Isaiah 43

Yesterday, I was sitting in my favorite place on campus. It's not in my hall; it's in Brittany's. Sometimes I feel like I'm cheating when I go there, but I just love the room. It's the closest thing to a coffee shop on campus. There's no coffee, but there is dim lighting and big couches. It feels secluded even though it's not. I just really like being there. Brit, I'm almost sorry for creeping in your territory, but I'm not really. I just like that room more than the one in my hall. It plays quieter and less profane music.

But as I was sitting there, I was reading through Isaiah 43. It's a gem that I have neglected for far too long. It's full of solid truths about God, us, and God's attitude toward us. So I pulled out a notebook and pen and made a list of some of those great truths. I figured Isaiah 43 is just too good to keep to myself, so I wanted to share it with you.

But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
² When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
³ For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom;
I gave Ethiopia^[a] and Seba in your place.
⁴ Others were given in exchange for you.
I traded their lives for yours
because you are precious to me.
You are honored, and I love you.

⁵ “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
I will gather you and your children from east and west.
⁶ I will say to the north and south,
‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel
from the distant corners of the earth.
⁷ Bring all who claim me as their God,
for I have made them for my glory.
It was I who created them.’”

⁸ Bring out the people who have eyes but are blind,
who have ears but are deaf.
⁹ Gather the nations together!
Assemble the peoples of the world!
Which of their idols has ever foretold such things?
Which can predict what will happen tomorrow?
Where are the witnesses of such predictions?
Who can verify that they spoke the truth?

¹⁰ “But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord.
“You are my servant.
You have been chosen to know me, believe in me,
and understand that I alone am God.
There is no other God—
there never has been, and there never will be.
¹¹ I, yes I, am the Lord,
and there is no other Savior.
¹² First I predicted your rescue,
then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world.
No foreign god has ever done this.
You are witnesses that I am the only God,”
says the Lord.
¹³ “From eternity to eternity I am God.
No one can snatch anyone out of my hand.
No one can undo what I have done.”

¹⁴ This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“For your sakes I will send an army against Babylon,
forcing the Babylonians^[b] to flee in those ships they are so proud of.
¹⁵ I am the Lord, your Holy One,
Israel’s Creator and King.
¹⁶ I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters,
making a dry path through the sea.
¹⁷ I called forth the mighty army of Egypt
with all its chariots and horses.
I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned,
their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick.

¹⁸ “But forget all that—
it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
¹⁹ For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
²⁰ The wild animals in the fields will thank me,
the jackals and owls, too,
for giving them water in the desert.
Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland
so my chosen people can be refreshed.
²¹ I have made Israel for myself,
and they will someday honor me before the whole world.

²² “But, dear family of Jacob, you refuse to ask for my help.
You have grown tired of me, O Israel!
²³ You have not brought me sheep or goats for burnt offerings.
You have not honored me with sacrifices,
though I have not burdened and wearied you
with requests for grain offerings and frankincense.
²⁴ You have not brought me fragrant calamus
or pleased me with the fat from sacrifices.
Instead, you have burdened me with your sins
and wearied me with your faults.

²⁵ “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake
and will never think of them again.
²⁶ Let us review the situation together,
and you can present your case to prove your innocence.
²⁷ From the very beginning, your first ancestor sinned against me;
all your leaders broke my laws.
²⁸ That is why I have disgraced your priests;
I have decreed complete destruction^[c] for Jacob
and shame for Israel.

 

It's just so good! And so here is my list (and there's even more truths than these!):

1. God has ransomed me (v. 1)
2. God has called me by name (v. 1)
3. I am God's (v. 1)
4. God will be with me when I'm in deep water... or poo or whatever you want to call it (v. 2)
5. I will not drown in my difficulties (v. 2)
6. I will not be consumed by any oppressive thing (v. 2)
7. Jesus was given in exchange for me (v. 4)
8. God traded Jesus' life for mine (v. 4)
9. I am precious to God (v. 4)
10. God loves me (v. 4)
11. God tells me not to be afraid (v. 5)
12. God is with me (v. 5)
13. God made me for his glory (v. 7)
14. God has chosen me to know him (v. 10)
15. God is the only Savior (v. 11)
16. No one can snatch anyone, including me, out of God's hand (v. 13)
17. No one can undo what God has done (v. 13)
18. God makes a pathway through the wilderness (v. 19)
19. God creates rivers in the dry wasteland (v. 19)
20. God does 18 and 19 so that his chosen people can be refreshed (v. 20)
21. God alone will blot out my sins for his own sake (v. 25)
22. Once God blots out my sins he will never think of them again (v. 25)

Wow. That's who my God is: a God who loves, saves, forgives. And he does it all for his own sake. That's incredible. I tend to forget these truths or at least downplay them. But this is who my God is. And this is who he sees when he looks at me: someone who is ransomed, his, precious, chosen, and sinless all because of Jesus. Praise God for his character and his word! Rest in this truth and be blessed, my friends. Rest and be blessed.