Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 43

Verses 1-28

1. Intro:
   1. If you don’t get anything out of tonight’s chapter you are
      1. Spiritually dead (b) Emotionally dead or, (c) Brain dead.
   2. When I miss my mom, who died 21 yrs ago, I day dream for a few minutes about her love for me. How she showed it(back rubs, prayer for me), how she expressed it verbally(on her death bed).
      1. It’s just as right & healthy to do the same about our Great Redeemer! (What did he say again? - How did he show it?)
   3. Oh, that you would walk away from here tonight saying, my God is Good!
2. YOU ARE MINE! (1-12)
   1. Divine Care! (1-7) [Unique relationship]
      1. He is Sovereign…& Lovely!
      2. (1a) redeemed you = I’ve been purchased.
      3. (1b) called you by your name = very personal.
         1. “He calls his sheep by name & leads them out” Jn.10:3
      4. (1c) you are Mine = ownership. (girlfriend/boyfriend – when this is expressed for the 1st time!) “Be Mine!”
      5. (2) I will be w/you = security. {a constant refrain in Scripture}
      6. (2,3) not overflow, not burn, not scorch = care & concern.
      7. (4) precious, honored, I have loved you = tender feelings expressed.
   2. (1) Formed – (yatzar) Through the squeezing into shape.
      1. The shaping or forming of the object involved. (TWOT)
      2. Usually translated as “pottery”.
      3. It is used of his preordained purposes.
      4. Q: What state of firmness/softness have you been in His hands lately?
      5. Q: Would you like it better if He left you alone to be shapeless?
   3. (2) This seems to assume that you will go through these!
      1. But the emphasis is on “through!”
      2. [There will be testing days…but I will bring you through!]
      3. (Spurgeon) “I owe more to the fire, and the hammer, and the file, than to anything else in my Lord's workshop.”
         1. Caution: don’t expect God to open the paths before you come to them…that’s not how He works!
      4. Neither does He provide help before help is needed.
      5. Neither does He remove obstacles before we reach them.
      6. Neither does He clear many miles of road ahead before us.
      7. But He promises to do it step by step! His hand is outstretched!
      8. You cannot have dying grace before your time to die. Right now you fully need living grace, you’ll receive dying grace when that time comes! (J.R.M.; Streams in the Desert; pg.20.)
         1. Our 1^st building project: loan refused; $50,000 to start project; we did & right before it ran out we got the loan.
   4. (3) God gave these countries to Cyrus(Persian ruler) as a ransom payment to redeem Israel from Babylon.
      1. And He gave His own Son as a ransom for lost sinners.
   5. (7) Q: What are you created for? - My glory!
      1. Rom.11:36 “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”
   6. No Other God! (8-13)
   7. (10-12) He alone is the Savior!
   8. We are called to be His witnesses – of His nature & activity!
      1. The content of our Witness ought to be His nature & His activity.
      2. He has declared, saved, & proclaimed.
   9. (13) And he will keep you safe for all the work He has for you to do!
      1. Q: Does that sound like Jn.10 again?
   10. (8,9) The purpose of being a witness has been, & will always be, to let the world know the truth about God in the light of the spiritual blindness & deafness of society. (Isaiah; Philip Hacking)
       1. 3 see vs.10 know, believe, understand.
       2. See 2 Kings 4:9 – Basic ethics requires that good news not be kept secret.
          1. “Evangelism is one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.”
   11. A New Exodus! (14-21)
   12. (16,17) Deliverance of Israel at the Red Sea.
   13. (18-21) What would be greater than His deliverance of the Red Sea event? Freedom from Babylon; & The Millennium! (ch.35)
       1. Forget the failures of the past, witness for Him in the present, & claim His promises for the future.
   14. (19) God’s love doesn’t change but he is always ready to do something New!
       1. Never dwell on the past…just learn from it!
   15. (21) Behind every deliverance is a purpose which is to live & speak to the praise of God!
   16. Diagnosis! (22-24)
   17. At the heart of the gospel is the acknowledgment of sin, seen not only in acts of rebellion but in apathy & boredom towards God. (Ibid; pg.126)
       1. Religion often becomes a wearisome nuisance when the heart of it is lost!
       2. Mal.1;13 “You also say, ‘Oh, what a weariness!’ And you sneer at it,” Says the LORD of hosts. “And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; Thus you bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?”
       3. Q: Can it be said of you that you are weary of God?
       4. Q: Do you give sacrificially? (not just incense, but sweet incense)
       5. Q: In Jesus’ day much religion had lost its heart & became a burden…how about today?
       6. Q: How can knowing religion is wearisome help us in sharing with people?
       7. (24) The Lord accepts our little “forget-me-nots, & love-tokens” as thought they were intrinsically precious…as we would a small child’s lil coloring picture.
          1. I wonder if our offerings unto God are like the cat who brings the dead mouse in the house & lays it at his masters feet!
   18. Remedy! (25-28)
   19. Ambrose , the early Christian preacher sent Augustine to this verse for peace of mind after his conversion experience.
       1. It speaks of God’s eternal character, & reminds us that God is not only the one who forgives but also the one who forgets (in the sense of not binging it up to us again!)
       2. Remember the gospel we preach today is not only “true”, but “tried & true” as it was planned in the heart of God before man’s fall.
       3. He forgave them not because they brought Him sacrifices – for they had no altar in Babylon – but purely because of His mercy & grace!!
          1. Q: Why should we remember that which God has forgotten?