Over the past few days, the weather reports for our area said 10 to 20% chance of rain. It has been mostly overcast, but no rain! Each day I waited in anticipation … and no rain. Everything was so dry that I decided to water this afternoon. Dry was an understatement–the pot plants and flower beds drank up the water. The ground was so thirsty, thirsty from no rain. This reminded me of a passage from Isaiah where God invites thirsty people to come and drink.
Remember our note from Thursday looking towards Good Friday? This reading follows that reading and really points to Resurrection Sunday, saying that unless you come and drink from God’s fountain of grace, you will never satisfy your spiritual thirst.
Isa 55:1 “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 labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. 3 Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul 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 leader and commander of the peoples. 5 Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.” 6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. 8 “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. 10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. 12 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn bush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD’S renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed.”
Verse 3 speaks of an everlasting covenant–King Jesus. Verse 4 expounds this.
Verses 1-3a invites people to come and satisfy their spiritual thirst so that the soul may live!
Again in verses 6-7 people are encouraged to seek, call, forsake and turn to find mercy and pardon.
In verse 8-11 we find that God’s methods are so superior to ours, and His purposes always succeed! Verse 11 reminds us that God’s intentions always succeed … the gospel, the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection, will always have success! It will go out and those chosen before the creation of the world will hear effectively, repent, believe and be added to the Heavenly Citizenship in glory.
And so few will die from road accidents this Easter … but many will die through the coronavirus across the world at this time. By today, the death rate is more than 100,000 daily deaths.
Should you die at this time, irrespective of the reason, will you be ushered into Glory? Has your name been entered into the Heavenly Register?
Spiritually thirsty people are invited to come and drink … have you? Will you come and drink?