing what is necessary for the growing season─not only providing seed but food for the hungry.
Cross References
- Isa 5:6: And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
- Deu 32:2: My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:
Isaiah 55:11
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
The rain and snow make the land fertile and fruitful so the word that passes the lips of God carries out its purpose. His powerful word is sharper than a surgeon’s scalpel, it cuts and penetrates through ones doubts and fears─no one can escape the power of God’s word.
Cross References
- Mat 24:35: Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
- Luk 8:11: Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
- Joh 6:63: It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
- 1Th 2:13: For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
- 1Pe 1:23: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
Isaiah 55:12
For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
The exiles left Babylon with joy and gladness, sorrow and sadness had all passed away.
Cross References
- Isa 35:10: And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
- Rom 15:13: Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Isaiah 55:13
Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
The prophet paints a picture of a people whose sadness had turned to joy─of depression replaced with praise─of knowledge replacing ignorance, of a people filled with the spirit of God, sanctified and justified─of wolf and lambs, leopards and goats, lions and calves lying together.
Cross References
- Isa 11:6-9: The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid... They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.