In the book of Isaiah, the prophet speaks of the coming destruction by Assyria and Babylon. He warns the people of and seeks to prepare the people for it. The book of Isaiah also reveals hope in the coming of the new kingdom and King (Christ and the Church). There is much emphasis placed upon faith in the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 55, Isaiah extends an invitation to come to God. In verse 6, he reveals some specifics of this invitation.

 

1) The Task: “Seek Ye” As in many instances found in the Bible, it is man’s responsibility to come to God. Jesus told His listeners during the Sermon on the Mount that they were to “seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus extends the great invitation by saying “come unto me”. These are simply two of many examples that show that man is responsible for coming to God. The concept that “God does it all” is a faulty one. Man is the one who moves away from God, not the other way around (Isaiah 59:1-2). Therefore, it is man’s responsibility to come back to God; just as it is man’s responsibility to come to God in the first place (Acts 17:26-27)!

 

2) The Target: “The Lord” Solomon was a man who spent his entire life seeking for the source of true happiness. He followed after the same things that the world tells us today will make a man happy. He found that all of these things in end were just “vanity”. His ultimate conclusion was that the sole purpose of man was to “fear God and keep His commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). It is only in God that we can find true joy and eternal peace. Therefore, God must be the one that we are seeking after. However, we must be seeking God according to His terms! In the same sermon in which Jesus instructed us to “seek” God first, He instructs us that only those who are obedient to God’s commands will enter into heaven (Matthew 7:21). We must be sure that we are seeking the proper target and doing so by the proper terms.

 

3) The Timing: “While He May Be Found”. We know “what” we are to do. We know “who” we are to seek, but now we have to answer the question of “when”? Paul said that NOW is the time to obey (2 Corinthians 6:2). Why all the urgency from Paul? Paul understood that time is not a guarantee. We have no idea when we will be leaving this earth (James 4:13-14). Therefore, we need to take advantage of the time that we do have. If there are any changes that we need to make, now is the time to make them. If we have never obeyed the gospel, now is the time to do so. Once this life is over it will be too late (Luke 17). We must be sure that we do not follow after the example of Agrippa. One of the saddest statements found in the entire Bible is made by Agrippa after hearing the gospel preached; “Almost”. “Almost cannot avail, almost is but to fail.”