This chapter begins with some encouragement for Israel, and it’s here we read of a sudden shift from reproach, Isaiah 42, to consolation. This is to help them to understand that not their merit warranted their deliverance, but because she was God’s, Isaiah 43:1, He would preserve her, Isaiah 43:2.
No water or river or fire, Isaiah 43:2, that is, no natural dangers would hinder them from returning from captivity. This is the first reason for encouragement. As He delivered them from the bondage of Egypt, Isaiah 43:3, so He will gather them home from Babylonian captivity.
Instead of Israel having been given up, three nations have been offered in its place. God gave Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba as a ransom for the salvation of Jerusalem, Isaiah 43:3.
Sennacherib focused his military energies on these nations while sending a part of his army to Jerusalem. The second reason which ensures them against complete destruction is the free love of God, Isaiah 43:4.
The third reason for encouragement is that God was with Israel and would restore her from every quarter of the earth, Isaiah 43:5 / Jeremiah 9:16 / Ezekiel 5:12 / Ezekiel 17:21 / Amos 9:9 / Zechariah 2:6.
All who worship the true God and are obedient to His law will be blessed, Isaiah 43:6 / Genesis 12:1-3. God is the only One who can save them and will do so, Isaiah 43:7.
Kidner, in his commentary, says the following.
‘These seven verses eloquently detail the assurance that Christ gave his Church, i.e., that the Gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Fire, water, distances, people, etc., can take no toll. Everyone will prevail whom God calls ‘mine’.’
The summons is now addressed to someone to bring Israel forth, while all the nations are to assemble for the purpose of justifying themselves for their treatment of Israel, Isaiah 43:8 / Romans 1:20.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘One of the big things in this paragraph is that the fleshly Israel, the deaf and blind Israel, is here commissioned as God’s witness, whether or not they were willing; and this tremendous predictive prophecy is this very day being fulfilled all over the earth. The very existence of Israel is a witness for every single line of the Old Testament, and ‘These are they that testify of me,’ as Jesus stated it. Note that the imaginary court scene is again used as a device for emphasising these significant facts.’
The thought of Isaiah 43:9 seems to be that nations are now given an opportunity to justify themselves in their past conduct. If the nations cannot produce their own witnesses, let them hear what God is saying and let them acknowledge that God’s witness is true.
Young, in his commentary, says the following.
‘If they have any witness who can testify that they have declared the work of God and the former things, they may now present those witnesses, that they may be seen to be justified in their assertions.’
In Isaiah 43:10, the prophet turns to Israel and says that not only are they witnesses of God’s power, but that they were God’s servants as well, and they ought to acknowledge him for what he is. God proves Himself by His works, and Israel is overwhelming evidence of what He claims.
God is Creator, God is one, Isaiah 43:11-12 / Isaiah 44:6 / Isaiah 44:8 / Isaiah 44:24 / Isaiah 45:4-5 / Isaiah 45:14 / Isaiah 45:18 / Isaiah 45:21-22, none can prevail against Him.
Therefore, salvation for Israel is certain; God alone is able to save them, Isaiah 43:13. In other words, they could never have come back from captivity unless God had released them.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
1. That God is from everlasting, for if he were before time, he must have been eternal.
2. That he is unchangeably the same – a doctrine which is, as it is here designed to be used, the only sure foundation for the security of his people, for who can trust a being who is fickle, changing, vacillating?
3. That he can deliver his people always, no matter what their circumstances are.
4. That he will accomplish all his plans, no matter whether to save his people or to destroy his foes.
5. That no one, man or devil, can hinder him. How can the feeble arm of a creature resist God?
6. That opposition to him is as fruitless as it is wicked. If people wish for happiness, they must fall in with his plans and aid in the furtherance of his designs.
From these verses through to Isaiah 44:5, we read of God’s vengeance and deliverance. God promises to overthrow Babylon for the sake of Israel, Isaiah 43:14.
God brought down the Babylonian Empire in order that the Medo-Persian Empire, through King Cyrus, would allow Israel to be restored to the Promised Land. God is the LORD, their Holy One, Israel’s Creator, their King, Isaiah 43:15 / Isaiah 43:1.
Here we find another picture of redemption, it is a reminder of what happened to Egypt at the Red Sea, Isaiah 43:16-17. God dried up the waters, Isaiah 43:16, in order that they be delivered from Egypt. Now He will supply water in order that they are able to cross the desert from the captivity of Babylon to the freedom of their Promised Land.
It was God who parted the Red Sea and then closed it upon Pharaoh’s army when Israel was delivered from Egyptian captivity, Isaiah 43:17 / Exodus 14:4 / Exodus 15:5 / Exodus 15:10, and God will again work to bring Israel out of Assyrian and Babylonian captivities.
Just as God snuffed out the power of Pharaoh, Isaiah 43:17, so He will snuff out the power of these two empires that had taken His people into captivity. Israel is encouraged to look forward, not backwards, Isaiah 43:18 / Philippians 3:13.
The new things, Isaiah 43:19, which God would do for His people, are a deliverance that the old deliverance from Egypt only served to typify. In this ‘new thing,’ there seems to be a Messianic reference, a spiritual deliverance, Isaiah 43:20 / Isaiah 41:17-19.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The sense of this passage is plain, and the image is highly poetical and beautiful. God would pour such copious floods of waters through the waste sandy deserts to supply his people, that even the wild beasts would be sensible of his abundant goodness and would break forth into thanksgiving and praise for the unusual supply.’
The nation of Israel was created with God’s purpose of bringing the incarnation of Himself into the world through Jesus, Isaiah 43:21 / Isaiah 43:1.
God had blessed His people but the people rebelled against God, Isaiah 43:22. In other words, the people were religious but they weren’t godly, Isaiah 43:23-24 / Amos 8:5-6 / Malachi 1:13.
It would be the goodness of God and not their own faithfulness or works which they must remember because the only thing they had to offer was their own grievous sins.
The promise is brought to a close, with God blotting out Israel’s sins. Notice the double ‘I’, makes it emphatic, Isaiah 43:25 / Isaiah 43:11. God will forgive and forget their sins, Isaiah 43:25 / Isaiah 38:17.
It was by the grace of God that He would blot Israel’s sins but only for the sake of Jehovah, Isaiah 43:25. In order that they continue throughout history for the coming of the Messiah, their restoration to the land after the captivities was a sign that God had forgiven them.
God calls upon Israel to show Him some merit, Isaiah 43:26. This is done in order to impress the grace and love of God more deeply. Israel had no good work to show, merely a string of sins to offer, Isaiah 43:27 / Isaiah 9:15 / Isaiah 28:7 / Isaiah 29:10 / Jeremiah 5:31, and it was because of this sinful state that God had turned her over to the captor, Isaiah 43:28.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Alas! What a curse does the old Israel still bear, and what reproach do they still suffer? No national crimes have ever equalled those of the Jewish nation, for no nation ever had such privileges to neglect, despise, and sin against. When shall the severity of God toward these people have an end? Answer: Whenever, with one heart, they turn to him and receive the doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ and not till then.’