Isaiah 43 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Isaiah 43

Israel’s Only Savior

43:1   But now thus says the LORD,
  he who created you, O Jacob,
    he who formed you, O Israel:
  “Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name, you are mine.
2   When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
  when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.
3   For I am the LORD your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
  I give Egypt as your ransom,
    Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4   Because you are precious in my eyes,
    and honored, and I love you,
  I give men in return for you,
    peoples in exchange for your life.
5   Fear not, for I am with you;
    I will bring your offspring from the east,
    and from the west I will gather you.
6   I will say to the north, Give up,
    and to the south, Do not withhold;
  bring my sons from afar
    and my daughters from the end of the earth,
7   everyone who is called by my name,
    whom I created for my glory,
    whom I formed and made.”
8   Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes,
    who are deaf, yet have ears!
9   All the nations gather together,
    and the peoples assemble.
  Who among them can declare this,
    and show us the former things?
  Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right,
    and let them hear and say, It is true.
10   “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,
    “and my servant whom I have chosen,
  that you may know and believe me
    and understand that I am he.
  Before me no god was formed,
    nor shall there be any after me.
11   I, I am the LORD,
    and besides me there is no savior.
12   I declared and saved and proclaimed,
    when there was no strange god among you;
    and you are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and I am God.
13   Also henceforth I am he;
    there is none who can deliver from my hand;
    I work, and who can turn it back?”
14   Thus says the LORD,
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
  “For your sake I send to Babylon
    and bring them all down as fugitives,
    even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.
15   I am the LORD, your Holy One,
    the Creator of Israel, your King.”
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.
22   “Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
    but you have been weary of me, O Israel!
23   You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings,
    or honored me with your sacrifices.
  I have not burdened you with offerings,
    or wearied you with frankincense.
24   You have not bought me sweet cane with money,
    or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
  But you have burdened me with your sins;
    you have wearied me with your iniquities.
25   “I, I am he
    who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
    and I will not remember your sins.
26   Put me in remembrance; let us argue together;
    set forth your case, that you may be proved right.
27   Your first father sinned,
    and your mediators transgressed against me.
28   Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary,
    and deliver Jacob to utter destruction
    and Israel to reviling.

Commentary

v1: Israel enjoyed a special privilege of being God's people; created and formed, redeemed and named; they belonged to God; the same verbs are used as in 42.5 of the earth. Although the privilege is great, so is the responsibility. The message here is 'do not fear,' which is repeated. Those who belong to God are His.

v2: Preservation; past and future; God's faithfulness and presence manifest yesterday and tomorrow. Doubtless Isaiah's hearers would recall the deliverance through the Red Sea; we also recall the deliverance of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego through the furnace (Dan 3). However, God's people will always experience the floods and furnaces of this world, attacks from the enemy which threaten to sweep us away or scorch us.

v3: God is Saviour; He ransomed the people, Ex 20.3. This implies a price, as well as ownership. He gave nations up to desolation, that He might deliver His own.

v4: Since the nation was delivered by God, they are set apart as His people.

v5-7: Israel, now scattered, will be regathered, for the declaration of God's power and glory. Future promises are as certain as past events, as in v2. Since God knows all who are His, He will gather every one. These words also pre-figure the gathering of all nations to Christ. Geography, distance, prove useless, as God will draw His own to Himself.

v8-9: Israel was called by God; and all the nations will be gathered to see and hear the testimony of God's witness, Israel. The blind and deaf, see 42.18.

v10: The witness, declaring that he knows God.

v11: The witness declares the uniqueness of God.

v12: God insists that His witness has a walk of loyalty; he must reject idolatry.

v13: God is omnipotent; He can do anything. The idol, in contrast, is impotent.

v14-15: Israel is not totally forsaken. The Lord predicted the future exile in Babylon, and also the deliverance of the people from Babylon. He always remains the Redeemer, and the people are always His. Just as God had delivered the people from Egypt, so He would deliver them from Babylon.

v16-18: See Ps 77.19; the same God who delivered His people through the Red Sea, will once more deliver them. Yet He also says, "Forget the former things," for He has new things to do on behalf of His people.

v19-20: See 41.18-19; God's "new thing" declared. When it occurs, it is clear proof that it is the work of God. "Water in the desert...streams in the wilderness;" sufficient for His people; here is something virtually impossible, it must be God's work.

v21: The people to declare His praise; His works are on behalf of His people; and their life is in Him, and for Him; 1 Pet 2.9. We may not be able to add to His glory, but we can exalt His glory. He cannot be esteemed more highly in Heaven, but He can be esteemed more highly on earth.

v22-24: The charge against Israel; in spite of God's blessings, the nation had been unfaithful. The promise of glories to come is tempered with a reminder of the people's unfaithfulness.

v25-28: Although Israel had been unfaithful, God had remained faithful; He would blot out their sins. Although Israel would also suffer for her sins.