9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord;
Awake as in the days of old, the generations of long ago.
Was it not You who cut Rahab in pieces,
Who pierced the dragon?
10 Was it not You who dried up the sea,
The waters of the great deep;
Who made the depths of the sea a pathway
For the redeemed to cross over?
11 So the ransomed of the Lord will return
And come with joyful shouting to Zion,
And everlasting joy will be on their heads.
They will obtain gladness and joy,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away.12 “I, even I, am He who comforts you.
Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies
And of the son of man who is made like grass,
13 That you have forgotten the Lord your Maker,
Who stretched out the heavens
And laid the foundations of the earth,
That you fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor,
As he makes ready to destroy?
But where is the fury of the oppressor?14 The [f]exile will soon be set free, and will not die in the dungeon, nor will his bread be lacking. 15 For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea and its waves roar (the Lord of hosts is His name). 16 I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to [g]establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”
As this chapter continues, we see God sort of talking to Himself. Of course, with what we now know of the Trinity, even if we don’t understand it fully, God can talk to Himself without actually talking to Himself. How’s that for a mind-bender? At any rate, what is He saying? Really, God is reminding the Israelites of who their God truly is.
That is, He is the God who “cut Rahab in pieces” and “pierced the dragon” and dried up the sea so that the Israelites crossed over to safety on dry ground. But hold on a minute! He cut Rahab in pieces? I thought she was saved from destruction when they conquered Jericho? I had to look that one up to find the real meaning. It is sometimes used as an epithet/nickname of Egypt, and also has the connotation of arrogance or “boaster”. That makes sense in context, since the very next thing is the parting and crossing of the Red Sea.
So moving along, this is important because God asks them a pivotal question in v. 12, “Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies?” The implication, if we didn’t pick up on it, is made clear in v. 13, “…you have forgotten the Lord your Maker…” Also in v. 13, God reminds us of the emptiness of raging and arrogance, “where is the fury of the oppressor?” To be clear, there are very bad people in this world, who do very terrible things to believers.
Yet they cannot harm the soul, and even though some kill the body, more often their fury is empty and vain. In any case, they cannot do anything except what God allows. In the face of such enemies, the Israelites had indeed forgotten God. They had also forgotten who they were, and thus were afraid of their enemies, mere men. God makes it even clearer in v. 16 with “You are My people.”
There are times God could ask us the same question, “Who are you? Have you forgotten?” We are prone to fear and doubt, worse for it being in the face of God’s mighty works. He’s still doing them, but if you ever need extra encouragement, read the stories in Genesis and Exodus, and sprinkled all throughout the Old Testament.
Read of Joseph, or Moses, Joshua and Jericho, or Samuel, David, Daniel, or Elijah. God has done so many incredible things, that sometimes our own lives might seem a little boring. But that doesn’t change who you are, beloved of the most High. Even if you haven’t committed your life to Him, God has still given His son for you, and is still pursuing you because He loves you very much.
So don’t forget, especially don’t forget who God is. Mighty and strong, creator of Heaven and Earth, mover of mountains and seas, slayer of dragons, and still one who poured out His life for love of you. God redeemed Israel, and just the same, or better even, He has paid the ransom for my soul and yours. I’ll say it again, don’t forget!