Fourth Sunday in Lent | Day Twenty-six of Forty

Isaiah the prophet declares “Seek the Lord” (Isaiah 55:6a).  That’s not bad advice.  In a time of turmoil and unrest, and seeking, perhaps after the wrong things in life, it is good to hear an old word that is so refreshing for a new day like ours.  Seek the Lord.  That is the epitome of our seeking.  It doesn’t get any better than that.  What an invitation!  What a challenge!  It’s better than a number sixteen seed seeking to defeat a number one seed in the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament that begins in just a week and a half.  It’s better than an old distance runner like me seeking to win my age division or just finish with a good time and no injuries!

Jesus People are to be a seeking people and here in the last chapter of the second section of Isaiah that may be discovered.  The Book of Isaiah is divided into three sections:  Chapters 1-39; 40-55; and 56-66.  Often they are referenced as First Isaiah, Second Isaiah, and Third Isaiah.  Each section has a unique function.  In Second Isaiah, the people of God are exiled in Babylonia. Isaiah offers this bewildered people words of consolation and hope.  One of my Old Testament seminary professors, the late Page Kelley, titles Isaiah 55“The Great Invitation” as do other scholars.  And what an invitation it is!

After seventy years of exile the Prophet invites them to return to Jerusalem.  Given the Babylonians are no longer a threat, due to their defeat by Cyrus the Great of Persia, the Hebrews face a choice around 540 BC.  Do they remain in Babylon or receive Cyrus’ pronouncement granting them permission to go home?  This is not an easy choice, either.  The Jewish historian, Josephus, sheds some light on this.  After fifty plus years of exile they have established ties and relationships there.  They really haven’t been mistreated.  They’ve even been allowed to obtain property and participate in business.  Many, Josephus notes, chose to remain.  The reluctance to commence the grueling trip to Jerusalem forms the background of this “great invitation” to return.

So Isaiah pleads with them to return immediately.  A disobedient spirit is threatening their very existence as the people of God.  A glorious future awaits them, but only if they obey the Lord.  Isaiah may be saying something like, “Are you really satisfied with just this?  Is this all you are seeking – the good life in Babylon?  You really need to seek the true riches God has provided for you.”

I can’t help but wonder about that for which we are seeking.

Do we hear the series of commands in this text – “come… buy… eat… listen… incline… seek… call… forsake… return” – reminding us of the generosity of God?  We do have a tendency to seek the wrong things – fame, success, wealth, possessions, knowledge, and pleasure to name a few – as if these can bring satisfaction.  Only God can gratify the unfathomable innermost necessities of the human spirit.  Isaiah mentions “water… wine and milk… bread…” and “rich food” (vv. 1-2), which are symbols of the spiritual nourishment offered to those who live in fellowship with God.

“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near…” (v. 6), because, as the text implies, He may not always be found and may not always be near.  Let us seek the Lord in waiting and repentance during this days of Lent.  In doing so we’ll discover His pardoning mercy, which allows for our minds and hearts to be opened up to the ways and thoughts of God.  Now there is a novel idea:  the ways and thoughts of God instead of our own.

Father Roc O’Connor wrote “Seek the Lord.”  It is sung by the St. Louis Jesuits.  It is two minutes thirty-four seconds.

There are two worship gatherings at Garden Lakes Baptist Church Rome, GA – 8:45 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.  Bible Study is at 9:45 a.m.  My sermon this morning is an expansion of these reflections.  Titled “A Seeking Community”, it is the third in a series of four sermons for four of the six Sundays in Lent under the theme, “Community Authentically Focused on Christ Jesus the Lord.”  It is based on Isaiah 55:1-9 and Matthew 6:33.  The church will also observe the Lord’s Supper in both worship gatherings this morning.

Next Lord’s Day, March 13, 2016 – the Fifth Sunday in Lent – I will be installed as the Ninth Senior Pastor of Garden Lakes Baptist Church.  There will be only one worship gathering next Sunday at 11:00 a.m.  A Reception will be held for my wife, Jackie, and me from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the church’s Fellowship Hall, welcoming us to Garden Lakes, and the community of Rome and Floyd County.