Isaiah 55
False advertising is frustrating. Our culture is chock-full of products, trends, remedies, and magic bullets that promise to change our lives. Yet as you have likely experienced, these goods or promised lifestyles always prove themselves to be overhyped. They simply can’t deliver on their promises, because they promise too much. Every human heart is searching, looking for something out there to satisfy the longings in our hearts. However, there simply isn’t a product on the shelves that will satisfy this need. We need to look somewhere else if we’re ever going to find true satisfaction.
Read Isaiah 55:1-5:
- What is a longing you’ve had (a “thirst” or “hunger”) that the world has failed to satisfy?
- In what ways are we encouraged by our culture to waste money and energy on things that will not satisfy?
- What is a covenant, and what does it mean for a covenant to be “everlasting”?
Read Isaiah 55:6-9:
- When Isaiah says to seek the Lord “while He may be found,” what do you think he means by that?
- What four actions did Isaiah call on Israelite exiles to take in order to accept God’s invitation to live?
- According to this passage, what is the Lord’s response to people who “return to the LORD”?
Read Isaiah 55:10-13:
- What is God’s promise regarding His word?
- What does it mean to you that God’s word will always accomplish what He wants (v. 11)? (Does that reality encourage you, or perhaps unsettle you?)
Taking it Home:
- How would you describe God’s covenant to an unbeliever?
- Who is someone in your life trying to quench the thirst and hunger of their heart with the things of the world? In what ways might you put the greatness of the works of God on display for this person to see?
Additional Scriptures to Engage with this week:
- Jeremiah 32:26-41
- Acts 13
- Psalm 89:19-37
- Micah 5
- Zechariah 8
- Psalm 32