For
as the rain comes down and the snow from the sky, and doesn’t return there, but waters the earth, and makes it grow and bud, and gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so is my word that goes out of my mouth: it will not return to me void, but it will accomplish that which I please, and it will prosper in the thing I sent it to do.
Isaiah 55:10-11
Isaiah 55 [6.] Seek Yahweh while he may be found.
Call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts.
Let him return to Yahweh, and he will have mercy on him;
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
Isaiah 55 [8.] “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
and your ways are not my ways,” says Yahweh.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as the rain comes down and the snow from the sky,
and doesn’t return there, but waters the earth,
and makes it grow and bud,
and gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
so is my word that goes out of my mouth:
it will not return to me void,
but it will accomplish that which I please,
and it will prosper in the thing I sent it to do.
For you shall go out with joy,
and be led out with peace.
The mountains and the hills will break out before you into singing;
and all the trees of the fields will clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn the cypress tree will come up;
and instead of the brier the myrtle tree will come up:
and it will make a name for Yahweh,
for an everlasting sign that will not be cut off.”
Meaning:
Isaiah 55 is one of the warmest invitations in the Old Testament. Addressed to God's people facing exile and the long road home, it calls the thirsty and the hungry to come and receive freely (Isaiah 55:1), urges the wicked to return to a God who will freely pardon (Isaiah 55:6-7), and reminds them that his thoughts and ways are higher than theirs (Isaiah 55:8-9). These two verses then give the reason the invitation can be trusted: God's word is as certain and as productive as the rain and snow that water the earth.
- Rain, Snow and a Thirsty Land
Ancient Israel had no great river like the Nile or the Euphrates. Its farms depended on the rains that came in their seasons, the early rains that softened the ground for ploughing and sowing and the later rains that filled out the grain before harvest. Snow on the hills, and especially on Mount Hermon, fed springs and streams. Every farmer knew that a dry winter meant hunger, and that rain from heaven meant bread on the table.
Isaiah's picture is simple and powerful. Rain does not fall and then float back to the clouds unused. It soaks in, makes the land "grow and bud", and produces both "seed to the sower and bread to the eater": food for today and seed for next year's crop.
- The Word That Does Not Return Void
"So is my word that goes out of my mouth." When God speaks, something happens. His word created the world, called Abraham, brought Israel out of Egypt and sent prophets to call them back. Here the immediate promise is that his word of pardon and restoration to the exiles will surely come to pass, however unlikely it looked from Babylon.
The phrase "it will not return to me void" means it will not come back empty-handed. God's word is not a hopeful suggestion; it is purposeful and effective. It "will accomplish that which I please" and "prosper in the thing I sent it to do". Isaiah elsewhere says that while the grass withers, "the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8).
- From Exile to Joy
The verses that follow show what the word will produce: the people will go out with joy and be led out with peace, and creation itself will celebrate (Isaiah 55:12). The thorn and brier, signs of a land under the curse, are replaced by cypress and myrtle. God's word not only forgives; it renews.
- The Seed in the Parables of Jesus
Jesus built on this very picture when he explained the parable of the sower: "The farmer sows the word" (Mark 4:14). Some of the seed is snatched away, some withers and some is choked, yet the good ground still yields thirty, sixty and a hundred times (Mark 4:20). Isaiah assures us that the sowing is never wasted overall; God's purposes will be fulfilled. Peter likewise describes believers as born again "through the word of God, which lives and remains forever" (1 Peter 1:23).
The Significance of Isaiah 55:10-11
- Confidence in Sharing the Gospel
Christians who teach, preach, write or simply share a verse with a friend can do so with quiet confidence. We may not see the results immediately, any more than a farmer sees the grain the day after the rain, but God has promised that his word will accomplish what he intends. "So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).
- Letting the Word Soak In
Rain does good only where it soaks into the soil. In the same way, we are called to let Scripture sink into our hearts through reading, meditation and obedience: "Be doers of the word, and not only hearers" (James 1:22). The word that is living and active (Hebrews 4:12) will then bear fruit in our character and in the lives of others.
Cross-References:
Isaiah 40:8: "The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever." Human plans fade, but God’s word endures and fulfils its purpose.
Mark 4:14: "The farmer sows the word." Jesus pictures the preaching of God’s word as seed sown in the hearts of hearers.
1 Peter 1:23: "having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever." The living word is the seed of new birth, just as rain gives seed to the sower.
Hebrews 4:12: "For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword" God’s word is never inert; it penetrates and changes the heart.
Conclusion: Isaiah 55:10-11 assures us that God's word is as dependable as the rain and snow that make the earth fruitful. It brings seed for the sower and bread for the eater, pardon for the wicked and joy for the exile. Whether we are hearing the word or sharing it, we can trust that it will not return to God empty, but will accomplish all that he pleases.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible