Isaiah · chapter 55 of 66
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Isaiah 55 invites all who thirst to come to the waters, to buy wine and milk without money and to listen to the Lord in order to live, under the everlasting covenant promised to David. It calls them to seek the Lord while he may be found, affirms that his thoughts are higher than ours and that his word accomplishes its purpose, and that the people will go out with joy.
Isaiah 55 closes the second part of the book (chapters 40-55) with a universal invitation. After the Servant song and the promises of restoration for Jerusalem, the prophet addresses every person, not just Israel, and calls them to receive freely what the Lord offers. It is one of the best-known Old Testament texts on the grace of God.
The chapter opens with a cry: everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat. Buy wine and milk without money and without price. He asks why they spend money on what is not bread and their labor on what does not satisfy. He invites them to listen so that they may eat what is good and delight in rich food. Incline your ear and come, listen that you may live. The Lord will make with them an everlasting covenant, the sure mercies of David.
The Lord made David a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander. You will call a nation you do not know, and a nation that did not know you will run to you because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you. Verses 6 and 7 call: 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, and let him return to the Lord, who will have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Verses 8 and 9 explain the basis of this pardon: my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Then God's word is compared to the rain and the snow that come down from heaven, water the earth and make it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so is my word that goes out from my mouth, it will not return empty but will accomplish what I purpose. The chapter ends in joy: you will go out in joy and be led forth in peace, the mountains and the hills will break forth into singing and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thorn the cypress will grow, instead of the brier the myrtle; it will be a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that will not be cut off.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord calls every thirsty person to come to the waters and buy without money and without price. Grace is not bought: it is received, and the invitation reaches the one with nothing to offer.
The people are to seek the Lord while he may be found, and the wicked are to forsake their way and return, for God will have compassion and abundantly pardon. The invitation is both urgent and generous.
God's thoughts and ways are higher than ours as the heavens are higher than the earth. This is not an excuse for silence before pain but an invitation to trust a God whose wisdom exceeds ours.
The word that goes out from the Lord's mouth does not return empty but does what he wants and accomplishes his purpose. Whoever teaches or preaches Scripture can trust that its power does not depend on the messenger's skill.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Everyone who thirsts, even the one who has no money. — Isaiah 55:1
Answer: Why they spend money on what is not bread and their labor on what does not satisfy. — Isaiah 55:2
Answer: An everlasting covenant, the sure mercies of David. — Isaiah 55:3
Answer: Forsake his way and return to the Lord, who will have compassion and abundantly pardon. — Isaiah 55:7
Answer: The distance between the heavens and the earth. — Isaiah 55:9
Answer: To the rain and snow that come down from heaven, water the earth and make it sprout. — Isaiah 55:10-11
Isaiah 55 dismantles the idea that God requires us first to pay or clean ourselves up. The invitation is to come without money. In a class you can talk about how we keep trying to earn what God already offers freely, and about how we communicate that invitation to people who feel unworthy.
The chapter also encourages those who teach the Bible. God's word does not return empty, and that promise frees the teacher from the pressure of seeing immediate results. For someone struggling with the meaning of suffering, verses 8 and 9 offer an invitation to humility: we do not understand everything, but we trust the one who does. And the urgency of seeking the Lord while he may be found reminds us that today is a good day to return.
Isaiah 55 closes the section of comfort with an open invitation to grace, a word that does not fail and a picture of joy for all creation. With chapter 56 the third part of the book begins, which deals with the life of the community after the return.
It refers to the promises God made to David, especially that his dynasty would last forever (2 Samuel 7). Here the promise extends to the whole people, who receive the everlasting covenant. The New Testament sees its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, descendant of David, and in Acts 13:34 Paul quotes this verse in connection with the resurrection.
The text does not set a date. It underlines that the invitation is real and present and must not be postponed. For the people in exile it was the moment to turn to God; for today's reader it is a call to respond without delay.