Chapter 55

A call to those who thirst and hunger to come to God for everlasting food and drink, at no cost.  This verse:

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. [Isa 55:1 ESV]

The woman at the well.  Never thirst.  Jesus was connecting himself to these Messianic prophecies in Isaiah.  He was telling them that he was the Messiah, and doing it in  unmistakable ways.  Yet they would not believe.

This, in vs 3, summarizes the section:

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. [Isa 55:3 ESV]

Next section starts this way:

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. [Isa 55:6-7 ESV]

To whom is this addressed?  To Israel in captivity in Babylon?  To us today?  Is there a third possibility?  It sure reads like a universal invitation. 

MSB says this is an excellent example of how people were saved in the OT.  So he is saying this is addressed not to us today exactly - because our salvation is in the Christ that we know and in his substitutionary death.  But in the OT, before Christ, MSB says they had to 1)seek the Lord (many references given) and 2) call on Him while He is still available.  Lots more references given.  A good study here.  The note continues in some detail.  I would really like to look further into this difference in OT and NT salvation, since they are said to be different covenants.  The way the MSB explains it, there is not much difference at all...not enough to call it a different covenant entirely.

Rest of the chapter talks about how God's Word will go forth, and not return empty.  Comparison to rain and snow falling, watering the ground, producing growth, and then seed, so that it reproduces forever, and never fails.