Isaiah 43:16

The Bible says in Isaiah 43:16-17, “Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.” Of course, these two verses are a reference to what God did when He took the children of Israel out of Egypt. Jesus parted the sea so the people of God could pass over safely. But when the enemies of God came into the passage, Jesus caused the waters to crash down upon them, and they were destroyed. The lesson from the past is this: God will protect His people, and He will punish those who hate His people. That is a promise. That is a fact. It always happens that way. God determines when it will happen, and it will happen because He loves His people and His judgment must come against those who oppose Him.

The Lord does not want us to only look at the past. He also wants us to look forward to the future. The Bible says in Isaiah 43:18-21, “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.” God has taken care of His people in the past, and He is also going to take care of us in the future. One thing that happened to the children of Israel has often happened to the people of God in other generations also: they fell away from God and became barren and stopped bearing fruit: like a desert. When man fails, God still accomplishes because God is always accomplishing His purposes. God does not stop just because human beings have stopped performing. There is a people of God, because God has always reserved to Himself a remnant. He will prepare His people, He will revive them, and He will use them in this world. That is why He says in Isaiah 43:21, “This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.”

The problem that the Lord commonly has with His people is that we are too sinful. Our sins have separated us from our God. The Bible states this problem and the answer to it in Isaiah 43:22-28, “But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel. Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense. Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified. Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me. Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.”

Notice carefully the first thing that God spoke against the children of Israel. God said to them, “thou hast not called upon me.” To have a relationship with someone, you must talk to them. One truth is very evident: God loves contact with people. The Bible says in Exodus 33:11, “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” God is a social being, and evidently His infinite mind enjoys having simultaneous contact with as many people as possible. There may be nothing more alarming to God than when one of His believers stops having contact with Him. Here is a good description of true Christianity: a personal relationship between Jesus Christ and a believer. That relationship starts when the believer first comes to know Christ. The Bible calls this introduction to Christ “being saved.” It says in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”

Because God is holy and we are sinners, there is only one way to keep this relationship with Christ working properly: continued confession and repentance of sin. Of course, if the people of Israel had stopped talking to God, then they had stopped confessing their sins also. God said to the people of Israel in Isaiah 43:24, “thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.” But God is kind, and compassionate, and merciful especially in regards to His believers who have sinned. Jesus will forgive sins. That is why He says in Isaiah 43:25, “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” Christianity is based upon the concept of the forgiveness of sins. Without the forgiveness of sins, there is no Christianity. Without the forgiveness of sins, there is no possibility of a relationship with God.

A person only becomes a Christian because they bowed before Jesus and received the forgiveness of sins. And after a person became a Christian, that person only has a relationship with Christ because of the daily forgiveness of sins. That is why the Apostle John wrote in First John 1:6-9, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

There are two choices: either the forgiveness of sins or punishment for sin. That is why the Lord said in Isaiah 43:26, “Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.” Jesus will cleanse us spiritually speaking and He will justify us if only we will call upon His name. It says in Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The name of the Lord is “Jesus.” It is a very kind and generous offer that God makes to every person to turn to Him. But those who do not judge themselves and do not turn from their wicked ways will be judged. That is why the Lord says in Isaiah 43:28, “Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.” If only they had confessed their sins and found forgiveness, they could have avoided all that trouble.

The Bible says in Isaiah 44:1-4, “Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen: Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.” In the verses at the end of Isaiah chapter 43 we were told how terribly sinful were the children of Israel. Because of not turning to the Lord to be forgiven, the children of Israel had to be punished. But Isaiah chapter 44 looks further into the future, and looks at that which is permanent instead of that which is temporary. Instead of looking at what man failed to do, Isaiah chapter 44 looks at what God will certainly do: bless the people who believe on Him no matter how much they have failed.

Isaiah 44:1 says two things about believers: 1. We are God’s servants. 2. We are God’s chosen ones. Once God chooses us when we trust in Christ for salvation, we become His servants. Each one of us has something to do for God. He expects us to serve Him, and He wants us to serve Him. The children of Israel had failed God in the past, but that did not change God’s will for them in the future. He still wants them to serve Him. Romans 11:29 says, “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”

This idea that God has a plan for each believer is continued in Isaiah 44:2. The Lord said, “Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb.” That life that formed inside of a woman’s womb is a life that God created. Conception took place only because God allowed it to take place, and He allowed it for a good purpose. Every single life has a good purpose to it in the plan of God. Our birth into this world was the work of God. Our birth was His plan, His will, His doing. He formed us. He gave each of us capabilities, and characteristics, and gifts so that we would be just the person that He wanted each of us to be. That is because after we believe in Jesus, He wants each of us to serve Him in the unique capacity for which He has made each of us able to serve Him. These abilities and characteristics become perfectly aligned with the spiritual gifts that Jesus gives to each believer, so that we are perfectly enabled to do His will.

Of course, when we serve the Lord and find His place for us in this life, we are not expected to be under pressure to do His work in our own strength. We have the Almighty God to rely upon. That is why Jesus says in Isaiah 44:2 that He “will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.” We are given more detailed information about the way that God helps us in Isaiah 44:3. It says, “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring.” Notice the words “I will pour my spirit.” The key to serving God by the power of God is to serve Him by the power of the Spirit. Jesus lived as a man on this earth. How was He able to do the things that He did, being a man? Speaking of Jesus, the Bible says in John 3:34, “for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.” That also is exactly what the symbolism of Jesus’ baptism was all about. Jesus lived as a carpenter until the age of thirty, and then something happened at His baptism. The Bible says in Mark 1:9-12, “And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.” We cannot over-state the importance of being led by the Spirit and filled by the Spirit in order to serve God in this life. Jesus Himself was so led and so filled. May we thirst for the Spirit of Christ so that we can truly serve our Savior in this world.

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