When this was written, things were precarious for the nation of Israel. God had been warning them that judgment was coming. Beginning with Moses, God said that these people would depart from him and serve idols, and then he would judge them, taking them from the promised land and sending them to the nations. And this has been playing out. This is playing out now. And Isaiah is trying to say, “There is still time. Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; call to him while he is nearby.”

The next verse says, “The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle and sinful people their plans. They should return to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, and to their God, for he will freely forgive them.” He is saying time is ticking, but all is not lost. But there will be a time when God will say, “I’m not going to listen again. I’m done with these people. You’re going to get scattered throughout the nations. There is no going back.”

Jeremiah will begin to say that very clearly, and some other prophets will say, “You are not seeing correctly. God will take care of us.” He said, no, no, no, no. You have crossed the Rubicon (Jeremiah 28). There is no going back.

So this verse here—you can situate this verse in that in‑between period in which the nation of Israel was rebellious, and God was calling them back: repent. But there will be a time when the judgment will land very strongly.

Now, what does it have to do with you as a believer? It really doesn’t have anything to do with you as a believer, because Christ is the ultimate expression of God being available. For the Christian, there is no “call upon him while he is nearby.” He is always nearby. And if you think I’m lying, look at the words of Jesus. Jesus Christ said, “I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).”

God’s divine commitment to us doesn’t have an expiry date. The covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ is not conditioned on us; it is conditioned on Him, on what He has done. The covenant from Sinai says, “You people don’t rebel; otherwise that means you have broken the covenant.” No. The covenant for the Christian is something that was enacted that has nothing to do with you. “For He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love (Ephesians 1:4). He called you to be His own (2 Thessalonians 2:14) and poured His Spirit on you (Titus 3:5–6). He is committed to you. He is committed to you.

So “seek the Lord while he makes himself available” doesn’t have anything to do with you. God has made himself available. God has committed Himself to you in an irreversible way. Paul will write in the book of Romans 8: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? … In all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us. (Romans 8:35–37).”

There is no application here of “while he makes himself available.” Understanding the differences in the covenants should begin to shape how we preach and how we communicate the truth. Don’t say, “Seek the Lord while he may be found.” No. He has already committed himself. Jesus Christ said, “It is to your advantage that I am going away. For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you”—the Spirit of truth, who will abide with you forever and whom the world cannot receive (John 14:16-17, 16:7).

So this “while” does not have anything to do with you. “While He makes himself available; call to Him while he is nearby” does not have anything to do with you. You are of a new covenant as a believer. Rest in that. God bless you. See you later.