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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Isaiah 43:1 - 43:7
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Jehovah's Love Protects And Gathers His People
v. 1. But now, thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, not only in the act of creation, but in the sense of making the descendants of Jacob His own peculiar people, a distinction which has now been transferred to the spiritual Israel, the Church of God, Fear not, namely, after the stern reproofs of the last chapter and on account of the natural feeling of sinfulness and unworthiness, for I have redeemed thee, His main activity ever consisting in His ransoming His children from the power of their enemies; I have called thee by thy name, thereby expressing the relation of intimate friendship which He wanted to exist; thou art Mine, His incomparable love causing Him to regard Israel as His precious possession, which He treasures with all the power of His eternal mercy.
v. 2. When thou passest through the waters, through great dangers, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee, as when Israel went dry-shod through the bed of Jordan, although it was the period of the annual floods, Jos_3:15; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee, the most extreme perils would not be able to harm those who placed their trust in Him, the God of their salvation.
v. 3. For I am the Lord, thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior, the outstanding names of the true God in the Old Testament, the very mention of which is a guarantee of His friendship, especially that of Savior, 1Ti_1:1. I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia, the southern part of Egypt, and Seba, the province of Meroe, between the White and the Blue Nile, for thee, the ungodly being given as ransom for the just, to punish them for their iniquities in opposing the true God, Pro_21:18.
v. 4. Since thou wast precious in My sight, valued most highly by the great God, thou hast been honorable, esteemed greatly in His sight, and I have loved thee, this being the climax of His kind assurances; therefore will I give men for thee and people for thy life, sacrificing the ungodly in order to deliver them that are His, as stated in the previous verse. So eager is the Lord to impress the greatness of His love upon the minds of His children that he repeats His reassuring statements.
v. 5. Fear not, for I am with thee, the pronoun "I,' being placed with special emphasis; I will bring thy seed from the East and gather thee from the West, the spiritual Israel, the Church of God, being collected from the members of all nations;
v. 6. I will say to the North, Give up, and to the South, Keep not back, the form of the admonition including a very willing yielding on the part of the distant peoples, all under the influence of the Lord's merciful invitation. Bring My Sons from far and My daughters from the ends of the earth, the prophecy having in mind the sum total of the believers gained through the proclamation of His message,
v. 7. even every one that is called by My name, as an evidence of their belonging to Him in faith; for I have created him, Israel, as representing the Church of God of all times, for My glory, that the work of the Church might redound to His honor and glory; I have formed him, by a process of careful education; yea, I have made him, prepared him for the purposes of His mercy. Of the saints of the Lord, whom He has called, sanctified, and kept in the faith, not one will remain behind on the Last Day; all will enter into the joy of their Lord.