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“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 your 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. Behold, I made Him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you.” (Isaiah 55:1-5)
I love this passage. It comes just a little bit after Isaiah 53, which describes Jesus and all that He did and suffered for our sake—and how He died and then rose from the dead, so that we might live forever with Him as His people. And this passage is more of the same.
Because here we listen to God calling us to take His good gifts freely—paying nothing—absolutely free of charge. Look at the verbs! “Come,” God says, five times in this short reading. “Buy,” He says, but right away He adds, “without money and without price.” “Listen,” He says. “Incline your ear, listen diligently, hear!” How hard is that? “Eat,” He says, “and delight yourselves in rich food.” And finally, “Come to Me … that you may live.”
What is God offering us? He tells us right out: “Hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, My steadfast, sure love for David … I made Him a witness to the peoples.” Who is this David? Not the great king who had already been dead for hundreds of years by the time Isaiah wrote down this prophecy. No, the Holy Spirit is talking about David’s great descendant, Jesus Christ—the One God promised David would be born to his own family line. Jesus is the true King who became a witness to the peoples—the One who shows God’s heart, God’s everlasting love and kindness, to everyone on earth. How? Through His own life, death, and resurrection.
Because of God’s promise, Jesus’ suffering and death set us free from our evil, guilt, and shame forever. And now that He has risen from the dead, we too will live forever—because He is our life, and He will raise us from the dead on the Last Day. Even now we are already God’s own dearly loved children. And we don’t have to do a thing to get these gifts—just as God says here, only “Come, listen, eat!”
WE PRAY: Dear Lord, I want all the good gifts You have for me—most of all, Your dear Son Jesus, my Savior. Thank You. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
- Is it difficult to trust that God wants to give you all these good things for free?
- How do you know it’s true?
- What kind of a person is God if He loves you that much?
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