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Forsake Your Ways and Return To God - Isaiah 55
Forsake Your Ways and Return To God - Isaiah 55
Last night Jeff talked about this chapter. The whole section where this chapter sits is one of the great teachings about God and His mercy. His mercy is OFFERED to all – and make no mistake, ALL stand in dire need of such. The other alternative is to stand in judgment guilty of rebellion and war against God.
Yet, the offer includes a positive response by those who would return to their Creator and God.
· “Come” – 3 times in verse 1, again in vs. 3
· Listen carefully, incline your ear, delight yourself in His abundance. (vs. 2-3)
· Seek the Lord, Call upon Him – vs. 6
· Let the wicked forsake HIS WAY (i.e., the wicked man’s ways) – vs. 7
· Return to the LORD – vs. 7
Here is the difficult part for many, they are stuck in ‘their ways’ and they don’t understand or appreciate the ways of the Lord. They MUST FORSAKE their ways and learn God’s ways!
(8) "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the Lord. (9) "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Verse 9 explains this need with an often stated concept: God is NOT MAN, and man is NOT GOD’ our thoughts and our ways are not HIS thoughts and ways!
So: “Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the Lord, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:7)
Such change is the heart of repentance – a theme preached throughout the New Testament. It was the message of John the Baptist (Matt. 4:7-9), Luke (24:46-47), Paul (Acts 22:9), Peter (2 Peter. 3:9), John (Revelation 2:5, 26, 21-22; 3:3, 19), and of course Jesus: “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 4:17) And Again: "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. (Luke 13:3)
In your return to God, have you forsaken YOUR old ways and are now listening carefully to God?
Hugh DeLong
