On Isaiah 43 — Our Bible App

Day 1 of 6

But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
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.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my sight,
and honored, and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
-Isaiah 43:1-4

What a beginning!

One of the reasons I love Isaiah 43 so much is that it begins with a big ol’ “BUT.”

If you jump back just a little, Isaiah has been speaking to the Israelites in exile about their exile. He has been reflecting on how hard things are and on all the things that have gotten them to where they are. It’s been… a lot.

And then there is this transition:

“But now, God says this to you”

I know, academically and theologically, Isaiah isn’t being snarky here, but it still feels so snarky. “God says,” then he pauses and gives them a look, “You know... God, the one who made you, who created everything... that God?”

Regular readers of my writing will know that I love some snark in scripture, but here — it’s more like salt in a wound. God has something to say to you all, and since you have been worshipping other gods and trying to find your own way out of what you’re in, I want to remind you which God I’m talking about here. You know, the one who made all of this, and all of you, has something to say to you.

The rest of Isaiah 43 is what God has to say to his people crying out in the wilderness. WELL SPEAK UP, GOD. I, too, need to hear what God has to say here.

Don’t you?

I don’t even need to imagine anymore, what it might feel like to be the Israelites — the ones struggling under the weight of the way the world is at the moment. And God says Do not fear. I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine.

In the midst of feeling pretty flung into the wilderness, hearing someone say, Hey, yeah — things are bad, but God has something to say, and then the thing that God says is “Do not fear; I have redeemed you, and you are mine” — it feels like a big ol hug.

And it gets better! When you go through these impossibly hard things, like rushing waters or blazing fires — I go with you, God says, and promises that you will not not be swallowed up or burned by the flames.

I am God.
This is what I do.
I love you and have acted on your behalf over and over and over again.
It doesn’t always feel like it, but you are so precious to me, and I care what happens to you.
It’s like a little love letter from God.
From a loving parent to their child when things are hard.
You’re not alone.
You are so loved.
I’m with you.

Natalia Terfa

Day 1 of 6

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