06/01/2016 AN INVITATION TO LIVE
Isaiah 55:1 Say there! Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink---even if you have no money!...Why spend your money on foodstuffs that don’t give you strength? Why pay for groceries that don’t do you any good? [Living Bible Translation]
Summary
Isaiah was a prophet of GOD. He lived about 700 years before JESUS CHRIST. The name “Isaiah” means “the salvation of GOD.” Some call Isaiah a “Messianic Prophet” because of his many prophecies that were fulfilled in JESUS. Some refer to his as an “Evangelical Prophet” because his message, like his name, centered on the salvation of the LORD.
A.J. Holman Company’s, Smith Bible Dictionary, complied by Dr. William Smith describes Isaiah’s prophesies as three-fold:
- To detect, reprove, and condemn the sins of the Jews in particular, also those of Israel, and of several surrounding nations, denouncing the severest judgments on all offenders.
- To invite persons of every rank and condition, Jews and Gentiles, to repentance and reformation.
- To comfort all the truly pious with prophetic promises of the Messiah.
Many classify Isaiah 55:1 as an invitation---“An Invitation to Salvation.” Isaiah is inviting all to experience the blessings of salvation. HE invites all to the come to CHRIST, the messiah, the open FOUNTAIN, the smitten ROCK, and invites all to drink.
Salvation in CHRIST is free to all.
Thinking about this invitation, we are reminded of the Samaritan woman, who CHRIST gave an invitation of living water. (John 4:7-17). We are reminded of the healing, living water that JESUS offered the man who had been sitting by the Bethesda Pool for 38 years, unable to enter the nearby physical water. (John 5: 5:9) He was physically or mentally unable to do much of anything, until JESUS invited him to pick up his mat and walk. We are also reminded how JESUS became “THE BREAD of LIFE” during the Passover meal, inviting all to take and eat. (Matthew 26:26)
Despite the need for A SAVIOR, the need for A HEALER, the need for “BREAD of LIFE,” Isaiah, points out that many still choose “Junk Food”---“food” with no nutritional value. Asking what seems like a rhetorical questions, Isaiah asks: Why would anyone pray for groceries that basically do you no good? Isaiah asks: Why would anyone buy “Junk Food?”