133. Delight in Fatness
Isaiah 55:2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? And your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
“Hearken diligently” = Listen attentively = Believe in Jesus. This is the condition for the promise. The promise is eating what is good and delighting in fatness. Blessing comes from believing. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Faith comes by hearing, hearing the Gospel. Listening involves obeying and doing what He says. Keeping the Law of God will always result in blessings and good things. Disobeying the Law always results in curses and bad things. We sinners cannot hearken, that is, listen and obey. But the Messiah will keep the law perfectly in our place and do it for us. By faith in Christ we are accounted righteous, that is, in Christ we have perfectly kept the Law. Therefore, we enjoy the benefits and blessings of listening and obeying God. Jesus did it for us.
We try and try; we sacrifice and give money; we labor and struggle, we do good works and try to love God and our neighbor: but it is all in vain. We get nothing for all our effort and labor; it does not satisfy. Sincere effort and doing the best you can and getting an “A” for effort does not gain God’s favor and blessing. The good news is that good works are rewarded, that labor and hard work do earn a good salary, that you get what you pay for, that keeping perfectly the whole law does bring eternal life. The bad news is that none of us can do it. We utterly fail. We are frustrated. But the Good News of the Gospel is that Jesus did it for us and gave the benefits to us.
The blessings of Christ’s work that are given to us by faith include that which is good and it delights the soul. We get to eat what both tastes good and is good for you (a difficult combination to cook up in our culinary world). The forgiveness of sins, the life and love of God, and salvation from sin and evil is both nourishing and tasty. The soul delights in the fatness. This “fatness” tastes good and gives the added benefit of being healthy, nourishing, and good for you. Just think: eat the fat without clogging the arteries. This builds up and strengthens the soul as it gives delight. This wonderful promise makes us yearn to hear the Gospel in clear and sharp terms. The forgiveness of sins feels good. Enjoy it.