Commentary on Isaiah 55:10-13

Waiting on God can be especially difficult amid life’s trials and tribulations. Therefore, it is no surprise that words meant to offer comfort and affirm God’s presence are hard to hear and receive when we are caught in the throes of our own personal tsunamis. 

Yet, the prophetic voice in Isaiah 55 does just that—brings a word of comfort that rings out as good news—good news to the exiles who may have been questioning whether their God was still with them. This word of comfort begins with an unusual invitation to dine. “Come, you that have no money, buy and eat” (Isaiah 55:1). Come, you whose priorities and values are misplaced. “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your earnings for that which does not satisfy?” (55:2a). God issues a universal invitation: Come … no banquet ticket required; your participation is not determined by your economic status; all are welcome to join in the feast of the Lord. 

Here in Isaiah, the sovereign God who spoke the world into existence in Genesis 1 is the same God who now speaks of the exiles’ celebratory return to their homeland. Like their ancestors, who once found God’s favor in the days of King David, these descendants—displaced during the Babylonian exile—would also experience God’s mercy and grace. Yet, the people of God could not ignore the call to repentance in Isaiah 55:6–7. “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them.” 

Within this call to repentance and offer of renewal and restoration is a clear message: Israel’s salvation is yours if you want it.  

God grounds the promise and assurance of restoration in God’s own nature, reminding the exiles (and us) that divine thoughts are not like human thoughts (Isaiah 55:8a), and God’s ways are far beyond human ways (55:9). Unlike humans—whose relationship with the truth is often complicated—God does not lie (Numbers 23:19). The tone of the text is uplifting and celebratory. God is a promise keeper, faithful and true. When God says, “My word shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11), God has a whole universe that gives testimony to the truth of this claim. Just as God watered the earth and made it fruitful, God’s word will bear fruit among these people. 

In other words, God does not speak empty, hollow, or vain words, but words filled with purpose—words of life, words that engender hope and the promise of a secure future (Jeremiah 29:11). These are not promises of a life free from struggle, but of a life where God’s presence ensures victory even in the midst of struggle. Yes, God is about to do something in the life of the exiles. The people will go out with joy, and even the mountains will burst out in singing (Isaiah 55:12). The ugliness of the thorns and briers is to be replaced with the beauty of the cypress and myrtle (55:13), all of creation becoming a memorial, a testimony to the goodness and faithfulness of God.

King Cyrus’s decree opened the way for the exiles to return home—God had fulfilled the divine promise. Just as the exiles in Babylon discovered God’s faithfulness, we can trust in God’s word as a beacon of hope during uncertain and troubling times. God’s promise to be with us is fulfilled in the incarnation of God’s Son, Jesus Christ—an enduring witness that God’s word does not return empty. As the Gospel of John declares:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. (John 1:1–4)

Jesus Christ, the Word of God, spoke to the wind and waves, calming both the sea and the frightened disciples traveling upon it. The Word of God spoke, and Lazarus shed his grave clothes and returned to life. The Word of God accomplished the purpose for which God sent him to redeem and restore humanity’s relationship with God.  

So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)  

Though spoken long ago, these words remain a source of comfort today, for they come from a God whose Word never fails.