THE LORD GIVES AN INVITATION ISAIAH 55:1-13

1 THE LORD GIVES AN INVITATION ISAIAH 55:1-13

2 The Lord Gives An Invitation Text: Isaiah 55:1-13, 1 Hey, all who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come! Buy and eat! Come! Buy wine and milk without money and without cost! 2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? Why spend your hard-earned money on something that will not satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat what is nourishing! Enjoy fine food! 3 Pay attention and come to me! Listen, so you can live! Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you, just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David. 4 Look, I made him a witness to nations, a ruler and commander of nations. 5 Look, you will summon nations you did not previously know; nations that did not previously know you will run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he bestows honor on you. 6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; call to him while he is nearby! 7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle and sinful people their plans. They should return to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. 8 Indeed, my plans are not like your plans, and my deeds are not like your deeds, 9 for just as the sky is higher than the earth, so my deeds are superior to your deeds and my plans superior to your plans.

3 10 The rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return, but instead water the earth and make it produce and yield crops, and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat. 11 In the same way, the promise that I make does not return to me, having accomplished nothing. No, it is realized as I desire and is fulfilled as I intend. 12 Indeed you will go out with joy; you will be led along in peace; the mountains and hills will give a joyful shout before you, and all the trees in the field will clap their hands. 13 Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes, firs will grow in place of nettles; they will be a monument to the Lord, a permanent reminder that will remain. (NET) Introduction: I. Hailey wrote, To limit this chapter to exiled Judah in Babylon, or even to give the Babylonian exiles major prominence is to retract the call to confines entirely too narrow. The chapter 55 foreshadows the invitation of Jesus to come unto Him and find rest. The invitation, abundant offer of God s grace to Jews and Gentiles, is both urgent and universal. A. Matthew 11:28-30, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry. (NET) B. Matthew 22:1-24, Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his

4 son. He sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, Tell those who have been invited, Look! The feast I have prepared for you is ready. My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet. But they were indifferent and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest seized his slaves, insolently mistreated them, and killed them. The king was furious! He sent his soldiers, and they put those murderers to death and set their city on fire. Then he said to his slaves, The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy. So go into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet. And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. And he said to him, Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes? But he had nothing to say. Then the king said to his attendants, Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth! For many are called, but few are chosen. Then the Pharisees went out and planned together to entrap him with his own words. They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You do not court anyone s favor because you show no partiality. Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus realized their evil intentions and said, Hypocrites! Why are you

5 testing me? Show me the coin used for the tax. So they brought him a denarius. Jesus said to them, Whose image is this, and whose inscription? They replied, Caesar s. He said to them, Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar s, and to God the things that are God s. Now when they heard this they were stunned, and they left him and went away. The same day Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to him and asked him, Teacher, Moses said, If a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and father children for his brother. (NET) C. Acts 15:11, Great fear gripped the whole church and all who heard about these things. (NET) II. Isaiah in chapter 55, as John did in Revelation 22, extends an urgent invitation to participate in the blessings of the renewed Zion, Briley wrote. A. Revelation 21:2, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, and the sea existed no more. (NET) B. Revelation 22:17, And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let the one who hears say: Come! And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wants it take the water of life free of charge. (NET) III. Coffman quoted Kidner as saying, The Calvary of chapter 53 is followed by the growing church of chapter 54, and the gospel call of chapter 55.

6 A. Coffman wrote, We can find no agreement whatever with commentators who try to restrict the application of this chapter to the return of the exiles from Babylon. Every word of this chapter is Messianic. B. Coffman further stated, We especially appreciate Cheyne s distinguishing between the two Israel s, which is the basic requirement for understanding very many portions of this great prophecy. IV. Isaiah 55:1-13 is written as poetry and is filled with beautiful figurative language. V. The Pulpit Commentary as well as many other commentaries view Isaiah 55 as consisting of two major sections; viz.,... A. Verses 1-7, An Exhortation to Spirituality and Repentance and... 1. The people were not ready for the Messianic Kingdom, so God through Isaiah urges them to become more spiritually minded, makes new promises to the faithful, obedient, and sternly exhorts them to turn from their evil ways and repent. (The Pulpit Commentary) B. Verses 8-13, A New Assurance of Deliverance. 1. Physical Israel will be delivered from Babylon. 2. Spiritual Israel will be delivered from sin by way of the Messiah.

7 Commentary: Isaiah 55:1, Hey, all who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come! Buy and eat! Come! Buy wine and milk without money and without cost! (NET) I. Hey (Ho!), all who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come! Buy and eat! Come! Buy wine and milk without money and without cost! A. *NET Footnote: Hebrew Woe or Ah (used in funeral laments and often in judgment oracles, but here a simple interjection). B. Christ is the water of life. All who are thirsty are invited to come and freely drink. (See Hailey.) 1. Isaiah 41:17-18, The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched from thirst. I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers; I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them. I will make streams flow down the slopes and produce springs in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water and the arid land into springs. (NET) 2. Isaiah 12:3, Joyfully you will draw water from the springs of deliverance. (NET) 3. Psalm 42:2, I thirst for God, for the living God. I say, When will I be able to go and appear in God s presence? (NET)

8 4. Psalm 63:1, O God, you are my God! I long for you! My soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. (NET) 5. Matthew 5:6, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. (NET) 6. Isaiah 44:3-4, For I will pour water on the parched ground and cause streams to flow on the dry land. I will pour my spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your children. They will sprout up like a tree in the grass, like poplars beside channels of water. (NET) 7. Isaiah 54:13-14, All your children will be followers of the Lord, and your children will enjoy great prosperity. You will be reestablished when I vindicate you. You will not experience oppression; indeed, you will not be afraid. You will not be terrified, for nothing frightening will come near you. (NET) 8. John 7:7, The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I am testifying about it that its deeds are evil. (NET) C. Because of God s grace we who are thirsty, who seek salvation can acquire God s blessing free of charge! (See Hailey.) 1. Deuteronomy 8:3, So he humbled you by making you hungry and then feeding you with unfamiliar manna. He did this to teach you that humankind

9 cannot live by bread alone, but also by everything that comes from the Lord s mouth. (NET) 2. Matthew 4:4, But he answered, It is written, Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. (NET) 3. Psalm 104:15, as well as wine that makes people feel so good, and so they can have oil to make their faces shine, as well as food that sustains people s lives. (NET) 4. 1 Peter 2:2, So get rid of all evil and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. (NET) D. Smith wrote, The Lord offers water, wine and milk symbols of spiritual blessings free to all who might desire them. 1. John 7:7, The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I am testifying about it that its deeds are evil. (NET) 2. Psalm 19:8, The Lord s precepts are fair and make one joyful. The Lord s commands are pure and give insight for life. (NET) E. Briley reminds us that food and water are two of man s most critical needs. 1. In dire circumstances people would pay almost any price for these necessities. (See Briley.)

10 a. Isaiah 36:2, The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, along with a large army. The chief adviser stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. (NET) b. 2 Kings 6:25-30, Samaria s food supply ran out. They laid siege to it so long that a donkey s head was selling for eighty shekels of silver and a quarter of a kab of dove s droppings for five shekels of silver. While the king of Israel was passing by on the city wall, a woman shouted to him, Help us, my master, O king! He replied, No, let the Lord help you. How can I help you? The threshing floor and winepress are empty. Then the king asked her, What s your problem? She answered, This woman said to me, Hand over your son; we ll eat him today and then eat my son tomorrow. So we boiled my son and ate him. Then I said to her the next day, Hand over your son and we ll eat him. But she hid her son! When the king heard what the woman said, he tore his clothes. As he was passing by on the wall, the people could see he was wearing sackcloth under his clothes. (NET) 2. How wonderful it is that our God graciously provides spiritual food and water without cost. (See Briley.) F. Bear in mind that God through his Son makes these wondrous blessings available to all.

11 1. God stipulated how a person can appropriate these blessings, for example:... a. John 3:3, 5, Jesus replied, I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Jesus answered, I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (NET) b. Matthew 28:18-20, Then Jesus came up and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (NET) 2. Those who are spiritually thirsty are invited to drink of the water of life and live. 3. God s blessings are free! They cannot be purchased! They are only available through God s grace. (See The Pulpit Commentary.) a. Ephesians 2:8-9, For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast. (NET)

12 Isaiah 55:2, Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? Why spend your hard-earned money on something that will not satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat what is nourishing! Enjoy fine food! (NET) I. Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? Why spend your hard-earned money on something that will not satisfy? A. The world labors and toils for that which does not satisfy, has no real value and does not last. 1. To work for life s necessities is prudent. 2. To labor, toil and pay hard earned money for what does not nourish nor satisfy but rather, on many occasions, actually does harm is very foolish, absurd. (See Briley.) a. Isaiah 44:20, He feeds on ashes; his deceived mind misleads him. He cannot rescue himself, nor does he say, Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand? (NET) 3. Coffman wrote, The immortal soul of man cannot be satisfied with the most wonderful things that the world has to offer. a. More and more of this world s goods will never satisfy the heart. (See The Pulpit Commentary.) b. Those who seek this world s goods find they can never have enough to satisfy them. (See The Pulpit Commentary.)

13 i. Isaiah 5:8, Those who accumulate houses are as good as dead, those who also accumulate landed property until there is no land left, and you are the only landowners remaining within the land. (NET) II. Listen carefully to me and eat what is nourishing! Enjoy fine food! A. The world is invited, urged to enjoy the free gifts of God through Christ which bless eternally. 1. Ephesians 3:19, and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. (NET) 2. Psalm 36:8, They are filled with food from your house, and you allow them to drink from the river of your delicacies. (NET) 3. Isaiah 58:5, Is this really the kind of fasting I want? Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, bowing their heads like a reed and stretching out on sackcloth and ashes? Is this really what you call a fast, a day that is pleasing to the Lord? (NET) 4. Isaiah 25:6, The Lord who commands armies will hold a banquet for all the nations on this mountain. At this banquet there will be plenty of meat and aged wine tender meat and choicest wine. (NET)

14 5. Psalm 17:15, As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face; when I awake you will reveal yourself to me. (NET) B. Isaiah is simply using actual food and water to illustrate spiritual food and drink, sustenance for the soul. 1. Briley wrote, Unfortunately, recognizing what satisfies spiritually is more difficult than what satisfies physically. a. Throughout their history the Israelites often wandered away from God s word and way, nourishing spiritual food. 2. Here Israel is emphatically exhorted to listen in order to eat what is good, Briley wrote. 1. Deuteronomy 8:3, So he humbled you by making you hungry and then feeding you with unfamiliar manna. He did this to teach you that humankind cannot live by bread alone, but also by everything that comes from the Lord s mouth. (NET) Isaiah 55:3, Pay attention and come to me! Listen, so you can live! Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you, just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David. (NET) I. Pay attention and come to me! Listen, so you can live!

15 A. Everything good hinges first of all on our paying careful attention to what God says. 1. Life hinges on our hearing and obeying God s word. 2. Paying attention to God and obeying his commands is the way to the abundant life here and eternal life in the world to come! II. Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you,* just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David.** A. *NET Footnote: Or an eternal covenant with you. B. **NET Footnote: Hebrew the reliable expressions of loyalty of David. C. This eternal (age lasting, everlasting) covenant, contract, legal agreement is the New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (See Hailey.) 1. Ezekiel 37:26, I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a perpetual covenant with them. I will establish them, increase their numbers, and place my sanctuary among them forever. (NET) 2. Isaiah 61:4, 8, They will rebuild the perpetual ruins and restore the places that were desolate; they will reestablish the ruined cities, the places that have been desolate since ancient times. For I, the Lord, love justice and hate robbery and sin. I will repay

16 them because of my faithfulness; I will make a permanent covenant with them. (NET) 3. Ezekiel 16:60, Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish a lasting covenant with you. (NET) 4. 2 Samuel 7:11-14, Then the men of Israel left Mizpah and chased the Philistines, striking them down all the way to an area below Beth Car. Samuel took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, Up to here the Lord has helped us. So the Philistines were defeated; they did not invade Israel again. The hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. The cities that the Philistines had captured from Israel were returned to Israel, from Ekron to Gath. Israel also delivered their territory from the control of the Philistines. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites. (NET) 5. Psalm 89:3-4, The Lord said, I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have made a promise on oath to David, my servant: I will give you an eternal dynasty and establish your throne throughout future generations. (Selah) (NET) 6. Jeremiah 33:19-21, The Lord spoke further to Jeremiah. I, the Lord, make the following promise: I have made a covenant with the day and with the night that they will always come at their proper times. Only if you people could break that covenant

17 could my covenant with my servant David and my covenant with the Levites ever be broken. So David will by all means always have a descendant to occupy his throne as king and the Levites will by all means always have priests who will minister before me. (NET) 7. Hosea 6:7, At Adam they broke the covenant; Oh how they were unfaithful to me! (NET) 8. Hosea 2:18-20, At that time I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creatures that crawl on the ground. I will abolish the warrior s bow and sword that is, every weapon of warfare from the land, and I will allow them to live securely. I will commit myself to you forever; I will commit myself to you in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love and tender compassion. I will commit myself to you in faithfulness; then you will acknowledge the Lord. (NET) 9. Isaiah 42:6, I, the Lord, officially commission you; I take hold of your hand. I protect you and make you a covenant mediator for people, and a light to the nations, (NET) 10. Isaiah 49:8, This is what the Lord says: At the time I decide to show my favor, I will respond to you; in the day of deliverance I will help you; I will protect you and make you a covenant mediator for people, to

18 rebuild the land and to reassign the desolate property. (NET) 11. Hebrews 9:15, And so he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised, since he died to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant. (NET) D. Hailey wrote, In Christ the throne and kingdom of David have now been permanently established, and the sure mercies of an everlasting covenant of peace provided. 1. Hosea 3:5, Afterward, the Israelites will turn and seek the Lord their God and their Davidic king. Then they will submit to the Lord in fear and receive his blessings in the future. (NET) 2. Jeremiah 30:9, But they will be subject to the Lord their God and to the Davidic ruler whom I will raise up as king over them. (NET) 3. Jeremiah 33:15-18, In those days and at that time I will raise up for them a righteous descendant of David. He will do what is just and right in the land. Under his rule Judah will enjoy safety and Jerusalem will live in security. At that time Jerusalem will be called The Lord has provided us with justice. For I, the Lord, promise: David will never lack a successor to occupy the throne over the nation of Israel. Nor will the Levitical priests ever lack someone to stand before me and continually offer up burnt offerings,

19 sacrifice cereal offerings, and offer the other sacrifices. (NET) 4. Ezekiel 34:23-24, I will set one shepherd over them, and he will feed them namely, my servant David. He will feed them and will be their shepherd. I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken! (NET) 5. Ezekiel 37:24-26, My servant David will be king over them; there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow my regulations and carefully observe my statutes. They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; they will live in it they and their children and their grandchildren forever. David my servant will be prince over them forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a perpetual covenant with them. I will establish them, increase their numbers, and place my sanctuary among them forever. (NET) 6. Isaiah 49:6, he says, Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant, to reestablish the tribes of Jacob, and restore the remnant of Israel? I will make you a light to the nations, so you can bring my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth. (NET) 7. Zechariah 9:10, I will remove the chariot from Ephraim and the warhorse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be removed. Then he will announce

20 peace to the nations. His dominion will be from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. (NET) 8. Isaiah 55:3, Pay attention and come to me! Listen, so you can live! Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you, just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David. (NET) 9. Acts 13:34-39, But regarding the fact that he has raised Jesus from the dead, never again to be in a state of decay, God has spoken in this way: I will give you the holy and trustworthy promises made to David. Therefore he also says in another psalm, You will not permit your Holy One to experience decay. For David, after he had served God s purpose in his own generation, died, was buried with his ancestors, and experienced decay, but the one whom God raised up did not experience decay. Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through this one forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by this one everyone who believes is justified from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify you. (NET) 10. Isaiah 49:6, he says, Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant, to reestablish the tribes of Jacob, and restore the remnant of Israel? I will make you a light to the nations, so you can bring my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth. (NET)

21 11. Acts 13:47, For this is what the Lord has commanded us: I have appointed you to be a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. (NET) E. The blessings of the Davidic covenant will be available through the eternal rule of the Messiah. (See Smith.) 1. God s covenant promise to David is that David s kingdom and throne would stand forever. (See Briley.) 2. Although interrupted at the time of the Babylonian captivity, a Son of David, Jesus Christ, now rules on the throne of David and will continue to rule forever. (See Briley.) a. 1 Kings 2:1-4, When David was close to death, he told Solomon his son: I am about to die. Be strong and become a man! Do the job the Lord your God has assigned you by following his instructions and obeying his rules, commandments, regulations, and laws as written in the law of Moses. Then you will succeed in all you do and seek to accomplish, and the Lord will fulfill his promise to me, If your descendants watch their step and live faithfully in my presence with all their heart and being, then, he promised, you will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel. (NET) b. 2 Kings 25:27-30, In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, on the

22 twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, King Evil-Merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, pardoned King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him from prison. He spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prestigious position than the other kings who were with him in Babylon. Jehoiachin took off his prison clothes and ate daily in the king s presence for the rest of his life. He was given daily provisions by the king for the rest of his life until the day he died. (NET) 3. David s physical kingdom ended, but his kingdom continues through Jesus, the son of David, as a spiritual, world-wide, eternal kingdom. a. Acts 2:29-36, Brothers, I can speak confidently to you about our forefather David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. So then, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, David by foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did his body experience decay. This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it. So then, exalted to the right hand of God, and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he has poured out what you both see and hear. For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says, The Lord said to my lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for

23 your feet. Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ. (NET) b. Jeremiah 22:30, The Lord says, Enroll this man in the register as though he were childless. Enroll him as a man who will not enjoy success during his lifetime. For none of his sons will succeed in occupying the throne of David or ever succeed in ruling over Judah. (NET) c. Ezekiel 21:27, A total ruin I will make it! It will come to an end when the one arrives to whom I have assigned judgment. (NET) d. Isaiah 7:14, For this reason the sovereign master himself will give you a confirming sign. Look, this young woman is about to conceive and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him Immanuel. (NET) e. Isaiah 42:1, Here is my servant whom I support, my chosen one in whom I take pleasure. I have placed my spirit on him; he will make just decrees for the nations. (NET) f. Hosea 3:5, Afterward, the Israelites will turn and seek the Lord their God and their Davidic king. Then they will submit to the Lord in fear and receive his blessings in the future. (NET)

24 g. Psalm 89:35-37, Once and for all I have vowed by my own holiness, I will never deceive David. His dynasty will last forever. His throne will endure before me, like the sun, it will remain stable, like the moon, his throne will endure like the skies. (Selah) (NET) 4. The sure mercies of David are the loving and merciful promises which God made to David which include all the essential points of the Christian covenant. (See The Pulpit Commentary.) 1. Psalm 89:2-5, 19-37, For I say, Loyal love is permanently established; in the skies you set up your faithfulness. The Lord said, I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have made a promise on oath to David, my servant: I will give you an eternal dynasty and establish your throne throughout future generations. (Selah) O Lord, the heavens praise your amazing deeds, as well as your faithfulness in the angelic assembly. Then you spoke through a vision to your faithful followers and said: I have energized a warrior; I have raised up a young man from the people. I have discovered David, my servant. With my holy oil I have anointed him as king. My hand will support him, and my arm will strengthen him. No enemy will be able to exact tribute from him; a violent oppressor will not be able to humiliate him. I will crush his enemies before him; I will strike down those who hate him. He will experience my

25 faithfulness and loyal love, and by my name he will win victories. I will place his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers. He will call out to me, You are my father, my God, and the protector who delivers me. I will appoint him to be my firstborn son, the most exalted of the earth s kings. I will always extend my loyal love to him, and my covenant with him is secure. I will give him an eternal dynasty, and make his throne as enduring as the skies above. If his sons reject my law and disobey my regulations, if they break my rules and do not keep my commandments, I will punish their rebellion by beating them with a club, their sin by inflicting them with bruises. But I will not remove my loyal love from him, nor be unfaithful to my promise. I will not break my covenant or go back on what I promised. Once and for all I have vowed by my own holiness, I will never deceive David. His dynasty will last forever. His throne will endure before me, like the sun, it will remain stable, like the moon, his throne will endure like the skies. (Selah) (NET) 2. Psalm 16:9-10, So my heart rejoices and I am happy; My life is safe. You will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful follower to see the Pit. (NET) 3. Psalm 132:15-18, I will abundantly supply what she needs; I will give her poor all the food they need. I will protect her priests, and her

26 godly people will shout exuberantly. There I will make David strong; I have determined that my chosen king s dynasty will continue. I will humiliate his enemies, and his crown will shine. (NET) Isaiah 55:4, Look, I made him a witness to nations, a ruler and commander of nations. (NET) I. Look, I made him a witness to nations, a ruler and commander of nations. A. God here speaks of the son of David, Jesus Christ, who has full knowledge of the truth and witnesses, proclaims the truth to the nations. Christ is the ruler, Lord of lords and King of kings and commander of nations. (See Hailey.) 1. Isaiah 5:3, So now, residents of Jerusalem, people of Judah, you decide between me and my vineyard! (NET) 2. Revelation 1:5, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn from among the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. To the one who loves us and has set us free from our sins at the cost of his own blood (NET) 3. John 18:37, Then Pilate said, So you are a king! Jesus replied, You say that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice. (NET)

27 4. 1 Timothy 6:13, I charge you before God who gives life to all things and Christ Jesus who made his good confession before Pontius Pilate, (NET) 5. Revelation 7:17, because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (NET) 6. 2 Timothy 2:3-4, Take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one in military service gets entangled in matters of everyday life; otherwise he will not please the one who recruited him. (NET) Isaiah 55:5, Look, you will summon nations you did not previously know; nations that did not previously know you will run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he bestows honor on you. (NET) I. Look, you will summon nations you did not previously know; nations that did not previously know you will run to you,... A. Christ, the Messiah, will establish a previously unknown nation, the Christian nation. (See Hailey.) 1. 1 Peter 2:9, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (NET)

28 2. Isaiah 2:2-3, In the future the mountain of the Lord s temple will endure as the most important of mountains, and will be the most prominent of hills. All the nations will stream to it, many peoples will come and say, Come, let us go up to the Lord s mountain, to the temple of the God of Jacob, so he can teach us his requirements, and we can follow his standards. For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem. (NET) 3. Psalm 18:43, You rescue me from a hostile army; you make me a leader of nations; people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects. (NET) B. By the preaching of the gospel, nations world-wide which had no knowledge of this Christian nation will come to it. 1. Matthew 28:18-20, Then Jesus came up and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (NET) 2. Mark 16:15-16, He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned. (NET)

29 C. Those who hear the gospel, believe and obey it are said here to run to Christ with haste. 1. Isaiah 49:8, This is what the Lord says: At the time I decide to show my favor, I will respond to you; in the day of deliverance I will help you; I will protect you and make you a covenant mediator for people, to rebuild the land and to reassign the desolate property. (NET) 2. Isaiah 53:6, All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him. (NET) II. because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he bestows honor on you. A. All this will happen because of the grace and goodness of God. B. It had been God s purpose from the earliest times to bring all the nations into his worship and service. 1. Genesis 12:2-3, At harvest time he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his portion of the crop. But those tenants seized his slave, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. (NET) 2. Exodus 19:5-6, And now, if you will diligently listen to me and keep my covenant, then you will be my special possession out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine, and you will be to me a kingdom of

30 priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you will speak to the Israelites. (NET) 3. Isaiah 42:6-7, I, the Lord, officially commission you; I take hold of your hand. I protect you and make you a covenant mediator for people, and a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to release prisoners from dungeons, those who live in darkness from prisons. (NET) 4. Isaiah 49:6, he says, Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant, to reestablish the tribes of Jacob, and restore the remnant of Israel? I will make you a light to the nations, so you can bring my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth. (NET) 5. Isaiah 52:15, his form was so marred he no longer looked human so now he will startle many nations. Kings will be shocked by his exaltation, for they will witness something unannounced to them, and they will understand something they had not heard about. (NET) 6. Ezekiel 34:25, I will make a covenant of peace with them and will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securely in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods (NET) 7. Ezekiel 37:26, I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a perpetual covenant with them. I

31 will establish them, increase their numbers, and place my sanctuary among them forever. (NET) 8. Isaiah 37:24-25, through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, With my many chariots I climbed up the high mountains, the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best evergreens. I invaded its most remote regions, its thickest woods. I dug wells and drank water. With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt. (NET) C. God the Father bestows honor and glory on the Son in innumerable ways including raising him from the dead and exalting him to a seat at his right hand in heaven. (See The Pulpit Commentary.) 1. Acts 2:32-35, This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it. So then, exalted to the right hand of God, and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he has poured out what you both see and hear. For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says, The Lord said to my lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. (NET) 2. Acts 3:13-15, The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our forefathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate after he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a man who was a

32 murderer be released to you. You killed the Originator of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this fact we are witnesses! (NET) Isaiah 55:6, Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; call to him while he is nearby! (NET) I. Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; call to him while he is nearby! A. All mankind is urged to seek the Lord while he is nearby, can be found. The time may come when God withdraws and can no longer be found. (See Hailey.) This call is urgent, most urgent! (See Coffman.) 1. Amos 5:4, 6, 14, The Lord says this to the family of Israel: Seek me so you can live! Seek the Lord so you can live! Otherwise he will break out like fire against Joseph s family; the fire will consume and no one will be able to quench it and save Bethel. Seek good and not evil so you can live! Then the Lord, the God who commands armies, just might be with you, as you claim he is. (NET) 2. Acts 17:27, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. (NET) 3. Luke 13:25, Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, then you will stand outside and start to knock on the door and beg him, Lord, let us

33 in! But he will answer you, I don t know where you come from. (NET) 4. Hosea 5:6, Although they bring their flocks and herds to seek the favor of the Lord, They will not find him he has withdrawn himself from them! (NET) 5. Exodus 34:6-7, The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and children s children, to the third and fourth generation. (NET) 6. Psalm 103:9, He does not always accuse, and does not stay angry. (NET) B. God invites everyone to his banquet, but we must accept the invitation to be blessed. (See Briley.) 1. All must seek the Lord. 2. God s invitation to seek him is extended to all people. The knowledge of God is of inestimable value. (See Barnes via Coffman.) C. Clarke reminds us, Repent before you die, for after death there is no conversion of the soul.

34 1. Seek the Lord while he may be found! 2. It is now or never! Sad, sad! That bitter wail. Almost, but lost! Isaiah 55:7, The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle and sinful people their plans. They should return to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. (NET) I. The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle and sinful people their plans. A. The wicked and the sinful people are the same people. B. All the wicked and sinful people of the world, if God is to bless them, must abandon their evil lifestyles and evil plans. 1. Isaiah 59:2, But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God; your sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers. (NET) 2. Isaiah 1:18, Come, let s consider your options, says the Lord. Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool. (NET) 3. 2 Chronicles 7:14, if my people, who belong to me, humble themselves, pray, seek to please me, and repudiate their sinful practices, then I will respond

35 from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. (NET) C. Seeking God, calling on the name of God requires that wicked, sinful people abandon their corrupt lifestyles and evil plans. (See Briley.) 1. To find God and receive his blessings we must forsake, abandon all conduct and thoughts contrary to God s will and way and cleave to his way only with all our might. (See Briley.) II. They should return to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, and to their God, for he will freely forgive them (abundantly pardon them). A. If the evil people of the world will sincerely return to the Lord with all their hearts, God will have mercy on them and they will be freely forgiven. 1. Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gifts! B. Only those who are pardoned would be able to take part in the glorious age anticipated by Isaiah, Smith wrote. 1. Only if we forsake our evil ways and turn to God with all our hearts can we obtain divine mercy and forgiveness. C. Coffman wrote that this definitely refers to the times of the New Testament, New Covenant, because forgiveness is the hallmark of the New Covenant.

36 1. Jeremiah 35:17-18, So I, the Lord, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, say: I will soon bring on Judah and all the citizens of Jerusalem all the disaster that I threatened to bring on them. I will do this because I spoke to them but they did not listen. I called out to them but they did not answer. Then Jeremiah spoke to the Rechabite community, The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, You have obeyed the orders of your ancestor Jonadab. You have followed all his instructions. You have done exactly as he commanded you. So the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, Jonadab son of Rechab will never lack a male descendant to serve me. (NET) 2. Following Jesus involves a complete change of lifestyle and heart. Evil deeds and thoughts must be banished. (See Coffman.) 3. When a man does these things, God will pardon and forgive all his sins, Coffman wrote. Isaiah 55:8, Indeed, my plans are not like your plans, and my deeds are not like your deeds, (NET) I. Indeed, my plans* (thoughts) are not like your plans, and my deeds** are not like your deeds, A. *NET Footnote: Or thoughts (twice in this verse and twice in the next verse.)

37 B. **NET Footnote: Or Hebrew ways (twice in this verse and twice in the next verse.) C. Mankind should forsake their wicked ways and evil plans because God s plans and deeds are not like man s plans and deeds. (See Hailey.) 1. Genesis 8:21, And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma and said to himself, I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, even though the inclination of their minds is evil from childhood on. I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done. (NET) 2. Jeremiah 19:5, They have built places here for worship of the god Baal so that they could sacrifice their children as burnt offerings to him in the fire. Such sacrifices are something I never commanded them to make! They are something I never told them to do! Indeed, such a thing never even entered my mind! (NET) 3. Jeremiah 32:35, They built places of worship for the god Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they could sacrifice their sons and daughters to the god Molech. Such a disgusting practice was not something I commanded them to do! It never even entered my mind to command them to do such a thing! So Judah is certainly liable for punishment. (NET)

38 4. Psalm 50:21, When you did these things, I was silent, so you thought I was exactly like you. But now I will condemn you and state my case against you! (NET) 5. Jeremiah 29:11, For I know what I have planned for you, says the Lord. I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope. (NET) D. Smith explained, Man therefore cannot evaluate his own spiritual condition nor can he dictate the terms of his acceptance before the Lord. Isaiah 55:9, for just as the sky is higher than the earth, so my deeds are superior to your deeds and my plans superior to your plans. (NET) I. for just as the sky (heaven) is higher than the earth, so my deeds are superior to your deeds and my plans superior to your plans. A. Mankind should forsake their wicked ways and evil plans because God s plans and deeds are far superior to man s plans and deeds. (See Hailey.) 1. Psalm 57:5, 11, Rise up above the sky, O God! May your splendor cover the whole earth! Rise up above the sky, O God! May your splendor cover the whole earth! (NET) 2. Isaiah 40:22, He is the one who sits on the earth s horizon; its inhabitants are like grasshoppers before

39 him. He is the one who stretches out the sky like a thin curtain, and spreads it out like a pitched tent. (NET) 3. Isaiah 57:15, For this is what the high and exalted one says, the one who rules forever, whose name is holy: I dwell in an exalted and holy place, but also with the discouraged and humiliated, in order to cheer up the humiliated and to encourage the discouraged. (NET) 4. Psalm 100:3, Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us and we belong to him; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. (NET) 5. Psalm 117:1-2, Praise the Lord, all you nations! Applaud him, all you foreigners! For his loyal love towers over us, and the Lord s faithfulness endures. Praise the Lord! (NET) B. Briley wrote, God demands that those in relationship with him seek to conform to his ways. 1. Leviticus 11:44, for I am the Lord your God and you are to sanctify yourselves and be holy because I am holy. (NET) 2. Hebrews 12:14, Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, for without it no one will see the Lord. (NET)

40 3. 1 Peter 1:15-16, but, like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct, for it is written, You shall be holy, because I am holy. (NET) Isaiah 55:10, The rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return, but instead water the earth and make it produce and yield crops, and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat. (NET) I. The rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return, but instead water the earth and make it produce and yield crops, and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat. A. Mankind should forsake their wicked ways and evil plans because as the rain and snow accomplish God s purpose in the earth, so God s word will fulfill its purpose in the hearts of those who draw near to hear, give heed, and change their ways and thoughts. (Hailey) 1. Ecclesiastes 1:7, All the streams flow into the sea, but the sea is not full, and to the place where the streams flow, there they will flow again. (NET) 2. Psalm 148:8, O fire and hail, snow and clouds, O stormy wind that carries out his orders, (NET) 3. The word of God will accomplish the purpose for which it was spoken. It will not return unto God void.

41 Isaiah 55:11, In the same way, the promise that I make does not return to me, having accomplished nothing. No, it is realized as I desire and is fulfilled as I intend. (NET) I. In the same way, the promise that I make* does not return to me, having accomplished nothing. No, it is realized as I desire and is fulfilled as I intend. A. *NET Footnote: Hebrew the word which goes out from my mouth, with word here a metonymy for God s promises. B. God s word shall never return unto Him empty, but it shall prosper in the thing whereto God sent it, Hailey wrote. 1. Isaiah 53:10, Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill, once restitution is made, he will see descendants and enjoy long life,and the Lord s purpose will be accomplished through him. (NET) 2. When heeded, His word completely changes the lives of men, fulfilling God s desires, Hailey wrote. a. John 12:47-48, If anyone hears my words and does not obey them, I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not accept my words has a judge; the word I have spoken will judge him at the last day. (NET) 3. God s word brings life to those who sincerely obey it and death to those who don t obey it. (See Coffman.)

42 C. God speaks and the deed is done. God s word accomplishes its intended purpose. 1. Genesis 1:3, God called the light day and the darkness night. There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day. (NET) 2. Psalm 148:5, Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he gave the command and they came into existence. (NET) 3. Psalm 33:6, By the Lord s decree the heavens were made; by a mere word from his mouth all the stars in the sky were created. (NET) D. God promised to bring the exiles home to Jerusalem and salvation to the people of the world through Christ. 1. In both cases those who are blessed are those who faithfully follow in the steps ordered by the Lord. Isaiah 55:12, Indeed you will go out with joy; you will be led along in peace; the mountains and hills will give a joyful shout before you, and all the trees in the field will clap their hands. (NET) I. Indeed you will go out with joy; you will be led along in peace; the mountains and hills will give a joyful shout before you, and all the trees in the field will clap their hands.