Isaiah 55:1, 10-11 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 55:1, 10-11 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 55Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Verse 10For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, Verse 11so 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 succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Devotion
We've all experienced physical thirst. We sometimes thirst for things that are not good for us—riches, status, power, revenge. And we thirst for noble things—love, affection, justice, peace, understanding, meaning, fulfillment. To all these thirsts, Isaiah issues a stunning invitation: "Come to the waters." Are we like the leper Naaman, wondering what waters these are and what they cost? The prophet responds, "Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." The waters are given to you and will accomplish precisely what God intended.
Isaiah's invitation is shouted to a people languishing in exile and yearning for home. They thirst for freedom and God's steadfast promise. In Isaiah 40-55, the prophet describes a servant who accomplishes God's redemptive purpose for the people. He calls the thirsting people to listen to his words and believe that God's word is like rain that waters the earth. With ears of faith we hear in this prophetic word a promise of another redeeming servant, Christ Jesus. In him we drink freely from the wellsprings of God's thirst quenching water.
Prayer
Lord of invitation, we give thanks that you have met us in our thirsting and led us to Christ, our wellspring of salvation. Amen.