{"id":25666,"date":"2023-03-26T22:00:48","date_gmt":"2023-03-27T05:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/isaiah-42_10-43_7-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-03-14T17:52:23","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T00:52:23","slug":"isaiah-43_8-44_5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/isaiah-43_8-44_5\/","title":{"rendered":"God Makes A Way Through The Desert"},"content":{"rendered":"

Isaiah 43:8-44:5 \u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Isaiah 43:8-44:5.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Isaiah 43:8-15 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of them foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“You are my witnesses,” declares the\u00a0LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I, even I, am the\u00a0LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I have revealed and saved and proclaimed– I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the\u00a0LORD, “that I am God.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?”
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This is what the\u00a0LORD\u00a0says– your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “For your sake I will send to Babylon and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians, in the ships in which they took pride.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I am the\u00a0LORD, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator, your King.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 8-15:\u00a0 Isaiah asks who predicted the rescuing of the Jewish exiles from Babylon (v8-9).\u00a0 The answer is: no one except the LORD speaking through His servant (v10).\u00a0 In so doing the LORD will show that He is the one true God (v10-12) and that He is sovereign (v13). God confirms that He will bring about the defeat of the Babylonians (v14) and that the real ruler over Israel is not Babylon but the LORD, \u201cIsrael\u2019s Creator, your King\u201d (v15).<\/p>\n

Isaiah 43:16-21 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This is what the\u00a0LORD\u00a0says– he who\u00a0made a way through the sea<\/strong>, a path through the mighty waters,
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am\u00a0making a way in the desert<\/strong>\u00a0and streams in the wasteland.
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen,
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 16-21:\u00a0 The most famous miracle in Israel\u2019s history was how God made a way for His people through the Red Sea in Exodus, allowing the Israelites cross over on dry land before causing those same waters to drown Egypt\u2019s army (v16-17).\u00a0 But now the LORD tells His people not to dwell on this past because He is going to do a new thing (v18): instead of making a way for His people through the sea, He is going to make a way for His people through the desert (v19-21).\u00a0 He is going to take His people out of Babylon through the desert and back to Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Isaiah 43:22-28 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Yet you have not called upon me, O Jacob, you have not wearied yourselves for me, O Israel.
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings, nor honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with grain offerings nor wearied you with demands for incense.
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me, or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offenses.
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence.
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Your first father sinned; your spokesmen rebelled against me.
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So I will disgrace the dignitaries of your temple, and I will consign Jacob to destruction and Israel to scorn.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 22-28:\u00a0 After describing the amazing future work that the LORD will do in rescuing His people from exile, the LORD contrasts that work with the lack of effort His people have shown in worshiping Him (\u201cyou have not wearied yourselves for me\u2026nor honored me with your sacrifices\u201d v22-23.\u00a0 Instead \u201cyou have burdened me with your sins\u201d v24).
\nAccording to commentator John Oswalt, in verses 22-28 Isaiah may be flashing back to Isaiah\u2019s own present day and showing how his people\u2019s sins in Isaiah\u2019s day would lead to their future exile (Oswalt, John.\u00a0 The NIV Application Commentary: Isaiah.\u00a0 Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2003, page 491).
\nGod reviews His people\u2019s past record (v6) and recounts how they have had a history of sinning against Him, beginning with their \u201cfirst father\u201d (v27) (probably Adam) and \u201cyour spokesmen\u201d (other leaders in Israel\u2019s history).\u00a0 As a result, they were given over to destruction and scorn (v28).
\nWhat can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0When we persist in sinning against God, the punishment we deserve is to be ousted from God\u2019s presence<\/strong>, just as the people of Judah were ousted out of their land and into exile because of their sin.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0God is a merciful God<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cwho blots out your transgressions\u2026and remembers your sins no more\u201d (v25).\u00a0 His rescuing work is not anything that we deserve, but an act of God\u2019s mercy and grace.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0God is a reasonable God who does not discipline His people for no reason<\/strong>\u00a0(v26-28).<\/p>\n

Isaiah 44:1-5 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“But now listen, O Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This is what the\u00a0LORD\u00a0says– he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0One will say, ‘I belong to the\u00a0LORD’; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, ‘The\u00a0LORD’s,’ and will take the\u00a0<\/em>name Israel.<\/p>\n

On verses 1-5:\u00a0 Here, with tenderness, the LORD speaks to the Jewish exiles in Babylon (\u201cJacob\u201d, \u201cJeshurun\u201d, \u201cIsrael\u201d are all names for God\u2019s people).\u00a0 He reassures them that though they may be living in a foreign land, they still belong to God (v1-2).\u00a0 Though they live in a dry and thirsty land, God will bring the water (v3).\u00a0 God promises to bless the future descendants of His people and pour out His Spirit on them so that they can flourish (\u201cspring up like grass in a meadow\u201d v4) and worship Him (v5).<\/p>\n

Once and over Isaiah paints the picture of God making streams in the desert (Isaiah 32:2; 35:6; 43:19-20).\u00a0 He does that again here in verses 3-4.\u00a0\u00a0By His power at work in our lives, God can take our deserts and turn them into places of springs.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank You Father for Your mercy and Your ability to make a way for Your people through the desert.\u00a0 Therefore we proclaim that in this season, despite the challenges we face, we have everything we need in You.\u00a0 Come and make streams flow in the desert.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Isaiah 43:8-44:5.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Isaiah 43:8-15 (NIV)
\n8\u00a0\u00a0Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf.
\n9\u00a0\u00a0All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of them foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
\n10\u00a0\u00a0“You are my witnesses,” declares the\u00a0LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.<\/p>\n

On verses 8-15:\u00a0 Isaiah asks who predicted the rescuing of the Jewish exiles from Babylon (v8-9).\u00a0 The answer is: no one except the LORD speaking through His servant (v10).\u00a0 In so doing the LORD will show that He is the one true God (v10-12) and that He is sovereign (v13). God confirms that He will bring about the defeat of the Babylonians (v14) and that the real ruler over Israel is not Babylon but the LORD, \u201cIsrael\u2019s Creator, your King\u201d (v15).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25668,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25666"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25669,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25666\/revisions\/25669"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}