43 But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!
2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
3 “For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
[a]Cush and Seba in your place.
4 “Since you are precious in My sight,
Since you are honored and I love you,
I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.
5 “Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring 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 hold them back.’
Bring My sons from afar
And My daughters from the ends of the earth,
7 Everyone who is called by My name,
And whom I have created for My glory,
Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”
This passage is a bit all over the place. Though it all has to do with the redeeming of Israel, we have this strange and uncomfortable bit in the middle. But I’m getting ahead of myself! First we have an oft-quoted passage in vv. 1-2. While certain things are just for the actual nation of Israel, some are for those “grafted in” as well, which means all believers.
So what does this passage tell us? That we can just go walk in rivers and through fire, and come out unscathed? No, it tells us that physical danger cannot harm our eternal souls. Our bodies are mere “clothes” for our soul, and nothing on this earth can touch who we actually are inside that “clothing”. Thus, once we have committed our hearts and souls to God, we are safe in His arms. God has redeemed us, called us by name, and we belong to Him.
The latter verses somewhat reiterate this sentiment, as He repeats “Do not fear…” followed by “for I am with you”. Wherever we are in this earth, it is not too far from God. Like Jonah of old who sought to escape God’s presence–and found that he could not–there is nowhere on this earth that God is not with us.
God ends this section with encouraging words also, reminding us that we are called by His name, created for His glory, He formed us and made us. But… what about that uncomfortable part in the middle? (vv. 3-4) What’s the idea with giving other nations in exchange for Israel, for those God loves? Did Israel really deserve God’s love any more than the Egyptians, or the inhabitants of Cush and Seba (Ethiopia)?
This deals with a whole messy area of God’s sovereignty that is difficult for us to wrap our minds around, and I probably won’t explain it very well. But we’ll get to a better place I think by trying. Back in Isaiah’s time, these nations were devoted to idol worship, or king/pharaoh worship. The only way for anyone in that day to be redeemed was to choose to follow God’s law.
They weren’t good enough, none of them were, not even Israel. Yet even those outside Israel might choose to worship God, and indeed all of them were descended from those who had known God (Noah and sons). Whatever the case, that was then, and we have a new reality now. In that imperfect system, before Jesus came to “fulfill the law (and prophets)”, Egypt was given for the ransom of Israel. And countless lambs, goats, doves, bulls, and more, were given to redeem Israel.
But Jesus has come, and perfected what was imperfect. God gave His very Son, a perfect lamb, as a ransom for mankind, Israel, Egypt, Cush, Seba, and the rest of us. One who has not yet believed might say, “What about me then? Am I not one of the chosen, so I shouldn’t bother?” On the contrary, all that person has to do is choose God, and they are thus chosen by Him.
God already knows who will do so, so He can say without hesitation whom He has chosen. We don’t know, cannot know, and must make no assumptions about that. For Peter reminds us that “God is not willing that any should perish, but that all might come to repentance.” No matter where you live, God is there, and even if you have not chosen Him, He made you and created you for His glory.
Want to be chosen? Then choose Him who loves you more than life itself, who calls to those from the east and the west, the north and the south, “Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth…” Separated from Him only by our own rebellion, each of us are created as sons and daughters of the King. Your calling is waiting for you, His calling is waiting for you, your Father, the King, calls to you. Your turn.