Isaiah 43:1-7,11-12
SS Lesson for 12/26/2010
Devotional Scripture: Joshua 1:5-9
The concept of the outline of the lesson came from the NIV Standard Lesson Commentary. This week's lesson reveals that God is With Us. The study's aim is to show that God cares for His people and is present with them to strengthen them. The study's application is to understand that when we go through difficult situations, our God is always there and ready to help us.
Strange Gods
Has anyone not noticed the wide variety of religious beliefs these days? In cities large and small, there are synagogues, mosques, temples, tabernacles, chapels, churches, and other houses of worship. There is an ocean of Web sites to explain the belief systems of everything from atheism to voodoo. Religious TV shows feature outrageous “holy” men and women. The spirituality section in commercial bookstores is crammed with volumes on New Age religion, humanism, and witchcraft right alongside the Bibles. This is not a new state of affairs. Ancient Israel was surrounded by nations with strange religions. They practiced such things as idol worship, temple prostitution, and human sacrifice. The Israelites allowed these practices to infiltrate their own religious life (2 Kings 17:17; Isaiah 44:17; Hosea 4:14). Yet the people of Israel had a heritage of worshiping and serving the one true God, the only God. Any other so-called “god” was false, and to worship a false god was futile (see Romans 1:21–23). The Bible refers to these as “foreign gods” (Deuteronomy 32:16; see Psalm 81:9), with older versions calling them “strange gods.” If we have placed our faith in the Lord, the one true God, this idea of strange gods has more than one connotation. Some of these fictitious gods are strange in the sense of being just plain weird, like the elephant or monkey gods of the Hindus. Some are strange in that they are unimaginable to us. What kind of god would demand the sacrifice of a son or daughter in order to be appeased? They are also strange or foreign in that they seem to be “distant” in more than one sense. They are alien and frightening in their imperfection and demands. These are not deities that we want to be like or whose image we would be pleased to bear. Isaiah was deeply concerned that his people understand that there is only one God. All other claims of gods are false and dangerous. Things haven’t changed. Despite the appearance of competition among religions in our world, there is still only one God. There is no one besides him (Isaiah 45:6). This is not because he is the greatest of the gods, but because he is the only God. Any other god proposed to us is strange!
Lesson Background
An important theme in the second half of Isaiah is that the people of Israel are to be God’s witnesses to the other nations of the earth (Isaiah 45:20, 21; 48:20; etc.). This was not witness in the sense of “evangelism,” but that of “testimony.” Such a witness proclaims eyewitness observation or experience (Isaiah 43:10, today’s text). The concept of using a witness to verify legal claims is very ancient, and the integrity of witnesses is the foundation of all legal systems (compare Exodus 20:16). The wisdom tradition of Israel saw the honest witness as “truthful” in contrast with the false witness (see Proverbs 14:5). The people of the Bible were very aware of the great damage a false witness could bring (see Proverbs 25:18). The nation of Israel had many occasions in its history to be a witness of and to the power of God. They had seen the plagues inflicted on Egypt to force Pharaoh to release them. They had walked through the miraculously parted Red Sea to escape the Egyptian army. They had seen the glorious mountain of the Lord where they received the law; that peak had the appearance of a mountain on fire (Exodus 19:18). They had seen the collapse of the walls of Jericho without a human hand having touched them. These mighty acts of the Lord made the Israelites witnesses for their God to all other nations. The law required two or three witnesses to convict someone of a crime (see Deuteronomy 19:15; compare John 8:17). In Israel, God had a whole nation of witnesses.
If you have studied the Bible for any length of time, you realize that it is the unfolding of God's plan for Israel, the church, and the world. From the time of the Fall, God has been working out His divine plan to redeem lost humanity. This is seen in the promise of the Seed of the woman crushing the serpent (Gen. 3:15), the promises made to Abraham (12:1-3), the rescue of Israel from Egyptian bondage, and, of course, the promise of the Messiah. Because of the New Testament, we are able to see in hindsight what Old Testament saints saw only as a prospect (Eph. 3:4-5). We obviously have a distinct advantage over them in this regard. Even from the perspective of early Christians, we have certain advantages, as we have some twenty centuries of Christian thought to help us understand God's plan. As Augustine said, "The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed, the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed" (Zuck, ed., Rightly Divided, Kregel). In short, the more we study one Testament, the better we understand the other. As we study a less-familiar text from Isaiah, we will again be reminded of God's overarching plan. Our lesson this week teaches us a very important lesson, one that will take us a long way in life. We explore a side of our God that is a great blessing. We learn this week that God is ever present with us, no matter where we go or in what situation we find ourselves. This should be a source of great encouragement to the one who seeks to follow Christ and encounters various trials along the way. One is always amazed at how secure and happy little children are as long as their parents are with them. The moment their parents have gone out of sight, however, one often sees the fear and panic set in. Their sense of security and safety is suddenly stolen from them, and they are afraid. As adult children of God, we fear some things that happen to us. It is part of human nature, but God reminds us that He is always near and that He is ready to help us.
(Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV)
1 But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.
3 For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
4 Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life.
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price.
18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" -which means, "God with us."
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city."
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-
31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,
26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved.
18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants 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 keep 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 have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him."
47 Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.
8 This is what the Lord says: "In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, 9 to say to the captives, 'Come out,' and to those in darkness, 'Be free!' "They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill. 10 They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water. 11 I will turn all my mountains into roads, and my highways will be raised up. 12 See, they will come from afar — some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Aswan."
7 This is what the Lord says: "Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say, 'O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel.' 8 See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng will return.
24 "'For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
12 "I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people.
29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
30 "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
14 Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself.
9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life — not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
19 Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."
18 "I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'
11 I, even I, am the Lord, And besides Me there is no savior.
12 I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses," Says the Lord, "that I am God.
Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior.
We have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men,
12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
14 The Lord replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
15 Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.
11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues.
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.
5 The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it.
24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—
Continuing Theme: Witness
Isaiah’s theme of witness is continued in the New Testament, where the risen Jesus charges his disciples to be his “witnesses” to all the people of the earth (Acts 1:8). In this, believers are following Jesus himself, for he is presented as the ultimate “faithful witness” to the power and holiness of God (see Revelation 1:5). But unlike ancient Israel, our witness should have the result of evangelism (Matthew 28:19, 20). In this way, Christian believers are the new nation of witnesses of the power of God to unbelievers. Our faith should lead us to testify to the mighty works of God, particularly to the power of the resurrection of Jesus (see Romans 1:4). God does not leave this task to us alone, for he gives us his Spirit as a witness to our status as his children (Romans 8:16). This is the “Spirit of truth” that adds his witness to our own (John 15:26; see 1 John 5:20).
Continuing Theme: Only One God
Our consumer society has given us many choices when it comes to products we purchase. I recently did a quick count of the different varieties of soda pop for sale in the supermarket next door, counting nearly 100. We are spoiled by this dizzying array, and sometimes we are paralyzed by too many choices. We are like the proverbial donkey that was placed between two feedboxes and starved to death while trying to decide which one he should eat from. Some like to think that there are many choices in matters of faith as well. We want to worship, but we want a God who fits our lifestyle and preferences. So we put ourselves up as the judge of many gods, and thereby place God in the dock (that is C. S. Lewis’s British term for “witness stand”). We choose a church as we would choose a new car. Isaiah’s insistence that this is mad still speaks today. There is only one God, whether we believe this or not. Our faith or lack of it does not change the reality. God’s eternality, power, and singularity do not depend on our acceptance. Similarly, God’s ongoing presence in the world is not contingent on our recognition of that fact. God declares that there is no other God. God promises that he is with us. He is our Savior, the only deliverer from the mess we have made of our lives.
Our text comes immediately after God chastised Israel for her blindness and deafness toward His righteous law and her continued disobedience (cf. Isa. 42:18-25). For this reason, the Lord had brought judgment upon her. Now God assured His people that they truly did belong to Him and that He would sustain them through all the many trials they would face. The troubles they would experience might seem overwhelming, and often their plight might appear hopeless; but through it all, God assured them He would be with them. He would not forsake those who had put their trust in Him as their Saviour. As with Israel, the Lord takes His New Testament people through grievous trials and troubles. Sometimes there seems to be so much pain and so many enemies in our lives that we are tempted to lose hope, question whether God cares about us, and fall into despair. Many have questioned why God's way is to take us through the many intense trials of life rather than spare us from them. Why does He consider it necessary that we experience such pain and suffering, often seemingly heaped upon certain individuals to an extreme that seems totally unbearable? Consider the saints and martyrs of old, the so-called faith hall of fame from the book of Hebrews (cf. 11:36-38), or Paul's recounting of his own persecution-filled career as an apostle and evangelist to the Gentiles (cf. 2 Cor. 11:23-27). What reasons can we find to explain why God considers it beneficial that His servants endure such trials and sufferings? As with most important questions of the Christian life, we can find our best starting point at the cross of Christ. What better example of godly suffering is there than the sufferings of Jesus Himself? Although Christ's sufferings are primarily viewed as uniquely atoning for sinners, there is also an experiential aspect to them. Humanly speaking, Jesus learned obedience through His sufferings (cf. Heb. 5:8). It was not that Christ ever disobeyed God; rather, it was through physical suffering that He experientially learned the true meaning of obedience. In other words, Jesus learned the cost of obedience from a human perspective by suffering. In order to be obedient to the point of suffering, one must have a correspondingly sufficient measure of faith to trust God enough to enter into as well as to endure the pain. Thus, in His suffering, Christ is our model of faith (Heb. 12:2). He endured the full shame and horror of the cross because of His complete faith in the joy and high honor that God the Father had set before His eyes as His promised reward for laying down His life for sinners. Jesus' suffering also implies a refining or purifying purpose—not from sin but for manifesting true value. This reveals a more profound perspective on the biblical meaning of purification through suffering —namely, that of a cosmic demonstration that removes all doubt as to the unsurpassed value of a fully vindicated servant of the Lord (cf. 1 Pet. 1:7; Job 1:8-11; 42:7-10).
1. Since God has created and redeemed His people, they need not be paralyzed by fear (Isa. 43:1)
2. In any situation, God's omnipresence can bring comfort and courage to His own (vs. 2)
3. God's people can rest and rely on His love, for it undergirds all that He does in their lives (vs. 3-4)
4. Nothing is too hard for God; when He commands, all creation must obey (vs. 5-6)
5. The Creator's children should reflect His glory (vs. 7)
6. The truth remains: God alone can change a heart and save a soul (vs. 11-12)
"Loneliness is a growing problem in our society. A study by the American Council of Life Insurance reported that the most lonely group in America are college students. That's surprising! Next on the list are divorced people, welfare recipients, single mothers, rural students, housewives, and the elderly. "To point out how lonely people can be, Charles Swindoll mentioned an ad in a Kansas newspaper. It read, 'I will listen to you talk for 30 minutes without comment for $5.' "Swindoll said, 'Sounds like a hoax, doesn't it? But the person was serious. Did anybody call? You bet. It wasn't long before this individual was receiving 10 to 20 calls a day. The pain of loneliness was so sharp that some were willing to try anything for a half hour of companionship'" (www.bible.org).
God's people were mired in disobedience. They had strayed far from the One who had created them and made them into a nation. God's message to His disobedient people through the Prophet Isaiah was that no matter what they had done or where they found themselves, God would restore them and be with them. The holy God of Israel, the Saviour of His people, would not abandon them in their time of distress. God did not want His people to live mired in fear. He promised them that He would order far-flung regions to give up their captives and make their return to the Promised Land a reality. The main reason for God's promise was the ultimate purpose for which He created His people—to bring glory to Himself. God is a jealous God who by His very nature cannot lie or renege on any promise. God's people can confidently and boldly live in the knowledge that every last one of them will enjoy the presence of their personal, loving Saviour.
God saw the need among His people for an unequivocal proclamation of His uniqueness. He wanted to reassure His wayward and lonely people that He was the only true Saviour of the universe. God appealed to their memory, reminding them that they themselves, with their history under His care, contributed mightily to the overwhelming evidence of His unique existence. God has always been the one, true, living God, and He always will be God. Since He is the Creator who made all things, no created being can take His rightful place and purpose in life. "In the early days of the automobile a man's Model-T Ford stalled in the middle of the road. He couldn't get it started no matter how hard he cranked nor how much be tried to advance the spark or adjust things under the hood. "Just then a chauffeured limousine pulled up behind him, and a wiry, energetic man stepped out from the back seat and offered his assistance. After tinkering for a few moments the stranger said, 'Now try it!' "Immediately the engine leaped to life. The well-dressed individual then identified himself as Henry Ford. 'I designed and built these cars,' he said, 'so I know what to do when something goes wrong'" (www.elbourne.org). The heart of this week's lesson is that God has created us and promises to always be with us!