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When you pass through the waters, I will be with you

Isaiah 43v1-5a

2nd November 2018

Isaiah 43v1-5a
But now, this is what the LORD says — he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are precious and honoured in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life. Do not be afraid, for I am with you;"

This ancient prophecy begins with these words:

Verse 1
But now, this is what the LORD says — he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine."

God is speaking to every one of us. Dear Christian, this is what the Lord says to you today. God reminds you that you are His creation. He formed you. He decided before the beginning of time to make you. He could have chosen to make somebody different, but He chose to make you. And He has redeemed you. Through faith in the redeeming sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, God has bought you out of slavery to sin and death, and set you free to be His servant and His child. He has summoned you by name - individually.

Please think about this. You, as an individual Christian, were called into God's kingdom by name. Of all the people in the world, God chose you. Fear not - don't be afraid - because you belong to God.

Verse 2
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

When God's Old Testament people escaped from Egypt, they passed through the waters of the Red Sea (Exodus 13v10-31). When they entered the Promised Land of Canaan, they passed through the waters of the River Jordan (Joshua 3). In both situations, God stopped the water flowing so His people could walk across on dry land. In both cases, God kept them safe. And God will keep you safe.

When Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace (Daniel 3), God kept them safe, Jesus appeared in the flames with them and, when they came out, there was not even the smell of fire on their clothing. God kept them safe. And God will keep you safe.

God doesn't promise that you will not pass through the waters. He doesn't promise that you will not walk through the fire. He promises to keep you safe in the waters and the fire. We would prefer God kept us away from testing situations, but He doesn't do that. Instead, He keeps us safe through the tests.

Verse 3
For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.

Isaiah was prophesying around the time of the reign of King Hezekiah. At that time, the Assyrian army under Sennacherib invaded Judah and besieged Jerusalem. God set an angel to kill 185,000 Assyrian troops (Isaiah 37v36) and Sennacherib withdrew. We know that Sennacherib was also at war with Egypt and Cush (Isaiah 37v9). Perhaps Sennacherib's withdrawal from Jerusalem set in train the political and military events that resulted in the defeat of Egyptian and Cushite armies.

More generally, God is saying that He is willing to sacrifice other nations for the sake of His chosen people. And we know that God will condemn other people to a godless eternity, but He will never condemn us.

God's reason for sparing us is simply this:

Verse 4
Since you are precious and honoured in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.

We Christians are precious to God, and even honoured by God. This is not because of any merit in us, but because of His sovereign choice. God chose us from eternity to be His children, and God values and honours His children.

Calvin says at this point that Isaiah actually prophesies not "I will give men" but "I will give a man". It seems to me that this refers to God's sacrifice of Jesus in our place, although others see it as just a reiteration of what has just been spoken about God willingness to condemn others but not us. Either way, God shows us again how precious we are to Him.

Verse 5a
Do not be afraid, for I am with you

For the second time in this passage, God says, "Do not be afraid" or "fear not". All God's holy people - all Christians - need not fear, because God is with us.