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            The people of God, the southern kingdom of Judah, came to have misplaced values and suffered because of it. The Lord’s people had come to rely upon themselves, their idolatrous neighbors, and the traditions of men rather than upon God. Eventually the Lord could no longer tolerate their godlessness and they as a nation of people were carried away into Babylonian captivity. “Behold the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon, nothing shall be left, says the Lord” (Isaiah 39:8). Judah’s reliance on earthly valued had brought about destruction, and so probably while in Babylonian captivity God through Isaiah asks Judah several questions)?  that relate to their lack of spiritual values in relationship to God.
            “Why do you spend money for that is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy” (Isaiah 55:2)? Isn’t that an irony? The basic need of life that one has is bread, in order to survive, but the example is that one takes what little money that they have spending it on that which does not give life and cannot satisfy the physical need for food. The spiritual application for the people of God then and now is to “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). The people of God had become so involved in the earth-life that they did not have time for God. God continues through Isaiah by saying, “Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear to Me. Hear that your soul shall live.” (Isaiah 55:2-3). The people of God were in Babylonian captivity and for them it was a perfect time to reflect upon their spiritual error and return to God, but they needed to listen to God.
                This is a reminder of what Jesus quoted from the book of Deuteronomy when he said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). The people of God had turned aside from the word of the Lord and went their own way, the way of self-destruction.
            The people of God had, spiritually speaking, invested all that they had in this life, in that which could not satisfy spiritually, and not in the true bread, the word of God.  The message continued from God through Isaiah, “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6). The lesson is that one may wait until it is too late to call upon the Lord. Many have said in their hearts, “tomorrow”, “next week”, “when things settle down”, etc., but as the people of Judah found out, they waited too long.
            The message of God through Isaiah to the Lord’s people was that they needed to reset their values and priorities, return to the Lord, serve him, and seek the true bread. Let us seek and invest in the true bread that satisfies spiritually and eternally.