Isaiah 55:1-7 Scripture Study
By Pastor Chris Simmons – Trinity Lutheran Church, Paso Robles CA
A reinforcement/supplement study to our Sunday service meant for “Building up the body of Christ… the manifold Wisdom of God made known” (Ephesians 4+3)
For Sunday, December 7, 2025
It’s that time of year... busy running here, there and everywhere. The extra hours at work, Christmas parties to attend. Then there are the obligatory parties with family, the school performances, Advent services at church, events to attend with friends. At every single one of those places will be the same thing... cookies! There will be plenty, and plenty will be consumed. You missed dinner after all, right? So might as well have a few extra cookies. Snickerdoodles, peanut butter blossoms, Sugar cookies, ginger molasses, you name the cookie and it will be there. Those favorite Christmas treats, although tasty, do not have the sustenance to carry you through the day. As fun and joyful as they seem to be, in the end they are junk food. They get you chubby without giving you the nutrition you need. Eventually, you need a real meal, one that will give you energy, that will give you life. With our theme of “Home for the Holidays” consider this... There is No Place like Home... for a meal. When you think of “Mama’s home cooking” you think of something hearty that fills you up. God provides for us true food, true sustenance through His Son, as Jesus says in John 6:54”Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.“ We have been given that great gift of Christ Jesus, a true sustenance for the heart, soul, mind, and body.
Blessings as you study today,
-Pastor Chris Simmons
Discuss: What are some of your Christmas treats? What about a holiday meal? What’s the difference between a “treat” and a “meal”?
Isaiah 55:1-7 (ESV)
1 “Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Isaiah 55 is near the end of this Prophets book, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that all of Isaiah is in a chronological order, nor that all is spoken from the voice or the perspective of the prophet. Throughout the book you hear the voice of the prophet Isaiah, the voice of the people of Israel, even the voice of God Himself. Here you have this metaphor of God as a vendor in the street market where you would go to buy all your goods. You see it in the repeating of the word “Come”. Imagine a market (not too dissimilar from a farmers market like today) full of vendors yelling out “Come Come, a dozen eggs for $5, farm fresh organic!” or “Come Come, fresh cheese! Homemade! $12 per pound!”
In this section, God is calling out to His people “Come all who thirst and hunger, Come buy the best and richest of food… without price!” Well, who out there is hungry and thirsty?... well EVERYONE! God calls out to all people, amidst all these other voices in the market trying to lure you to their booths… but there is no cost to this food. God gives it of His own accord, at His own cost. Free to you, but of cost to Him.
In this section, God is calling out to His people “Come all who thirst and hunger, Come buy the best and richest of food… without price!” Well, who out there is hungry and thirsty?... well EVERYONE! God calls out to all people, amidst all these other voices in the market trying to lure you to their booths… but there is no cost to this food. God gives it of His own accord, at His own cost. Free to you, but of cost to Him.
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
3 Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
Discuss: Verse 2 Notice that question from God to His people… even to us. How does that question strike you? What things have you spent your money or labor on that have ultimately proven unfulfilling? (example: something you never opened, never used, or was not as fulfilling as you expected.)
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Why do we spend our money on that which is not bread? You have to take a second and consider that this is a metaphor, as we understand in the first verse, to understand what is meant by bread. You’ve got bread - Provided by God in the Old Testament, like the manna from heaven in Exodus, which is a constant symbol for God’s provision for his people. And You’ve got “not bread”- this symbolizes false teaching and false promises, the worshipping of idols and the inclination of sin to seek the provision of God from our own desire. What is our money? Well, our resources… time, talents, and treasure, which combined give the appearance of Worship.
God says, why do you spend your worship on what is not bread? On false teaching, on what won’t provide for you. God does not charge for His provision, yet you should still spend your money and labor toward what satisfies. Why? Because you will find yourself even more deeply satisfied. The answer makes a bit more (and a bit less) sense as God gives instruction in the second half of verse 2.
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Why do we “spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” The answer follows… we do not allow ourselves to “be delighted in rich food”.
What does that mean? Let me play out an example for you.
Imagine there’s a BBQ rib competition. Everyone is out there cooking up their best possible ribs, but there can be only one winner. All the judges agree by a unanimous decision, a landslide victory, that “Isaiah Ray’s BBQ” is by far the best rib. And now every other competitor that lost has to try those ribs…
Discuss: How do you see this playing out? What do you think other competitors would say? Would they all agree with the judges, or have something else to say?
Now, maybe it’s not ribs… but you get the idea. Our sin kicks us right in the pride, wanting us to say that… you know what we do isn’t that bad… I would even argue and say it’s just as good in a way. We don’t allow ourselves to be delighted in rich food when it comes to us at no cost. No contribution, no reservation, and by no work of my own.
You probably know people that don’t like a famous movie that you think is great for only one reason… because it’s popular. A desire to be different, to stand out, to be noticed, they won’t allow themselves to be delighted.
Imagine now, someone carrying guilt, the weight of their sins and failures. When they see others succeed, when they see the bright spots of Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love of Christ… it’s not everyone who says “How do I get what you have?” I’m sure you have met those who would rather see others also fall… they refuse to be delighted by rich food.
There are those who refuse the forgiveness you offer them, refuse mercy, refuse the gift of grace, who refuse just for the sake of… they refuse to be delighted by rich food. It’s thinking “I’ve spent too much money and labor on this not bread to go back now….”
“I’ve spent too much money and labor on this anger to go back now….”
“I’ve spent too much money and labor on this self-righteousness to go back now….”
“I’ve spent too much money and labor on this status to go back now….”
Sin will try to convince us that we need to refuse to be delighted in rich food, in the goodness of God, which comes freely to us… that our “not bread” must be of greater value because of personal cost, ignoring the cost Christ paid for that truly Rich Food.
John 6:51
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”.... 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.
Yet even there in the presence of Christ, there were those who refused to be delighted by rich food.
60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
Discuss: Someone asked you for advice and they struggled spiritually with “being delighted in rich food”, what would you say?
Continued Discussion: What guidance would you offer someone who struggled with “a hard teaching” of Jesus?
Now, the Grace, mercy, and forgiveness of God is something freely given, of that we have no doubt as we are told time and time again. Even in Isaiah 55:1 “he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” So, you have for yourself, at no cost to you, a meal set before you of rich food to be delighted in… a beautiful spread you could never afford, God… gives us guidance on how to chew and swallow.
3 Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
Verse 2 said Listen diligently to me, then continues on into verse 3. We often associate eating solely with the physical action of chewing food and digesting it. On a deeper level, what we listen to, allow to speak into our lives, feeds it. To hear the promises of God, His Word “hear, that your soul may live” hear about the everlasting covenant God has made with you, to sustain your life in Christ Jesus.
John 6:53
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
Discuss: What are some of the most important things you are listening to right now? (a book, parents, mentors, certain friends) Why?
Isaiah 55
6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
There is a lot of “Spiritual Junk Food” out there, calling out to us, empty calories saying they can sustain us as God does. Isaiah encourages us to “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.” It’s what makes Christmas a time of great sustenance, we are reminded of the nearness of God. That He would even arrive in flesh and blood for our sake, as an infant, growing to become fully God and fully man. And that God in the flesh would present Himself to us, not just to be near, but also that we can consume His flesh and blood for the pardon of sins.
John 6:55-56
55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.
Prayer
What is “feeding you” right now? What voices have your ear? If one of them is not God, ask for a change in perspective, a softening of the heart to hear His Word.
What have you spent “too much money and labor” on that you don’t feel like you can let go of? Ask God for freedom from that “not food.”
“For whom the Son sets Free is free indeed.” (John 8:36)
Lord God, we confess that we fill up on what does not satisfy us. We struggle to deny ourselves… You Oh Lord, are the only thing that can bring us true satisfaction. By your Word and by Your Promises we are given Life. Help us not turn away from your truth, but by Faith receive your flesh and Blood for our sake, freely given, without cost to us. We pray this all in the name of Jesus. Amen.