Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Isaiah 43:13

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Redemption through God’s grace (43:1-28)

Despite Israel’s failure and subsequent punishment, God has not cast off his people for ever. God used the power of foreign nations to enslave them and bring sufferings and hardships upon them, but he will now destroy the power of those nations. He will make them pay the ransom price for the redemption of captive Israel. They will fall so that Israel can go free (43:1-4). Wherever the captives are, they are still God’s people, and he will bring them back to their land (5-7).
God challenges the nations to meet him in court to see who controls the history of the world, Yahweh or the gods of the nations. If they can prove that their gods have knowledge of past events or can predict future events, they are invited to bring these gods with them to court, along with any other witnesses they can find to support their claims (8-9). As for Yahweh, his sole witness will be Israel. The history of Israel proves that God’s predictions always come true and that he is the only God. People can therefore be assured that when he predicts Israel’s release and return to its land, this prediction also will come true (10-13).
For Israel’s sake, God will overthrow Babylon. He is still Israel’s covenant God, and once again he will redeem his people from bondage (14-15). Just as he miraculously led Israel through the Red Sea and across the desert in the time of Moses, so he will lead his people to the promised land again (16-19). As on the former occasion, he will protect them from danger and provide for their needs along the way (20-21).
This restoration of Israel to its land will be entirely by God’s grace. The people certainly do not deserve it. While they have been in captivity, God has not demanded that they maintain the sacrificial ritual. He has placed no added burden upon them. But they have not shown their gratitude to him through prayer or other expressions of worship. They ignore God and continue in their sinful and selfish ways (22-24).
God is still willing to forgive his people, if only they will honestly examine themselves and admit their wrongdoing (25-26). The history of Israel shows, however, that the people do not repent readily. From the time of Jacob to the time of their captivity, they and their rulers have consistently rebelled against God and brought divine judgment upon them (27-28).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the peoples be assembled: who among them can declare this, and show us former things? let them bring their witnesses, that they may be justified; or let them hear, and say, It is truth, Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he; before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am Jehovah; and besides me there is no saviour. I have declared, and I have saved, and I have showed; and there was no strange god among you: therefore, ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and I am God. Yea, since the day was; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who can hinder it?"

One of the big things in this paragraph is that the fleshly Israel, the deaf and blind Israel, are here commissioned as God's witness, whether or not they were willing; and this tremendous predictive prophecy is this very day being fulfilled all over the earth. The very existence of Israel is a witness for every single line of the Old Testament; and "These are they that testify of me," as Jesus stated it. Note that the imaginary court scene is again used as a device for emphasizing these significant facts.

The greatest possible triumph over false gods was demonstrated in the delivery of Israel from Egypt; and, in the conquest of Canaan under Joshua, the same sensational triumph was again demonstrated.

Israel (the old fleshly one) did not actually wish to be God's witness; but God required it of her any way. They did not wish to preach to the Gentiles; but, in spite of their efforts to avoid it, their greatest men, of whom was Paul the Apostle, preached the word to the Gentiles in spite of all Jewish efforts to stop it. That fulfilled the type seen in Jonah, who preferred death to preaching to Nineveh; but God put his hook in the nose of that prophet and compelled him to do it contrary to his personal desire.

There should be no misunderstanding relative to who are meant by those called "the blind with eyes, and the deaf with ears." "These are the Jews who had mixed themselves up with the heathen, learned their ways, and had rejected the Word of God."E. Henderson, p. 343. It is the height of folly to suppose that the gracious promises of the first seven verses may be logically applied to such racial Israelites.

Yes indeed, Israel in time would witness for God; but it would not be by the controlling majority of the rebellious nation, but by that pitifully small remnant composed of people such as the apostles of Christ. That witnessing would not occur in the lifetime of Isaiah, nor in any of the events following the end of the exile; but, for ages, the fleshly Israel would continue to be "a passive and reluctant exhibit."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 613. What a poor witness fleshly Israel proved to be! As Kelley wrote, "One of the amazing things that emerges from this passage is that a task so momentous should have been entrusted to a people as unfit as Israel (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:7)."Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1971), p. 311.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Yea, before the day was - Before the first day, or before the beginning of time; from eternity. The Septuagint renders it correctly, Ἀπ ̓ ἀρχης Ap' archēs, and the Vulgate (Ab initio), ‘From the beginning.’

I am he - I am the same Isaiah 43:10.

I will work - I will accomplish my designs.

And who shall let it? - Margin, as Hebrew, ‘Turn it back.’ The meaning is, ‘Who can hinder it?’ And the doctrine taught here is:

1. That God is from everlasting, for if he was before time, he must have been eternal.

2. That he is unchangeably the same - a doctrine which is, as it is here designed to be used, the only sure foundation for the security of his people - for who can trust a being who is fickle, changing, vacillating?

3. That he can deliver his people always, no matter what are their circumstances.

4. That he will accomplish all his plans; no matter whether to save his people, or to destroy his foes.

5. That no one - man or devil - can hinder him. How can the feeble arm of a creature resist God?

6. That opposition to him is as fruitless as it is wicked. If people wish for happiness, they must fall in with his plans, and aid in the furtherance of his designs.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

13.Even before the day was. He now speaks of the eternity of God; but we must attend to the Prophet’s design; for he who has a beginning and is not from himself, cannot rule by his dominion, or govern according to his pleasure, what he has not created. When, therefore, God declares that he is eternal, he reminds us that the world is his workmanship; for this order of nature did not spring up by chance, but proceeded from the wonderful purpose and. wisdom of God. (Genesis 1:1.) In this sense he afterwards adds, —

There is none to deliver out of my hand. Hence we shall clearly see that his supreme and infinite power is proved from his eternity; for if he were not eternal, he could neither exercise authority over all things, nor be the defender of his people, nor dispose of the creatures according to his pleasure; but since he is eternal, all things must be subject to his authority. To the same purpose is what he says, that no obstacle can prevent what he hath decreed to do, that the Jews may not be alarmed or dispirited by the forces or number of the enemies.

Smith's Bible Commentary

But yet, God is going to restore them. Chapter 43 gets in the restoration.

But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God, and the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Arabia for thee. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, I will gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the end of the eaRuth ( Isaiah 43:1-6 );

And so God predicted this present-day gathering together of the people of Israel back into the land. Coming from the east, the west, the south. And even Russia, God is saying, "Give My people up." And I expect there to be a real relaxing of the Russian government on the immigration of the Jews.

Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him ( Isaiah 43:7 ).

Now God says concerning them, "I have created them. I have formed him. Yea, I have made him." In the Hebrew there are three different words: created, made, and formed, as God speaks of His work. One is that of creating something out of nothing, which only God can do. And then how God made them and then formed them. Formed them and made them.

Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and show us the former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth ( Isaiah 43:8-9 ).

Now God said of the Jews, "Ye are My witnesses." And surely someone said if you want proof of the Bible, just look at the Jews. There's proof of the Bible. God said that He would make them a nation once again. They are a nation once again. You can't deny it. That's an impossibility and yet it's a reality. It's impossible that an ethnic group of people could live for two thousand years without a national homeland and still survive as an ethnic group. Unparalleled in history.

God said,

Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour ( Isaiah 43:10-11 ).

Now those who say, "Well, it doesn't matter really what you believe. There are many gods, many paths to God." Hey, He doesn't agree with that. "Before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me." I wonder what the Mormons do with that. Sort of puts the brakes on their ascending into the godhood status.

I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God. Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall hinder it? Thus saith the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; Which brings forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow. Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field shall honor me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. This people have I formed for myself; and they shall show forth my praise. But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel. Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings ( Isaiah 43:12-23 );

Now God is speaking how the nation Israel has not really been keeping the covenant with God. And for almost 1,950 years they have not offered to God a burnt offering.

neither hast thou honored me with sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense. Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of your sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with your iniquities. I, even I, am he that blotteth out the transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that you may be justified. Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me. Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, I have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches ( Isaiah 43:23-28 ).

And so because they have not kept God's covenant, they have experienced the desolation. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Yahweh alone, among all the "gods," is the only real deliverer, the one who knows the future, and the sovereign. He is unique. None of the idols was Yahweh. The Israelites could bear witness to that, but they were blind and deaf. Therefore the Lord had to testify in His own behalf.

"In the first part of his book, Isaiah had demonstrated that God alone can be trusted, that all other resources, especially the nations, would fail. Now he is showing that when we have refused to trust and have reaped the logical results of our false dependencies, God alone can save." [Note: Oswalt, The Book . . . 40-66, p. 148.]

Yahweh was the only God from the very beginning. Since He is the only deliverer, no other god can deliver people from His hand or overrule His decisions. It was foolish, then, for the Israelites, as it is for all God’s people, to look to anyone or anything else for salvation. Someone said, "In our world it’s cool to search for God, but uncool to find him." [Note: Quoted by Ortlund, p. 283.]

In the future, God would use Israel to demonstrate to the world in a fresh way that He was the only Savior, as He had done in the past. He would make His people the evidence of His deity by delivering them from captivity in Babylon (Isaiah 43:14-21) and from their sins (Isaiah 44:1-5). His salvation would be in spite of their lack of righteousness (Isaiah 43:22-28).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Yea, before the day was I am he,.... Before there was a day, before the first day of the creation; that is, before time was, or from all eternity, I am he that resolved upon and contrived this method of saving men; "and ever since that day was" k, as it may be rendered, I am he that have spoken of it by all the prophets, from the beginning of the world, and now it is accomplished:

and there is none can deliver out of my hand: either such whom the Lord determines to punish, or such whom he resolves to save; none can snatch them out of his hands, there they are safe:

I will work, and who shall let it? as when he wrought the work of creation, there was no opposition to it, or hinderance of him; and in providence all things are done as be pleases; so all his purposes and decrees, which are his works within him, are exactly accomplished according to his pleasure, and none can resist his will. The work of redemption is finished just according to the draught of it in his eternal mind; and when he works upon the heart of a sinner at conversion, whatever obstructions and difficulties are in the way, these are removed, and the work is begun, and carried on, and performed, until the day of Christ. The work of the Lord in his churches, and the setting up of his kingdom in the world, in a more visible and glorious manner, shall be done, and none will be able to hinder it:

who can turn it back? either his work, or his hand in working; his purposes cannot be disannulled; his power cannot be controlled; his work cannot be made void, or of no effect; he always succeeds, for he has no superior that can obstruct him.

k מיום אני הוא "ex quo dies [fuit]", Gataker; "ex quo dies esse coepit", Vatablus; "inde a tempore diei", Piscator. הוא "Hu", may be considered here as one of the names of God, who from eternity to eternity is, αυτος, "he", the same yesterday, today, and for ever.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      8 Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.   9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and show us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.   10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.   11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.   12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.   13 Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?

      God here challenges the worshippers of idols to produce such proofs of the divinity of their false gods as even this very instance (to go no further) of the redemption of the Jews out of Babylon furnished the people of Israel with, to prove that their God is the true and living God, and he only.

      I. The patrons of idolatry are here called to appear, and say what they have to say in defence of their idols, Isaiah 43:8; Isaiah 43:9. Their gods have eyes and see not, ears and hear not, and those that make them and trust in them are like unto them; so David had said (Psalms 115:8), to which the prophet seems here to refer when he calls idolaters blind people that have eyes, and deaf people that have ears. They have the shape, capacities, and faculties, of men; but they are, in effect, destitute of reason and common sense, or they would never worship gods of their own making. "Let all the nations therefore be gathered together, let them help one another, and with a combined force plead the cause of their dunghill gods; and, if they have nothing to say in their own justification, let them hear what the God of Israel has to say for their conviction and confutation."

      II. God's witnesses are subpoenaed, or summoned to appear, and give in evidence for him (Isaiah 43:10; Isaiah 43:10): "You, O Israelites! all you that are called by my name, you are all my witnesses, and so is my servant whom I have chosen." It was Christ himself that was so described (Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 42:1), My servant and my elect. Observe,

      1. All the prophets that testified to Christ, and Christ himself, the great prophet, are here appealed to as God's witnesses. (1.) God's people are witnesses for him, and can attest, upon their own knowledge and experience, concerning the power of his grace, the sweetness of his comforts, the tenderness of his providence, and the truth of his promise. They will be forward to witness for him that he is gracious and that no word of his has fallen to the ground. (2.) His prophets are in a particular manner witnesses for him, with whom his secret is, and who know more of him than others do. But the Messiah especially is given to be a witness for him to the people; having lain in his bosom from eternity, he has declared him. Now,

      2. Let us see what the point is which these witnesses are called to prove (Isaiah 43:12; Isaiah 43:12): You are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. Note, Those who do themselves acknowledge that the Lord is God should be ready to testify what they know of him to others, that they also may be brought to the acknowledgement of it. I believed, therefore have I spoken. Particularly, "Since you cannot but know, and believe, and understand, you must be ready to bear record, (1.) That I am he, the only true God, that I am a being self-existent and self-sufficient; I am he whom you are to fear, and worship, and trust in. Nay (Isaiah 43:13; Isaiah 43:13), before the day was (before the first day of time, before the creation of the light, and, consequently, from eternity) I am he." The idols were but of yesterday, new gods that came newly up (Deuteronomy 32:17); but the God of Israel was from everlasting. (2.) That there was no God formed before me, nor shall be after me. The idols were gods formed (dii facti--made gods, or rather fictitii--fictitious); by nature they were no gods,Galatians 4:8. But God has a being from eternity, yea, and a religion in this world before there were either idols or idolaters (truth is more ancient than error); and he will have a being to eternity, and will be worshipped and glorified when idols are famished and abolished and idolatry shall be no more. True religion will keep its ground, and survive all opposition and competition. Great is the truth, and will prevail. (3.) That I, even I, am the Lord, the great Jehovah, who is, and was, and is to come; and besides me there is no Saviour,Isaiah 43:11; Isaiah 43:11. See what it is that the great God glories in, not so much that he is the only ruler as that he is the only Saviour; for he delights to do good: he is the Saviour of all men,1 Timothy 4:10.

      3. Let us see what the proofs are which are produced for the confirmation of this point. It appears,

      (1.) That the Lord is God, by two proofs: [1.] He has an infinite and infallible knowledge, as is evident from the predictions of his word (Isaiah 43:12; Isaiah 43:12): "I have declared and I have shown that which has without fail come to pass; nay, I never declared nor showed any thing but it has been accomplished. I showed when there was no strange god among you, that is, when you pretended not to consult any oracles but mine, nor to have any prophets but mine." It is said, when they came out of Egypt, that the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. [2.] He has an infinite and irresistible power, as is evident from the performances of his providence. He pleads not only, I have shown, but, I have saved, not only foretold what none else could foresee, but done what none else could do; for (Isaiah 43:13; Isaiah 43:13), "None can deliver out of my hand those whom I will punish; not only no man can, but none of all the gods of the heathen can protect." It is therefore a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, because there is no getting out of them again. "I will work what I have designed, both in mercy and judgment, and who shall either oppose or retard it?"

      (2.) That the gods of the heathen, who are rivals with him, are not only inferior to him, but no gods at all, which is proved (Isaiah 43:9; Isaiah 43:9) by a challenge: Who among them can declare this that I now declare? Who can foretel things to come? Nay, which of them can show us former things?Isaiah 41:22; Isaiah 41:22. They cannot so much as inspire an historian, much less a prophet. They are challenged to join issue upon this: Let them bring forth their witnesses, to prove their omniscience and omnipotence. And, [1.] If they do prove them, they shall be justified, the idols in demanding homage and the idolaters in paying it. [2.] If they do not prove them, let them say, It is truth; let them own the true God, and receive the truth concerning him, that he is God alone. The cause of God is not afraid to stand a fair trial; but it may reasonably be expected that those who cannot justify themselves in their irreligion should submit to the power of the truth and true religion.