MUSIC FROM HOME

In October 1985, a humpback whale swam away from its pod and into the San Francisco Bay. He became disoriented and swam up the Sacramento River Delta. Scientists and boaters tried everything they could think of to turn the whale around, but he kept swimming upstream, eventually passing Antioch. The whale, affectionately named "Humphrey," remained in the delta for 25 days. Only when recorded "music" from a whale pod was played underwater did Humphrey begin swimming toward the ocean. As he got closer to the ocean, it was said that he could smell the salt water and was steaming toward home.

Like Humphrey, some of you have lost your way, and you’re wondering if you can find your way back home. The prophet Isaiah today will play some music from home for you. Listen carefully, and see if it sounds familiar. See of it stirs up a longing for something that feels like home. It’s really music from God. The Lord calls us to seek him—to return to him—and gives us everything we need to do so.

The passage in Isaiah 55:6-13 consists of four sections. In the first section, Isaiah challenges us to seek the Lord. The next three sections, in which the Lord himself speaks, all begin with the word "for." Each section provides a reason why we should seek the Lord. Each section also employs an illustration from nature.

This passage concludes the great section in Isaiah that spans chapters 40 through 55 and which focuses on the Servant of the Lord, who effects the return from exile.

Now that the Lord has extended the invitation to us to come to him (verses 1 through 5), Isaiah adds his own exhortation to respond. He tells us to seek the Lord and to call on the Lord. The Lord is not hiding. The Lord is inviting. He is there to be found by those who seek him, by those who move toward him with the intention of meeting him (Deuteronomy 12:5). To call upon the Lord is to pray. Praying is integral to seeking. We ask that he would reveal himself to us that we may know him.

Isaiah notes, however, that we should seek and call while the Lord may be found and while he is near. The implication is that he may not always be found, that he may not always be near. Isaiah was preaching ahead of time to the exiles in Babylon. The Lord said he would send Israel into exile if it chose other gods. He also said, "But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him if you search for him with all your heart and soul" (Deuteronomy 4:29). Isaiah exhorts each individual exile to seek the Lord. When they were in exile, and when they heard the Lord’s invitation through Isaiah—that was the time when the Lord could be found.

For us, when may the Lord be found? When is he near? Exile doesn’t seem to be a problem. You may feel far from the Lord, as the exiles did, but that doesn’t limit your ability to find the Lord if you seek him and call on him. If you are hearing the invitation to come to the Lord and dine with him today, the time to move toward the Lord and pray to him is…today. It is possible that the Lord may be found tomorrow, that he may be near tomorrow. But you don’t know that. "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away" (James 4:14). What you do know is if you hear the Lord’s invitation to come to him today and it grabs your heart, the Lord may be found; the Lord is near.

Many people who feel God tugging at their hearts put him off and say they’ll seek him later. They first want to concentrate on supposedly more pressing matters (launching a career, making money, buying a home, finding a mate, rearing children) or pleasurable matters (recreational endeavors, sowing all the wild oats in the basket). But when the time comes when they thought they would be ready to pursue spiritual things, they’ve already become entrenched in a lifestyle that’s difficult to leave.

In the parable Jesus told that communicated his invitation to the great feast that the Lord was throwing, people found all sorts of reasons for declining: "I have bought a piece of land and I need to go and look at it." "I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out." "I have married a wife." Jesus concludes the parable with these words: "For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner" (Luke 14:15-24).

Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today if you don’t know whether you’ll be able to do it tomorrow. Seek the Lord and call on him today. Don’t put it off.

Something else is necessary if we are to seek the Lord and call on him. We must leave some things behind. Isaiah calls on the wicked to forsake his way and the unrighteous to forsake his thoughts. Thoughts govern ways. One’s thoughts form one’s philosophy, which dictates lifestyle and actions. The only reason we hold onto our sinful thoughts and ways is that we think they will give us life, however we define it. The Lord says, "Incline your ear and come to me. Listen, that you may live" (Isaiah 55:3). These sinful thoughts and ways are often deeply held beliefs and firmly established patterns. That’s why it seems so difficult to abandon them. At first, the thought of abandoning them seems as if it would lead to death, not life. Without realizing it, we’ve become dependent on sin. But if you keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground, you will see and hear that your sinful way is leading to death, and that you will need to take a different path. You cannot seek the Lord and defend sin at the same time. The Lord will not be found in sin. He may be found at the end of your sin, when you acknowledge that your path is leading to nowhere good, but he will not be found in it.

When we realize that we’ve pursued the path of sin, and when we stop defending the rightness of that path, we hear the Lord calling us to take another path. It’s the road back to him. But if the Lord cannot be found in sin, and we’ve spent a good deal of time there, how can we be sure he will accept us when we return to him? Isaiah tells us that when we return to the Lord, he will "have compassion" on us and that our God will "abundantly pardon" us. If you’re afraid you can’t really come back because you’ve gone too far, you need to know that the Lord’s tender compassion is kindled by the mere sight of you in the distance as you begin heading home, and that his heart will overflow with forgiveness. After all, he is the Lord "our God" who has made our welfare his personal concern. It is what he’s been after all along. It’s what Genesis 4 through Revelation are all about. Paul says "where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (Romans 5:20). He says the love of Christ "surpasses knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19)—it surpasses our comprehension of love. It abundantly pardons. When we return to the Lord, we find what we wanted our sinful thoughts and ways to give us: We find love.

Some of us are defending sinful thoughts and ways while at the same time thinking we’re seeking the Lord. We’re kidding ourselves. Attending church services, Bible studies and the like are what we do in order to kid ourselves. During a five-year period in my life, I went to church services and Bible studies and involved myself in all sorts of supposedly spiritual activities. All the while I was walking away from the Lord, and I didn’t even know it. I didn’t know it because I didn’t want to know it. My way wasn’t obviously rebellious. I wasn’t sprinting away from the Lord; I was inching away from him. On the outside, my life still conformed to the expectations of Christian morality. On the inside, I wasn’t sure what I believed and I began walking down another path.

Only when that path led me not to the life I counted on but to despair did I realize that I had been walking away from the Lord. When I returned to the Lord, he was there. In his compassion, in his overflowing heart to forgive, he was there. It really wasn’t such a long road back. All I really had to do was turn around. When I turned around, the Lord was there. He must have been following me all along. Goodness and mercy were following me (Psalm 23:6). Compassion was expressed. Forgiveness was extended. My God was just waiting for me to turn around.

In this section, the Lord explains why it is necessary for us to forsake our sinful thoughts and ways.

The Lord distinguishes between his thoughts and our thoughts, his ways and our ways. His thoughts and ways are "higher" than our thoughts and ways. He uses the difference in height between the heavens and the earth to illustrate the gap between his thoughts and ways and our thoughts and ways.

The question that jumps out at us from these verses is: "How are the Lord’s thoughts and ways different from ours?" Isaiah has just used the words "way" and "thoughts" in verse 7. He spoke of those whose "way" was wicked and whose thoughts were "unrighteous." The Lord’s thoughts are not unrighteous. The Lord’s ways are not wicked. They are infinitely higher. His thoughts and ways are good and pure and holy and beautiful. That’s how his thoughts and ways are different.

If we see his thoughts and ways in this light, it should stop us in our tracks. A glimpse of his holiness—the total "otherness" of his goodness—should shake us up. It should show us the difference between the Lord and us. It should show us our need to return to him. We think that the Lord would want to align himself with our thoughts. We think that he would jump at the chance to endorse our supposedly just causes. It’s easy to think that way until we get a glimpse of his holiness. When we understand something of his holiness, we understand that we must forsake our ways. In persecuting followers of Jesus, Saul of Tarsus thought he was doing God’s work—until he ran into Jesus on the road to Damascas (Acts 9:1-9).

If our thoughts and ways are sinful, and if we recognize our need to return to the Lord, whose thoughts and ways are good, we must acknowledge our thoughts and ways as sinful and stop defending them. That does not mean that our thoughts and ways must be as good as the Lord’s in order for us to return to him. The Lord is asking us to return to him just as we are. He has already told us that he will have compassion on us, that he will abundantly pardon. We do not have to have our lives together in order to return to the Lord. We return to the Lord because we realize that our lives are not together.

A funny thing happens when you return to the Lord, however. The Holy Spirit teaches you about Jesus (John 16:13-14). You are "renewed in the spirit of your mind" (Ephesians 4:23). This renewal is according to the image of God (Colossians 3:10). You are "conformed to the image of his Son" (Romans 8:29). If you start spending time with the Lord, you start picking up some of his thoughts and ways. You find that you start thinking and acting like God—like Jesus. We return to the Lord as we are, but we don’t remain as we are.

This primarily concerns the way you think about and act toward people. The Lord is compassionate. The Lord abundantly pardons. We are given a new way to look at people—a compassionate, forgiving way—and we must act with respect to that new way.

After Jesus arranged for a miraculous catch of fish, Peter knew that he was in the presence of something greater than himself. He recognized his sinful thoughts and ways. He fell down at Jesus’ feet and said, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." Jesus did not depart. Instead, he told Peter, "Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men" (Luke 5:1-11). Jesus would teach Peter to think and act differently—to think and act like God. He does the same for us.

In the previous section, the Lord said his thoughts and ways were higher than ours as the heavens are higher than the earth. Although we are arrested by the difference, the Lord arrests us only to show us the need for returning to him. He wants to be found. Once again, heaven and earth are used in an illustration. But this time, heaven is coming to earth. The Lord, with thoughts and ways as high as the heavens, comes down to earth. He may be found. He is near.

Rain and snow come from heaven to water the earth, causing growth that produces bread for food and seed for more food. The Lord says that his word is like precipitation. It comes not from the sky but from his mouth, and it accomplishes what he desires; it succeeds.

Two questions jump out from these verses. 1) What constitutes the Lord’s word? 2) What does he accomplish with his word?

What has the Lord been saying, either directly or through Isaiah, in this chapter? In verses 1 through 5 he told Israel to stop eating what does not satisfy and instead feast on him. Four times he says "come," which means "come to me" (verse 3). In this passage, he tells us to seek him, forsaking our thoughts and ways, and to return to him, where we’ll receive compassion and forgiveness. The word of the Lord is the message calling us to turn from our sinful ways and turn toward him. That’s what the word is, and that’s what it accomplishes. The Lord desires that men and women come to him. His word beckons them, and it succeeds. They come.

What is it that the Lord "desires"? He desires you. Isn’t that what we really want? We want to be desired. The Lord himself desires us. We are the dry ground that is thirsty for the rain of a good word. We’re thirsty for someone to desire us, to truly want us, with all our flaws, idiosyncrasies and doubts. We’re thirsty for compassion and forgiveness. The word comes from the Lord himself: "Come to me. I desire you. I love you. I forgive you." We’ve been waiting all our lives for this word. No wonder it accomplishes what he desires! No wonder it succeeds in the matter for which he sent it!

You may not think you have it in you to truly come to him, to truly seek him with all your heart, to truly return to him. You’re right. It’s the Lord himself who enables you to return to him. He helps us. He sends his word—the call to turn to him. It brings with it the power to enable us to turn to the Lord.

The Lord is so serious about this that he sends not only prophets but his own Son, whom John calls "the Word." "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). The Word made a journey from heaven to earth. What did he say? He told Israel to "repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15)—and he tells us to do so as well. The Word came from God to call the world back to God. Jesus suffered for that message and died for that message. And as his arms are spread apart on that piece of wood, what is God saying to us? This: "Please come home. My arms are open wide." That’s the word that has the power to bring you to God. God came near that he might be found.

Jesus came forth from God, and he did not return to God empty, without accomplishing what God desired, without succeeding in the matter for which he sent him. The word, then, as it calls us to the Lord, turns the parched ground of our hearts into a garden of the Lord. We bear and sprout, and furnish seed to the sower and bread to the eater. Desired people are fruitful people. We become a blessing to others.

In so many ways, the word is about Jesus, and Jesus is calling us to God. Read the word looking for Jesus and listening for the voice of God calling you back to him. And here is the word, coming from the mouth of God, through the pages of the prophet, calling you to return to the Lord.

The journey back to the Lord will be cause for so much celebration that it will be, metaphorically, accompanied by joy and led by peace. Joy and peace are markers of the new age. It’s as if joy will take us by the hand and peace will show us the way. We’ll "go out of" the wicked ways and unrighteous thoughts that held us captive. Being released from sin and returning to the Lord is joyous. The presence of the Lord is where we find peace. The Lord himself, here seen as peace, leads us back to him, just as he led Israel in the wilderness. When we return to the Lord, joy and peace join us for the journey. There is no lasting joy or peace in sin. When we make those first steps back to the Lord, they may be fearful ones, but the longing for joy and peace that are real and that last pulls us along. Jesus gives us joy that will not be taken from us (John 16:22) and peace that transcends circumstances (John 16:33).

Once again, Isaiah uses exodus language. The Lord will release Israel from bondage in Babylon, just as he released her from bondage to Egypt, and will lead her through the wilderness. The Lord releases us from bondage to sin and leads us to his presence (Romans 6:5-11).

In verses 12 and 13, the Lord once again uses illustrations from nature. The mountains and hills, which would normally be obstacles in the way of the exiles’ return, will instead break forth into shouts of joy. The trees of the field will join in with applause. Creation takes note of our return to the Lord and celebrates. Creation, longing to be ruled over wisely by God’s people, awaits its own release into joy and peace (Romans 8:19-22). Even creation itself is waiting for us to return to the Lord. When we do, it rejoices.

The obstacles in our way may seem as insurmountable as hills and mountains, but they move aside and even break forth into shouts of joy as we pass. If you hear the Lord calling you back to him, and you really want to return, nothing can stand in your way. The Lord turns barriers into bridges. But he doesn’t do so until you move forward.

Deep in our hearts, we want someone to applaud for us. As you seek the Lord, picture the hills and mountains breaking forth into shouts of joy and the trees of the field clapping their hands. I’ve noticed that when I slow down, when I seek the Lord and when I’m in nature, my senses become tuned to creation. I’m sensitive to sights and sounds and smells that I’m normally ignorant of. There’s an enormous party going on around us all the time. Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps they’re singing and dancing and beaming and clapping for you?

Once the exiles return to the land, they will find cypresses instead of thorn bushes and myrtles instead of nettles. The land will be a garden, not a wasteland. This again is reminiscent of the exodus. The Lord led the people out of Egypt and into the promised land, which is described as a garden. Humanity was exiled from the garden in Eden. The Lord is committed to bringing humanity back to the garden—a garden that’s bigger and better than the one in Eden. The Lord led Israel into the garden, but like Adam before her, she was exiled.

The return of the exiles after 70 years in Babylon was not marked by the miraculous events described by Isaiah, not even metaphorically. The language, once again, speaks of a greater and grander return from exile—the true return to the Lord accomplished by the Servant of the Lord, Jesus Christ. In this new exodus, the Lord leads us back, by a miraculously transformed way, to the new and better garden.

Because of Adam’s sin, the ground was cursed, and it grew thorns (Genesis 3:17-18). Isaiah envisions a reversal of the cruse, when nature will be completely cooperative and men will no longer toil by the sweat of their brow. The new Jerusalem, which will cover the entire earth, is described as a garden by John (Revelation 21:1-22:5). This will happen because Jesus bore the curse. It is no accident that the crown that Jesus wore was composed of thorns. He visited a garden, but he knew he couldn’t stay there (John 18:1, Mark 14:32-42). Unlike Adam and Israel, he obeyed God in the garden. He left voluntarily and bore the cross. He wore the crown of thorns so that we could sit under the cypress.

So we are on our way back to the new and better and bigger garden. But like the Israelites in the wilderness, we have tasted the fruit of the promised land (Deuteronomy 1:25). The Holy Spirit is given to us now as a pledge, or down payment, of our eternal inheritance (Ephesians 1:14). In the present, we experience something of what it will be like to be with the Lord in the new garden. When we return to the Lord, the future comes forward into the present, and we taste the fruit of the garden.

All this will be a memorial to the Lord. Conquerors in the ancient world would set up monuments to tell of their victories and preserve their names. The Lord’s monument is what he does for those he loves. The Lord makes himself known by what he does in our lives, by how he rescues us from sin and leads us to freedom and causes us to live in his garden forever. These things are what the Lord wants to be known for—the things he does for us. People want to be known for what is most meaningful to them. The Lord is no different. What’s most meaningful to the Lord is you. And he wants to be forever known for his commitment to your welfare.

What’s keeping you from returning to the Lord, from seeking him with all your heart? Is it sin you don’t want to part with? Is it a dream you think God would take from you if you gave your heart fully to him? Do you think he won’t give you what you really want? Is it fear of what he might ask you to do? Fear of what others would think? Fear of losing control? Are you afraid he won’t accept you? Are you afraid you won’t be disciplined enough to continue seeking him once you return? Is it pride?

Whatever it is, God is calling you to seek him. You need to seek him, because your sinful ways are not his holy ways. He helps you seek him through the power of his word that calls you back to him. You have incentive to seek him—the joy and peace and applause and garden and significance that await your return.

The garden is our home. We left it long ago, because we didn’t want anything to do with the one who resided there: God. We’ve been away a long time. Our memories are faint. We’re not sure what home is anymore, where it is, or how to find our way back there. Every so often, though, we hear music that reminds us of home, and desire surges within us. God, the ageless musician, keeps playing the songs of the garden, hoping that we will hear them and return to him. Do you hear the music? Follow it home.

Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ("NASB"). © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Where indicated, Scripture quotations were also taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ("NIV"). © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

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