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God Promises to Rescue His People
Isaiah 43.1-7
Good News Translation (GNT)
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1 Israel, the Lord who created you says,
"Do not be afraid - I will save you. I have
called you by name - you are mine.
2 When you pass through deep waters,
I will be with you; your troubles will not
overwhelm you. When you pass through
fire, you will not be burned; the hard trials
that come will not hurt you.
3 For I am the Lord your God, the holy God
of Israel, who saves you. I will give up
Egypt to set you free; I will give up
Ethiopia [a] and Seba.
4 I will give up whole nations to save your
life, because you are precious to me
and because I love you and give you
honour.
5 Do not be afraid - I am with you!
"From the distant east and the farthest
west I will bring your people home.
6 I will tell the north to let them go and the
south not to hold them back. Let my
people return from distant lands, from
every part of the world.
7 They are my own people, and I created
them to bring me glory."
Footnotes
Isaiah 43:3 Hebrew Cush:
Cush is the ancient name of the extensive
territory south of the First Cataract of the Nile River.
This region was called Ethiopia in
Graeco-Roman times, and included within its
borders most of modern Sudan and some of
present-day Ethiopia (Abyssinia).
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God Promises to Rescue His People
Isaiah 43.1-7
(Copyright 2007, 2008, 2010,
Richard Niell Donovan Sermon Writer)
Chapters 40-55 of Isaiah deals with the end of the Babylonian exile.
It begins with the words, "Comfort, comfort my people," says your God.
Because the people of Jerusalem sinned, God allowed Babylonia to destroy their city and to take them into exile as slaves.
The Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 587 B.C., and took its inhabitants into exile soon thereafter.
It is now five decades later, near the end of the exile.
Most of the exiled people have been born in captivity in Babylonia.
When Assyria achieved world dominance, King Ahaz of Judah ignored the prophet Isaiah's counsel and asked Assyria to help Judah repel attacks by Israel and Damascus.
Assyria sent soldiers to do that, but Judah as a result became a vassal of Assyria and the people of Judah and Jerusalem were required to recognize Assyrian gods (2 Kings 16:3-4).
It was during this period that Isaiah began his ministry.
He gave counsel to Ahaz that Judah should look for security, not to Assyria, but to Yahweh - counsel that Ahaz and the people of Jerusalem ignored.
In short, Isaiah prophesied trouble ahead for Jerusalem because of the failure of its people to be faithful to Yahweh
Written near the end of the exile, these chapters begin with words of comfort (40:1-2) and hold out the promise of return to Jerusalem.
The tone shifts back to hope and reassurance with 43:1, which begins with the word "But" and then reaffirms Yahweh's love for his people and his plans for their future.
The fulfilment of this prophecy came through Cyrus II of Persia, "the one from the east" (41:2), who defeated Babylonia in 539 B.C., establishing Persia as the dominant power.
While the Babylonians treated the exiles as slaves, Cyrus will institute a very different policy.
Not only will he allow the exiles to return to their homeland, but he will also provide financial assistance to allow them to rebuild (Ezra 1:2-4).
But the prophet makes it clear that when that happens, Cyrus will be only the tool of Yahweh.
It will not be Cyrus who will save the people, but Yahweh.
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