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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Isaiah 43:22 - 43:28
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Israel's Salvation the Work of Jehovah's Mercy
v. 22. But thou hast not called upon Me, O Jacob, they had not chosen the true God; but thou hast been weary of Me, O Israel, they had in no way exerted themselves on His account, His election of them as His peculiar people rather being an act of His free love and mercy.
v. 23. Thou hast not brought Me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings, to atone for the general condition of sinfulness and to dedicate themselves to Jehovah; neither hast thou honored Me with thy sacrifices, in order to establish and maintain the relation of dependence brought about by the mercy of God imparted in the Word. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, the unbloody sacrifice which expressed the praise of God on the part of His saints, nor wearied thee with incense, which signified the prayers of the believers. Before the Lord called the patriarchs and designated their descendants as the people sanctified to Him, they had not sought Him, His selection of Abraham and of the children of Israel being a matter of His free grace and mercy alone.
v. 24. Thou hast bought Me no sweet cane with money, the sweet-smelling plant used in preparing the sacred oil, imported at a great price, neither hast thou filled Me with the fat of thy sacrifices, never tiring themselves out in acts of worship, just as there was no merit on their part in being called into the relation of the covenant; on the contrary: but thou hast made Me to serve with thy sins, causing Him much trouble after He had accepted them into the relation of His children, thou hast wearied Me with thine iniqulties, their constant transgression of His holy Law causing Him great distress and vexation.
v. 25. I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, by an act of His boundless mercy, in order that His name might not be blasphemed among the heathen, and will not remember thy sins, this being the essence of forgiveness, that He remits the specific breach of faith as well as the general deviation from the path of His holy will.
v. 26. Put Me in remembrance, Israel reminding the Lord of His acts of mercy by a recital of the same; let us plead together, in order to establish their case, if they thought they were in a position to say anything in their own favor; declare thou, that thou mayest be justified, be established as righteous in the face of God's accusation.
v. 27. Thy first father, the ancestor of the children of Israel, hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against Me, the very ones who should have transmitted the will of God to the people.
v. 28. Therefore, because they made themselves unworthy of the honor given them in their office, I have profaned the princes of the Sanctuary, degrading the high priests, treating them as no longer consecrated, and have given Jacob to the curse and Israel to reproaches. Israel alone was to blame for its present misfortune. The fact that the Lord intended to bring salvation was due entirely to His grace and mercy. Hos_13:9.