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Isaiah 43

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God Promises Protection and Restoration 1–7

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. ​
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. ​
3
For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. ​
4
Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.
5
Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
6
I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
7
Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him. ​

Israel as God's Witnesses 8–13

8
Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. ​
9
Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth. ​
10
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. ​
11
I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. ​
12
I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.
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? ​

The Lord's New Act of Deliverance 14–21

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. ​
15
I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.
16
Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; ​
17
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.
18
Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. ​
19
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. ​
20
The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
21
This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise. ​

Israel's Sin and God's Unilateral Grace 22–28

22
But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel. ​
23
Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.
24
Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. ​
25
I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. ​
26
Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified. ​
27
Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me. ​
28
Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Isaiah 43

Verse 1

created thee… formed thee — Two verbs: bara, to create, and yatsar, to mould as a potter does. 'Redeemed' is ga'al, the kinsman's verb of buying back a relative. Israel is made, bought back and named by the same LORD: 'it is he that hath made us' (Ps 100:3).

Verse 2

through the waters… through the fire — The promise is presence, not absence of trial: 'I will be with thee' while Israel passes through (abar, cross over). Daniel's three friends are the pattern, 'upon whose bodies the fire had no power' (Dan 3:27); so Ps 66:12, 'we went through fire and through water'.

Verse 3

I gave Egypt for thy ransom — Kopher, the price that covers a life. 'Saviour' is yasha, to bring into safety, the verb of v.11. Egypt, Ethiopia (Cush) and Seba are the price given for Israel; the principle is stated in Prov 21:18, 'The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous'.

Verse 7

called by my name — Three verbs gather up the people's origin: 'created' (bara), 'formed' (yatsar), 'made' (asah), all 'for my glory' (kabod). It returns in v.21, 'This people have I formed for myself', and in Eph 2:10, 'created in Christ Jesus unto good works'.

Verse 8

blind people that have eyes — Israel is brought forward as a witness (vv.9–10). The charge repeats Isa 42:18, 'Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see', and Moses' word: 'the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear' (Deut 29:4).

Verse 9

shew us former things — The nations are called to a trial of gods: let them 'declare' (nagad) what was, and bring 'witnesses' (ed) so that they may be 'justified' (tsadaq, proved right). Only the LORD meets the test: 'Declaring the end from the beginning' (Isa 46:10).

Verse 10

Ye are my witnesses — Ed, a witness, as in v.9. 'Formed' here is yatsar, the verb of v.1: Israel was formed by God, but 'before me there was no God formed', since the God who forms is himself unformed. Repeated in Isa 44:8, 'ye are even my witnesses'.

Verse 11

beside me there is no saviour — 'Saviour' is yasha, the verb and title of v.3 ('thy Saviour'); the claim of v.3 is made exclusive. Hos 13:4 says the same: 'thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.' Isa 45:22 invites: 'Look unto me, and be ye saved'.

Verse 13

before the day was I am he — The LORD is before the first day (yom). Christ's 'Before Abraham was, I am' (John 8:58) is a like claim of being before time. 'Let' is shuv, to turn back, as in Isa 14:27, 'who shall turn it back?'; 'deliver' (natsal) is to snatch away, as in Deut 32:39.

Verse 14

your sake I have sent to Babylon — 'Redeemer' is ga'al, the kinsman-redeemer of v.1. Babylon is brought down 'for your sake', that is, for Israel's release; Jer 50:2 declares the same fall: 'Babylon is taken'. The Chaldeans' 'cry' (rinnah) is a shout, here in the ships.

Verse 16

a way in the sea — The title recalls the Red Sea, where the Egyptians with 'all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh' overtook Israel (Ex 14:9). Ps 77:19 has the same picture: 'Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters'. v.17 gives the end of that army: 'they are extinct, they are quenched as tow'.

Verse 18

Remember ye not the former things — Spoken straight after the Red Sea in vv.16–17, it does not forbid memory but sets the coming deliverance above it. Jer 16:14–15 makes the same turn: the LORD who brought Israel out of Egypt will be known as he who brings them back 'from the land of the north'.

Verse 19

I will do a new thing — Chadash, new; 'spring forth' is tsamach, to sprout like a plant. Isa 42:9 had said, 'new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them'. 'Rivers' (nahar) in the desert answer the 'rivers' of v.2; Rev 21:5 has 'I make all things new'.

Verse 21

This people have I formed for myself — Yatsar, as in vv.1, 7. 'Shew forth' is saphar, to recount or tell out, and 'praise' is tehillah. The purpose is stated in 1 Pet 2:9 of the church: 'that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you'.

Verse 22

thou hast not called upon me — Qara, to call: the LORD 'called thee by thy name' (v.1), yet Jacob has not called on him. 'Weary' is yaga, to toil till exhausted; the people wearied of him, as Mal 1:13, 'Behold, what a weariness is it!' vv.23–24 turn the word back on them.

Verse 24

sweet cane — Qaneh, the fragrant reed (calamus), a spice bought with money; cf. 'the sweet cane from a far country' (Jer 6:20). The close turns the words of v.23: God did not make Israel 'serve' (abad) with an offering, but they made him 'serve' with their sins and 'wearied' (yaga) him with iniquities.

Verse 25

blotteth out thy transgressions — Machah, to wipe away, as a writing is erased; Isa 44:22 repeats it: 'I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions'. The ground is 'for mine own sake'. The promise of no remembrance is taken up in Heb 10:17, 'their sins and iniquities will I remember no more'.

Verse 26

let us plead together — Shaphat, to enter judgment, the courtroom setting of v.9. 'That thou mayest be justified' uses tsadaq, as in v.9 of the nations' witnesses; here Israel, with no case, is left to the grace of v.25. Paul: 'It is God that justifieth' (Rom 8:33).

Verse 27

Thy first father hath sinned — Failure reaches back to the nation's beginning, and to its 'teachers' (luts, spokesmen who stand between people and God). The failure of leaders is also charged in Isa 28:7: 'the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink'.

Verse 28

profaned the princes of the sanctuary — Chalal, to profane or make common. 'Curse' is cherem, a thing devoted to destruction. It is the penalty set out in Deut 28:15 for those who 'wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God', and the 'reproaches' of the exile are its fruit.