The Compassion of the Lord – A Messianic Prophecy

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, 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 for that which is not bread, and our labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast sure love for David.” – Isaiah 55:1-4 (ESV).

      Beginning with Isaiah 54 and continuing through Isaiah 55, the prophet changes from the Suffering Servant and vicarious sufferer theme, both of which Christ became in His life. Isaiah 54 declares the eternal covenant of peace with the invitation: “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtain of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.” (Isaiah 54:2). The prophet also told of the splendor of the kingdom and its domains: “I will set your stones in antimony and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of agate, and your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones” (Isaiah 54:11b-12). Many, in anticipating the coming of the Ruling Messiah, saw Isaiah’s prophecy as the ushering in of and age of prosperity and wealth. Since they had endured much at the hands of oppressing nations, they would welcome restoration. They wanted their holy city of Jerusalem rebuilt with the finest materials available. But was God meaning a literal restoration of the kingdom of Israel? Or did he intend this picture from our focal passage to provide a glimpse into the eternal city prepared in heaven for the faithful?

      The invitation that opens Isaiah 55 is all-inclusive: “Come, everyone who thirsts…” God invites everyone to receive His blessings. Who doesn’t have need for water? Water difficulties and loss of water even for a short period cause great concern. Thirsting, the need for water is a universal condition. God’s invitation in this Messianic prophecy is for everyone. Farther on in Isaiah 55:6-7, he urges: “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” Seeking the Lord, returning to Him, and appropriating His compassion are part of the believer’s beginning in the new kingdom. God offers salvation to all, but each individual must make the move toward God and accept His offer of help and salvation.

      Isaiah’s prophecy reminds us of Jesus feeding over five thousand, a miracle recorded in all four gospels (see, beginning with these references and following the account: Matthew 14:15, Mark 6:35, Luke 9:12 and John 6:1). Jesus, in His ministry, was moved with compassion on the crowds. He performed the miracle of feeding, but he also healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead. He was the Messiah acting to meet people’s needs. When the crowd followed Jesus still expecting a constant hand-out without working for what they received, He reprimanded them: “You seek me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give to you, for on Him the Father, even God, has set his seal (John 6:26-27, NASV). Asking how they might do the works of God, Jesus answered, “This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29) Jesus’ word to them was a direct fulfillment of the invitation prophecy given by Isaiah. Note the strong verbs in Isaiah’s invitation: “come, come, come; listen, incline (your ear), hear! All these denote actions prior to receiving “the food that endures to eternal life.” The steps are to go to the Messiah, seek Him with the whole heart, hear His words and accept Him as Savior. The actions of these verbs—go, seek, hear, accept—also precede a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in 54:13: All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.”

      Prayer: Lord, especially at Christmas time when we are prone to join in the secular rush of the season, help us to hear and heed Your plea to “Come…take of the water of life.” Help us to “hear…that our soul may live.” In Jesus’ name. Amen. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 12.18.2016

Exaltation

“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.  Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” Isaiah 55:12-13 (ESV).

Isaiah Chapters 40-55 were addressed to God’s people in Babylonian exile in the sixth century B. C.-Isaiah used predictive prophecy to give the people hope that God will act to bring His blessings of restoration in a powerful way and so that all people will be aware of His actions.  It is stated thus in Isaiah 40:5:  “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”  Isaiah gives the promise of restoration in 55:12-13 (quoted above) and signifies a time of joy, great rejoicing, and even production again from the land that had been laid waste.

So far in my life I have not experienced exile like the Israelites knew in the Babylonian exile.  But I can identify with the exaltation expressed in Isaiah 55:12-13.  I had great determination to go to college and get a good education.  As I have told before in my personal testimony, I grew up on a farm in North Georgia.  My mother died when I was fourteen and it became my obligation to assume the leadership of house and home so far as cooking, cleaning, laundry, keeping the garden, preserving foods for winter use, and often cooking for several farm hands that assisted my father with seasonal work.  These duties were heavy for a teenager and oftentimes I was tempted to weaken in my efforts, to desist from working so hard, to allow my dream for an education to die.  But somehow a spirit within me kept determination alive and propelled me to do the necessary work that fell to me.  I attribute much of my determination and persistence to becoming a Christian at an early age.  Prayer became a vital and necessary part of my life, and as I set goals for myself, I would pray earnestly that I might work toward reaching them.  I was able to stay in school enough to make each grade successfully and even to excel.  Perhaps hard work at home helped me in the same manner to work hard at school, even though I could not always attend regularly, especially in “syrup-making” season in the fall when my help was sorely needed on the farm to cook for the work hands.

When my high school graduation time came, I was told by my teachers and principal that I was first honor graduate—valedictorian.  I could hardly believe it, for there were several with very high grade point averages in my class.  Then I began to have offers to colleges.  My pastor was instrumental in helping me to secure work and honors scholarships that virtually paid my way.  As I left my mountain home to realize this next journey in my life, higher education, it was as if the “mountains and the hills broke forth into singing, and the trees of the field clapped their hands for joy!”  I felt I could identify with the thorns of defeat being replaced by opportunity and the briers of disappointment being uprooted and replaced by goals that could be accomplished.  I learned to be thankful for every opportunity, determined with God’s help to seek His way and follow His path.  Yes, there have been times when I wavered and had to redirect my efforts, but I have found without a doubt that the words of Isaiah 40:29 are true:  “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has not might He increases strength.”  Praise be to God. –Ethelene Dyer Jones 07.07.2013