Read Isaiah
43-44 & Colossians
2
To discover:
As you read consider how
God proves he is the true God.
To ponder:
“But now” (43v1) contrasts the judgement Israel would suffer
in exile (42v24-25) with God’s mercy he would then give: As the one who created
them, he declares they need no longer fear as he has redeemed and summoned
them. This probably refers to Israel ’s
“birth” in the Exodus. The point is that because God brought Israel
into being as his chosen people, they have hope. So he promises they will
survive flood and fire, as he is their God (43v1-2). In speaking of nations
being paid as a ransom for them, he probably means that the conquering of these
nations is somehow required for Cyrus to gain the power necessary to send the
Jews home from Babylon . Whatever
the case, the point is that Israel are so precious to the LORD that he is
prepared to have men die in the reconfiguring of the Middle East that would be
necessary for their return (43v3-4). We should remember, he would even give his
own Son for our redemption.
God then
promises to bring Israelites home from the four corners of the earth, noting
they were called by his name, and so belong to him, and created for his glory,
and so to bring honour to him (43v5-7). He calls the nations to lead out the
blind and deaf, which are the Israelites who have not understood what God has
been doing (43v8). With the nations gathered, probably for judgement, he also asks
them to bring witnesses to prove who (presumably of their gods) predicted these
things. The assumption is that they can’t. By contrast the LORD declares Israel
to be his servant and witnesses, who can now know and believe that he is the
true God, because he revealed, saved and proclaimed the return from exile,
which they have witnessed when looking back on this prophecy. And for us too,
this is a key reason we can know he is the only God, whose supremacy is seen in
the fact that no-one can be delivered by another from his judgements, and his
actions cannot be reversed (43v9-13).
God
therefore says he will cause the Babylonians to become captives, with repeated
stress of his special relationship with Israel :
He is “the LORD” (YAHWEH, his personal covenant name), Israel ’s
creator and King, and so will act for their sake (43v14-15). Here he recalls
his destruction of the Egyptians in the Red Sea, but instructs Israel not to
dwell on it because he is now doing a new thing, equivalent to causing streams
to appear in the desert, he is going to refresh his people in the metaphorical
desert of their captivity, so that they praise him (43v16-21). Yet this will be
an act of grace as Israel have not called on him for deliverance, and whereas
God had not burdened them with an excessive demand for offerings and incense,
they have burdened him with their sins, and so not really brought him
sacrifices in the manner he intended at all, because they weren’t offered in a
way that honoured him (43v22-24). Nevertheless, he is the one who totally
forgives Israel ’s
sins “for his name’s sake” – ie. so that he would be glorified in delivering
and restoring them. But, in case some would suggest this proves they are
actually innocent, he calls them to debate with him, reviewing their past which
shows they were sinful since the time of Abraham or Jacob. And this is why they
must first suffer by going into exile, with the disgrace to their priests and
destruction of the people it will bring (43v25-28). Our redemption in Christ is
not because we are any better than others, but simply because in grace God has
chosen to set his love upon us and forgive us.
Again, for
these same reasons, God tenderly reminds Jacob as his servant that he need not
fear, as God will bring about a spiritual renewal equivalent to the streams in
the desert, so their descendents will not continue in such sin, but flourish in
righteousness, considering it an honour to belong to the LORD, and by
implication be eager to serve him (44v1-5). And again, here God declares that
he is the only God, calling others to say if they know of any like him who has
done equivalent past acts or foretells what is to come (44v6-7). We must
remember that Isaiah’s words were spoken over a century before the exile. So
through them, God can tell the exiles not to fear as he proclaimed their exile
long ago, which means they are witnesses to the fact that as the one who can
predict the future he is the true God, and so is their rock, who will act for
their good (44v8).
Perhaps
because of the temptation they might have faced to turn to Babylonian idols,
God then reiterates that those who make idols are nothing, and those who
commend them are blind, and they will all be brought down, presumably by
Babylon’s destruction (44v9-11). That there is nothing special in those who
craft idols or the materials they use is then stressed in a way that mocks the
irrationality of worshipping or relying on such things. The point is that idols
are made of wood just as fires are, and so are a lie, not being able to know or
see anything (44v12-20). It is equally ludicrous to worship gods crafted out of
our own ideas or preferences.
And so, God
again calls Israel
as his servant to remember these things, and so be sure he hasn’t forgotten
them when they are in exile. Declaring he has swept away their offences he
calls them to return to him as he has redeemed them, presumably by having
already acted in such a way that will enable them to walk free. And all heaven
and earth are called to sing in praise because of this, as God displays his
excellence in it (44v21-23). How much more for our full redemption in Christ. God then declares that he is the creator of
all, who foils false prophets by not fulfilling what they say will pass, whilst
carrying out the words of his true prophets (servants), who declare that
Jerusalem will again be inhabited and Judah rebuilt in an act equivalent to the
Exodus when God declared the Red Sea would become dry; and who declare that
Cyrus will be like God’s shepherd in leading the people back to this pasture by
decreeing not only that the city will be rebuilt, but the temple be relaid
(44v24-28).
These prophecies really are an
astonishing display of God’s kindness to his people in preparing so long in
advance to keep their eyes fixed on him. The same sentiment is found in Jesus
warning his disciples that he would leave them, and in the New Testament
predictions of the difficulties Christians will undergo. They also keep us from
thinking God has abandoned us, and look us forward to the day we inhabit the
heavenly Jerusalem .
Praying it home:
Praise God that we
can be so sure he is the true God because all these things came to pass. Pray
that we would be comforted in the knowledge that he has not forgotten us, but
will fulfil his gospel purposes.
Thinking
further:
None
today.
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