Isaiah 43:1-13 The Savior of Israel

 

This long section (44:1-44:5) is fundamentally a reaffirmation of Israel’s calling to be the Lord’s servant. The fact that the Lord has pointed to another and greater Servant does not mean that Israel’s own servant role has been done away with. Quite the opposite; it is confirmed here in the strongest possible terms. The main thrust of the passage can be summarized in six great statements of encouragement, one for each of its six parts. (We will review two in this study and the remaining four on the next study.)

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you” (vv. 1-7): In these verses you will find some of the tenderest words that God ever spoke to His children. They are addressed to people far from home, still in the midst of fires and deep waters, with many trials to face before they reach their final rest. There is no promise here of a quick fix or a trouble-free future, but God’s sustaining presence right through to the journey’s end, come what may. They are words which as believers can treasure, because even though we have the cross and the empty tomb behind us, we remain aliens and exiles in a hostile world. It is the faithfulness of the same God, who has promised never to leave them or forsake them, that will bring them home. Isaiah goes on to say that the God of creation and redemption is the same God that has created and formed them too, for His glory (vv. 1, 7). People who are loved like that have absolutely nothing to fear.

“You are My witnesses, declares the Lord” (vv. 8-13): Fear of course, turns us in upon ourselves. It chills our heart and silences our lips, and is the greatest possible hindrance to effective witness. So it is not until he has dealt with the fear that was crippling Israel that Isaiah can move on in verses 8-13 to tell them of their call to be the Lord’s witness. Isaiah uses again a favorite literary form, the courtroom drama. The fundamental point behind this figure is that what he asserts are not fables but truths tested and attested at law, verified conclusions based on firm evidence. At first sight it would seem that the issue to be contested is whether, like the Lord, the idol-gods can predict and fulfill their predictions. As we listen to the proceedings, however, this issue begins to recede and to be replaced by a question about which of all the claimant gods can act and which has the sovereign capacity to determine on a course of action and see it through.

Israel’s own blindness and deafness are swallowed up by a new assurance, and they leave the court with a firm tread and heads held high (v. 10b). The feeble people of God can and will be His witnesses! Truth on their side, and as they rise above their fears and proclaim it, that truth will grip them and transform them. Witness is not an onerous burden, but and unspeakable privilege. It is a means not only of projecting the truth about God into the world, but of strengthening God’s people themselves.

But here we strike a problem. How were those whom the enemy would herd off into exile to fulfill their calling to be witnesses? The deportees never did proclaim the truth about the Lord to the nations in the way that we normally think of witnessing today. They simply returned to Jerusalem when God opened the way, and lived there again as His people. But the fact is that this itself was proof of the Lord’s claim to be God, for it was the historical fulfillment of the Word He had spoken concerning them through the prophets. He had done what no other god could do, and established His people like a lamp on a lampstand or a city set on a hill, bearing witness by their very existence to the truth about Him.

Isaiah also foresaw the day when witnessing would assume a far more active form; heralds would be sent out far and wide to proclaim the Lord’s glory among the nations (66:19-20). This lay far beyond the horizon of Isaiah’s own experience, or that of those who were to live through the dark days following his death, but it was part of the vision he gave them. They were to see what happened to them as laying the foundation for something far greater that God would bring to pass in the future, and take courage from that.

Isaiah 43:1-13 Reflection Questions:

Write down as many encouraging words that speak to you in verses 1-7.

What is the correlation between verse 6 and 2 Cor. 6:17-18?

How are you witnessing each day? Do you see witnessing as a privilege?

What lessons do you learn from this study?

Hebrews 8:1-13 Christ’s Surpassing Priesthood and Covenant

 

The study of the Word of God, especially lofty passages in Revelation or Ezekiel or Hebrews, sometimes makes us feel like we are traveling on the wings of angels. Certainly John’s Revelation was given to expand our minds and quicken our heartbeats to the glories we will experience. As we continue to consider the surpassing glory of the Christ’s heavenly priesthood, let us imagine what it must have been like when the Lamb of God ascended to take His seat at the right hand of the Father as our eternal High Priest. This is what the writer of Hebrews wants us to see and take to heart at this point in the letter (vv. 1-2). The precise point here is that Christ’s priestly session in Heaven is transcendentally supreme and superior to the old earthly priesthood of Aaron.

Apart from its unspeakable glory, the supremacy of His priesthood is seen in that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. His posture points to His completed work. It is the physical expression of His triumphant cry from the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Because in His person He brought finite man and infinite God together, He could then do what no one else could – He could bear all our sins in a single cosmic sacrifice.

Jesus’ footwashing service here on earth was not an aberration of the Incarnation. Serving is part of His divine being. Think of it! Jesus, our eternal Priest who sits at the Father’s right hand in ineffable glory enthroned on emerald atop a crystal sea amongst the adoration of millions, serves in our behalf! “God serves me”! It is a ludicrous expression but true. Take a deep breath, swallow your disbelief, and humbly believe it. Jesus’ prayers are placed in your service and mine. There are no lapses, no disaffections, no uneven devotion – only a loving constancy of intercession – serving, serving, serving… The writer goes on to further demonstrate the surpassing nature of Christ’s priesthood by pointing to its superior reality and substance (vv. 3-5).

Our author’s logic moves from Christ’s superior session, through His superior reality, and now to His superior covenant and ministry. He introduces the subject of the new covenant by pronouncing the old covenant flawed (vv. 6-8). The old covenant was flawed, not in what was spelled out in the Law’s requirements, for the Law was good, but in that it was “weakened by the flesh” of the people (Rom. 8:3), because “the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s Law; indeed, it cannot” (Rom. 8:7-8). Because of this, it could not deliver on its wonderful promises. But the new covenant was founded on “better promises,” both because of their extent and because of the covenant’s ability to bring them to fulfillment in the lives of sinful humanity. This new covenant was to prove superior in every way, because it was founded on “better promises” (v. 6).

So what are these promises? First of all, the new covenant promises superior inwardness (v. 10a). The problem with the old covenant was, it was patently external. Its laws were written on stone. They provided no internal power to live them out. To be sure, there was (and is) great benefit in memorizing God’s Word, but the writing on the heart was beyond the power of unaided man. Something far more radical was needed – a spiritual heart operation.

Next, the new covenant promises a superior relationship (v. 10b). This is perfectly fulfilled in all who partake of the new covenant, in which believers actually become God’s possession and possess God. There is a tender, truer relationship of heart to heart, spirit to spirit – so that “I will be their God, and they shall be My people” is true in a deeper, more soul-satisfying way than those on the outside can imagine.

Superior inwardness and superior relationship are followed by a superior knowledge (v. 11). The old covenant was corporately entered into by a nation, including many who did not know God personally. But those who experience the new covenant come one by one as they are born into a relationship with God. Jesus defined eternal life by saying, “And this is eternal life, that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). God’s command “Know the Lord” is meant to allure men and women, boys and girls toward life. For those on the inside, personal knowledge will make them ache for more.

Finally, there is the promise of superior forgiveness in the new covenant (v. 12). This is precisely what the old covenant could not do. Under the old covenant, sins were never completely forgiven because they were never truly forgotten. They were covered, awaiting and pointing to the forgiveness through Christ’s death. Forgiveness is the most important of the qualities we have discussed, for it is the basis of the other three. Here forgiveness is tied to memory. God never forgets anything. In fact, He cannot forget unless He wills to do so. Any sin He remembers must be punished because He is holy. The new covenant brings total forgiveness! God does not just forget our sins. It is impossible for God to remember them!

Hebrews 8:1-13 Reflection Questions:

Do you know God personally? Do you ache for more of God?

Why is important that we forgive “those who sin against us”?

How are the above promises accomplished?