What is the meaning of Isaiah 55:2? Why spend money on that which is not bread The Lord opens with an arresting question. He highlights the tragedy of pouring resources—time, talent, treasure—into things that look nourishing but cannot sustain life. • Ecclesiastes 5:10 reminds us that “whoever loves wealth is never satisfied.” • Jesus echoes this in John 6:27, urging us, “Do not work for food that perishes.” • Jeremiah 2:13 exposes the same folly: forsaking the fountain of living water for broken cisterns. The takeaway: anything that displaces God, no matter how respectable, eventually proves empty. and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Labor itself is good (Genesis 2:15), yet toil directed toward hollow goals leaves the soul aching. • Haggai 1:6 captures the futility: “You eat, but never have enough … you earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes.” • Proverbs 23:4–5 warns against wearing oneself out to get rich. These verses reveal a gracious alarm: God exposes the bankruptcy of self-driven pursuits so we will turn to Him. Listen carefully to Me God now pivots from exposing emptiness to offering Himself as the answer. The command is to incline the ear, implying both attention and obedience. • Deuteronomy 6:4–5 presents the foundational call: “Hear, O Israel.” • Jesus reinforces it in John 10:27: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” The Lord’s voice doesn’t merely inform; it transforms, guiding us into life (Psalm 32:8). and eat what is good Here is the gracious invitation: partake freely of what truly nourishes—the Word and the covenant blessings secured by the Messiah. • Psalm 34:8 urges, “Taste and see that the LORD is good.” • John 6:35 identifies the ultimate provision: Christ Himself, “the bread of life.” • 1 Peter 2:2–3 calls believers to crave pure spiritual milk so we may grow. What is “good” is not a commodity we purchase; it is the bounty God supplies through His unearned favor. and your soul will delight in the richest of foods God promises not mere survival but soul-deep satisfaction. The phrase pictures a celebratory feast overflowing with abundance. • Psalm 63:5: “My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods.” • Revelation 19:9 portrays the future culmination—the marriage supper of the Lamb. • Ephesians 3:19 speaks of being “filled with all the fullness of God.” The Lord offers joy that eclipses every earthly pleasure, held out to all who respond to His call. summary God confronts the futility of chasing hollow substitutes and invites us to the banquet of His Word and His Son. Listening to Him, receiving His provision, we find the only sustenance that satisfies now and forever. |
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