“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 you will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.” Isaiah 55 (NIV).
There are many voices of opinion and thought transmitted to us throughout our day. It is, for example, hard to escape the full throttle of the news as news casters cast, toss and press to provide minute by minute coverage of events. Breaking news, does just that, it breaks through to inform and often dispelling the continuity of one’s current modus operandi.
Downloads of applications, videos short and long, advertisements in the midst of a focused topic, screams, shouts, traffic……noise. Yet there is a still small voice calling out to us in the midst of heightened activity, actions and reactions.
“Listen, listen to me and eat what is good” Isaiah 55 v2
Listen and eat! This message of course is not about natural food or a new role for our ears. Rather it is a clarion call to listen to the word of God. The word, scripture or a direct “rhema” word from the Lord, is often metaphorically represented by good food.
What we hear is often absorbed into our psyche and internalized. Like food, messages that we hear are digested. So what types of meals are we having?
“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 you will delight in the richest of fare.”
Are we spending money to hear information that really is not beneficial to us in anyway? Messages that are not “bread” and do not satisfy?” What is this good, rich fare available to us?
I for one need to be fed with life sustaining rhetoric. Communication, dialogue, various types of sounds and alarms are needed within our social interactions. There are, however, times that we have a clear choice of what we listen to and certainly the amount of time we take to listen to certain sounds or topics.
“hear me, that your soul may live. ” Isaiah 55 v3
The Lord has a rich fare of life-giving messages and there is an invitation through the prophet Isaiah’s words to listen to God. Listen knowing that the Lord has a message, a message that provides sustenance, a message that provides life!
Hear - Definition
1: to perceive or become aware of by the ear
didn't hear what she said
thought I heard them leave
2: to gain knowledge of by hearing
heard that you were ill
3a: to listen to with attention : HEED
would not hear my side of the story
b: ATTEND
hear mass
4a law : to give a listening to legal arguments in : to give a legal hearing to
hear a case
B law : to take testimony from
hear witnesses
This is a poignant reminder that the current generations would benefit greatly, if put into practice.
Stillness and feeding one’s soul is almost redundant.
Well done Annette. I pray that many will be led to this message and benefit. May they be drawn into an encounter with their Creator and Lord.
Todah for this piece.
"hear me, that your soul may live." (Isaiah 55:3)
This takes me straight to the Hebrew meaning for "obey," albeit there is no single word FOR obey in Hebrew.
Shema is the Heb. word that is defined as the word obey.
Shema means to "hear and act accordingly."
Obey me that your soul may live.
As you succinctly state that earthly bread is one thing;
However, the divine bread: scripture, is where it’s at.
“…. man cannot live by bread 🥖 🥯🍞🥐alone, but also by everything that comes from the Lord’s mouth.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
Hearing and studying the Word is imperative, as is hearing and acting accordingly so that your soul may live.