A Redeemed People
Philadelphia Baptist Church
3/18/2007 Sun. a.m.
Creating a Redeemed People
Isaiah 43:1–19
Golden Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.—Isaiah 43:1.
Introduction
The nation of Israel belonged to God twice: first because God made her, and then because God bought her.
B. Lesson Background
As we open today’s message from Isaiah 43, time has moved forward more than three hundred years since King David’s reign. Various kings have come and gone, the nation of Israel sadly has split herself into two parts. The Jewish people have been through various cycles of sin and repentance.
The opening verse of the book of Isaiah tells us that what follows is a record of “the vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” History gives good reports of three of these kings, but Ahaz “did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord his God” (2 Kings 16:2).
In chapter 39 of Isaiah we read a little of what Isaiah said to King Hezekiah. Very plainly the prophet foretold captivity in Babylon, which would begin about a century later (Isaiah 39:5–7). Then chapter 40 begins what some theologians call “The Book of Comfort.” Clearly it promises the pardon of sinful Israel and the end of the punishing captivity (40:2). Less clear is the prophecy of John the Baptist (40:3), but its meaning is revealed when it is fulfilled (Matthew 3:1–3). To comfort the captives there is much more about the limitless power of God and His unfailing care for His people.
For the immediate background of the first part of our text, the last two verses of Isaiah 42 tell us that Israel’s troubles were punishment imposed by the Lord because of Israel’s sins. In Isaiah’s own time the northern nation of Israel was defeated, and its people were scattered in foreign lands (2 Kings 17:5, 6). Isaiah foretold the captivity of Judah, the southern nation (Isaiah 39:5–7). Both of these disasters are punishment for the long-continued sins of the Jewish people.
I. Preservation by God
(Isaiah 43:1–3a)
The last verses of Isaiah 42 speak of the fury of God’s anger, of the scattering of north Israel, of the coming captivity of Judah. Why, then, does anyone call this part of Isaiah “the Book of Comfort”? Even in His anger the Lord is merciful and gracious. Israel will not be wiped out.
A. Reassurance (v. 1)
But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
The opening words but now create a link with chapter 42, but also signal a sharp contrast between what goes before and what follows. Isaiah 42:25 speaks of furious anger and punishment, but we read of these no more. An opposite message is given, and notice how emphatic it is.
First, the Lord identifies Himself as the Creator. He stresses that announcement by repeating it in different words after the fashion of Hebrew poetry. Notice that the statement the Lord that created thee, O Jacob is really the same as he that formed thee, O Israel. The names Jacob and Israel are two designations of the same man (Genesis 32:28). In our text they are two names of the same nation, the nation descended from that one man. The words created and formed are synonyms, so the declaration that the Lord is the Creator is repeated with simplicity and power.
Next comes the substance of God’s message: Fear not. These two words stand alone, clear and bright as a trumpet call.
Then God explains why Israel should not fear. He makes that emphatic by heaping up three reasons, different but related. First, I have redeemed thee. The Lord owned Israel because He created her. But Israel had been captured and enslaved by her own sin. So the Lord redeemed her, or bought her back. Although Babylonian captivity is still in the future, the Lord’s rescue is so certain that He speaks of redemption in the past tense.
Second, God has called thee by thy name. There could be no question about whom God redeemed. Third, God states the result, or effect, of His redemption: Thou art mine. How, then, can Israel be afraid of anything?
B. Safety (v. 2)
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
When Israel was young as a nation, God used miracles to bring His people through the Red Sea and the flooded Jordan River (Exodus 14; Joshua 3). It was not likely that they ever would need such miracles again, or a miracle to keep them safe in literal fire. God is using figurative language to promise to keep them safe in whatever dangers they may face.
This is not a promise to keep them from experiencing fire, whether literal or figurative. Rather, this is a promise to keep them safe as they walkest through the fire. Also, God does not promise to keep them safe and unpunished if they again turn away from Him and sell themselves to sin as they do prior to their captivity in Babylon.
C. Identity (v. 3a)
For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour.
In verse 1 we saw that the Lord identified himself as the Creator and Redeemer and Owner of His people. In verse 3 He stresses that He is their God, their Holy One, their Saviour. The message isn’t new, but it does bear repeating.
II. Witnesses for God
(Isaiah 43:10–13)
The assurance we saw in verses 1–3a is continued in verses 4–9, which are not included in our printed text. God affirms His love for His people; He promises to gather again those who are scattered; He challenges the pagan world to produce witnesses to prove that anyone among them has foretold future events as God has done. Then God names His own witnesses.
A. Servants Who Know (vv. 10, 11)
Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
The Lord’s people are His witnesses. Both by His unfailing care and by foretelling the future, He gives them ample evidence that He is God, the real God, the only God.
The people of Israel are not only His witnesses, but their nation as a whole is also His servant. The behavior of the Israelites ought to demonstrate to the rest of the world that He is the only God. The devotion of the Jewish people should look back to the wonderful miracles and prophecies that prove He is God.
I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour.
The pagan world is full of false gods (2 Kings 23:13). Over and over, the Jewish people find themselves seduced by these idols, so God announces again that He is the Lord. And this time He adds that He is the one and only saviour of His people. Long before Isaiah’s time, God had saved them from Egypt, from starvation in the wilderness, and from strong nations in the promised land.
In Isaiah’s time God saved the southern kingdom of Judah from the Assyrians, who defeated and scattered their kinsmen to the north in 722 b.c. After Isaiah’s time God will save His people from the Babylonian exile that is to begin in 586 b.c. His witnesses should testify to all of these facts by their right behavior and worship.
B. Evidence That Proves (v. 12)
I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God.
Put the first and last phrases of this verse together: I have declared … that I am God. Between those two phrases we see ample evidence that the Lord is indeed the only true God. Time after time He has saved His people from powerful forces.
In this way He has showed that He is God, more powerful than all pagan earthly forces or make-believe gods in Heaven. He did this when there was no strange god among you—when His people were giving Him their undivided devotion. But when the people turned away from the Lord and looked to fictitious gods, they were defeated. The captivity of northern Israel proves it. God’s people have seen the evidence: they are witnesses. Again, their right behavior and worship ought to be testifying to these facts.
C. God Who Is (v. 13)
Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
Thus the Lord gives the conclusion drawn from the evidence presented. Before the day was I am he means that the Lord was God before the creation of the world, and He has been God ever since. No one can deliver anyone from His power, for He is all-powerful (John 10:27–29). He will do what He ought to do, and no one can prevent it.
III. Work of God
(Isaiah 43:14–19)
The last part of verse 13 assures us that God will go on with His work, and no one will prevent it. Now the final part of today’s text tells a little about what He will do. To assure us of His ability, He also reminds us of what He has done in the past.
A. The Doom of Babylon (v. 14)
Thus saith the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.
As in verses 1 and 10, the announcement begins by making it plain that it comes from God, not from Isaiah. God is going to bring down the haughty nobles of Babylon and end their oppression. God revealed this and Isaiah wrote it many years before the captivity even began! But God can put it in the past tense because in His mind it is already “a done deal.” His plan is complete, and nothing is going to keep Him from carrying it out. (Chaldeans is another name for Babylonians.)
The word cry is understood in different ways. Some take it to be the mariners’ outburst of pride in their ships; others take it to be a wail of distress because they are forced to get in the ships and flee from the Persian invaders who ultimately conquer their territory.
B. The Lord and His Power (vv. 15–17)
I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. Again comes the reminder of who is speaking. Lord, Holy One, Creator, King! Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.
To anyone who knows Israel’s history, this brief verse is a reminder both of God’s power and of His favor to His people. As we noted with verse 2 above, He had made a road through the Red Sea for them to escape from Egypt; He had made a path through the raging Jordan for them to enter the promised land.
Egypt’s army had charged into the dry bed of the Red Sea in pursuit of God’s fleeing people, ignoring the walls of water on its right and left. That was the end of the army, as men and horses died together (Exodus 14:26–28).
C. The Coming New Thing (vv. 18, 19)
Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
How’s that again? Has the Lord used verses 16 and 17 to remind us of great events in the past, only to tell us to forget them? Not at all. What the Jewish people are to remember … not is the old order of things such as their slavery in Egypt. What is important is to wake up and realize what God is doing now.
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
To dwell on the hardships of days gone by is pointless. To cherish the record of what God did in the ancient past to overcome those hardships is valuable, but is not a stopping point. What’s most important is the new thing that God is doing and will be doing right before their very eyes.
God’s ancient leadership of His people for forty years in the desert was no less remarkable than the spectacular crossings of the Red Sea and the Jordan River. But thinking ahead to the end of captivity in Babylon, God is laying the foundation for another journey to the ancient homeland. This future trip will lead the people there directly; they will not wander for a generation in a desert. God will keep them all the way.
Conclusion:
A. Trust and Obey
What we have been reading in Isaiah was given as prophecy. It was given in the past tense because it was fully established in the mind of God: it surely was to come to pass, but not in the time of Isaiah. God promised captivity in Babylon for His people (Isaiah 39:5–7). That captivity served as punishment for long-continued sin. But God also promised the defeat of Babylon (43:14). He named the Persian king, Cyrus, who would lead the conquerors (44:28). God even promised to redeem Israel by giving the Persians three countries in Africa as ransom (43:3b, 4).
We maintain our faithfulness when we trust Him and obey Him. We must listen to the Word of God. When we do, our obedience will be a natural outflow of our love for Him (John 14:15, 23, 24). That is the way to be happy now and forever.
Like Israel, sometimes we are slow to hear and act. At other times we fail to learn from the past. What are some areas in your life where you need to be a better listener and learner?