Lenten Season · Third Sunday in Lent · Year C
Isaiah 55:1-9
Invitation to the Thirsty
March 19, 2028
Overview & Insights
“Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)
An Invitation to Sing: Once again a return to a focus on Ms Jerusalem follows the servant passage, as happened after 49:1–6 and 50:4–11. There were hints there that Ms Jerusalem’s restoration was the correlate of Ms Babylon’s humiliation in chapter 47. Chapter 54 is the systematic exposition of that theme. The prophet takes up five images of Ms Jerusalem which once again resume the themes of the people’s prayers (we are like a childless and abandoned woman, the victim of angry abuse—literally, we are a battered and insecure city) before coming to a striking conclusion.
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Commentary
Isaiah 55:1-9 Working Preacher
Exegesis of the invitation's twelve imperatives and its exilic setting.
Isaiah 55:1-9 Center for Excellence in Preaching
Reformed preaching commentary on the imagery of free food and drink.
Isaiah 55 Enduring Word · David Guzik
Verse-by-verse evangelical commentary covering the whole chapter.
Isaiah 55:1 BibleHub
Aggregates classic commentaries verse by verse from this opening verse.
Isaiah 55 StudyLight
An older, close reading of the invitation and its imagery.
Background & Word Study
Isaiah 55:1 Interlinear BibleHub
Hebrew interlinear text for the opening verse.
Isaiah 55 Sefaria
Hebrew and English text of the chapter from a Jewish publication source.
Isaiah 40-66 Overview BibleProject
Overview video on the themes of Isaiah's second half, including this invitation.
Isaiah Enter the Bible
Course background on Isaiah's composition and message of hope for exiles.
Questions preachers ask
What does Isaiah 55 invite?
The chapter calls the thirsty to come to the Lord for free grace, and here urges seeking him while he is near, for his thoughts and ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8–9). Mercy is held out to all who turn.
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