John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 55:2

"Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." — Isaiah 55:2 (ASV)

Why do you spend money? He complains of the ingratitude and madness of people, in rejecting or disdaining the kindness of God who offers all things freely, and yet greatly troubling themselves about various trifles that cannot give them any benefit. People are so enchanted by the devil that they prefer to wander through deserts and weary themselves in vain, rather than to rely on the grace that God offers to them. The experience of the present age abundantly shows that the Prophet not only reasoned earnestly with his own nation but exclaimed against all people, to whatever age they might belong; for all the descendants of Adam have been seized with such madness that, in seeking the road to a heavenly life, they completely go astray and follow their own vain opinions rather than the voice of God.

The Prophet does not complain of the laziness of those who, completely forgetful of themselves and of God, show no concern for the spiritual life of the soul (there are many such people); but he complains of those who desire life, and yet do not understand the method or way of obtaining it, and wander in uncertainty through deserts and untrodden paths.

Here, therefore, all the methods that people devise in opposition to the Word of God for obtaining salvation are condemned, and they are pronounced to be useless expenses. For by the word “money” he denotes all human industry, study, or labor. This is not because God values even a penny all our idle attempts to worship Him, but because labors foolishly undertaken are considered valuable by fleshly judgment.

And your labor, not so as to be satisfied. We see that by the word “bread” is meant here the same as was previously meant by “waters,” and that he gives the name “labor” to that which he previously called “money.” It is as if he had said, “People toil without any advantage; for, when they follow their own inventions, however eagerly they may trouble and weary themselves, they have no right to expect any reward.” Thus he affirms that those who labor in a thoughtless manner cannot “be satisfied;” for those who forsake God and attempt new methods of salvation can never “be satisfied.” They feed on wind, as Hosea says (Hosea 12:1).

They may, indeed, imagine that they are full when they are swelled with vain confidence, but are like people who, as a result of being swollen with wind, do not perceive their hunger. Yet it would be better for them to be acutely pressed by hunger and thirst, so that it might lead them to call on the Lord with earnestness of heart, as it is said in the Psalm, My soul is as a thirsty land before you (Psalms 143:6).

But bread alone, or water alone, would not be enough to “satisfy,” and by neither of them could life be supported. That is the reason why the Prophet has used a variety of terms: to show that the Lord abundantly supplies everything necessary for life, so that we may not think we should seek help from any other source.

Listen, listen to me. Because everyone is led into error by their own counsel, and all who neglect God vanish away in wicked imaginations, the Prophet here adds the remedy: we must depend entirely on the mouth of God. Whoever submits to His word will have no reason to fear that they will spend their strength on things of no value. Here we see the amazing goodness of God, who offers His grace to people, though they are unthankful and unworthy.

But He adds the condition; for the only way we can enter into life is by “hearing” Him. And as the cause of our destruction is that we are deaf to the voice of God, so the road to life is open if we listen to Him. To make a deeper impression on us, He repeats the same admonition and doubles the same word, “Listen, listen;” and, to draw us more gently, He solemnly declares that it depends entirely on us whether or not He will “delight” us even to fullness with all abundance of blessings.