"’Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.’ Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon” (Isaiah 55:1-7, NIV).
If we are preachers of the gospel, we will emphasize the Goodness of the Savior more than the good things that will happen to the saved.
We will say that God reigns! He brings peace, He enables you to experience the unspeakable joy, and He saves! (Isaiah 52:7.)
We’ll echo what He says, like in Isaiah 44:6-8, “This is what the LORD says -- Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come -- yes, let him foretell what will come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one."
We’ll proclaim that the Lord Jesus Christ is God! Notice His Words in Revelation 1:17-18, “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I AM THE FIRST AND THE LAST. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.’”
He is the “King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty” in Isaiah 44! He is the God who reigns in Isaiah 52:7!
Now, observe carefully the words of the God who reigns in Isaiah 55, verse1 and part of verse 3:
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost… Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live.”
Compare them with what the Lord Jesus Christ said: "COME TO ME, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matt. 11:28-30).
Let’s read also Isaiah 55:2:
“Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.”
In John 6:27, Christ said: “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." We read also in John 6:35, “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty’” (also John 6:48).
In Isaiah 55:6, we read:
“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.”
We read the Word in Matthew 6:31-33, “So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?’ or `What shall we drink?’ or `What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
In seeking the kingdom, it is the King we ought to be pursuing. We read in John 6:26, “Jesus answered them and said, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves, and were filled’”(NAS). And as we seek Him, we ought to have the right motive.
The Apostle Paul proclaimed in Acts 17:26-27, “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this SO THAT MEN WOULD SEEK HIM and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.”
Let’s now read verse 7 of Isaiah 55:
“Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”
Compare it with these words of Jesus in Mark 1:14-15, “’The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God is near. REPENT and believe the good news!’"
Paul also said, “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to REPENT. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead" (Acts 17:30-31).
When Jesus said “repent and believe the good news,” does it mean to forsake our own ways and thoughts and “turn to the Lord”?
Consider the following passages:
Acts 11:20-21 – “Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and TURNED TO THE LORD.”
Acts 14:15 -- "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you TO TURN FROM THESE WORTHLESS THINGS TO THE LIVING GOD, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.”
Paul wrote the Christians in Thessalonica:
“You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia -- your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead -- Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath” (1 Thess. 1:6-10).
Notice carefully the last part of verse 9, “They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God…”
When the God who reigns is proclaimed – Jesus Christ the King of kings and Lord of lords, who brings peace, joy and salvation – those who believed turned to the Living God! They trusted and obeyed Him. For He is the Diving King who reigns! He is the only Savior – the Merciful God who seeks, saves and keeps the elect!
And what will happen to those who will not believe – who will disobey the Word, “Repent and believe the good news”? Is there any hope for those who will not forsake their own ways and evil thoughts and turn to the Living God, who will pardon them freely?
The Word of God warned, “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed” (2 Thess.1:8-10; also Romans 2:5-9).
What a blessing indeed to be given the faith to believe Jesus – the Son of God! His Goodness is Supreme, for He is not just a man. He is God. And that’s really Good News!
Are you one of those who are given such blessing (Acts 3:26)?
PRAYER: Our Sovereign God, Merciful and Loving Heavenly Father, we do thank You for the gladness You bring to us through Your Gospel. Help us to value and proclaim it to exalt Your Holy Name. And May You continue to impress to us Your Goodness and Greatness through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
