Isaiah 43:1-28
Israel's Only Savior
1 But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
and people in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,
who have ears but are deaf.
9 All the nations gather together
and the peoples assemble.
Which of them foretold this
and proclaimed to us the former things?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,
so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.
11 I, even I, am the LORD,
and apart from me there is no savior.
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God.
13 Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
When I act, who can reverse it?”
God’s Mercy and Israel’s Unfaithfulness
14 This is what the LORD says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“For your sake I will send to Babylon
and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians,
in the ships in which they took pride.
15 I am the LORD, your Holy One,
Israel’s Creator, your King.”
16 This is what the LORD says—
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
17 who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
18 “Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
20 The wild animals honor me,
the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the desert
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21 the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise.
22 “Yet you have not called upon me, O Jacob,
you have not wearied yourselves for me, O Israel.
23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,
nor honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with grain offerings
nor wearied you with demands for incense.
24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me,
or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins
and wearied me with your offenses.
25 “I, even I, am he who blots out
your transgressions, for my own sake,
and remembers your sins no more.
26 Review the past for me,
let us argue the matter together;
state the case for your innocence.
27 Your first father sinned;
your spokesmen rebelled against me.
28 So I will disgrace the dignitaries of your temple,
and I will consign Jacob to destruction
and Israel to scorn.
The Great Prophet Isaiah warned the Israel people that they were falling away from God...Sin separates us from Him...God allows disasters on earth...Sometimes it seems like these disasters are a discipline or punishment for us...Then He wants us to pray and trust Him from those same disasters...Man has fallen away from Him...God wants us to trust Him and rely on Him...We must recognize that we are sinners, before we can realize that we need to be saved...
Jesus is a Savior...He came not because He needed anything, but because we need Him...He is our Savior...Isaiah wrote about Jesus hundred of years before He came to walk and teach on earth...God made each of us...Everyone who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory, whom I made and formed...He made us from nothing...He formed us...He made us for His glory...Isaiah writes that our first father sinned (verse 27)...Then all of us have sinned after our first father, Adam... We have burdened Him with our sins, and worried Him with our offenses...But God adds, that He will blot out these transgressions...He will remember our sins no more...God forgives us...
God has blotted out these transgressions with our only Savior...The Root of Jessie came to save us...Jesus came to forgive us of our sins...Modern man may think differently about sin than in the time of Isaiah, and centuries later in the time of Jesus...But regardless of time, we as "modern man" must recognize that we are sinners...Without that recognition, we have no need for God...If we never sin, why do we need Him?...Jesus teaches us He does not come for the righteous, but He came for sinners (Mark 2:17)...We as man, must recognize that we have fallen...We are sinners...Then we can be saved, by our Savior...
God made us for His glory...I think when we realize that He is our God, and we need Him and we need His Son, whom He sent, then He has some glory...God has this great attribute to forgive...Forgiveness is a great part of love, and His love... God maintains this willingness to forgive the sinner...He wants us to recognize that we are sinners, then we can enter into a new or renewed personal relationship with Him...