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Isaiah 55:5  (American Standard Version)
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<< Isaiah 55:4   Isaiah 55:6 >>


Isaiah 55:1-7

God invites His people to buy from Him, even though we do not have money. Then He explains what He is talking about:

Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance [what oil represents]. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you—the sure mercies of David. (Isaiah 55:2-3, emphasis ours throughout)

He counsels us not to expend ourselves on things that matter little. Rather, focus on God and take in His richness, His fruitfulness—His oil, as it were—and our lives will overflow with true, spiritual abundance. If we do this, He will make an everlasting covenant with us, the essence of which is, "I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10). It is not a cold contract but a nurturing, protective agreement for a fruitful relationship.

Verses 6-7 give some of our obligations within that covenant. We have no money to buy this abundance, but these verses show that we purchase it through seeking God—seeking to be like Him—and through calling on Him once He has revealed Himself to us. We do not have anything of value to offer Him, except our lives. Yet, if we spend our lives—if we spend our time and our attention in fellowshipping with God, in seeking Him—they will be enriched in ways that nothing material can match. In other words, when we seek God, are nourished by His truth, and act upon it, it is as if God is pouring precious oil on us.

David C. Grabbe
Do You Have Enough Oil? (Part Two)



Isaiah 55:1-9

This paragraph presents an overall and continuous solution to this weakness in the lives of the converted. First, notice that this paragraph is in the form of a command. It is not a mere suggestion but a direct charge from our Creator. As the reference to David indicates, it is addressed to His people, so His audience already knows Him to some degree. The word "return" (verse 7) confirms this, indicating that He and they already have a relationship, but those He is speaking to have lost some resolve and drifting apart has occurred.

The mention of David appears in verses 3-4. When this was written, David had been dead for about 250 years, so this inclusion inserts some symbolism and moves the time-setting, making it a prophecy that fits it into the end time as well as Isaiah's lifetime. David is a type of Jesus Christ in His office as King, which further confirms that God is commanding this of those who already know and have a relationship with Him. Not only have these people drifted away, but they are also not making the effort to "seek" Him to strengthen the relationship.

The responsibility of those who have made the covenant with Him to seek Him is thus not that of striving to find Him in order to establish a relationship as a relationship already exists. Rather, it is seeking Him in order to be like Him and become more fully intimate with His will.

Verses 1-3 remind us that our relationship with Him is not without cost. This paragraph begins with an urgent command: "Come!" The sense is that paying the cost of seeking is obligatory if the relationship is to continue.

We need to understand our position here. God not only loves us, but He also greatly desires us to be in His Kingdom. At the same time, He wants us to show voluntarily that we desire the relationship. In addition, to reinforce our obligation, we must grasp and fully accept that He has every legal right to command us to do this.

In Isaiah 55:1-3, our part in this relationship is clearly not costly in terms of money, but it is in terms of our lives and how we spend them. Our lives must be lived by faith in the One who redeemed us. Paul describes the Christian life as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1).

John W. Ritenbaugh
Fully Accepting God's Sovereignty (Part Two)




Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Isaiah 55:5:

Matthew 25:1-13
John 6:10-14

 

<< Isaiah 55:4   Isaiah 55:6 >>



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