Walking in God's next

Surrounding Chapter 43

This book talks about God speaking to Israel through a prophet called Isaiah. He is a prophet in a time when the people of God are living amongst the kings of Israel. The chapter itself is speaking about the coming messiah (vv. 10-13).

Important cultural truths:

- Don’t live in the past moments of God (Isa 43:18)

o Details:

§ He is a creator

· To all of that Isaiah says, “Remember God, that he is the sort who can do all those kinds of things, but forget the ways in which he did them!” Why? Because he is the Creator; he does not need to do things the same way twice. He is not an idol, doomed to perform the same activities over and over again as nature does.[1]

§ He is consistent

· Of course he is consistent, which is the point of vv. 16–17, but his methods can always be new, and if we make an idol of the methods, we damn the very thing we should be blessing.[2]

o For us…

§ Our days are always set before us as new. We haven’t experienced them nor will we experience another day like that. Thought we may be walking through life with a expectation of what might occur like our scheduled work flow if you have a consistent job. We shouldn’t be content with looking at our god from this lens. Just like Isaiah is telling the people of Israel not to idolize the work of God in their past redemption we can also see god working in our lives today in new and creative ways.

§ One question that I have heard asked is if God is the same yesterday, today and forever. How could he be doing a new thing in our lives? Isn’t it just the same thing that was done in the life of someone else? Yes, God is consistent in character but we shouldn’t be surprise that he isn’t doing the same things twice. Our God has the power to change our world, which makes Him different from the idols of the past that are governed by external circumstances. Our God lives and therefore is active in our lives.

- God is in control of the all and has an upcoming direction. (Isa 43:19-20)

o Details:

§ The new thing is coming. Come and witness (vv. 19)

· For the prophet looking with faith, the new thing (cf. also 42:9; 48:6) seems to be bursting forth before his very eyes, and he is amazed that his hearers do not seem to recognize it.[3]

§ God is bringing refreshment to his people (vv. 20)

· But in figure the animals are reacting just as thirsty humans would. The point is that God is master of the cosmos and can do with it exactly as he wishes to achieve his purposes.[4]

· But God, the true God, can turn wet to dry, or dry to wet, for the sake of his chosen people. This is reminiscent of Isaiah’s invitation to Ahaz to ask for a sign “as deep as Sheol or as high as the heights” (7:11). The mighty miracle of the incarnation, and all those preliminary miracles leading to it, posed no problem for the God that this prophet knew.[5]

o For us…

§ Isaiah saw what God was doing; we in our lives can posture ourselves so that our ear is attentive to God’s heart for our lives. Isaiah saw not limitation of the movement of God. We should look for the same results in our year. Our lives will carry new circumstances and bring new blessings. Are we attentive to the blessings that god is placing in our lives.

- God has formed a people that they might declare His praise.

o Details:

§ God has formed all creation but there is only one that can show him true praise.

· Whatever the jackals and ostriches, and all the rest of creation, might desire, only humans have the ability to glorify God as he deserves.[6]

§ We are not meant to just fathom God

· This power is not merely the result of rationality and speech, as important as those are. More than that, it is the power of objectification, the ability to contemplate and respond to the works of God as other than ourselves. In short, the Israelite people were created, formed, and chosen to be witnesses (43:10; 44:8), those who would experience the redeeming love of a holy Creator and could declare that message to a world that had lost the capacity to recognize him.[7]

o For us…

§ It isn’t our role in this life to just see the blessing that God is giving us but it is our purpose to see that we are created, formed, and able to be his witnesses. Walking boldly out ready to give testimony of the greatness of his love by showing it to others sharing the truth of the one true God.

Ideas:

Plotting forward (vv. 18-19a)

Explanation:

i. But Isaiah hastens to add (43:14–21) that there will be new evidence and that the Israelites should not so concentrate on what God has done for them in the past that they cannot see the new things he will do on their behalf. (NICOT, Isaiah)

ii.

Illustration: Application:

i. Don’t look back, but keep your eyes heavenward

1. Philippians 1:21-23, “For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. 23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.

ii. Be expectant of God’s movement

1. Philippians 3:13-14, “ No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it,* but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

2. 1 Corinthians 15:58, “So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”

Plotting in the wilderness (vv. 19b)

Explanation:

i. Jesus brought restoration for our souls.

Illustration;

i. The manatee adventure (Illustration)

Application:

i. John 4:10, “Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

Plotting in worship (vv. 20-21)

Explanation: Illustration: Application:

16 Thus says the Lord,

who makes a way in the sea,

a path in the mighty waters,

17 who brings forth chariot and horse,

army and warrior;

they lie down, they cannot rise,

they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:

18 “Remember not the former things,

nor consider the things of old.

19 Behold, I am doing a new thing;

now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert.

20 The wild beasts will honor me,

the jackals and the ostriches,

for I give water in the wilderness,

rivers in the desert,

to give drink to my chosen people,

21 the people whom I formed for myself

that they might declare my praise.

[1] Oswalt, J. N. (1998). The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40–66 (p. 155). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. [2] Oswalt, J. N. (1998). The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40–66 (p. 155). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. [3] Oswalt, J. N. (1998). The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40–66 (p. 155). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. [4] Oswalt, J. N. (1998). The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40–66 (p. 155). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. [5] Oswalt, J. N. (1998). The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40–66 (p. 155). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. [6] Oswalt, J. N. (1998). The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40–66 (p. 155). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. [7] Oswalt, J. N. (1998). The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40–66 (pp. 155–156). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.