the Last Week after Epiphany
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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You without money, come, buy, and eat! (Isaiah 55:1)
The prophet presents us with a choice: to partake freely of the true water that will satisfy us, or to "spend money for what isn't food, your wages for what doesn't satisfy?" (Isaiah 55:2)
The Midrash (traditional commentary) tells us that the water is Torah; "the words of Torah are free; as it is said, 'Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye for water'" (Numbers Rabbah 1:7). God's Word is free, but we must actively receive it. Why do we often spurn this gift for things that ultimately prove to be empty? Isaiah gives us a hint: "Let the wicked person abandon his way and the evil person his thoughts" (Isaiah 55:7). "His way" in Hebrew means his own path, the ingrained habits that distract him, keeping him from spending time studying Scripture. We do not come and drink because we are engaged in too many other activities. We have established pathways in our lives that do not pass by the well of Torah. "His thoughts" refers to inner attitudes and values, many of which do not line up with God's teaching.
We do not come to God's Word because we do not consider it genuinely important. We need to forsake the habits and thoughts that sidetrack us so that we may drink deeply and steadily from Scripture.
...see what activities I can reduce so that I may have more time and energy for studying God's Word.
RR
The Voice of the Lord, Copyright © 1998 by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation, Inc. Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers, Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part of this article may be reproduced in print or on the web, or transmitted in any form, without the written permission of the publisher.
