#DailyDevotion The LORD Jesus Christ Just Gives Away The Store
Isa. 55:1-9 “Oh, come to the water, all you who are thirsty! You who have no money, come, buy and eat. Have no money come buy and eat, Come and buy grain without money, and wine and milk that costs nothing. 2Why are you spending money for what isn’t bread and your earnings for what doesn’t satisfy? If you will only listen to Me, you will eat good things and enjoy rich food. 3Hear and come to Me. Listen and you will live! I will make an everlasting covenant with you —the mercies faithfully promised to David! 4Once I made him a witness to the nations, a prince and a commander of the nations. 5So now you will call a nation you don’t know, and a nation that doesn’t know you will run to you on account of the LORD your God and the Holy One of Israel, for He has honored you.”
So I think it’s kind of weird the LORD says to buy from him grain, wine and milk that costs nothing. But I guess it’s a way to get across the fact that it is free, a gift. It’s in opposition to the Israelites who are spending their money on what isn’t bread and doesn’t satisfy. I don’t think, perhaps, he is talking in either case of actual bread, wine, water, milk in either case since he says they are spending money on what isn’t bread. In Deut. 8 it is written, “ you man doesn’t live on bread alone but on every Word of the LORD.” I believe then what the Israelites were spending their money on which wasn’t bread was false teaching. They were worshiping idols and listening to false prophets, giving their money to these things.
The LORD though wanted them to listen to him, to hear his Word. He gives his Word away for free and his Word gives life. His Word is the true water, grain, wine and milk that truly satisfies is you hear and believe it. Several times here He says, “listen to me,” “hear and come to me,” “Listen and live!”
The LORD promise to make an everlasting covenant with the people of Israel. Since they had broken the covenant He made with them on Sinai, he is going to make a new one. He speaks of this also in Jeremiah 31. This covenant will be the mercies of David. David who was his witness to the nations was promised his descendant would have an everlasting kingdom which would be blessing to all nations. This mercies of David it the Holy One of Israel. The Holy One of Israel, the Descendant of David is our LORD Jesus Christ, who established the new covenant with his blood in the LORD’s Supper (Matt. 26:26ff).
The nations have run to Israel, who is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. They run to his cross and receive from Him what the LORD promises here to Israel, His Word. The Word that gives life, eternal life, without cost. Jesus says in John 7:37, “’If you’re thirsty, come to Me and drink. 38If you believe in Me, streams of living water will flow from you, as the Bible has said.’ 39By this He meant the Spirit, Whom those who believed in Him were to receive.” He says in Rev. 21, “6Then He said to me: ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and Omega (the A and Z], the Beginning and the End. To anyone who is thirsty I will give water, without cost, from the spring of the water of life.’” So come to Jesus then, the Holy One of God, listen to him and He will give the Holy Spirit and eternal life without cost, free, as gift.
Heavenly Father, open our ears that we may hear your Son Jesus Christ, believe in Him and obtain from him that which is truly food and gives life. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.