Grow Guide | December 12, 2021
Rebuilding Hope
Isaiah 55:1-13
Connecting Questions
Have you ever been to an open market where vendors are selling things and calling out to get your attention? What was that like?
How would you describe your ideal landscape?
Context
In this third week of Rebuilding Hope we come to the prophet Isaiah. Like all prophets, Isaiah speaks truth to power in grandiose poetic language and imagery. Isaiah is different from other prophets, however, because he is not one man. The man named Isaiah lived in Jerusalem during the invasion of the Assyrian army and predicted the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon. He painted images of destruction and future hope for the people of Jerusalem. He wrote chapters 1-39. His disciples wrote the rest of the book, in his voice, a century later, after the people had endured the exile and were returning to Jerusalem.
Chapter 55, our text this week, marks the end of a section that talks about how the coming Messiah will be a suffering servant, give his life for the people, and establish a new kingdom (chapters 49-55). It is a beautiful poem that paints a picture of God’s vision for a preferred and promised future.
Look at the Book
Read Isaiah 55:1-5. How would you describe the voice of the speaker in this passage? What is the speaker calling the reader to do?
Read Isaiah 55:6-7. What types of people are contrasted in these verses?
Read Isaiah 55:8-11. List all the ways that God and creation are described in these verses.
Read Isaiah 55:12-13. How is the world described in these verses? Think about how much pain and suffering the Israelites had experienced in the past century, during the invasion and exile. How might these words have impacted them?
Taking it Home
What parts of the world might need to read this vision of God’s preferred and promised future? Describe the pain they currently feel and how this vision might bring hope.
Think about your own life. In what ways do you have dark, desolate places that need to hear, “you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace” today?
How does this text help us Rebuild Hope?
