The book of Isaiah

Today we’ll be in the book of Isaiah. Remember we are talking about the prophecies that we see in the Old Testament, and their fulfillment in the New Testament.

The prophecy that we will see today was written more than 500 years before Jesus birth.

Clarion Call Urgent Message

This prophecy is the clarion call from the prophet of the Lord Isaiah, which states that from God will come a leader and commander for the people. Because of the Holy One of Israel, Nations that do not know the Lord shall run to Him. So while this prophecy is authored for the purpose of calling to the exiles to return to Jerusalem and to the Lord, it also speaks to those nations who are drawn to the Lord because of His glory!

The purpose of the book of Isaiah is to declare the good news that God will glorify Himself through the renewed and increased glory of His people, which will attract the nations to holy one of Israel.

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Isaiah 55
¹ “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.
² 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.
³ 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.
⁴ Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples.
⁵ 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.
⁶ “Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
⁷ let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
¹⁰ “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹ so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
¹² “For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

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Verse 1
“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.”

Does that sound familiar?
Last week we quoted Revelation 22:17 which says:

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

You see, in this passage, it is those who have been redeemed saying to Christ “Come.”

WE eagerly await His coming.

But we who have been redeemed say “Come eagerly, because He first said Come.”

He didn’t die for someone to be His captive, He died for someone to be His child. And He paid the price for His children to live with Him.

The price that was required for the water of life could not be paid by us.

So, we drink without price…but make no mistake, that drink was costly. It cost Him everything.

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Next two verses of Isaiah 55:
² 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.
³ 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.

The context here is that this is a call for those who have exchanged the beauty and bounty of the Lord for the temptations and turmoil of the world.

The picture is those who were living in Babylon (outside of Jerusalem) who became accustomed to the ways and things of Babylon. Their lives became committed to settling for where they were, even though they were a chosen people with provision from the Lord elsewhere.

This is a word to those living in exile, the chosen who were now tempted by the world. While that is referring to Israel in exile, it can also be applied to us who have believed in Jesus and are now living in this place which is not our home.

One commentary says:
“They had been in Babylon for many years—some for the whole of their life. They had grown roots, acquired property and commercial interests, were prosperous and secure. The prophet does not plead or argue, but throws into the quiet pool of their complacency a disturbing pebble, as he asks: ‘Does all this really satisfy you? Is this what you are for?’ ” He speaks with urgency, “Listen, listen.”

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⁴ Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples.
⁵ 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.

Here is the specific prophecy that we are examining today.

Verse 4 is referring to King David, but the transition of the narrative on King David in verse 4 to the King of Kings in verse 5 is evident.

He says in verse 5 you shall call a nation that you do not know and a nation that did not know you shall run to you…

This is in reference to the Glorious Son of David, through whom God attracts the nations.

We see the fulfillment of this prophecy in who Christ is. We can also see that this is the character of God.

2 Peter 3:9 says:
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

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We are very familiar with John 3:16 which says:
¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Just as important as 3:16 is the following verse 17…
¹ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

The word “World” in this verse uses:
Kosmos in the Greek, which is all of mankind.
It is not only Israel, It is all of mankind. He chose Israel from whom would come the savior of the world.

It is communicated to us for millennia in the word, and now millennia beyond his birth, death, and resurrection, He is still calling nations to Himself.

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The Book of Hosea

Romans 9:23-26 says:
²³ in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— ²⁴ even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? ²⁵ As indeed he says in Hosea,
“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”
²⁶ “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”

In the book of Hosea we see that the prophet was called to take for himself a wife. He would have children with this wife.

This is representative of God’s pursuit of His people.

Hosea 1:2-10:
² When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” ³ So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
⁴ And the Lord said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. ⁵ And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
⁶ She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. ⁷ But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.”
⁸ When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. ⁹ And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”
¹⁰ Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.”

The book of Hosea is a constant reminder of God’s faithfulness.

It is full of rebellion, and God’s judgment on those who have walked away from Him, but it is also a reminder of His persistence and grace. He provides.

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⁶ “Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
⁷ let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
¹⁰ “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹ so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
¹² “For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

He calls us as a people to Himself, He has assembled this body, His church, but He speaks to us individually.

So here is the question. Has He spoken to you?

He has communicated His grace, mercy, and love through His son, who stepped down from glory, lived a perfect sinless life, and died a sinners death that He did not deserve, in order that He could call nations to Himself.
Let’s omit the word nations here…yes He calls nations, but He calls them one person at a time.

Has He called you to Himself?
Have you received Him?

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Discussion Questions:

Is there some aspect of your life to which you can point that is a reminder of God’s faithfulness to you?

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Has there been a time when you were in rebellion and you recognized that in love God has persistently called you back to Himself?

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What does it mean to be adopted into the family of God? Are you living in this new identity, or are there some remnants of your old identity hanging around?

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God calls nations to Himself but speaks to us individually. How has He spoken to you today?

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