Isaiah 55:1 Say there! Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink---even if you have no money!...Why spend your money on foodstuffs that don’t give you strength? Why pay for groceries that don’t do you any good? [Living Bible Translation]
Summary
Isaiah was a prophet of GOD. He lived about 700 years before JESUS CHRIST. The name “Isaiah” means “the salvation of GOD.” Some call Isaiah a “Messianic Prophet” because of his many prophecies that were fulfilled in JESUS. Some refer to his as an “Evangelical Prophet” because his message, like his name, centered on the salvation of the LORD.
A.J. Holman Company’s, Smith Bible Dictionary, complied by Dr. William Smith describes Isaiah’s prophesies as three-fold:
- To detect, reprove, and condemn the sins of the Jews in particular, also those of Israel, and of several surrounding nations, denouncing the severest judgments on all offenders.
- To invite persons of every rank and condition, Jews and Gentiles, to repentance and reformation.
- To comfort all the truly pious with prophetic promises of the Messiah.
Many classify Isaiah 55:1 as an invitation---“An Invitation to Salvation.” Isaiah is inviting all to experience the blessings of salvation. HE invites all to the come to CHRIST, the messiah, the open FOUNTAIN, the smitten ROCK, and invites all to drink.
Salvation in CHRIST is free to all.
Thinking about this invitation, we are reminded of the Samaritan woman, who CHRIST gave an invitation of living water. (John 4:7-17). We are reminded of the healing, living water that JESUS offered the man who had been sitting by the Bethesda Pool for 38 years, unable to enter the nearby physical water. (John 5: 5:9) He was physically or mentally unable to do much of anything, until JESUS invited him to pick up his mat and walk. We are also reminded how JESUS became “THE BREAD of LIFE” during the Passover meal, inviting all to take and eat. (Matthew 26:26)
Despite the need for A SAVIOR, the need for A HEALER, the need for “BREAD of LIFE,” Isaiah, points out that many still choose “Junk Food”---“food” with no nutritional value. Asking what seems like a rhetorical questions, Isaiah asks: Why would anyone pray for groceries that basically do you no good? Isaiah asks: Why would anyone buy “Junk Food?”
An Invitation to Good Health
Wikipedia defines “Junk Food” as:
a pejorative term for cheap food containing high levels of calories from sugar or fat with little fiber, protein, vitamins or minerals. Use of the term implies that a particular food has little "nutritional value" and contains excessive fat, sugar, salt, and calories.
Andrew F. Smith in the book Encyclopedia of Junk Food and Fast Food defines “Junk Food” as
[T]hose commercial products, including candy, bakery goods, ice cream, salty snacks, and soft drinks, which have little or no nutritional value but do have plenty of calories, salt, and fats.
Other foods that have made the “Junk Food” list include: gum, sweet desserts, fried fast foods, high-fructose corn syrup and sugary breakfast cereals. When junk food is consumed very often, the excess carbohydrates, sugar, fat and salt and calories can lead to unhealthy conditions, such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions.
Elaine Magee, MPH, RD, in “Junk Food Facts” adds chips, cheese puffs, candy bars, snack cakes and cookies to her list of “snack foods.” In her article she also mentions fast foods like French fries, chicken nuggets, shakes and soda. She points out that between 1977 and 1996, the contribution of snack calories to the total caloric intake for American children between 2 and increased by 30%. Often children are the targets of many of the fast food ads. Many researchers suggest that watching fast foods ads encourages children to eat more fast food.
In a study performed by researchers at the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom, 60 children, aged 9 to 11 were exposed to food advertisements and toy advertisements, followed by cartoons and free food. The researchers found that the children ate more after the food advertisements than after the toy commercials. Obese children in the study increased their food consumption the most (134%) after watching the food ads, compared to the overweight children (101%) and the normal-weight children (84%).
Elaine Magee suggests that we all need to protect ourselves and our children by:
- Providing and encouraging health foods (fruits, vegetables, freshly squeezed orange juice or other healthy beverages) in our homes;
- Allowing children and limiting our own hours of commercial TV where junk food commercial ads are likely to be aired.
- Buying and looking for products low in sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils.
We can all try to educate and encourage ourselves and our family members of the importance of healthy living, exercise and mindful eating. We can all extend an invitation to strive for good health!
The Importance of The Invitation
All too often in our rush to get home, in the rush to leave for Sunday School, or to beat the rush to the parking lot, we often overlook the importance of “The Invitation” or “The Call To Christian Discipleship.”
Many times in our day or day activities, we simply forget about “The Power of the Invitation.” As one writer put it, we often forget that “The lost are waiting for an invitation.”
Every week we are invited to conduct a spiritual and physical examination. If you have friends of relatives you want to share these Wednesday messages, you invite them to look introspectively and reach out to other family and friends too.
On Wednesday, examine everything you eat. Make sure it is of nutritional value. Don’t pay for groceries or food that won’t do you or anyone else in your family any good.
Pray for an evangelistic spirit. Think about who you might “Extend An Invitation.” Perhaps you can invite a family member to church. Perhaps you can invite a neighbor or a co-worker or invite someone living in the neighborhood of your place of worship to come visit.
There are a lot of thirsty people just waiting for an invitation.
Today, remember Isaiah’s invitation to live.
Let us all strive for greater physical and spiritual health for ourselves, our children and each other---and BE BLESSED!
