Come and be satisfied
Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food. Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David. See how I used him to display my power among the peoples. I made him a leader among the nations. You also will command nations you do not know, and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey, because I, the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.” Isaiah 55:2-5 NLT
The coming of the Servant of the Lord as described by Isaiah from the text was not just to provide salvation for the Israelites but to Gentiles as well. This is why His invitation for all is to come and receive what He offers. Through His suffering at the cross, He was bearing our griefs and sorrows. God had laid upon Him all our sins. Yet He did not complain nor have spoken against us. “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (Luke 22:42). Isaiah’s use of the metaphor of food provides an image of what we are longing in life and yet we still come out longing for more without satisfaction. God is serving what we need. He knows what is good for us and what is filling. All He offers are ours if we come to Him and listen to His word. We have to be open-minded as to what God is presenting to us in the gospel, think it through, and just like what He promised when we “Listen...you will find life” (Isaiah 55:3). This is the life that lasts for eternity for He promised to “make an everlasting covenant” and God alone can provide this. “The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63). God will keep His promises and the decision we make to receive what He offers is more than a decision we make for a time for out of that decision flows a covenant made even from eternity past. God loves us with an everlasting love. “Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!” (John 17:24).
Blessings,
