Isaiah 43 (HCSB)
Restoration of Israel
1 Now this is what the Lord says—the One who created you, Jacob, and the One who formed you, Israel—“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.
2 I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire, and the flame will not burn you.
3 For I Yahweh your God, the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior, give Egypt as a ransom for you, Cush and Seba in your place.
4 Because you are precious in My sight and honored, and I love you, I will give people in exchange for you and nations instead of your life.
5 Do not fear, 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 hold them back! Bring My sons from far away, and My daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone called by My name and created for My glory. I have formed him; indeed, I have made him.”
8 Bring out a people who are blind, yet have eyes, and are deaf, yet have ears.
9 All the nations are gathered together, and the peoples are assembled. Who among them can declare this, and tell us the former things? Let them present their witnesses to vindicate themselves, so that people may hear and say, “It is true.”
10 “You are My witnesses”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. No god was formed before Me, and there will be none after Me.
11 I, I am Yahweh, and there is no other Savior but Me.
12 I alone declared, saved, and proclaimed—and not some foreign god among you. So you are My witnesses”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and I am God.
13 Also, from today on I am He alone, and none can deliver from My hand. I act, and who can reverse it?”
God’s Deliverance of Rebellious Israel
14 This is what the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says:
Because of you, I will send to Babylon and bring all of them as fugitives, even the Chaldeans in the hips in which they rejoice.
15 I am Yahweh, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.
16 This is what the Lord says—who makes a way in the sea, and a path through surging waters,
17 who brings out the chariot and horse, the army and the mighty one together (they lie down, they do not rise again; they are extinguished, quenched like a wick)—
18 “Do not remember the past events, pay no attention to things of old.
19 Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.
20 The animals of the field will honor Me, jackals and ostriches, because I provide water in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My chosen people.
21 The people I formed for Myself will declare My praise.
22 “But Jacob, you have not called on Me, because, Israel, you have become weary of Me.
23 You have not brought Me your sheep for burnt offerings or honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings or wearied you with incense.
24 You have not bought Me aromatic cane with silver, or satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened Me with your sins; you have wearied Me with your iniquities.
25 “It is I who sweep away your transgressions for My own sake and remember your sins no more.
26 Take Me to court; let us argue our case together. State your case, so that you may be vindicated.
27 Your first father sinned, and your mediators have rebelled against Me.
28 So I defiled the officers of the sanctuary, and set Jacob apart for destruction and Israel for abuse.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 18): I often dwell on things of the past, harboring those memories as food and justification for my anger and sin, Father. Please forgive me of this. Help me to learn from the past and use those experiences for Your glory, Father. Help me to release the hold I often allow the past to have on me, Father.
PROMISE (verse 25): You promise that You sweep away all of our mistakes and forget all of our sins. More often than not, I do not lean on this promise and instead remind myself constantly of my mistakes or the mistakes that those close to me have made towards me. Please help me to lean on this promise, Father, so that I may be able to live a more righteous life for Your glory.
ATTITUDE (verses 18-21): Help me to change this attitude I have of often living in the past, Father. You tell us to let go of the old things because You are doing new things in us. Help me to have an attitude of praise towards the new so that I do not focus on the old things, Father.
COMMAND (verses 18-19): You are speaking to me rather loudly in these particular verses today, Father. You give us the command to not dwell on the past because You bring new, better things to our lives. Help me to follow this command by keeping my focus on You, Father, and not myself, not my past, and not the hurts others have caused against me. Help me to praise You and to always learn from my past but look forward to Your future.
EXAMPLE (verses 9, 26): You consistently tell us to bring our burdens and mistakes to You, Father, yet for some reason I try too often to deal with it on my own. Help me to follow the example You give here so I may bring everything to You and not pick-and-choose what I feel like bringing to You in the moment.
*DAILY NOTE: If Jesus were physically sitting next to me in the flesh, I feel like He would’ve been rather loud and vocal during this quiet time with You, Father. I far too often allow my past to define my present and my future. I far too often hold onto the things of the past and allow them to control my reaction to situations. Thank You for always being there for me, Father. Thank You for bringing a newness to my life that doesn’t dwell on the hurts and pains of my past, Father. Help me to continue to work on my relationship with You so that I may continue to learn about my identity in Christ and allow that to be who I am and how I act in all things, not my past.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
Comments