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‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,’
declares the Lord.
⁹ ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

I heard about a Christian preacher who said he felt he heard the Lord say to him one day, ‘Bob, you and I are incompatible, so one of us is going to have to change; but it’s not going to be me!!’

‘Have you ever tried to explain the grace of God to an unsaved person who thinks that heaven is a ”Hall of Fame” for achievers instead of the Father’s house for believers? In this world, you work for what you get, and you are suspicious of anything that is free.’ Warren Wiersbe: Old Testament Commentary’, p.1196.

We don’t get far in the Christian life before discovering that there is, naturally speaking, an unbridgeable gulf between God’s mind and ours.

Yet God has closed gap through the gift of revelation:

• He has revealed Himself in His written Word, the Scriptures;
• He has finally and fully revealed Himself in the Person of the living Word, Jesus (who lies at the heart of the written Word).

Yes, although God’s ”thoughts” and ”ways” are ”higher” than ours, His Word has ”come down from heaven”(10) to reach us where we are. More about this tomorrow.

Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call on him while he is near.
⁷ Let the wicked forsake their ways
    and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

There are, I believe, times and seasons in the movements of God. There are days of opportunity for the soul, which, if missed, may never come again. Get into the Ark while the door remains open!

‘There is a sense of urgency in this passage: if we do not seek the Lord now, it may be too late to do so later. The Lord waits patiently for us to turn to Him, but He does not wait forever (see Jeremiah 29:13-14).’ Tom Hale: ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1059.

”Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7; see Ps.95:7,8).

These words are about repentance. What a wonderful promise they contain. They seem to find their echo in the New Testament in 1 John 1:9: ”If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Notice that repentance involves ‘forsaking’ wicked ways and unrighteous thoughts. It is not about shedding ‘crocodile tears.’ Repentance is a change of mind leading to a change of direction.

Give ear and come to me;
    listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
    my faithful love promised to David.
⁴ See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
    a ruler and commander of the peoples.
⁵ Surely you will summon nations you know not,
    and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel,
    for he has endowed you with splendour.’

To all who come to God, in response to His generous offer, He promises He will make an ”everlasting covenant” with them. This is a continuation of the same covenant God made with David when He promised him an everlasting throne- a promise ultimately fulfilled in Jesus

One thing that happens when we immerse ourselves in the Scriptures – truly humbling ourselves before them, listening to God and seeking to obey Him – is this: we are ‘changed from glory into glory’. The Lord makes His people beautiful with the beauty of Jesus as they look to Him and on Him (2 Corinthians 3:18), Furthermore, this beauty attracts others. The Lord’s people become a ”city set on a hill” (Matt.5:14).

‘These words, of course, apply not only to the post-exilic Jerusalem of the Old Testament but also to the church of Christ in the New Testament and ultimately to the new Jerusalem where Christ will reign supreme forever (Revelation 21:1-5).’ Tom Hale: ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1059.

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
    and you will delight in the richest of fare.
³ Give ear and come to me;
    listen, that you may live.

It’s not just about reading the Bible daily as an important habit, is it? Yes it is that. But it’s more. It’s about life. Real life is found in these words, and we get this life from God for free. How amazing is that?!

In Dane Ortlund’s book, ‘Deeper’, he closes one of the chapters in this way:

‘In May 2020 the Wall Street Journal ran a piece by James Nestor entitled ”The Healing Power of Proper Breathing.” The caption under the headline read, ”How we inhale and exhale has profound effects on our health.”…

…You wouldn’t try to go through life holding your breath. So don’t go through life without Bible reading and praying. Let your soul breathe. Oxygenate with the Bible; and breath out the CO2 of prayer as you speak back to God your wonder, your worry, and your waiting. He is not a force, not an ideal, not a machine. He is a person. Keep open the channel between your little life and heaven itself through the Bible and prayer. As you do you will grow. You won’t feel it day to day. But you’ll come to the end of your life a radiant, solid man or woman. And you will have left in your wake the aroma of heaven. You will have blessed the world. Your life will have mattered.’ (pp.156,157).

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
    come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without cost.
² Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labour on what does not satisfy?

While my wife and daughter and I were on holiday in Norfolk recently, we attended a Sunday morning service at a ‘New Frontiers’ church in Sheringham. The preacher had come over from another church in Norwich. It was Pentecost Sunday and he spoke on the above text. A fine sermon it was too. He began by explaining that what we read here in Isaiah 55 flows from what has happened earlier in Isaiah 53. It is because of the Cross that Jesus can satisfy our spiritual hunger and thirst. He had 3 points:

1. An urgent invitation (He said that in the King James Version of the Bible, the opening word is ‘Ho!’ This is like someone shouting, ‘Oi’, he told us: This is important. It matters. You need to hear this);
2. An amazing offer: everything is free to ”all” who will ”Come”. No-one has to pay in any way;
3. An astounding rejection: ”Hey there! All who are thirsty,
       come to the water!
   Are you penniless?
       Come anyway—buy and eat!
   Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk.
       Buy without money—everything’s free!
   Why do you spend your money on junk food,
       your hard-earned cash on cotton candy?

In a footnote in his ‘Applied Old Testament commentary’ Tom Hale writes:

‘Notice that this invitation is given to the thirsty. In order to receive the spiritual blessings God desires to give to us, we must thirst for them (Matthew 5:3,6; 11:28). It’s hard to give spiritual blessings to someone who doesn’t want them; it’s hard to give good news, the Gospel, to someone who isn’t interested.’

In the original context, God was asking this of the exiles in Babylon, who were becoming complacent and comfortable in their life there. Did they really think Babylon could satisfy?

Do we?

In righteousness you will be established:
tyranny will be far from you;
    you will have nothing to fear.
Terror will be far removed;
    it will not come near you.
¹⁵ If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
    whoever attacks you will surrender to you.

¹⁶ ‘See, it is I who created the blacksmith
    who fans the coals into flame
    and forges a weapon fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc;
¹⁷     no weapon forged against you will prevail,
    and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
    and this is their vindication from me,’
declares the Lord.

Just a final word on Isaiah 54 before we move on. It is simply to make the observation that there is much here that will only find full and final fulfilment in the future Kingdom of God. Only then will believers be finally beautified and beyond the reach of all malevolent attack.

‘What a grand vista opens up before us in verses 11-17 – a whole renewed universe! And at its centre is the city of God, the point where heaven and earth meet and God is present with his people for ever (11-17). This city is the final resting place of the servants of the LORD, the reward and vindication for all that they have suffered because of their faithfulness to God (17).’ Barry Webb: ‘Isaiah’, p.216.

‘In verses 11-12, Isaiah gives a figurative description of Jerusalem following the exile. But it is even more a description of the new Jerusalem, which will come down from heaven at the end of history; this heavenly Jerusalem will be prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband, the Lord Himself (Revelation 21:2,10-11, 18-21).’ Tom Hale: ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1058.

All your children will be taught by the Lord,
    and great will be their peace.

I had a book on my shelf for many years entitled ‘The Spiritual Warrior’s Prayer Guide.’ It dealt with praying for many areas of life, such as marriage, family life and children. In each chapter, Bible verses were referenced that seemed to have a bearing on the particular issue in view. Isaiah 54:13 was one such Scripture, pertaining to prayer for one’s children. At the time I thought this was a great prayer to pray. I still do!

PRAYER: Lord, I pray today for__ that he/she will be taught by you, and know the peace that accompanies obedience to divine education. Give me the grace to ‘always pray and not give up.’

‘Afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
    I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,
    your foundations with lapis lazuli.
¹² I will make your battlements of rubies,
    your gates of sparkling jewels,
    and all your walls of precious stones.

There’s a little booklet called ‘The 4 spiritual laws’. It is a simple tool for sharing the gospel. The first of these goes: ‘God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.’ But I remember reading an article in a ‘Campus Crusade’ magazine in which a girl called Ruth wrote, ‘God loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life. So why do I so often act like He made a big mistake when He made me?’

It’s not the plans we have for ourselves, but God’s plans for us that matter.

PRAYER: Lord God, please will you rebuild my broken down life, and make me all you want me to be. Beautify my life so that I shine for you.

‘To me this is like the days of Noah,
    when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
    never to rebuke you again.
¹⁰ Though the mountains be shaken
    and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
    nor my covenant of peace be removed,’
    says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

¹¹ ‘Afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
    I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,
    your foundations with lapis lazuli.
¹² I will make your battlements of rubies,
    your gates of sparkling jewels,
    and all your walls of precious stones.

Who gets to heaven without, at times, feeling battered?

‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’  Acts 14:22.

But the other side of battering there can lie building (or ‘re-building’).

And not only building but building with beauty.

Truly, in God’s Kingdom, it is repeatedly those who have suffered the most who ‘sparkle’ the most.

This is God’s work. Note the repeated ”I will”.

If we shine as lights in the world – as we surely pray we will – it is His doing, and to Him be all the glory. Just as the moon cannot boast that its light is its own, neither can we.

It will be in the final and full expression of God’s Kingdom that we will be most lustrous. But even now, our radiance can increase in our on-going relationship with Jesus (see 2 Cor.3:18).