ISAIAH 43: “The Lord Will Be With His People Through The
Waters And The Fire”
By
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In our last study we looked
at how Isaiah now introduces us to God’s “ideal servant”
1.1.1.
Isaiah had already mentioned
others as being the servant of the Lord, however we saw God’s perfect servant
begin to be portrayed
1.1.2.
Isaiah we saw will continue
to develop this theme of the “ideal servant” throughout the rest of his book
1.1.3.
Again we saw that Isaiah was
writing to encourage a generation of yet unborn Judeans who are living in
Babylonian captivity some 100+ years after his writing
1.2.
In our study today we are
going to look at chapter 43 and the continued theme that Isaiah is building to
encourage a not yet born generation of Judeans living 100+ years after his
writing and whom the Lord will deliver from Babylonian captivity
1.2.1.
The Lord encourages captive
Judea that He has created, formed, and called them by name, and that they
belong to Him
1.2.2.
The Lord encourages captive
Judea that He will be with them when they leave Babylon, for He will make a
path for them through the wilderness so they can safely walk, rivers in the
desert for them to drink, and bring them safely back to their homeland
1.2.3.
The Lord declares to
2.
VS 43:1-4 - “1 But now, thus says the Lord,
your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O
2.1.
Again we are made aware in this chapter as in
the last two chapters, that Isaiah is writing to a yet unborn generation of
Judeans and he is seeking to encourage them in their Babylonian captivity
(which he prophesied to occur) that the Lord will yet bring them out of their
captivity and restore them to their land.
2.1.1.
The Judeans would need much encouragement
there in
2.1.1.1.They
would need to be encouraged that God was still their God.
2.1.1.2.They
would need to be careful not to intermarry with the people, not to worship
their gods, not to covet their lifestyle, etc.
2.1.1.3.They
would need the resolve to allow the Lord to reveal to them what sins they had
committed which had caused them to become captives, so that they could then
repent of those sins so that they could again have the Lord’s blessing.
2.1.1.4.They
would need to courage to make the pioneer journey back to their homeland in
order that they might build up the city, their temple, and the wall around the
city.
2.2.
We see here in verse 1 that the Lord again
assures
2.2.1.
The Lord refers to Himself as, “The Lord Your
Creator And He Who Formed You.”
2.2.1.1.The
Lord is showing the Judeans that they did not pick nor discover Him, but rather
that it was He who approached them and it was His forethought and choosing of
them that caused them to be His people.
2.2.1.2.We
Christians need to understand that we didn’t find or discover the Lord
either. In Ephesians
1:3-6, we read that the Lord chose us in Christ before
the foundation of the world, and He did so in order that He might reveal the
kind intention of His will for us and that this would result in the ‘praise of
the glory of His grace’, “3 Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,4 just as He chose us in Him before
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.
In love5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself,
according to the kind intention of His will,6 to the praise of the glory of His
grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”
2.2.1.2.1.When
we realize that it was the Lord who chose us, and that He did it not because of
anything special in or about us but just to demonstrate how great and awesome
He and His love and grace are in our lives, then we are humbled and realize
that every wonderful thing that God has done for us is undeserved.
2.2.2.
The Lord tells the Judeans that He has called
them by name, Jacob and
2.2.3.
Fear is a major theme in this section of
Isaiah. We already saw in our study that
in chapters 41-44, the Lord tells
2.2.3.1.When
they pass through the waters, they will not overflow them.
2.2.3.1.1.The
Lord parted the waters of the
2.2.3.1.2.The
Lord will not punish the righteous along with the wicked, and when the waters
of His judgment flow over the earth, He will have already delivered His people
for they are not predestined for wrath (1 Thess. 5:9).
2.2.3.1.2.1.It
is a great comfort for us Christians today to see how in the scriptures the
Lord is seen to regard His people. We
need to realize that the Lord intends only good in regard to us. In fact, we see from Rom. 8:28 that the Lord
causes all things to work together for good.
The difficult and fiery trial in our lives has been allowed there by the
Lord not because the Lord is angry with us and desires to punish us, but rather
because of His knowing what is really best for us and what He is therefore
working into our life.
2.2.3.1.3.The
Lord would restore a faithful remnant of the people of Judea and return them
from captive
2.2.3.2.When
they walk through the fire they will not be scorched or burned.
2.2.3.2.1.There
was a literal fulfillment of this prophesy by Isaiah. In Dan. 3:25-27
we read about what happened after Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon who
reigned when the people of Judea were taken captive to Babylon, had Shadrach,
Meshack, and Abednigo thrown into the fiery furnace, “25 He answered and said, “Look! I see four men loosed and walking
about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth
is like a son of the gods!”26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the
furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, “Shadrach, Meshach and
Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!” Then
Shadrach,Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire.27 And the
satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king’s high officials gathered
around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies
of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers
damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.”
2.2.3.2.1.1.Note
that Jesus was indeed in the fire with the three men, and also that the fire
neither scorched them nor burned them.
In fact, even the stench of the fire did not cling to them when they
were removed.
2.2.3.2.2.It
is a blessed promise to all of God’s children that the Lord will go through all
of their trials and temptations with them, and that He also promises to deliver
them in those trials and temptations.
2.2.3.2.2.1.I
have discovered sometimes though that when we cry out to the Lord for help that
He delivers from our fiery trials and other times He gives us victory in those
trials but doesn’t directly deliver us from them.
2.2.3.2.3.Psalm 91 is a wonderful song that encourages God’s
people that He is committed to being their protection, “1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the
shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to
the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” 3 For it is He who delivers you from the
snare of the trapper, And from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with His pinions, And
under His wings you may seek refuge; His
faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. 5
You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by
day; 6 Of the pestilence that stalks in
darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten
thousand at your right hand; But it
shall not approach you. 8 You will only
look on with your eyes, And see the recompense of the wicked. 9 For you have made the Lord, my refuge, Even
the Most High, your dwelling place. 10
No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent. 11 For He will give His angels charge
concerning you, To guard you in all your ways.
12 They will bear you up in their hands, Lest you strike your foot against
a stone. 13 You will tread upon the lion
and cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down. 14 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will
deliver him; I will set him securely on
high, because he has known My name. 15
“He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble; I
will rescue him, and honor him. 16 “With
a long life I will satisfy him, And let him behold My salvation.””
2.3.
In verse 3, we read that the Lord further
refers to Himself as ‘the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your
Savior’. All of the many names that the
Lord gives for Himself are given in regard to revealing something that the Lord
does in the life of His people. The
following table from the New Naves Topical Bible contains the Names, Appellations,
And Titles For Jesus found in the scriptures:
Names, Appelations, And Titles
Of Jesus: New Naves Topical Bible
|
1.
Adam, 1 Cor. 15:45. 2.
Advocate, 1 John 2:1. 3.
Almighty, Rev. 1:8. 4.
Alpha and Omega, Rev. 1:8. 5.
Amen, Rev. 3:14. 6.
Angel, Gen. 48:16; Ex. 23:20,21. 7.
Angel of his presence, Isa. 63:9. 8.
Anointed, Psa. 2:2. 9.
Apostle, Heb. 3:1. 10. Arm of the Lord, Isa.
51:9,10. 11. Author and perfecter of our
faith, Heb. 12:2. 12. Beginning and end of the
creation of God, Rev. 3:14; 22:13. 13. Beloved, Eph. 1:6. 14. Bishop, 1 Pet. 2:25. 15. Blessed and only Potentate,
1 Tim. 6:15. 16. Branch, Jer. 23:5; Zech.
3:8. 17. Bread of life, John 6:48. 18. Bridegroom, Matt. 9:15. 19. Bright and morning star,
Rev. 22:16. 20. Brightness of the Father’s
glory, Heb. 1:3. 21. Captain of the Lord’s army,
Josh. 5:14. 22. Captain of salvation, Heb.
2:10. 23. Carpenter, Mark 6:3. 24. Carpenter’s son, Matt.
13:55. 25. Chief Shepherd, 1 Pet. 5:4.
26. Chief corner stone, 1 Pet.
2:6. 27. Outstanding among ten
thousand, Song 5:10. 28. Child, Isa. 9:6; Luke
2:27,43. 29. 30. Christ, Matt. 1:16; Luke
9:20. 31. The Christ, Matt. 16:20;
Mark 14:61. 32. Christ, a King, Luke 23:2. 33. Christ Jesus, Acts 19:4;
Rom. 3:24; 8:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; 1 Cor. 1:30; Heb. 3:1; 1 Pet. 5:10,14. 34. Christ Jesus our Lord, 1
Tim. 1:12; Rom. 8:39. 35. Christ of God, Luke 9:20. 36. Christ, the chosen of God,
Luke 23:35. 37. Christ the Lord, Luke 2:11;
38. Christ the power of God, 1
Cor. 1:24. 39. Christ, the Son of God,
Acts 9:20. |
40. Christ, Son of the Blessed,
Mark 14:61. 41. Commander, Isa. 55:4. 42. Consolation of 43. Corner stone, Eph. 2:20. 44. Counselor, Isa. 9:6. 45. Covenant of the people,
Isa. 42:6.David, Jer. 30:9. 46. Daysman, Job 9:33. 47. Dayspring, Luke 1:78. 48. Day star, 2 Pet. 1:19. 49. Deliverer, 50. Desire of all nations, Hag.
2:7. 51. Door, John 10:7.Elect, Isa.
42:1. 52. Emmanuel, Isa. 7:14. 53. Ensign, Isa. 11:10. 54. Eternal life, 1 John 5:20. 55. Everlasting Father, Isa.
9:6. 56. Faithful and True, Rev.
19:11. 57. Faithful witness, Rev. 1:5.
58. Faithful and true witness,
Rev. 3:14. 59. Finisher of faith, Heb. 12:2.
60. First and last, Rev. 1:17;
2:8; 22:13. 61. First begotten, Heb. 1:6. 62. First begotten of the dead,
Rev. 1:5. 63. Firstborn, Psa. 89:27. 64. Foundation, Isa. 28:16. 65. Fountain, Zech. 13:1. 66. Forerunner, Heb. 6:20. 67. Friend of sinners, Matt.
11:19. 68. Gift of God, John 4:10. 69. Glory of 70. God blessed for ever, Rom.
9:5. 71. God manifest in the flesh,
1 Tim. 3:16. 72. God of 73. God of the whole earth,
Isa. 54:5. 74. God our Savior, 1 Tim. 2:3.
75. God’s dear 76. God with us, Matt. 1:23. 77. Good Master, Matt. 19:16. 78. Governor, Matt. 2:6. 79. Great shepherd of the
sheep, Heb. 13:20. 80. Head of the church, Eph.
5:23. 81. Heir of all things, Heb.
1:2. |
82. High priest, Heb. 4:14. 83. Head of every man, 1 Cor.
11:3. 84. Head of the church, Col.
1:18. 85. Head of the corner, Matt.
21:42. 86. Holy child Jesus, Acts
4:30. 87. Holy one, Psa. 16:10; Acts
3:14. 88. Holy one of God, Mark 1:24.
89. Holy one of 90. Holy thing, Luke 1:35. 91. Hope [our], 1 Tim. 1:1. 92. Horn of salvation, Luke
1:69. 93. I Am, John 8:58. 94. Image of God, Heb. 1:3. 95. 96. Jehovah’s fellow, Zech.
13:7. 97. Jesus, Matt. 1:21. 98. Jesus Christ, Matt. 1:1;
John 1:17; 17:3; Acts 2:38; 4:10; 9:34; 10:36; 16:18; Rom. 1:1,3,6; 2:16;
5:15,17; 6:3; 1 Cor. 1:1,4; 1 Cor. 2:2; 2 Cor. 1:19; 4:6; 13:5; Gal. 2:16;
Phil. 1:8; 2:11; 1 Tim. 1:15; Heb. 13:8; 1 John 1:7; 2:1. 99. Jesus Christ our Lord, Rom.
1:3; 6:11,23; 1 Cor. 1:9; 7:25. 100. Jesus Christ our Savior,
Tit. 3:6. 101. Jesus of 102. Jesus of 103. Jesus, the King of the
Jews, Matt. 27:37. 104. Jesus, the Son of God, Heb.
4:14. 105. Jesus, the Son of Joseph,
John 6:42. Judge, Acts 10:42. 106. Just man, Matt. 27:19. 107. Just one, Acts 3:14; 7:52;
22:14. 108. Just person, Matt.
27:24.King, Matt. 21:5. 109. King of 110. King of the Jews, Matt.
2:2. 111. King of saints, Rev. 15:3. 112. King of kings, 1 Tim. 6:15;
Rev. 17:14. 113. King of glory, Psa.
24:7-10. 114. King of |
115. King over all the earth,
Zech. 14:9.Lamb, Rev. 5:6,8; 6:16; 7:9,10,17; 12:11; 13:8,11; 14:1,4; 15:3;
17:14; 19:7,9; 21:9,14,22,23,27. 116. Lamb of God, John 1:29. 117. Lawgiver, Isa. 33:22. 118. Leader, Isa. 55:4. 119. Life, John 14:6. 120. Light, John 8:12. 121. Light, everlasting, Isa.
60:20. 122. Light of the world, John
8:12. 123. Light to the Gentiles, Isa.
42:6. 124. Light, true, John 1:9. 125. Living bread, John 6:51. 126. Living stone, 1 Pet. 2:4. 127. Lion of the tribe of Judah,
Rev. 5:5. 128. Lord, Rom. 1:3. 129. Lord of lords, Rev. 17:14;
19:16. 130. Lord of all, Acts 10:36. 131. Lord our righteousness,
Jer. 23:6. 132. Lord God Almighty, Rev.
15:3. 133. Lord from heaven, 1 Cor.
15:47. 134. Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, 2 Pet. 1:11; 3:18. 135. Lord Christ, Col. 3:24. 136. Lord Jesus, Acts 7:59; Col.
3:17; 1 Thess. 4:2. 137. Lord Jesus Christ, Acts
11:17; 16:31; 20:21; Rom. 5:1,11; 13:14. 138. Lord Jesus Christ our
Savior, Tit. 1:4. 139. Lord of glory, Jas. 2:1. 140. Lord of Armies, Isa. 44:6. 141. Lord, mighty in battle,
Psa. 24:8. 142. Lord of the dead and
living, Rom. 14:9. 143. Lord of the sabbath, Mark
2:28. 144. Lord over all, Rom. 10:12. 145. Lord’s Christ, Luke 2:26. 146. Lord, strong and mighty,
Psa. 24:8. 147. Lord, the, our
righteousness, Jer. 23:6. 148. Lord, your holy one, Isa.
43:15. 149. Lord, your redeemer, Isa.
43:14. 150. Man Christ Jesus, 1 Tim.
2:5. 151. One of sorrows, Isa. 53:3. |
152. Master, Matt. 23:8.
Mediator, 1 Tim. 2:5. 153. Messenger of the covenant,
Mal. 3:1. 154. Messiah, John 1:41. 155. Messiah the Prince, Dan.
9:25. 156. Mighty God, Isa. 9:6. 157. Mighty one of 158. Mighty one of Jacob, Isa.
49:26. 159. Mighty to save, Isa. 63:1. 160. Minister of the sanctuary,
Heb. 8:2. 161. Morning star, Rev. 22:16. 162. Most holy, Dan. 9:24. 163. Most mighty, Psa. 45:3. 164. Nazarene, Matt. 2:23. 165. Offspring of David, Rev.
22:16. 166. Only begotten, John 1:14. 167. Only begotten of the
Father, John 1:14. 168. Only begotten son, John
1:18. 169. Only wise God, our Savior,
Jude 25. 170. Passover, 1 Cor. 5:7. 171. Plant of renown, Ezek.
34:29. 172. Potentate, 1 Tim. 6:15. 173. Power of God, 1 Cor. 1:24. 174. Physician, Matt. 9:12. 175. Precious corner stone, Isa.
28:16. 176. Priest, Heb. 7:17. 177. Prince, Acts 5:31. 178. Prince of life, Acts 3:15. 179. Prince of peace, Isa. 9:6. 180. Prince of the kings of the
earth, Rev. 1:5. 181. Prophet, Deut. 18:15,18;
Matt. 21:11; Luke 24:19. 182. Propitiation, 1 John 2:2. 183. Rabbi, John 1:49. 184. Rabboni, John 20:16. 185. Ransom, 1 Tim. 2:6. 186. Redeemer, Isa. 59:20. 187. Resurrection and life, John
11:25. 188. Redemption, 1 Cor. 1:30. 189. Righteous branch, Jer.
23:5. 190. Righteous judge, 2 Tim.
4:8. 191. Righteous servant, Isa.
53:11. 192. Righteousness, 1 Cor. 1:30.
193. Rock, 1 Cor. 10:4. 194. Rock of offence, 1 Pet.
2:8. 195. Root of David, Rev. 5:5;
22:16. |
196. Root of Jesse, Isa. 11:10. 197. Rose of Sharon, Song 2:1. 198. Ruler in 199. Salvation, Luke 2:30. 200. Sanctification, 1 Cor.
1:30. 201. Sanctuary, Isa. 8:14. 202. Savior, Luke 2:11. 203. Savior, Jesus Christ, 2
Tim. 1:10; Tit. 2:13; 2 Pet. 1:1. 204. Savior of the body, Eph.
5:23. 205. Savior of the world, 1 John
4:14. 206. Scepter, Num. 24:17. 207. Second Adam, 1 Cor. 15:47. 208. Seed of David, 2 Tim. 2:8. 209. Seed of the woman, Gen.
3:15. 210. Servant, Isa. 42:1. 211. Servant of rulers, Isa.
49:7. 212. Shepherd, Mark 14:27. 213. Shepherd and bishop of
souls, 1 Pet. 2:25. 214. Shepherd, chief, 1 Pet.
5:4. 215. Shepherd, good, John 10:11.
216. Shepherd, great, Heb.
13:20. 217. Shepherd of 218. 219. Son of the Father, 2 John
3. 220. Son of God, see Son of God. Son of Man, see Son of Man. 221. Son of the blessed, Mark
14:61. 222. Son of the highest, Luke
1:32. 223. Son of David, Matt. 9:27.
Star, Num. 24:17. 224. Sun of righteousness, Mal.
4:2. 225. Surety, Heb. 7:22. 226. Stone, Matt. 21:42. 227. Stone of stumbling, 1 Pet.
2:8. 228. Sure foundation, Isa.
28:16. 229. Teacher, John 3:2. 230. True God, 1 John 5:20. 231. True vine, John 15:1. 232. Truth, John 14:6. 233. Unspeakable gift, 2 Cor.
9:15. 234. Very Christ, Acts 9:22. 235. Vine, John 15:1. 236. Way, John 14:6. 237. Which is, which was, which
is to come, Rev. 1:4. 238. Wisdom, Prov. 8:12. 239. Wisdom of God, 1 Cor. 1:24.
240. Witness, Isa. 55:4; Rev.
1:5. 241. Wonderful, Isa. 9:6. 242. Word, John 1:1. 243. Word of God, Rev. 19:13. 244. Word of life, 1 John 1:1. |
2.4.
In the wisdom of God, we see in verse 3 and 4
that the Lord is going to deliver a remnant of faithful Judea from the
Babylonian captivity, but the Lord in doing so is promising to give up
3.
VS 43:5-7 - “5 “Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east,
And gather you from the west. 6 “I will
say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to
the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth, 7
Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I
have formed, even whom I have made.”” - The Lord tells the captive Judeans not to
fear for He will return to
3.1.
Isaiah often intermixes prophetic timetables
as in his writing he unfolds to us what the Lord is going to do. Prophesy of near fulfillment with the
deliverance of the nation is sometimes mixed in with prophesy relating to the
Millennial Reign of Christ, etc. In
these verses, we see that just as Isaiah is getting ready to prophetically
declare that captive Judea will be returned from Babylon, he instead sees
beyond this deliverance to that point in time when the dispersed Jews from all
corners of the earth will return to the land of Israel as God is restoring the
nation in advance of the 7 Year Tribulation of the book of Revelation, in which
eventually all Israel will come to salvation through Jesus Christ (see Rom.
11:26).
3.1.1.
When
4.
VS 43:8-13 - “8 Bring out the people who are
blind, even though they have eyes, And the deaf, even though they have
ears. 9 All the nations have gathered
together In order that the peoples may be assembled. Who among them can declare this And proclaim
to us the former things? Let them
present their witnesses that they may be justified, Or let them hear and say,
“It is true.” 10 “You are My witnesses,”
declares the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, In order that you may
know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there
will be none after Me. 11 “I, even I, am
the Lord; And there is no savior besides
Me. 12 “It is I who have declared and
saved and proclaimed, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And I am God. 13 “Even from eternity I
am He; And there is none who can deliver
out of My hand; I act and who can
reverse it?”” - Again we see that the Lord presents to us a
court room scene in which all of the nations may come and present their case
before Him and show how that they can declare what will happen in the future as
well as what has happened in the past
4.1.
In this courtroom scene we see that the Lord
who is the presiding judge is very emphatic about declaring that He and He
alone is God.
4.2.
Note in verse 10 that there are a couple of
statements that the Lord makes about Himself that contradict a couple of the
heretical doctrines that the Mormon’s teach:
4.2.1.
The Mormons believe that our God is one of a
multitude of Gods (perhaps they believe in an infinite number of Gods) and that
He has a mother and father, aunts and uncles, however the Lord declares of
Himself in verse 10 that there was no God before Him.
4.2.2.
The Mormons believe that by living the Mormon
lifestyle they are becoming Gods, for their writings say, “As man is God once
was, and as God is man may become,” however in verse 10 the Lord declares that
there will be no other God who will come after Him.
4.3.
4.3.1.
Warren Wiersbe writes,
“
4.3.2.
The Lord tells us in verse 10 and again in
verse 12 that
4.3.3.
The Lord has been revealing to us through
Isaiah in the last couple of chapters His intention to deliver captive Judea
from the nation of
4.3.4.
When we look back in history from the place
where Isaiah was, we can see that the Lord has already determined that He would
reveal Himself to the nations through His people
4.4.
There is only one God who is over all, and thus
in verse 11 we see that the Lord proclaims of Himself that, ‘I am the Lord and
there is no savior besides me.’ Not only
is He the only God though, He is the only one who can bring salvation to men. Now, if is as we see, that the Bible teaches
that Jesus Christ is God the Son, the third person of the trinity from all
eternity, then this verse also indicates that a person can only come to know
God and have salvation through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. There are not many paths over the mountain to
get to God, but you can come only by the way that the Lord has laid down.
4.4.1.
Jesus taught us in John 14:6 that He is the only way to get to God, “6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life;
no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”” In saying this, He was either a liar, a
lunatic, or He was in fact the Lord, the third person of the trinity from all
eternity as He claimed and scripture shows Him to be.
4.5.
Notice in verse 10 here that Isaiah is again
reverting to using the title of ‘servant’ of Jehovah for
5.
VS 43:14-17 - “14 Thus says the Lord your
Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “For your sake I have sent to Babylon, And
will bring them all down as fugitives, Even the Chaldeans, into the ships in
which they rejoice. 15 “I am the Lord,
your Holy One, The Creator of
5.1.
As we have seen in the previous chapters, the
Lord is again seeking to encourage the captive Judeans during their Babylonian
captivity that He will bring them out again from
5.1.1.
The Lord promises in these verses that He
will send to
6.
VS 43:18-21 - “18 “Do not call to mind the
former things, Or ponder things of the past.
19 “Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert. 20 “The beasts of
the field will glorify Me; The jackals
and the ostriches; Because I have given
waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My chosen
people. 21 “The people whom I formed for
Myself, Will declare My praise.” - The Lord declares to the captive Judeans that
He is going to do a new thing and then encourages them concerning how He will
provide for them in their trek back to their homeland
6.1.
The Lord tells the captive Judeans not to
ponder on the past, the life that they have known having grown up in
6.1.1.
We people tend to be such creatures of habit,
and regarding our walk with the Lord we get used to the things that the Lord
has been doing in our lives, and suddenly we can really not be open to the Lord
doing something new in or through us.
But we need to be open to whatever the Lord wants to do in our lives
each day, and we ought to realize that He may very well lead us in a way that
we have not been down before.
6.2.
The Lord tells the captive Judeans that for
their journey back to their homeland He Himself is going to make a ‘roadway in
the wilderness’ for them to walk on, and ‘rivers in the desert’ for them to
drink.
6.2.1.
Interestingly, Jackals, ostriches, and beasts
of the field will glorify the Lord because He opens up rivers in the wilderness
for His people to drink upon their journey.
6.3.
The result of the Lord blessing their journey
back to their homeland will be that the Judeans will declare the Lord’s praise.
7.
VS 43:22-24 - “22 “Yet you have not called on
Me, O Jacob; But you have become weary
of Me, O
7.1.
Before captive Judea will be able to have a
faithful remnant return from
7.2.
The Lord reveals that the Judeans have not
been giving the acceptable sacrifices to the Lord that they should have been
giving, the ones that they have been commanded to offer up to the Lord.
7.3.
The Lord declares that He is burdened with
their sins and wearied with their iniquities that they are continually
committing.
7.4.
The Lord is in effect asking in verse 23, “I
haven’t asked too much of you, have I?
8.
VS 43:25 - “25 “I, even I, am the one who
wipes out your transgressions for My own sake;
And I will not remember your sins.” - The Lord declares that He is the one who
wipes out their transgressions and forgets their sins
8.1.
Having just declared that the sins of the
Judeans had wearied Him, the Lord immediately turns around and speaks of the
fact that He delights to cover over, forgive, and forget the sins of His people
when they come to Him in repentence and make the acceptable sacrifices for
those sins.
8.1.1.
How different the Lord is from us as
people. We people tend to hold onto the
wrongs that people have done to us and either never forgive others or never
forget what they have done to us.
However, the Lord delights in forgiving a transgression and covering a
matter.
9.
VS 43:26-28 - “26 “Put Me in remembrance; let
us argue our case together, State your cause, that you may be proved
right. 27 “Your first forefather sinned,
And your spokesmen have transgressed against Me. 28 “So I will pollute the princes of the
sanctuary; And I will consign Jacob to
the ban, and
9.1.
In case there were some in
9.2.
The Lord reminds
9.2.1.
The Lord Himself is the only righteousness
that people will ever have. That is why
Paul spoke of Jesus Christ as being, our righteousness, sanctification, and
redemption in 1 Cor. 1:30-31, “30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us
wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,31 that,
just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.””